Dear Friends,  

  There are many things that I like about being a citizen of the United Kingdom. I like Big Ben, cups of tea and cake, the music of Vaughan Williams, occasional viewings of Prime Minister’s Questions and walking in the countryside. There are, however, a few things that I don’t like about our dear country and one of them is its reputation for lack of self-awareness and its convenient habit of knowing not just the good things about its history but a profound ignorance of the bad too. Tommy Robinson is keen to clothe the label of his somewhat right wing perspective with his understanding of Britain as a Christian nation. He’s entitled to his views but is he really sure how this chimes with the call to discipleship in the gospel?  The disciple Simon Zealot (the one with the chip on his shoulder) got short shrift from Jesus when he wanted the Lord to overthrow the Romans using force of arms…. Food for thought!

   What is self-awareness?  Self-awareness is human beings’ capacity to reflect on their behaviour, attitude and outlooks. Scripture and Christian history is ridden through with many distinct calls to self-awareness. You could argue that the prophet Jeremiah was too self-aware with his reputation for depression. When the crowds were screaming to save Barrabas rather than Jesus by shouting “crucify him!”, you could certainly say that the crowds were not self-aware.

  Some of the contemporary discourse that we see today in our wider secular world struggles with self-awareness. Have you seen some of the recent parliamentary Prime Minister’s Questions?  Oh my word! Crash, bang, wallop! And further afield? Crash, bang, wallop, mark two! It seems to be a world where the mantra is ‘let’s have a fight at the most convenient opportunity’!

  One of the things, when I speak to non-church going people that I hear when they speak about church communities, is the expectation that we should be a different kind of people, a kind of people who radiate the love of God. That call to self-awareness is one of the things that constitutes the love of God.

  I think one of the calls of a self-aware Christian is to ask good questions. Questions such as: do we get irate about the big issues that face our society or do we harp on about trivial and small matters? In our relationships are we more likely to assert our own positions over-confidently rather than to persuade others of different points of view? Do we cultivate open-mindedness in ourselves and others? Do we jump to conclusions on a subject before we get the full facts appertaining to a situation?  Do we seek simplistic answers to difficult questions when what may be required is a little patience? 

   Alongside my organist’s work at St. Cuthbert’s which I treasure, the other thing that I treasure is the community of self-aware grace that it exudes, a grace expressed in the words of the Nunc Dimittis:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people. To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

May I wish you a self-aware Lent and the everlasting peace of the gospel here and in eternity.