I write to explore deeper meaning in everyday experiences of my priesthood, art, music, adventures, and relationships.
The Celtic Saints
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Published in the South Jetty Newspaper
While the saint word has fallen away from that mid-February holiday of Eros-Love, I am grateful we have held onto it for this month's celebration of St. Patrick's. Dear St. Patrick did more than the legendary snake-drive, and I don't think it was he who asked people to wear green (or drink green). As a young man of 16, Patrick arrived in Ireland as a slave, kidnapped from his home. There he tended sheep and in that pastoral setting he learned to pray and as he wrote, "felt God's love fill my heart and strengthen my faith." He escaped on a ship, but later returned to Ireland after a series of mystical experiences persuaded him his mission field was there. St. Patrick may be the most popular of the Irish or Celtic Saints, but he is not necessarily the most interesting.
Consider St. Brendan, who like other monks of the region, launched himself off in a small boat, letting the Holy Spirit direct his course to carry the Good News of the love of Jesus to other lands. Then there is St. Brigid who was an abbess of both monks and nuns, who led a remarkably generous life caring for the poorest of her neighbors. The Celtic Christians wrote about God's good creation, where they found inspiration and community with the Holy Trinity. Living so close to the sea can certainly have that influence; some were even known to have wild animal companions who would come visit or help direct them in finding a good place to build a hermitage or monastery.
Whether we use churchy language to describe it or not, the spirituality of knowing God's presence in nature is what led many of us to come live on this island where we get to live among wild animals, and witness beauty of God's creation all the time. We can't help but feel connected to the great mystery when we are exposed to nature. I call that God.
Some of the Celtic saints left us with poetry and prayers that acknowledge God's handiwork, like St. Columba's Rock: "I hear the heaving waves chanting a tune to God in heaven, I see their glittering surf." One of my favorite hymns comes from St. Patrick's Breastplate, a beautiful Trinitarian, poem (370 in our Hymnal) celebrating Christ's all encompassing presence. It reads, "I bind unto myself today the virtues of the star lit heaven, the glorious sun's life giving ray, the whiteness of the moon at even, the flashing of the lightning free, the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, the stable earth, the deep salt sea, around the old eternal rocks...Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger."
This St. Patrick's Day, take time to recognize and honor the spirituality we have inherited from the Celtic Saints; their way is well suited for our island home, here connected as we are to their own coastands by the deep salt sea.
Plastic bag in front of Trinity by the Sea On a recent trip to Austin, I was surprised and delighted not to be handed a plastic bag when I checked out of a grocery store. I wasn't buying much, so I was able to carry out my things without remembering to bring in my reusable bags. For some time now, I've gotten in the habit of turning down plastic bags in convenience stores when they try to put my humble bag of sunflower seeds, lonely, in another bag. The plastic grocery bag has become like a handshake at the end of the deal: it seems to make the shopping experience complete. It is such an ingrained habit, that the person behind the cash register sometimes gets a suspicious look when I ask for no bag, as if thinking, "This yahoo is threatening our way of life!" I think about habits a lot, as a Christian of the Episcopal persuasion. Our practices and our experiences in everyday life shape the way we understand our relationship with God, with others, and with ours...
Sunday, September 29: Be Salty for Jesus! Reflection for church while my back heals. Welcome everyone to another church on the beach. Fr. James is dealing with his back injury, and sent this reflection to read, so here it goes. I spent Thursday morning planning for the next two weeks, anticipating that I might need a medical procedure. As I did so, I marveled at how many amazing leaders we have within our church. I was focusing on the worship service, and leading worship on Sundays is a only portion of what we do as a church community, but it is an important part of what we do. It is where we gather together to reorient to God, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and to listen for inspiration from Jesus. How fitting that we gather on the beach today to hear Jesus remind us to be salty. Do we have it easier, here beside the sea? We can hardly help but be salty around here. I want to start with that, which is where Jesus lands his somewhat meandering messa...
Reflection for Morning Prayer July 28, 2024 Trinity by the Sea Some of you may not remember the first time you stepped onto a boat, or more to the point, the first time you fell out of a boat. Most of my falling-out stories are from the San Marcos River misjudging an eddy around a bend, the bow pulled suddenly in the opposite direction from what I expected, then pushed sideways up against a submerged root that gives loft to the bow sending two paddlers into the drink. Fortunately, all of those occasions eventually ended with laughter. Then there are those moments of non-commitment, like standing one foot on a log that had fallen across the river, foot in the canoe, and quickly realizing the mistake. A similar thing can happen on the docks here, at least with smaller boats. Stepping into a boat takes commitment. One foot on land and one in the vessel is a short-lived exercise in balance and stretching beyond the ability of most yogis. Be on land or in the boat, not in both places at o...
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