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Viewpoint from Rev Rosie Bunn 10/04/2020
 Rev Rosie Bunn
Rector of All Saints Church, Belton
and
St Peter & St Paul Church, Burgh Castle
as published in the Great Yarmouth Mercury
What does a cross say to you?
Is it a kiss on a card or a letter?
Is it a mark in a box such as a voting slip or an application form?
Is it the mark in a book that says you’ve got your sums or spelling wrong again?
It might be a special piece of jewellery given to you on a significant occasion
 We use the cross in so many different ways
This weekend our focus will be on that horrific Roman torture implement the wooden cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The cross that was intended to stop Jesus promoting the kingdom of God becomes the expression of God’s deep love for all people
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
So the cross becomes God’s extravagant kiss for each one of us. Oh that we could truly realise the depth of his love. St Paul, writing to the Christian church in Ephesus prays that all Christ’s followers would be rooted and grounded in love and know how wide, long, high and deep God’s love is for us. Knowing that we are loved changes our perspective and transforms us
 But the cross on an application form or voting slip says we are signing up for something or we are putting our trust in a certain person. The cross of Jesus can also take on that symbolism when we make a decision to follow Jesus Christ; to put our trust in Him. Why would we do that? Well, if we come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for us in order that we could have a relationship with God, restored through an encounter with God himself, then putting our trust in him is the obvious thing to do
Such great a love for us that sees Jesus give his life so that we can be forgiven is a wonderful thing to know
The cross that marks our work efforts as incorrect is hard to receive. To acknowledge that we haven’t got it altogether right is often a difficult thing. But the cross of Christ acknowledges that we are not perfect human beings but gives us a way out of suffering the consequences. In Jesus Christ we are made right with God offering us a new perspective on the cross against our wrongdoing
The jewellery that we wear is often to remind us of being loved. We wear rings and necklaces, bracelets and badges to align us with the people or projects we are passionate about. So a cross can remind us of God’s love for us seen in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
Easter Sunday is the day Christians celebrate the new life won for us by Jesus. In the empty tomb we find hope and joy; Jesus Christ has overcome death and opened up the way for each one of us to receive eternal life. He promised that he would go ahead of his disciples to prepare a way for us
Hope and joy! How much do we need this in our world. Hope and joy, love and peace that are not dependent upon the circumstances we find ourselves in but rooted and grounded in the love that God has for us; his extravagant, amazing unconditional love
Jesus’ disciples were scared and defeated, hidden away after the events of Good Friday. By the evening of Easter Day when they had met the risen Jesus, life was transformed. Before the disciples realised Jesus was risen they were talking in terms of “we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem us” but after they had recognised him, resurrected, they talked of their “hearts burning within” them as he walked and talked along the road
My prayer this Easter is that we will all have a loving encounter with the risen Christ and know the love of the cross; that in choosing Jesus we will know the forgiveness of all we have wrong in our live and the perfect correction that Jesus offers
May the new life Christ offers, fill you afresh through the mighty power that brought Jesus from death to resurrection life. Happy Easter!
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