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| Image by Helen@littlethorpe |
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Brendan
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A GREETING
O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
(Psalm 43:3)
A READING
You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
Then I said, “I am driven away
from your sight;
how shall I look again
upon your holy temple?”
The waters closed in over me;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head
at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me for ever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit,
O Lord my God.
As my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
(Jonah 2:3-7)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps.
(Psalm 148:7)
A PRAYER
Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home?
Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea?
Shall I put myself wholly at your mercy, without silver, without a horse,
without fame, without honour?
Shall I throw myself wholly upon you, without sword and shield,
without food and drink, without a bed to lie on?
Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under your yoke?
Shall I pour out my heart to you, confessing my manifold sins and
begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks?
Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach,
a record of my final prayer in my native land?
Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict?
Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean?
O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?
O Christ, will you help me on the wild waves?
- "Prayer of St. Brendan," translated by Robert Van De Wayer
VERSE OF THE DAY
Let those who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
-- roar, all the coastlands and their inhabitants.
(Isaiah 42:10)
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Florida Sandhill cranes in a mating dance. In Irish mythology,
cranes are associated with abundance and prosperity.
Video captured by Jeni Tirnauer.
Found on Instagrama at @jeni_tirnauer_photography.
You might try playng today's two videos at the same time.
Brendan the Navigator is one of Ireland’s most beloved saints and despite that almost all of the early Irish monks spent months at sea traveling to and from other islands and the mainland of Europe, Brendan is considered the maritime saint, and the patron saint of whales and dolphins.
In Irish myth of the fourth and fifth centuries, there was rumoured to be an island especially promised to the saints that would prove to be a paradise if it could only be found. Brendan experienced the visit of an angel one night who told him to look for it and that the angel would help him and steer him. Brendan took to the sea, with a number of fellow monks, and moved from place to place and island to island hoping to have found the promised place. It is believed he actually came upon a number of the same islands several times over. Throughout this time, Brendan and his companions remained devout in their services and offices. A folk story is told that at one point when the group had gone ashore, they were puzzled by the dark sand and the inability to light a good fire. Brendan understood what was happening but waited until the very island appeared to heave and suddenly rise up under them to tell them that their island was the back of a whale. Every year they returned to the back of the same whale to celebrate Easter. The whale, it seemed, was glad to oblige.
Animals were not only allies, but spiritual partners in the work of the saints. The saints understood them and were understood in return, with no presumed dominion of human or beast. Birds were considered messengers of the divine and given every respect no matter the species. Cranes in particular, because of their majestic and spectacular appearance in flight, were believed to be especially connected to God. Another story of Brendan involves arriving on a particular island and finding one tree filled on every branch with white birds. Worried that it was a sign from God, he prayed that God would explain the meaning of the birds. One of the birds flies down to sit with him and anthropomorphically speaks a long tale that concludes with encouragement. Ultimately Brendan settled back in Ireland, never having found the promised land but transformed by the journey. The whale and the birds had seemed only meant to be encouragers for his own journey of faith.
Sometimes waiting does not bring about the thing anticipated, but our own deeper selves instead. When has God encouraged you through unexpected moments toward new awakenings? When have you waited a long time for something only to learn more about who you really are instead?
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| Image by helen@littlethorpe |
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LC† Come Holy Darkness is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help to support extended offerings throughout the year.
Thank you and peace be with you!