SECOND SATURDAY

"Early Morning on Lindisfarne"
by Kevin Wakelam

St. Cuthbert's Way - Second Day of Two 

Jesus Encounters a Roman Officer

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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 Small Verse
Gladden the soul of your servant, 
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 86:4)

Waymark for the border crossing on
St. Cuthbert's Way

Reading
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’ The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.
(Matthew 8:5-11;13)

Music

A Meditative Verse

I love the Lord, 

because he has heard my voice and my supplications. 
(Psalm 116:1)

A Reflective Poem

A thousand years after Benedict lived, a monk named
Martin Luther called for the priesthood of all believers.
He sought the abolition of even Benedictine monasteries,
whose Rule was as humbling to the mighty
as Luther's own 95 theses. 
Half a millenium past the Reformation,
I worship you, Jesus, under the influence
of Benedict, Hildegard, Luther, John Calvin,
and a great cloud of lesser-known, everyday saints
whose lives illustrate this gospel truth:
whatever may be one's cultural rank,
it's reversed in your realm,
where the lowly ascend,
and the powerful aren't, in the end.

- "All Believers" in Oblation: Meditations on
St. Benedict's Rule by Rachel M. Srubas

Verse for the Day

He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; 
the Lord is gracious and merciful.

(Psalm 111:4)

"St. Cuthbert's Way between Buckton Moor
and Kyloe Wood" by Iain Lees

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The second half of St. Cuthbert's Way moves across the Scottish/English border to the Northumberland coast. The abbey that once stood on Holy Island was settled by monks from Iona (see First Tuesday) and became an important spiritual centre for evangelism in England. Saint Cuthbert was abbot of the monastery and later became Bishop of Lindisfarne. One legend about him says that his remains were exhumed and discovered to still be perfectly in tact eleven years after his death. He had been buried with the Gospel of John, which most inspired him throughout his life. The final portion of the walk is across the causeway in low tide to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Pilgrims must time the tides in order to make it safely. St. Cuthbert's cave, on the mainland side, looks onto the island and was said to be a retreat of Cuthbert during his lifetime.

This video slideshow documents one couple's journey on St. Cuthbert's Way. It also gives a glimpse of the 'refuge boxes' provided on the causeway to Lindisfarne for those who have been caught in the tides. Although not suitable for meditation, this documentary on the ensemble Sanctuary, while they were at Lindisfarne recording, has many beautiful musical interludes. 

 

Route Map for the second half of St. Cuthbert's Way

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LC† On the Way with Jesus in Lent is a project of Lutherans Connect/Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

SECOND FRIDAY

"River Tweed" (on Saint Cuthbert's Way)
by Steve Wyper, St. Boswells Scotland

St. Cuthbert's Way - First Day of Two 

Jesus Encounters a Widow and Her Son

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A Greeting
This is my comfort in my distress, 
that your promise gives me life.
(Psalm 119:50)

A Small Verse
Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; 
and let your widows trust in me.
(Jeremiah 49:11)

The waymark for St. Cuthbert's Way
on a path fencepost by Jim Barton

Reading

Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.
(Luke 7:11-17)

Music

A Meditative Verse

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. 
Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 143:8)

A Reflection

"When the town gathered to help me bury my son it felt odd to be surrounded by those to whom I must now entrust my life. We had managed to survive before, but now without the boy to feed I wondered if they would be so eager to provide for me alone. The loss of my beloved son compounded by these fears consumed me with grief. As his body was carried out of town for burial, I could not help but wail in despair and anger.  How could God forget me so? Was I as much of an outsider to God as I was in Nain?
Yet even as my faith crumbled in the face of my grief, something amazing happened.
We had just carried my son’s body outside of the town gate when we encountered a traveling teacher and his disciples. I doubt I would have noticed them, but this teacher came right up to us, halting our progress. And then he commented on my grief. Someone must have told him I was a widow who had just lost her only son, for he seemed to genuinely care about my plight. I half expected him to offer some hollow words of comfort or press a coin into my palm without quite looking me in the eye like a few others had done. Instead he looked at me and seemed to understand – not just my loss but it almost seemed like he knew how utterly alone I felt. And then with deep compassion that went far beyond awkward pity, he told me not to weep and he walked over to my son’s bier and touched it.
A few people gasped at how seemingly oblivious he was to the purity laws, but their concern was quickly dwarfed by what happened next: For the moment he touched the bier, my son sat up and started talking to him!
I was too stunned to speak, my sobs caught in my throat. One of the bearers nearly dropped his side of the bier breaking the tension of the moment. The teacher, laughing, then helped my son down and brought him over to me. All I could do was embrace my son, weeping all over again - this time with tears of relief and joy. Everyone was in awe of this teacher, calling him a prophet and proclaiming that he had brought God’s favor among us. But no one understood the magnitude of that favor more than I. My son and my ability to survive were restored to me – surely I had been blessed.
Like Hagar cast off into the wilderness, God saw me in my isolation and looked with favor on the lowliness of even one like me. I wasn’t forgotten or merely treated with pity, God accepted me even in my grief and despair. I finally felt like I belonged."

- from a retelling of the Widow at Nain story by Julie Clawson,
found on the blog of Rachel Held Evans
 

Blessing

Door of the sheepfold,
Water of the well of life,
True bread that satisfies all hunger,
May we follow the mystery
of Cuthbert's faith and passion,
Where he placed his footsteps,
In the way of the Good Shepherd.

(Scottish prayer)

One of the road sections of St. Cuthbert's Way
by Callum Black

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St. Cuthbert's Way stretches 100 kilometres from Melrose to Lindisfarne along the Scottish Borders and into the Northumberland region of England. It takes its name from the eighth-century priest whose life ministry began in Melrose and who is buried on Holy Island. St. Cuthbert lived in a time of thriving monastic practice and evangelism but like Saint Margaret, Cuthbert was known for spending time with people in their daily lives and upholding their spiritual and physical wellbeing. The pilgrim route is marked by church remains and notable monastic and missionary sites. It also moves through "a wide variety of landscapes including rolling farmland, quiet woods, moorland and across a causeway." (Macsadventure) More on St. Cuthbert and his way, tomorrow.

This video follows a group of people walking St. Cuthbert's Way.

Route map for part one
of St. Cuthbert's Way: Melrose to Jedburgh

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LC† On the Way with Jesus in Lent is a project of Lutherans Connect/Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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 The 2014 LC† On the Way with Jesus in Lent
and Holy Week devotional project is now finished.
It ran from March 5 - April 20, 2014.
 
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Blessings on your day!

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