Oswald's Yellow, Grasmere

St Oswald’s Church in Grasmere put me in a less than convivial mood for being closed when I called. The wardens may open and close as they see fit, of course, but an ancient building in a tourist hot spot we might expect to be open during the week and in hours of daylight. I noticed that the dreary grey render which coats the church’s external walls had been livened up somewhat by a layer of deep yellow on the tower. I do not imagine that this was easy work and it certainly lends the old place a dash of much needed vivacity. Nevertheless, paint peels and chips, and then one must start again. Painting a wall or shed is a lifetime sentence of brushing and dabbing. Little wonder we Englishmen prefer natural stone or brick compared to our Mediterranean cousins who must keep whitewashing.

External attractiveness is temporal and liable to fade or peel. The Lord Jesus likened the pharisees of his day to whitewashed sepulchres or tombs; their goodness and piety were outward shows which needed constant effort to uphold and maintain. The genuine fruits of the Spirit, however, are from within, though they are openly exhibited in our speech and actions. Theirs is not a constant demand to maintain the show and uphold the image, but rather a deep-seated pleasure in honouring Christ, and experiencing the Holy Spirit infiltrating every aspect, area and department of our lives.