Category Archives: Forerunners (33-1226)

2nd Day of Christmas / Stephen — December 26

Asia, Christmastide, Forerunners (33-1226), Holy Days,
Stoning of Stephen — Rembrandt

Bible connection

Read Acts 22:1-21

When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. “Quick!” he said. “Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.”

“Lord,” I replied, “these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.”

Then the Lord said to me, “Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”

All about Stephen (ca. 5-34)

The future that dawns with the birth of Jesus does not come without cost.

For Stephen, the future meant trading his life for telling the truth to the powers that be (Acts 6-7).

Stephen was dragged before the Sanhedrin where he faced faced two accusations: 1) he had declared that Jesus would destroy the Temple in Jerusalem and 2) he had changed the customs of Moses. Stephen denounces his accusers and listeners as “stiff-necked” people who, just as their ancestors had done, resist the Holy Spirit. “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the law by the disposition of the angels, and have not kept it.”

The crowd, so impugned, could not contain their anger. They descended on him and took him out to be stoned. At the place, Stephen looked up and cried, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” —  the recently resurrected Jesus was standing by the side of God.

The people from the crowd, who threw the first stones, laid their coats down at the feet of a young man named Saul who later took the name Paul, the apostle. Stephen prayed the Lord would receive his spirit and forgive his killers. He sank to his knees, and “fell asleep.” Saul “was consenting unto his death.” In the aftermath of Stephen’s death, the remaining disciples except for the apostles fled to distant lands, many to Antioch.

We remember the death of the first Christian martyr on the second day of Christmas each year. This is the “feast of Stephen” we sing about in the Christmas carol: “Good King Wenceslas.”

BTW — Vaclav (“vatslaf” in Czech) Havel who died a few years back , is a namesake of King Wenceslas and also something of a martyr for speaking back to the powers when the Czech Republic was born in spite of Soviet occupation. Stephen was the first martyr of many to come in the church.

For Paul, moving into the dawn of the future meant leaving Jerusalem in a hurry, at one point, told in today’s reading. Following Jesus still means an adventurous, but totally unpredictable and often troubling life on the road.

More

From Rod: Stephen Day: The gift of Martyrdom [link]

An enacted reading of the whole story of Stephen as recorded in Acts 7:

Where is Stephen buried? Israeli and Palestinian archeologists say they found his tomb in Ramallah in 2014. Salesian monks say he is buried in a cave at Beit Jimal.  Pope Pelagius II claimed he interred him next to  St. Lawrence in the , whose tomb is enshrined within the church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura after he became pope in 579. According to the Golden Legend, the relics of Lawrence moved miraculously to one side to make room for those of Stephen.

St. Stephen’s Day was a big day in England. It was known as Boxing Day, the day church alms boxes were opened and the contents distributed to the needy. Nowadays is it a big day for hospitality; many people look for people who might be left out to fill their table. In Ireland some places held Wren Day — check out the link if you’d like to know another place Mummers came from.

Here is a site full of Boxing Day traditions.

Campaign to create turtle dove habitats in North Yorkshire - BBC News
Two turtle doves for the second day of Christmas.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love sent to me…Two Turtle Doves

Receiving doves is a symbol of truth and peace. That would be lovely enough. If you want to go with the possibly-catechetical secret meaning of the 12 Days carol, the two doves represent the Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the story of God to the world.

What do we do with this?

Pray: Help me look around without fear and see my opportunities to share your truth and love.

It costs us to tell the story of our faith, or so we fear. What is your story? Spend a minute with Jesus and let him help you remember who you are in Christ. Maybe you should write it down.

Odo of Cluny — November 18

Europe, Forerunners (33-1226)
Odo Cluny-11.jpg
11th Century miniature

Bible connection

The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous…It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.—James 3:17-18

All about Odo of Cluny (c. 880-942)

Odo  was the abbot of the Benedictine Monastery of Cluny. That community started a huge program of monastic and clerical reform which deeply influenced Europe for centuries.

Odo began his religious life at nineteen as a “canon” (a church leader living with other leaders) of the Church of St. Martin, in Tours, to whom he always had a deep devotion.

When Odo read The Rule of St. Benedict for himself as part of his studies, he was stunned. Judging that his Christian life did not measure up to Benedict’s standard, he decided to become a monk. In 909, Odo went to Beaume, a monastery where the Benedictine rule was strictly observed (unlike many other communities). Abbot Berno received him into the brotherhood.

That same year, Berno started a new monastery at Cluny, about fifty miles south of Beaume, also in Burgundy. He established the new community on the pattern of Beaume, insisting on a rigorous application of the Benedictine Rule. In 927, Odo succeeded Berno as Cluny’s abbot and spread its influence to monasteries all over Europe.

Odo encouraged lax monasteries to return to the original pattern of the Benedictine rule of prayer, manual labor, and community life under the direction of a spiritual father. Under his influence, monasteries chose more worthy abbots, cultivated a more committed spiritual life in the monks, and restored the solemnity of daily worship. As a result, Odo helped lay the foundation for a renewal movement that in two centuries reformed more than a thousand monastic communities and transformed the religious and political life of Europe.

In the following passage, John of Salerno, Odo’s biographer, says he combined his power with wry humor to compel members of his entourage to behave charitably:

The blind and the lame, Odo said, would be the doorkeepers of heaven. Therefore no one ought to drive them away from his house, so that in the future they should not shut the doors of heaven against him. So if one of our servants, not being able to put up with their shameless begging, replied sharply to them or denied them access to the door of our tent, Odo at once rebuked him with threats. Then in the servant’s presence he used to call the poor man and command him, saying, “When this man comes to the gate of heaven, pay him back in the same way.” He said this to frighten the servants, so that they should not act in this way again, and that he might teach them to love charity.

When Odo arrived at Monte Cassino (the original Benedictine monastery) to institute his reforms there and enforce the rule, he was met by armed monks ready to resist the unwanted interference. John of Salerno writes that he gained entry anyway with the disarming words: “I come peacefully—to hurt no one, injure no one, but that I may correct those who are not living according to rule.” [More here]

Along with his other duties, Odo wrote a number of important works, which reveal an original mind attempting to make sense of 10th-century society.

  • The Collationes (Conferences) is both a commentary on the virtues and vices of men in society and a spiritual meditation modeled on a work of the same name by the monk and theologian John Cassian (360–435).
  • De vita sancti Gerardi  (Life of St. Gerald of Aurillac) presents an exemplary warrior who fights only for peace, refuses to shed blood, attends Mass regularly, and is a model of humility, sobriety, and other virtues. The life of Gerald is one of the first depictions of a saintly layman—rather than a bishop, monk, or king—in medieval literature.

The Dialogue on Music was attributed to Odo, although it is unlikely he wrote it. Yet the attribution indicates he had a lively interest in the music developing in his day. He may have been the first to use seven letters for pitches (do-re-mi…) and some attribute to him the first clear discussion and illustration of organum.

He was also a diplomat. At the pope’s request, Odo traveled to Rome three times to pacify relations between Hugh, king of Italy and Alberic, called the Patrician (or Dictator) of the Romans. On each of these trips Odo took the opportunity to introduce the Cluniac reform to monasteries enroute. On returning from Rome in 942, he became sick and stopped at the monastery of St. Julian in Tours for the celebration of the feast day of St. Martin. He took part in the celebrations on November 11 and after a lingering illness died on November 18. During his last illness, he composed a hymn in honor of Martin.

More

The Abbey of Cluny is ten minutes from the Taize Community. 

Brief history of the Abbey.

Poem by Odo. Hymn to St. Martin.

This prayer guide from Bangalore/Bengaluru, India is fascinating.

The Odo Ensemble, based at Cluny.

What do we do with this?

Admiration for a saint can lead to saintliness. Odo of Cluny was deeply devoted to St. Martin of Tours and as a young student imitated Martin in his love of beggars. He always kept the example of Martin as his guide. Who are your favorite guides?

Perhaps the poor we refuse to care for, or people we snub will be our greeters after death. Imagine the person meeting us at heaven’s gate will be the person we have offended most, now empowered to welcome or to reject us. That thought might make us hurry to be reconciled with anyone we have hurt.

The church in the United States has a “lax rule” and is embroiled in corrupt politics and many scandals. Will you desert Jesus as a result? Or will you refocus on a true “rule” and transform the society?

Hild — November 17

Europe, Forerunners (33-1226),

Bible connection

Read Matthew 10:5-15

You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment.

All about Hild of Whitby (614-680)

Hild (or Hilda) lived in the 7th Century and made her mark in the kingdom of Northumbria, now part of England. She took her first vows as a nun somewhat later in life, at the age of 33, but managed to help start several monasteries and become the founding Abbess at Whitby, a monastery where both men and women lived according to their rule. Her reputation for wise counsel made her a sought-after adviser to several kings and was crucial to the conversion of much her territory to Christianity. She is still known for her great love and devotion to people of “low estate.” [The Three Estates was a social hierarchy in medieval Europe that categorized people into the clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and peasantry (Third Estate). The commoners, or Third Estate, were considered the lowest order and were largely excluded from political power. See also Romans 12:16 and  the carol “What Child is This?” And also note that people who think of themselves as “low estate” also need looking out for.]

While Hild’s Celtic people were pushed further and further North by the pagan groups such as the Saxons, a vital mission to the invaders remained. The church in Rome often competed with the Celtic tradition, and Hild was known for helping to settle the big question of when Easter would be celebrated. This was just one example of the peacemaking she was known for in rather turbulent times.

Her relationship with the farmhand, Caedmon, is a good example of her devotion to developing regular people. She recognized Caedmon’s gifts for music and poetry and encouraged them. He became the first published poet in English.

We mostly know about Hild from Bede’s Ecclesistical History. In it we often read about miracles accompanying his subject’s death. These miracles seem more likely when we remember they occurred among people who keep a common schedule and regimen of prayer, who are sealed by a common love for God and one another. Here is an example from his account of Hild:

It is also told, that her death was, in a vision, made known the same night to one of the virgins dedicated to God, who loved her with a great love, in the same monastery where the said handmaid of God died. This nun saw her soul ascend to heaven in the company of angels; and this she openly declared, in the very same hour that it happened, to those handmaids of Christ that were with her; and aroused them to pray for her soul, even before the rest of the community had heard of her death. The truth of which was known to the whole community in the morning. This same nun was at that time with some other handmaids of Christ, in the remotest part of the monastery, where the women who had lately entered the monastic life were wont to pass their time of probation, till they were instructed according to rule, and admitted into the fellowship of the community.

More

Saint Hilda’s snakes

Nicola Griffith’s novel expands on Bede’s account

Malcolm Guite’s tribute.

Whitby Abbey ruins [link]. A love letter to Whitby was a pandemic project for these folks. [beautiful].

Three-minute bio:

Some teaching Rod took from Hild about women leaders.

What do we do with this?

Hild was an unusual leader, mainly because she was a woman leading men in a time when that was almost unheard of. You’ve probably been led by a few church leaders who were unheard of before they got tapped, as well — maybe it was you! She was also a leader in difficult times when the church was challenged by antagonists and also divided from within. Her native Celtic church was being overrun by the legalists from Rome who desired to unite the church under the monarchy of the Pope.

The United States and the Church worldwide are changing. In some instances, old and better ways provide an alternative to the turmoil and self-interest around us. Like Hild, look around your church — start with the places you touch most directly, and notice the gifts and love the Spirit God is providing to make Jesus known and followed.

Brendan — May 16

Europe, Forerunners (33-1226),
By Rachel Arbuckle. Click the pic for her store.

Bible connection

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” — James 4:14-15

All about Brendan the Navigator (c. 484 – c. 577) 

Brendan was an Irish monk called “the Navigator”, “the Voyager”, and “the Bold,” a man who was inspired to walk in extreme vulnerability. His example made him a sturdy leader and winsome evangelist as the Church was built in Ireland.

The story goes like this. Brendan and his companions went on a nautical pilgrimage in the Atlantic Ocean in search of the Island of Paradise. They searched for seven years and had many adventures along the way. The chronicle of Brendan’s journey [Navigatio Brendani] became a medieval blockbuster. Much later, some historians decided that Brendan actually made it to the Americas in his leather bound boat (a “coracle”). Brendan’s outer quest reflected his inner quest to put himself at the mercy of God, which is always the greatest adventure.

Brendan was born in Tralee in southwest of Ireland. His parents were Finnlug and Cara. He was baptized by Saint Erc, and was originally named “Mobhí.” But the signs and portents attending his birth and baptism led to be christened Broen-finn, meaning fair-drop. For five years he was educated under Saint Ita. When he was six he was sent to Saint Jarlath’s monastery school to further his education. Brendan is one of the “Twelve Apostles of Ireland”, one of those  tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard.

At the age of twenty-six, Brendan was ordained a priest by Saint Erc. Afterwards, he founded a number of monasteries. Brendan’s first voyage took him to the Arran Islands, where he founded a community. He also visited Hinba (Argyll), an island off Scotland where he is said to have met Columba. On the same voyage he traveled to Wales, and finally to Brittany, on the northern coast of France. Between the years 512 and 530 Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and, at the foot of Mount Brandon. From there he set out on his famous seven-year voyage looking for Paradise.

St. Brendan’s 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 or 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 on the wild waves?

More

Launch on St. Brendan’s Day [link to Development]. Memorial to Brendan [poem]

Another bio from Brenda Warren [link]

From St. Brendan’s monastery in Maine [link]

Poem: The Death of St. Brendan by J.R.R. Tolkien. [link]

Frederick Buechner’s Brendan: A Novel.

Revisioning the inspiration for one of the most popular and enduring medieval legends, Frederick Buechner tells the tale of the colorful sixth-century Irish saint Brendan through the eyes of his loyal friend and follower, Finn. This animated vision of Brendan’s dynamic path chronicles the Celtic world of fifteen hundred years ago and contains all the complex moral messages that abound in the best mythology. 

Brendan’s life illustrated by Irish children:

What do we do with this?

May we quest so boldly toward new waters with God. May we face the fears of the deep and unknown so faithfully. See if you can pray Brendan’s prayer for yourself. Maybe you can even envision you and your friends in a coracle, testing your trust on the sea. What kind of “sea” is it for you. How are you called to voyage?

Here is another rendition of his prayer for you to pray:

Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.