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Viewpoint from Rev Rosie Bunn 11/04/2025
 Rev Rosie Bunn
Rector of All Saints Church, Belton
and
St Peter & St Paul Church, Burgh Castle
Easter…. and the school holidays are well under way; visitor attractions are opening again and visitors are beginning to flow in to our beautiful area to enjoy all the charms and benefits of the coast, the rivers and the broads
Nearly 2000 years ago, visitors and locals were gathering together at the beginning of the celebrations for Passover in Jerusalem. Just like Easter, their celebrations were a religious feast; for them remembering the time when God brought the Israelite people out of slavery in Egypt. Significant preparations took place for this religious festival; a festival that lasted seven or eight days and included the sacrifice of a lamb and the family or families getting together to share a special meal. At the meal they would remember the Exodus from Egypt and the plagues that were inflicted on the Egyptians, the blood that was painted on the doorposts of their family home, and the unleven bread eaten because of their rush to leave
 It was into the busyness of Jerusalem at festival time that Jesus enters riding on a donkey, with the people waving palm branches and calling out words of welcome and Hosanna! The narrow streets crammed with people may well have been like the streets around a football stadium as people gather before a game; with excitement and anticipation, and the noise of chanting the name of their team, or at that time: Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Bystanders were caught up in the crowd. People joined in the adulation of Jesus. But by the end of the week the crowd were calling for Jesus to be crucified
As I ponder on the fickleness of the crowd in Jerusalem at that time, I am always challenged. What voices am I listening to? Is it the voice of the crowd? Or the advertising that says I need always to drive the latest car, wear the current fashion, or live in a beautiful home, in order to be happy. Who am I hearing? Who am I following? For me, I always want to be following Jesus; responding to the way God is directing me, because it is through Jesus that I get to live my best life. Through Jesus, I know God’s love and his peace is a lived experience
May you know God’s love and peace in the days leading up to Good Friday and Easter Day
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