Linacre Methodist Mission

Minister’s letter February 2010

Isaiah 1:18-19

Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land”

Dear friends,

As I write, I have woken up to a beautiful sunny morning, and during the night it has snowed. The fields and the trees are so beautiful covered with a white dusting and it truly looks like a winter wonderland.

During January, we were all inconvenienced by the snow and ice. Indeed the country seems to grind to a halt, with roads impassable and not enough grit. It is a sad indictment on our present society that so few people even if they cleared their own paths didn’t clear the area of pavement outside their homes. As a result many people were unable to get out to the shops or get to church or lunch clubs. Most of us if we are honest moaned about our own inconvenience rather than took the opportunity to support vulnerable people. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the thaw came, but now this morning the gentle fall of snow has whitened the earth again. There is something about snow which makes everything look pure and clean.

This is the image that the prophet Isaiah uses in the verses above. Chapter one of this great book of prophecy is warning a rebellious nation to turn back to God. However, it is a warning followed by wonderful promises of forgiveness and restoration. God is always faithful and just, always longing for us to turn back to him and receive his unfailing mercy and unconditional love, no matter how often we fail. When King David had been confronted by the truth of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband- what did he do? Try to have the news hushed in court so that it didn’t become public knowledge so that he could continue to get away with it and captain his troops with false pride? No, he admitted his failure and he turned to God in repentance. At that time he wrote Psalm 51 and prayed for God’s mercy and forgiveness. He asked God to blot out his transgressions and cleanse him from his sin. He prayed: “Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean- wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Being squeaky clean isn’t about never making mistakes or doing stuff we regret, it’s about coming to God with our transgressions, seeking forgiveness and being purified, washed whiter than snow. Wow- what a promise! Why not reflect on that when you wake up to snow and rejoice in his goodness and mercy and unfailing love! And as for us as a church, we must always be a place of welcome and acceptance and rejoice as those who have fallen away turn back to God. Let us also remember each other’s sins no more!