My Soul, and the Irish Countryside

Rector’s Rambling- June 2011

Perhaps some of it had to do with location, or soil type, or warm rains coming in with the Atlantic Westerlies. Or perhaps it had more to do with my expectations going in. But the greens of Ireland were unlike anything I had ever seen. They seemed to be infused with a warm interior glow, and I was reminded of those times when I happened to be in the field or on the water when a major front passed. All of nature seemed to come alive with a primal savagery for just a few seconds, and the experience was surreal. In such times of heightened awareness, it seems easier to sense the presence of God, or at least to realize that we are not really that far removed from the rest of His creation. I can easily understand why the Old Queen, looking down the valley from Ladiesview, quipped that it was one of the loveliest vistas in the British Empire.
In a sense, it is hard to imagine how such a beautiful land could have such a tragic history, replete with tribal wars and family betrayals, famines and oppression, much of which ultimately (if not with complete accuracy) gets blamed on religion. But then, I suppose our individual histories are not that different. We are all born with such incredible beauty and potential, made as it were in the very image of God. Then the circumstances of our birth, the nature of our physical attributes, our failures in relationships, and a thousand other variables intervene and we are left feeling vulnerable, alone, and afraid. We develop methods for dealing with our situations which often end up putting walls around ourselves. We wrongly imagine that we must protect ourselves from each other, and in so doing, we end up excluding God from those hidden corners of our lives as well. The image of God remains, like the Irish sunshine, but we can see nothing in ourselves but darkness and worry. We justify our situation by the most powerful magic we can muster, and that we usually call religion, faith, or spirituality.
How different our histories might be if we could see the eternal beauty of God in ourselves and in each other. How pleasant it would be to stroll in the warm sun of God’s love, enjoying the gifts he has given each of us. How uncomplicated it would be to have His law written upon our hearts as the prophets foretold, living the Gospel every day in simplicity and love for God and man. In these months of summer, I trust we will all find the grace to acknowledge our own shortcomings, to draw closer to God through prayerful attendance upon Word and Sacrament, and to experience the beauty that is all around us.

Sincerely,
Bill+