Iona

 First Monday of Pentecost

Lectionary Texts:

Genesis 1:6-8

Romans 8:12-17

 

Many thanks to the anonymous author of the comment today. My guess is that it's Chris Martens, who has spent time in Brasilia and a lot of time in the Hawaiian Islands. I want to strongly urge everyone to put your copy button over that ridiculously long website u.r.l., paste it in your browser and look at all of the pictures of the Brasilia Cathedral. It is truly spectacular. If you're getting the blog by email and not getting the comments section, put in your browser the blog address (christiansspirituality.blogspot.com). That should give you access to the Comments section. 

I might note that the prime source of beautiful modern architecture has been not houses or buildings, but churches. You could almost say that about any architecture in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Other spectacular modern architecture churches include #1 and #3 on my list, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain and Coventry in Coventry, England

It is Monday travelogue day. Since I have spent the last three travelogues talking about that most center of the world place, Jerusalem, I'm going to an end of the world place, Iona, today. I know that I have talked about Iona before on this blog, but it's definitely worth mention again. 

Iona is one of many, many islands off the west coast of Scotland. It's group of islands is called the Inner Hebrides, the largest island of which is the Isle of Skye. Iona is a small island, about 5 miles by 2 miles. The town and the Abbey are at the north end of the island. Iona is geographically unlike other Scottish isles, which have steep hills/mountain cliffs going down to rocky coastlines and with beautiful waterfalls going down to lochs, which are shoreless lakes with vegetation going straight to water's edge. In contrast, Iona is flat with white sandy beaches and crystal blue water. It looks more like a Caribbean island than a Scottish one. Of course the beautiful blue water is frigidly cold year round.

The weather on Iona is usually bad. Today the high is 52, low 39, 80% chance of rain, and windy all day. That's typical. Even in July it rarely gets above 70 degrees. The last time we were there, in 2018, it was the end of July and the temp was low 50's with rain and wind.

Iona is also hard to get to. The roads are all one lane. You have to take a ferry from the west coast to the Isle of Mull, drive about an hour across Mull, to get another ferry to Iona. If the water is too choppy, the Iona ferry doesn't run.

Having said all that, why would anyone want to go there? Its geography, its weather, and especially its history make it a mystical, captivating place. 

St. Columba, an Irish priest, felt called by God to take the gospel to Scotland in 543 A.D. He wanted to go just barely beyond sight of Ireland, fearing that seeing his native land would make him homesick. He took 12 men with him and founded a monastery. From he sent missionaries throughout Scotland. He died in 597. The monastery and its work continued over the next centuries up until the late 16th century. The most famous work was The Book of Kells, a beautiful illustrated Bible in Latin with hundreds of hand painted Biblical scenes in Celtic designs, totally uninfluenced by European or Classical art. The book of Kells now resides in The Long Room of the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland. In case you're headed for Dublin, I should note that it will be taken off display next Monday for four months, while the room where it resides is redesigned. 

The Monastery and  later the Nunnery at Iona were destroyed four different times by Viking invaders. Like the other "barbarian" tribes of Europe the Vikings came, robbed, raped, killed, burned, and left. Rarely did they establish colonies in the places they conquered. Viking destruction wiped out all of the buildings from Columba's time. At times over the Middle Ages Iona remained uninhabited for decades, but monks and eventually nuns always came back and rebuilt. That is, until the Protestants came along. 

More next Monday.

God of the ends of the earth,

We give you thanks for St. Columba and those who came after him. Thanks for their courage, their faith, and their willingness to give their lives for the gospel. In Christ's name. Amen.

Faithfully,

Christian