Reepham Benefice

The sight of snow falling , and settling in my garden a few weeks ago was a sight that filled us with wonder, each flake fluttering to earth to form a deep carpet of pure white over the trees and grass of the Rectory Lawn. We awoke to that most beautiful silence that often accompanies snow fall, with the pureness and newness that this sight brings. Of course the reality of snowfall is far from the beauty on the Christmas chocolate box. It often causes havoc and can present all sorts of dangers. Snow also far from being pure, contains all the ingredients that rainwater has, and we only need to read about the effects of pollution to see this.

Our special prayer this Sunday talked of the need for us to purify ourselves in readiness for the coming of Jesus. Not that we can ever be pure, as with the snowflake, we are made up of innumerable parts, some of which are purer than others. Each of us , as we attempt to live the Christian life, becomes more and more aware not only of our imperfections, but also of God’s absolute ability to take those imperfections and like the snowflake under a microscope to turn them into something beautiful. To purify ourselves means not simply to do something about those things in our lives that work in opposition to God, but more importantly to let God do that for us. To purify ourselves, is to open wide the doors of our hearts and minds, to welcome Jesus in, and to let him work with the beauty of his image that is within each one of us.