Around a Thin Place

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• Publisher: Wild Goose Publications
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781849521888
• eBook ISBN: 9781849521987
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Ecumenism & Interfaith

A full-colour guide to the Iona Pilgrimage, both off-road and on-road, including a rich collection of readings, prayers, poems, photographs, songs, stories and reflections. For visitors to the island and 'armchair pilgrims' alike.

THE OFF-ROAD PILGRIMAGE

ST MARTIN’S CROSS

St Martin of Tours lived about two hundred years before St Columba, in the fourth century. He was named after Mars, the Roman god of war, and came from a military family; and so, he spent his early years living the life of a Roman soldier.

Legend has it that, one day on garrison duty, he met a beggar outside a city gate. It was a deathly cold day and the homeless man was shivering and dressed in rags. The naked suffering of the poor man suddenly touched Martin’s heart, and, moved with compassion, he stripped off his military cloak, which was lined with thick lamb’s wool, cut it in half with his soldier’s sword and shared it with the homeless man. That night, Martin had a dream of Jesus, surrounded by saints and angels, and wearing the coat he had given to the beggar.

Martin continued in the military life. Until one night, just before a major battle, he reported to his generals, and informed them that he could no longer serve. ‘I am a soldier of Christ: I cannot fight,’ he confessed.

Martin dedicated the rest of his life to the ministry of hospitality, good works, and evangelism, playing a prominent role in the mission to the Celts.

St Martin’s Cross has been rooted here, in its original spot, for over 1200 years – through Viking raids, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Reason, the industrial revolution, the world wars, the Cold War … A modern-day pilgrim to Iona wrote: ‘St Martin’s Cross stands as a constant witness to the timelessness and faithfulness of God against the ever- changing sky and the passing centuries.’

Carved on the east face of St Martin’s Cross are jewel-like bosses and an interweaving Celtic pattern, symbolic of the intertwining of earth and heaven, the sacred and the secular. George MacLeod, the Founder of the Iona Community, famously said of Iona: ‘Iona is a very thin place. There is only a tissue-paper layer between things material and things spiritual.’ On the west side of the cross are scenes from the Bible: Daniel in the lion’s den, Abraham and Isaac, David playing the harp, the Virgin and Child … St Martin’s life – like our own unpredictable lives – was an amazing journey of straight roads, sudden life-changing encounters, crossroads of indecision, complete turnarounds, new horizons …

Think for a moment about your own life journey up until now … And of those you journey alongside today: friends and strangers on this pilgrimage; companions on the road of life; brothers and sisters in the wider world, with whom we share this precious planet. We are all interconnected and held in God’s hand.

BIBLE READINGS

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:34–40 (NRSV)

Leviticus 26:12
Micah 6:8
John 14:4–6

REFLECTIONS

Setting out on the road …

Setting out is first of all getting out of ourself. Breaking through the shell of selfishness hardening us within our own ego.

To stop revolving round ourself as if we were the centre of everything.

Refusing to be ringed in by the problems of our own small world. However important these may be, humanity is more important and our task is to serve humanity.

Setting out is not covering miles of land or sea, or travelling faster than the speed of sound. It is first and foremost opening ourselves to other people, trying to get to know them, going out to meet them.

Opening ourselves to ideas, including those with which we disagree, this is what the good traveller should do. Happy are they who understand the words: ‘If you disagree with me, you have something to give me.’

If those who are with you always agree with you before you open your mouth, they are not companions but shadows. When disagreement is not a form of systematic blocking, when it rises from a different vision, it can only enrich us.

It is possible to travel alone. But the good traveller knows that the journey is human life and life needs company. ‘Companion’ means … the one who eats the same bread. Happy are they who feel they are always on the road and everyone they meet is their chosen companion. The good traveller takes care of weary companions. They guess when they lose heart. They take them as they find them, listen to them. Intelligently, gently, above all lovingly, they encourage them to go on and recover their joy in the journey.

To travel for the sake of travelling is not the true journey. We must seek a goal, envisage an end to the journey, an arrival.

But there are journeys and journeys. For the Abrahamic minorities, setting out means to get moving and help many others get moving to make the world juster and more human.

Dom Helder Camara (adapted)

The call

As Jesus walked along the shore of the Lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake; for they were fishermen.

Matthew 4:18

The two characters stand apart from each other, Peter looking quite absorbed in himself.

Jesus:	Peter …?
Peter:	Yes, Jesus …?
Jesus:	Come with me.
Peter:	Where are you going?
Jesus:	I’m not telling you.
Peter:	Do you not know?
Jesus:	Oh yes, I’ve a fair idea.
Peter:	Then … why won’t you tell me?
Jesus:	You might not like it.
Peter:	Well, thanks for your consideration, Jesus.
	(A pause)
Jesus:	Peter …?
Peter:	Yes, Jesus …?
Jesus:	Come with me.
Peter:	Can I bring somebody else?
Jesus:	Just bring yourself.
Peter:	Will there only be the two of us?
Jesus:	Oh no, there’ll be plenty of others.
Peter:	Will I know some of them?
	What about my cousin Alec … will he be there?
	And is there any chance of my sister coming if she still fancies you?
	And what about my gran? Oh, Jesus, I’d love to bring my gran to meet you. Can I?
Jesus:	Peter … just bring yourself.
Peter:	But … but … you said there would be others.
Jesus:	That’s right.
Peter:	Who are they?
Jesus:	I’m not telling you.
Peter:	Why not?
Jesus:	You might not like them.
Peter:	Aw, thanks a bunch, Jesus!
	(A pause)
Jesus:	Peter …?
Peter:	Yes, Jesus???
Jesus:	Come with me.
Peter:	Jesus, I’ve got better things to do than go on a mystery tour. But I’ll think about it.
	Just tell me what I’ll need.
Jesus:	What do you mean?
Peter:	Well, if I’m going somewhere I don’t know, with people you refuse to tell me about,
	there are some things that might come in very handy.
Jesus:	Like what?
Peter:	Like something to read in case I get bo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• How to use this book
• A note about safety
• Map of Iona
• The off-road pilgrimage
• The on-road pilgrimage
• A pilgrimage in haiku
• Songs
• Notes, sources and acknowledgements
• Outside holiness
• Bibliography
• Photo credits