Eaton Ford (day) - The napkin

As we usually do, we began by considering the people we need to pray for, then spent some time praying and listening to the Spirit.

We heard about the story of the 'folded napkin' that Chris had received in an email just this morning. It's a delightful story, but there seems to be little evidence that it really happened this way.

The story goes that when Peter and John arrived at the empty tomb, they saw that the grave wrappings had been thrown in a heap, but at the other end of the tomb, the napkin that had covered Jesus face was neatly folded. There was a convention that when a man ate his meal, the servant would watch. If the master threw his napkin down untidily this was a sign that he'd finished and the servant would begin to clear the table. But if the master folded his napkin this showed he intended to return to finish the meal later.

So the folded napkin in the tomb was significant because to Yahshua's trainees it meant, 'I am coming back in a short while'. It's still a great story even though it may not be true. But what is true (and is important) is that Jesus did rise from the grave and that he will indeed return!

One of us also had a picture of snow flakes falling. Each little flake was melting almost as soon as it touched the ground and at first it would be easy to conclude that the snow would never be able to settle. But snow is persistent and eventually the tiny, fragile flakes will win and the ground will be covered and everything hidden in a blanket of pure, white snow.

And the Lord says, 'The snow will prevail - like me!' He changes our lives little by little, one small touch of his purity after another. In the end we will be visibly changed. Sometimes we feel we will never get there, but he says we will.