March 17thFive Minutes On Friday #64
LENT - Iona, Inner Hebrides
The Scottish island of Iona is prized for its serenity. Claire and I visited it in 2006. We spent a day walking, worship with the community at prayers, and simply relaxed into this ‘thin’ place where God has been at work for 1500 years or more.
In the spring of 593 Columba and twelve companions set out in an open boat (coracle), a kind of wicker basket covered with leather. They let God’s winds blow them until they could no longer see the coast of Ireland. They were finally brought to the island we now call Iona, which Columba made a base from which to spread the message of Christ as far as possible through what is now Scotland. He became the greatest missionary of that land, and his community the powerhouse for spreading the Gospel even further, including Northumbria, for many years after Columba’s death.
The community went on to produce renowned illuminated manuscripts, continuing its delicate art in Kells, Ireland, after Viking raids. The abbey site, including its high crosses, was laid out to evoke faraway Jerusalem. And yet, in its own right, Iona is a holy land.
PRAYER – We open ourselves to the presence of the Lord
If you come in certainty or confusion,
in anger or in anguish:
this time is for us.
If you come in silent suffering or hidden sorrow,
in pain or promise:
this time is for us.
If you come for your own or another’s need,
for a private wound or the wound of the world:
this time is for us.
If you come and you do not know why,
to be here is enough:
this time is for us.
Come now, Christ of the forgiving warmth.
Come now, Christ of the yearning tears.
Come now, Christ of the transforming touch.
This time is for you. AMEN
BEATITUDES – Matthew 5.10
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Wonderful news for people who are persecuted because of God’s way! The kingdom of heaven belongs to you.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, but we say blessed are the expedient/prudent.” [M. Augsburger]
This Beatitude follows from the previous one. Being a peacemaker by practicing love and justice and living by Kingdom standards is to initiate a confrontation with society which they may take as judgment. This is the way of the cross in human relationships.
‘Many do not want the world to be just. Much money and power are invested in maintaining injustice. Seeking the right will not win universal approval. But the world of justice is obsolete, and those who work for God’s new and just order already possess the kingdom of heaven.’ [Tom Long]