It's March the month of mad hares and Celtic saints

Dear Friends

It’s March, the month of mad hares and Celtic Saints.

Yes, David (Wales), Piran (Cornwall), Patrick (Ireland) and Cuthbert (Northumbria) are all celebrated this month.

We’re also over a week into Lent.

This year’s Lenten theme is pilgrimage.  Our study groups are following the course “Journeying with Jesus”.  As a band of pilgrims we travel together, following Jesus.

A pilgrimage is a journey with a purpose, so what are we hoping for this Lent?  Is it the journey, or the destination?  Ralph Waldo Emerson is frequently quoted on this: “It's not the destination, it's the journey.” 

What do you think?

In the past folk were so focussed on heaven, that this life, this vale of tears, was counted of no value.  But isn’t life’s journey a means of grace?  Can’t God use even our mistakes and wrong turnings for good?

Unfortunately, many take Emerson’s words to imply there is no destination, no heaven.  All they’re left with is the “journey”, so “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

You may also have heard, “One life – live it”, or “Life’s not a rehearsal”.  Isn’t it?  For Jesus has gone before us, and promises the kingdom.  On our pilgrimage we make our mistakes and learn, discovering the wonder of God’s kingdom and promises of love.  Pilgrims make progress, as we are getting closer to our destination, the real real world.

And this is where our Celtic saints come in, for we are journeying with them, too.  Their lives and words challenge us.

St Cuthbert was under no illusion that a hermit’s life was a direct route to holiness.  He said, "If I could live in a tiny dwelling on a rock in the ocean, surrounded by the waves of the sea and cut off from the sight and sound of everything else, I would still not be free of the cares of this passing world."

St Patrick’s prayer is more encouraging, "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back."  Jesus is our guide on this amazing journey, and will bring us to eternal havens.  That promise is our Hope.

And finally, there’s St David, whose last words were, "Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things" – not madly haring about!

Blessings,

Paul