Mtr Mary Trainor
Dear friend,
Tensions were high. The boardroom was packed with all senior and middle management. We awaited one of our two executive directors, who were just back from corporate headquarters. The news there had not been good, and the consensus was that there was plenty of trouble to go around. Heads could roll.
A lot of what would happen depended on which executive director walked through the boardroom door.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God…
Today we remember the life of Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, one of the great saints from Christianity’s early Celtic chapter. Wanting to refresh my memory of Aidan, I did some reading.
As I moved from source to source, I became aware that I was humming. And what was the song? Number 711 from The Hymnal 1982.
Taking its first line from Matthew's Gospel (6:33), this hymn has a simple and ancient quality, though it is one of the “newer” songs in the hymnal, its words penned by Karen Lafferty in the early 1970s. Its lyrics and sentiment somehow go well with a reflection on Aidan.
...and its righteousness…
It was the early Middle Ages. Ireland had been converted by Patrick and Scotland by Columba. England remained unChristian in the wake of the AngloSaxon invasions. Change would soon be on its way once King Oswald asked the Abbot of Iona to send an Apostle to Northumbria.
But all Apostles are not created equally, and the first one dispatched was a miserable failure. Harsh, demanding, judgmental, he was thoroughly disliked. He won no one to Christ, and returned home.
Aidan was next. His devout practices and gentle spirit were the answer. He lived the Gospel, simply and in great humility, refusing privilege and wealth. He even chose to walk instead of riding a horse, feeling the latter to be decadent excess.
His friendliness, paired with a faith that shone in everything he did, made Aidan many friends on his walking journeys. Peasant or noble were greeted in the same loving way, catching a glimpse of the Holy One in this humble man. Is it any wonder that untold numbers were baptized and, in time, Northern England reclaimed for Christ?
And all these things will be added unto you.
Back to that angst-ridden boardroom. As the door handle turned, there was a collective intake of breath as all turned to see who was there.
Was it that first Apostle, the harsh, critical, judgmental one? Or would we be so lucky as to get Aidan?
She sat down, studied each face around the table, and then softly said, “I have really messed up, and I need your help.”
By placing the blame on herself—where it did not belong—this woman absorbed all of the worry, all of the defensiveness. Her strong character and gentle spirit won the room.
Anxiety out of the way, we rolled up our sleeves and set to work.
Alleluia, alleluia
Mtr. Mary
If you care to listen to some music while you contemplate faithful Saint Aidan, click here: Seek Ye First.