DAY 31

Image by SC

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The Celtic Joseph

A GREETING
I will praise your Name in song,
and glorify you with thanksgiving.
(Psalm 69:30)

A READING
“Come near, all you who yearn
to eat heartily of my fruit;
you will be reminded that I am sweeter than honey,
more precious than the honeycomb.
Once you feed on me, you’ll yearn for more;
once you drink of me, you’ll thirst for more.
(Sirach 24:18-20)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Serve one another in works of love, since the whole of the Law
is summarized in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Galatians 5:14)

A REFLECTION
I think the simplest way to discern the presence of the Spirit is to look for where there is unity, where there’s movement toward reconciliation, for two becoming one, for enemies becoming friends. The Spirit self has no need to think of itself as better than anyone. We just live with an energy and aliveness that Paul called the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Our job is simply to stay inside the flow of the Spirit which is love.
- adapted from Richard Rohr, The Divine Dance: Exploring the Mystery of Trinity,
found in "Transforming Spirit," a blog post on the website of the Center for Action and Contemplation.

VERSE FOR THE DAY
So since we live by the Spirit, let us follow her lead.
(Galatians 5:25)

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"Glassy apples," by Mary Pratt (1994)

The image of "fruit trees" appears frequently in the biblical story, often associated with God's continued provision of abundance which never ends. It is also offered as a sign of consolation in times of restoration as when God promises in Ezekiel 36 that there will be fruits of the tree after the famine of the nations, or when in Joel 2, God reassures the soil and the animals and the children of Zion that life will be renewed for them. Fruit trees in the New Testament are mostly symbolic, acting as a metaphor for righteousness and the lack thereof (see Matthew 7). The exception is Revelation, where fruit trees form an essential part of the vision of new creation.

There is no specific mention of the 'cherry tree' in the canon of Scripture, but in a text known as Pseudo-Matthew, there is a nativity story in which the unborn Jesus commands his father to pluck cherries from a tree for his mother. In the verses of today's carol, which captures that story, Mary and Joseph are en route to Bethlehem. Mary is hungry and asks Joseph to get her cherries from the tree. He denies her twice. Jesus speaks from the womb to Joseph and makes the command, and Joseph suddenly understands that the request is bigger than what he thought.

The early Celtic Christians identified strongly with the figure of Joseph. To them he embodied a hidden holiness and a deep and generous hospitality -- a primary Celtic value. They saw in Joseph a companion of the 'peregrinatio,' the oarless wandering voyage that is led by God's call. He is visited by an angel a remarkable three times in the Matthew nativity story: once to be told the news of the coming birth, once to be told to flee to Egypt, and once again after Herod's death when it is time for them to return again. Joseph remains open to God's messengers: from the midst of his uncertainty and fear, he is able to receive and hear them when they draw close. They trust Jesus to his care. And he trusts in God's desire for him. It is with that courage that he is able to walk out of the darkness of the future and into the glory of the present. Joseph is a Celtic hero.

Within each of us, God plants, nurtures and enables the seeds of our transformation which become the fruits of our faith. When we respond to God's call with humility, patience, and openness, we help renew the world and ourselves. Its no wonder that the Celtic imagination often experienced fruit as the site of divine 'shimmering' energy. The root of the word for 'almond blossom' means 'to waken,' 'to watch.'

As we stay awake and watch for the coming of Jesus, and as we move into the longest nights of the year, how can the Celtic Joseph help us remember to trust God, listen to the Spirit's calling in us, and have patience and courage? What will be the fruit of our Advent faith?

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Image by Charlie Marshall

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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 30

Image by Stephen Ros

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Celtic Practice of Solitude

A GREETING
In God alone my soul finds rest,
for my deliverance comes from God.
(Psalm 62:1)

A READING
I have put down roots among an honored people,
selected to be God’s portion.
There I flourished like a cedar of Lebanon,
as a cypress on Mount Hermon;
there I grew like the date palm of Engedi
and the roses of Jericho,
like an olive tree in the orchards,
a plane tree growing tall.
I exuded aromas like cinnamon and acacia,
like sweet balm, precious myrrh,
galbanum, and gum resin,
like burning incense in the tabernacle.
I spread my branches Like a terebinth,
branches heavy with grace and beauty.
I put out graceful shoots like a vine;
my blossoms bear fruit of honor and wealth.
(Sirach 24:12-17)

MUSIC

A MEDITATIVE VERSE
I searched for a place to rest among all these places,
where would I dwell among all of creation?
(Sirach 24:7)

A REFLECTION
The simplest spiritual discipline is some degree of solitude and silence. But it’s the hardest, because none of us want to be with someone we don’t love. Besides that, we invariably feel bored with ourselves, and all of our loneliness comes to the surface. Silence is the ability to trust that God is acting, teaching, and using me — even before I perform, or after my seeming failures. Silence is the necessary space around things that allows them to develop and flourish without my pushing. God takes it from there.
- adapted from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations
by Richard Rohr

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
For the might of your wind on the waters
For the swelling of the open sea
and the rushing of crested waves
thanks be to you oh God.
For the strength of desire in my body
for the sap of life that flows
and the yearnings for birth and abundance
thanks be to you.
Restore me in the image of your love this day
that the longings of my heart may be true.
Restore me in the image of your love this day
that my passions for life may be full.
- from Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayer
by J. Philip Newell

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"Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay" (1921)
by Frederick Varley

"When the dark wood fell before me, and all the paths were overgrown. When the priests of pride say there is no other way, I tilled the sorrows of stone.”

These are the lyrics of Loreena McKennitt’s song called Dante’s Prayer, inspired by a journey she made by train across Siberia while reading the Italian poet Dante’s poem Inferno. McKennitt’s strong affinity with Celtic spirituality and music has led her to write and record many songs in the Celtic tradition. “When the dawn seemed forever lost,” is another lyric, and later, "please remember me." How many times have we laid awake at night, wondering if God remembers us?

As we move toward the solstice in a few days, the shortest days are a good invitation to sit with our inner selves in the long nights. The emotional anguish and mental health challenges that we experience are born out of lived experience in our bodies. We carry our histories around in our bodies like turtles. We carry our ancestors and their wisdom, and we also carry the body memory of the pain and challenges they bore. We may feel sometimes like we don't even understand why we have the feelings or responses we do. We just have them. All of this can feel especially true at this time of year.

The meditative verse above from Sirach 24:7 carries over from yesterday's text, but in a different translation/version. The Inclusive Bible emphasizes how much 'Wisdom' is looking for a place to rest and find peace and stillness. The verse emphasizes the understanding that true rest comes from dwelling in Creation.

Peace and repose are part of the Celtic way of being with God, and of overcoming our own inner darkness. Many of us have already understood in our own lives that being in Creation is indeed being with God. But how much do we stop to think about ourselves as part of that Creation? When the tide of a lake gently rolls to our feet over sand and rocks, do we think of the water as meeting another part of nature in us? Or do we see ourselves as separate, just enjoying the watery light?

Noted Franciscan priest and spiritual writer Richard Rohr teaches us that our hardest confrontation in silence might be with ourselves: our loneliness, boredom and fears about worthiness. We can be assured that God meets us there. Some of us choose solitary lives. Others enjoy brief moments of respite and peace in otherwise busy days. While still others may feel lonely most of the time - with too much of the disquieting 'peace' that Rohr speaks of. All of these belong to God. The solitary tree in a vast open space may have nothing to protect it from rain or wind, and no one to see its beauty. But God dwells there.

Who in your world might be feeling like that tree? How can you reach out in Advent hope to make this day just a bit easier? If you are that tree, how can you feel remembered by God, held in God's embrace and cherished always?

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Image by Paul

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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 29

Image by Jason Boldero

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The Celtic Trinity

A GREETING
Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
(Psalm 51:10)

A READING
Wisdom will praise herself,
and she will boast in the midst of her people.
In the assembly of the Most High,
she will open her mouth,
and in the presence of
God's heavenly forces, she will boast:
“I came forth from the mouth
of the Most High,
and I covered the earth like a mist.
I lived in the heights,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
I alone encircled the vault of heaven
and walked in the depths of abysses.
In the waves of the sea and in every land,
and among every people and nation,
I led the way.
I sought a resting place
among all of these.
In whose allotted territory
should I make my home?
(Sirach 24:1-7)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
The mouths of the righteous recite wisdom;
their tongues discuss justice.
(Psalm 37:30)

A POEM
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
- from "Touched by an Angel" by Maya Angelou

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Thanks be to Thee, Jesus Christ,
Who brought’st me up from last night,
To the gladsome light of this day,
To win everlasting life for my soul,
Through the blood Thou didst shed for me.
Praise be to Thee, O God, for ever,
For the blessings Thou didst bestow on me:
My food, my speech, my work, my health...
O Christ of the wounds!
Give me wisdom along with Thy grace.
May the Holy One claim me,
And protect me on sea and on land.
 from Charms of the Gaels: Hymns and Incantations,
collected and edited by Alexander Carmichael

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"Scorned of timber; beloved of the sky," by Emily Carr (1935)

The book of Sirach, also known as Ben Sira or Ecclesiasticus, was a popular book of wisdom in the first and second centuries BCE for educational purposes and, despite being originally written in Hebrew, was circulated largely in Greek, thanks to Sirach’s grandson, who is responsible for assembling it and publishing it. A lengthy prologue by the grandson explains all this, with an apology for any gaps in translation. From today until Saturday, we will reflect on the 24th chapter of Sirach, which celebrates Creation and Wisdom.

In today’s reading, the beginning verses of Sirach 24 speak in the voice of Wisdom, who identifies herself with having been born from the mouth of God, and then covering the earth "like a mist.” The verses go on to use images of creation to establish how Wisdom grew and became strong and imbued all aspects of life. Here Wisdom is identified within the divine presence of God, that fills every created thing with its own knowledge.

In this chapter, Wisdom is also associated with aspects of the Holy Trinity. Wisdom characterizes herself in many incarnations, in which she 'comes from the mouth of God,' 'walks the earth,' and 'dwells in the clouds.' Although Sirach pre-dates Jesus, the idea of Wisdom as an embodied 'Word' that comes from God -- was not new.

The early Celtic Christians loved the Trinity and often invoked it in daily life, as much as in ritual or worship. This preoccupaton developed into a passion for 'threeness.' Saint Ita (whom we visited in Day 22), who was the great educator, was visited early in her life by a dream in which she was given three stones. She understood the stones to be the Trinity of God. The stones appeared to her throughout her life to provide direction and guidance. St. Brendan, her pupil, friend and anam cara, is reputed to have asked her what was most pleasing to God. She replied that God loved three things: a pure heart of faith, a grateful spirit, and a compassionate generous nature. This way of grouping values together has been referred to as the Celtic practice of "three essential things."

Sirach 24 holds some common ground with John 1, which is often associated with the birth of Jesus and the coming of the incarnated Christ. Wisdom leads the way and is entwined like a Celtic knot with the Word. What are the "three essential things" or ways that the Trinity moves in your own life? How much can you recommit yourself to those values as we wait for the coming of Jesus?

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Image by Jason Boldero

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Scripture passages are taken from The Common English Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 28

Image by Linton Snapper

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The Lindisfarne Gospels

A GREETING
Send forth your light and your truth—
let them guide me,
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
(Psalm 43:3)

A READING
Who has the right to enter your tent, O God,
or to live on your holy mountain?
Those who conduct themselves with integrity
and work for justice,
who speak the truth from their heart
and do not use their tongues for slander,
who do not wrong their neighbors
and cast no discredit on their friends,
who look with contempt on the corrupt
but honor those who revere God,
who always keep their promises
even when it hurts,
who don’t demand interest on loans
and cannot be bribed to exploit the innocent.
If people do these things,
nothing can ever shake them.
(Psalm 15)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
I, because of your great love,
will enter your House;
I will worship in your holy Temple
in awe and reverence.
(Psalm 5:7)

A POEM
In winter's house there's a room
that's pale and still as mist in a field
while outside in the street every gate's shut firm,
every face as cold as steel.

In winter's house there's a bed
that is spread with frost and feathers, that gleams
in the half-light like rain in a disused yard
or a pearl in a choked-up stream.

In winter's house there's a child
asleep in a dream of light that grows out
of the dark, a flame you can hold in your hand
like a flower or a torch on the street.

In winter's house there's a tale
that's told of a great chandelier in a garden,
of fire that catches and travels for miles,
of all gates and windows wide open.

In winter's house there's a flame
being dreamt by a child in the night,
in the small quiet house at the turn in the lane
where the darkness gives way to light.
"In Winter's House," by Jane Draycott
first published by commission in The Guardian, Dec. 18, 2010.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Door of the Sheepfold,
Water of the Well of life,
True Bread that satisfies all hunger,
True Word that nourishes the heart,
May we follow the mystery
of Cuthbert's faith and passion,
as they placed their footsteps
in the way of the Good Shepherd.
- found on the website of the Scotland Churches Trust


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The Chi Rho Iota page of the Lindisfarne Gospels,
which opens the Gospel of Matthew. (Click to enlarge.)
The letters include entwined creatures and plants
inextricably woven into the Greek name for Christ,
and coming at the start of the Matthew geneology of Jesus,
linking Jesus, his ancestors, and all of Creation.

Psalm 15, offered here in its entirety, imagines a holy hill or temple where the people considered most righteous could gather. The psalm suggests that only those most showing the named virtues would be deserving of such a place. The early Benedictine communities who formed monasteries all over northern Europe and in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, recited this psalm as part of their daily office. In our own reading of it today, we might see it as a theological guide for how we all might best lead our lives, while also believing that Christ becomes one of us -- for all people. The verse from Psalm 5 helps us think this way.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne lies off the Northumberland coast in northeast England, not far from the border with Scotland. It was here that the monk Aidan arrived in 634 CE with a small band of monks and set up a monastery on a 'perilous' precipice near a sheer drop to the sea. Although it was believed to exist somewhere on the island, this original site was only discovered in 2017, along with a signalling tower, most likely used to send flares across to the mainland when something significant had happened. Aidan was eventually succeeded by Cuthbert later in the same century. Aidan had been formed by Columba and the monks of Iona, and had made his way across the land to establish this brand new community on the eastern part of the country. By contrast, Cuthbert had lived out his monastic life largely on the road in Northern England and Scotland, never staying anywhere long, and finally taking up residence on another local island, building a dwelling that faced out to sea, so no one would bother him. It didn't work: the king himself rowed out in person to ask him to become Bishop of Lindisfarne. He reluctantly agreed.

While Cuthbert was still alive, work began on what has since become known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illuminated manuscript in Latin that is complexly illustrated with designs of spirals and creatures that have since been interpreted as representing the Celtic understanding of the Cosmic Christ. The letters 'Chi,'(pronounced 'chee', with the 'ch' like the end of 'Bach,') 'Rho,' (as is in rowing a boat) and 'Iota' (ee-o-ta) formed the Greek shorthand for 'Christ.' Since the volume is written in Latin, with some Old English thrown in, these Greek letters stand out -- as often in manuscripts of the Middle Ages, the divine name does.

In 793 Vikings raided the island, killed most of the monks, destroyed the structures and despoiled most of the treasures. Somehow the gospels, along with the remains of St. Cuthbert -- survived. We can imagine that the survivors, still bloodied and injured, walked them across the seabed to safety.

Perhaps there are cherished objects of faith that you or your family have lovingly preserved. How can we see ourselves as the cherished objects of God, who transmit the faith in our hearts to future generations? How can we help to uphold those in the world for whom being Christian marks them for danger?

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This walking tour of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne is mostly visual, and shows the entire scope of the island and its structures. At minute 3:31, the camera passes by the 2017 discovered ruin site of what is believed to be the original monastery built by Aidan, but the youtuber either didn't know, or didn't feel a need to stop and comment on it. From time to time, we also see the overturned fishing boats that have been converted into maritime storage spaces.


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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 27

Image by Tony Armstrong-Sly

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Celtic Wheel of the Year

A GREETING
My God, what is there to wait for?
You are everything I hope for.
(Psalm 39:7)

A READING
There is a time for everything,
a season for every purpose under heaven: a season to be born and a season to die;
a season to plant and a season to harvest; a season to hurt and a season to heal;
a season to tear down and a season to build up; a season to cry and a season to laugh;
a season to mourn and a season to dance;
a season to scatter stones and a season gather them;
a season for holding close and a season for holding back;
a season to seek and a season to lose;
a season to keep and a season to throw away; a season to tear and a season to mend;
a season to be silent and a season to speak; a season to love and a season to hate;
a season for hostilities and a season for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
(Psalm 104:19)

A POEM
Midwinter spring is its own season
Sempiternal [everlasting] though sodden towards sundown,
Suspended in time, between pole and tropic.
When the short day is brightest, with frost and fire,
The brief sun flames the ice, on pond and ditches,
In windless cold that is the heart's heat,
Reflecting in a watery mirror
A glare that is blindness in the early afternoon.
And glow more intense than blaze of branch, or brazier.
- from "Little Gidding," by T.S. Eliot

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus Christ you wait for us,
To come and see you.
You wait to shine light where there is darkness,
To show love where there is hate,
To share peace where there is conflict,
To give hope where there is despair.
Lord Jesus Christ you wait for us,
To come and see you...
Let us come,
To the One who waits to show us love.
from Celtic Advent: Following an Unfamiliar Path
by Christine Aroney-Sine.
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"La Primavera," by Botticelli (1478-1482)
There are more than 500 plant species identified in the painting,
including at least 150 different species of flowers.
(Click on the painting to enlarge.)
A book by Mirella Levi D'Ancona
attempts to identify them all.

Many of us are familiar with today’s reading from Ecclesiastes, which names the ‘seasons’ of our lives that mark the ways we grow and change and live in relationship with one another. The passage is set up in binaries of opposites, in part so that we can feel the keen differences among them.

The Celtic people before and after Christianity measure the year in eight seasons: they rely on the two solstices, two equinoxes, and the four cross quarter festivals. These four main festivals of the Celtic wheel of the year were how the Celtic Christians of the 5th - 8th centuries navigated time. It starts with Samhain (pronounced sow-en, see Day 2) and the entry into darkness on November 1st. It lasts until the feast of St. Brigid on February 1st, known as Imbolc, as winter is starting to turn to spring and the lambing season begins. This season continues until Beltane (pronounced in Irish Be-al-ta-neh), which became associated with Mary mother of Jesus and which takes place on May 1st as the planting happens. Lughnasa, which comes on August 1st, marks the start of the harvest months. 'Winter,' 'spring,' 'summer' and 'autumn' were unknown as terms during this period. They evolved starting in the ninth century. 'Spring' did not emerge in Europe until the 14th century. In cultures all over the continent, the local Indigenous/cultural words for the agricultural seasons of the year were mostly what were referred to.

Today's art is a work of the late 15th century by Botticelli. At the time of the painting, it was untitled. It was Giorgio Vasari, the art historian, who fifty years later named the work using the Italian word for a 'springing into blooming time' that had come to be associatd with that time of year. Botticelli himself might have heard this word from time to time when he was making the painting but it was not in common usage. It has been a modern age calendrical decision to attach the seasons to turning points of the year. Those turning points happen to be the Celtic equinoxes and solstices. March 21 (the first day of spring) is the Celtic spring equinox, that comes exactly half way between Imbolc and Beltane. June 21st is the summer solstice, and so on.

Ecclesiastes also does not name seasons in the contemporary way that we understand the word. The Hebrew word means only 'time,' or 'occasion.' Replace 'season' with 'time' in each occurrence in the verses and you have what is actually written. Translators use the word 'season' to conjure for us a fuller sense of ages and stages of life.

What is the 'time of life' that you find yourself in? How is God present to you in it, and how can the coming of Jesus bring life and light to illuminate it?

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The moon and Venus, January 2025.
Image by Tony Armstrong-Sly

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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 26

Image by Gareth Wray

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A GREETING
I put my trust in you, O God;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
(Psalm 31:14)

A READING
Bless God, my soul!
My God, how great you are!
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in a robe of light,
you stretch the heavens out like a tent.
(Psalm 104:1-2)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Send back your breath—fresh life begins
and you renew the face of the earth.
(Psalm 104:30)

A POEM PRAYER
Gradually, a miracle flows into me, a stilling
and filling of my anxious, empty self.
Now calmed, now capable of reverence,
I pour my awareness into you,
Only to receive much more than I give:
The prayer I pray, the very life I live.
- from "Ever Available" by Rachel Srubas
found in Oblation: Meditations on St. Benedict's Rule

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
God of love, in the silence of our hearts
give us words of welcome, acceptance and renewal
so that when we speak, our words come from you.
- from "Prayer for Three Voices" by Yvonne Morland,
excerpted in 50 Great Prayers from the Iona Community,
selected by Neil Paynter

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On this final day of appreciating and praying with the work of Jane Goodall, we hear her in the video above imagining two scenarios for the year 2050. One is bleak and disastrous. The other offers hope. The difference in the two visions points to the path we have ahead. For Goodall, hope lies completely in the actions we take to make a better world, no matter how small.

In today's music, we hear Jacob Collier croon an appreciation of a mystery figure called "Little Blue." The title refers to a small blue furry creature that his mother made for Jacob when he was small. The little creature stayed with him and fostered his imagination. The live recording was made when Collier invited fifty random followers to join him, learning the song on the spot and then recording all in one day. His capacity to instruct simple harmonies allows him to find and make quick communities of singers.

Whether Jane Goodall, Jacob Collier, or anyone in your own community, possibly you -- a single individual can inspire collective action. The Spirit then moves through that person and those they inspire, in to the world. It is especially so if that individual has humility and understands what can happen in collaborative community.

With the coming of Jesus, God renews the face of the earth through our own sense of renewal. God fills our anxious selves with awareness of God's presence with us. Then we express our praise of God and we offer our gifts to others in gratitude. With each deep breath, can we imagine those three things happening? Breathe in: Jesus comes, renews us, quiets our hearts and minds. Breathe out: we express our gratitude and praise and we reach out to others.

When we return on Monday, we will begin the last ten days of Advent that take us to Christmas Eve. It will be exactly one month since we started the journey. What is still in your heart that you wish to lift to God as you enter the busiest part of the season? How is God stirring in your prayers to help you embody hope in the world?

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Image by Jennifer C

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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
The next devotional day will be Monday, December 15th.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 25

Image by Larry Lamsa

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Celtic Animals and their Saints

A GREETING
I sing of your love and justice—
O God, I sing to you!
(Psalm 101:1)

A READING
The word of the Lord came to [Elijah], saying, ‘Go from here and turn eastwards, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi.
(1 Kings 16:2-6)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
The trees of God drink their fill—
those cedars of Lebanon,
where birds build their nests
and, on the highest branches,
the stork makes its home.
(Psalm 104:16-17)

A REFLECTION
Each year I try to go to Nebraska, to the cabin of my friend… It is on the Platte River, and I go during the migration of the sandhill cranes and snow geese and many other species of waterbird… It is a dramatic reminder of the resilience we have been discussing. Because despite the fact that we have polluted the river, despite the fact that the prairie has been converted for growing genetically modified corn, despite the fact that the irrigation is depleting the great Ogallala Aquifer, despite the fact that most of the wetlands have been drained—the birds still come every year, in the millions, to fatten up on the grain left after the harvest. I just love to sit on the riverbank and watch the cranes fly in, wave after wave against a glorious sunset, to hear their ancient wild calls—it is something quite special. It reminds me of the power of nature. And as the red sun sinks below the trees on the opposite bank, a gray, feathered blanket gradually spreads over the whole surface of the shallow river as the birds land for the night, and their ancient voices are silenced. And we walk back to the cabin in the dark.
- from Jane Goodall's Prayer for the Care of Creation
published in September, 2017 on janegoodall.org

A POEM PRAYER
I suppose
the Lord said:
Let there be fur upon the earth,
and let there be hair upon the earth,
and so the seeds stuttered forward into ripeness
and the roots twirled in the dark
to accomplish His desire.
from "How the Grass and the Flowers Came to Exist: A God Tale,"
by Mary Oliver. Found in Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
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Florida Sandhill cranes in a mating dance. In Irish mythology,
cranes are associated with abundance and prosperity.
Video captured by Jeni Tirnauer.
Found on Instagrama at @jeni_tirnauer_photography.
You might try playng today's two videos at the same time.

In the Celtic world, time begins in the dark. The calendar of the year starts at the turn from autumn into winter, or Samhain (pronounced sow-en). The Celtic principle is that darkness is the beginning of life -- the womb is a dark place, nurturing growth. Deep in the earth is darkness, where seeds have gone to form new life and are gestating. We plant our bulbs in the fall, imagining their great blooms in spring. That vision keeps us going through winter, but the seeds themselves are also physically changing within the earth.

Kevin of Glendalough was a sixth-century monk in Ireland. One of the most popular stories about him involves Kevin's deep respect for the cycle of gestating life.His own life alternated between intense periods of hermitage and isolation and long periods of mission. He was a lover of nature and animals and his attributed miracles include them. He craved solitude and longed for it always, but was constantly drawn outward into teaching by the many who wanted to learn from him. One day when he had finally returned to his hermitage, grateful to be on his own again, he was kneeling in prayer with his arms outstretched. A blackbird flew in and began to build a nest in his outstretched hand. He understood immediately that he could retreat to his solitude, but the interconnectedness of all things meant that he would never be alone. Realizing the great teaching he was being given, he stayed this way for days, holding his arm aloft. He never grew tired. The blackbird seemed to know its role in the mystery and fed him with nuts and berries.

In her latter years, Jane Goodall traveled around the world -- spending only 60 days at home per year -- in order to continue to educate and advocate for the environment. This was true right up to this year of her death. And yet, she too experienced a spiritual awe found in solitude. We all need time to ourselves, in which we can return to that place where time starts in the dark, and we can remember the vast mystery of our origins. We also need time among loved ones, or even just in community with others. Finding the balance is challenging but necessary: the Spirit speaks to us in the hubbub and in the quiet spaces of our rest.

"Blackbird fly, into the light of the dark black night." In the story of Kevin and the blackbird, both are experiencing the presence of Spirit and the encouragement of God. How easy or not is it for us to do the same? How hard is it to imagine that each of us is a sacred part of the nature that surrounds us?

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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 24

Image by Tony Armstrong-Sly

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Celtic Animals and their Saints

A GREETING
I love you, O God, for you have heard my cry for mercy.
You have listened to me; I will call on you all my days.
(Psalm 116:1-2)

A READING
All creatures depend on you
to feed them at the proper time.
Give it to them—they gather it up.
open your hand—they are well satisfied.
(Psalm 104:27-28)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
All of God’s works are desirable,
even the smallest spark visible to the eye!
(Sirach 42:22)

A REFLECTION
I believe in the power of prayer. It serves to strengthen my resolve, it helps me to keep on fighting for the environment even when at times it seems that nothing can prevail against the greed and corruption of many of those in positions of power. And then I pray that we may find a way to reach their hearts. For, whatever the odds against us, we must go on with the struggle to save as much as we can of that which we love – the beauty of the forests and woodlands, the grasslands and moors, the mountains and the oceans, the parks and gardens and roadside verges where wild flowers are allowed to grow to provide nectar for the bees and butterflies. So on this day, I am praying to the great spiritual power that I feel so strongly in the wild places, to give me the strength to play my part, to continue spreading awareness that each one of us has a role to play, that each action is important no matter how small it may seem. This is my prayer.
- from Jane Goodall's Prayer for the Care of Creation
published in September, 2017 on janegoodall.org

VERSE FOR THE DAY
Grant success to the work of our hands, success to the work of our hands!
(Psalm 90:17b)

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In the Celtic Christian tradition there is the principle of ‘peregrenatio,’ in which a spiritual seeker surrenders completely to the will of God, through a 'wandering' without a known destination. Some of the first monastic missioners would put themselves out in a boat to sea — without oars. These 'coracles' were built to be sturdy enough to sustain a long voyage -- but they were still small and could not be called ships. Trusting the currents and the winds, the voyagers would simply drift until they landed where God had called them to be. For them, trusting God required a complete surrender to God’s will in the present moment. While a ‘pilgrimage’ has a clear end in sight, a ‘peregrinatio’ does not.

A Celtic tradition of the fifth and sixth century monks was also to search out the place of their resurrection. This entailed voyaging in the spirit of ‘peregrinatio.' The sixth-century monk Gobnait longed to find such a place for herself. As with other monks, she was guided by an angel who spoke to her ina. dream, saying that when she found the right place, nine deer would greet her. Deer were often a sign of the holy -- and were therefore very trusted when they came in a vision. Gobnait voyaged out in a coracle with some companions and first made a hermitage by the Cliffs of Moher, where she had seen three deer. Later, she moved to Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands where there had been six. Wanting to fulfill the oracle of the angel, she kept moving and finally experienced the nine deer (all white) near the river Sullane in Ballyvourney. Here she went on to found a monastic community.

Gobnait is most remembered, however, for her kinship with bees. She is the patron saint of bees. With her bees she made honey and used it in her own medical practice with those in her community. The bees also protected her from invaders and other uninvited guests by swarming them on command. Legend says she would travel from place to place surrounded by the bees, without ever being stung.

As we know well, pollinators like bees and butterflies are severely endangered in the current climate crisis. In the video above, Jane Goodall dreams aloud her hopes for the Jane Goodall Pollinator Garden, housed at Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion within Expo City in Dubai. The garden allows young people to see how bees work by observing colonies in action.

While the 'oarless' voyage was a helpful spiritual practice for the Celtic monks, in our own time we need tangible goals and action for saving the critical species of our planet. How are we called in faith to help preserve the bees and butterflies? What pollinator garden can we start planning now for the back garden, or as a church community project?
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Video footage captured in August 2025 by the Otonabee River, Lakefield, Ontario 
by Sherry Coman. Volume may need to be turned up.


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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 23

Image by Helen@littlethorpe

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Celtic Animals and their Saints

A GREETING
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge.
(Psalm 7:1)

A READING
There’s the vast expanse of the sea,
teeming with countless creatures,
living things large and small,
with the ships going to and fro
and Leviathan whom you made to frolic there.
(Psalm 104:25-26)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps.
(Psalm 148:7)

A REFLECTION
I had an experience in the whale nursery in Baja, Mexico, that moved me deeply. I noticed that one whale was extremely white, which our guide explained occurs with these whales as they get older. Its body and tail had numerous scratches and gouges, which usually come from years of defending babies from orcas that try to eat the young on their annual migration from Alaska to Baja. As the whale came closer, we could see many barnacles on its skin and a deep indentation in the back of the blowhole, which also were signs of an elder whale. Our guide said it was almost certainly a grandmother whale. The grandmother whale’s head popped up next to our boat as the swirling, bubbling water spilled away. She raised her chin toward the rail of our boat, and we began to stroke her silvery skin. Aside from the barnacles, her skin was smooth and spongy, as we could feel the soft blubber beneath. As we stroked her she rolled to her side, opening her mouth and showing us her baleen, a sign of relaxation. And then she looked at us with one of her beautiful eyes. What she could see of us as we stared down at her from the boat, smiling and laughing, I had no idea, but it was clear she felt safe and wanted to connect in these bays, where possibly during her lifetime we had almost exterminated her kind.
- from The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times,
by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.
- "Prayer of St. Brendan," quoted in
Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics,
by Christine Valters Paintner 

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Icon of St. Brendan the Navigator
by Marcy Hall
found on abbeyofthearts.com

Brendan the Navigator is one of Ireland’s most beloved saints and the one most often thought of as a maritime monk, despite that almost all of the early Irish monks spent months at sea traveling between islands. It is because his particular pilgrimage involved a maritime creature, that Brendan is considered the patron saint of whales and dolphins.

In Irish folklore of the fourth and fifth centuries, every monastic leader was believed to have a special island waiting for them, that would prove to be a paradise if it could only be found. Brendan was visited by an angel one night who told him to look for this elusive place. Brendan took to the sea, with a number of fellow monks, and moved from place to place and island to island hoping to have found the promised place. One time when the group had gone ashore of a new island, they were puzzled by the dark sand and the inability to light a good fire. When the very island appeared to heave and suddenly rise up under them, they realized they had landed on the back of a whale. Brendan recognized that there was something holy in the encounter, and every year he and his men returned to the same whale to celebrate Easter. They had become friends.

In the last book she co-wrote, Jane Goodall recounts her own story of an encounter with whales. A grandmother whale reaches out to the boat of researchers Jane is traveling with to make contact. The whale appears to be without fear and remains calm and playful. Anyone might experience this as a moment of wonder, but Jane is especially moved that the whale would trust humans who have been responsible for killing most of the whales of her kind in that very same location.

The Jane Goodall Institute, and certainly Jane herself when she was alive, take great pride in their Roots & Shoots program for youth, which has helped to form and empower youth conservation workers and activists around the world. Fostering education in young people is how Jane found hope for the future. Yesterday, we heard about St. Ita, who raised young children in her convent. Among her most memorable pupils -- was Brendan the Navigator, who lived with her as a child. Later as an adult, he formed a deep bond with her, in what the Irish call an Anam Cara, a soul friendship. (We will hear more about this in later days.) Between humans and humans, or between humans and animals, close friendships keep us true to ourselves and ideally -- set us free.

Who in your world has set you free in faith? Who is a mentor who helped change your life?

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This video produced by the Jane Goodall Institute USA was published on World Oceans Day, June 8, 2022 but made earlier that year in Tanzania. A characteristic framework for Goodall's messages is tough truths told plainly, bracketed by good news and signs of hope. "Roots and Shoots," mentioned in the video and in the write-up above, is the JGI program for youth conservationists, found in more than 80 countries.


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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!

DAY 22

Image by Dr. Mary Gillham

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Celtic Animals and their Saints

A GREETING
My heart is ready, O God,
and I will sing, sing your praise,
with all my heart.
(Psalm 108:1)

A READING
You bring darkness on, night falls,
and all the forest animals come out—
savage lions roaring for their prey,
claiming their food from God.
The sun rises, they retire,
going back to lie down in their lairs,
and people go out to work,
to labor again until evening.
O God, what variety you have created,
arranging everything so wisely!
The earth is filled with your creativity!
(Psalm 104:20-24)

MUSIC


A MEDITATIVE VERSE
From the beginning, good things were created for the good.
(Sirach 39:25a)

A REFLECTION
I’ve found that stories reach the heart better than any facts or figures. People remember the message in a well-told story even if they don’t remember all the details...Sharing these stories gives people hope—hope that we can do better.
- from The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times,
by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

A POEM PRAYER
O Holy Spirit,
Come as the wind to forward our goings.
Come as the dove to launch us heavenward.
Come as the water to purify our spirits.
Come as the cloud to abate our temptations.
Come as the dew to revive our langour.
Come as fire to purge our souls;
for your truth and for our name's sake. Amen
- "A Prayer" by Christina Rossetti

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Orthodox icon of Saint Ita,
found on the website of the Orthodox Church in America

The Celtic Christians of the 5th - 8th centuries did not live in cities and towns. They formed agricultural districts and communities around farming needs. They had small villages where everyone was known, but no larger centers. Therefore, agricultural life was at the very heart of everything. Since animals are essential to most agricultural life, animals were considered partners in wellbeing.

Although Brigid is the most famous Irish female saint, Ita (pronounced "Eeda") of Killeedy ("Ita's church") was the most important mentor of the remembered Celtic monastic leaders. St. Ita formed a convent school and educated many children, often giving them their earliest formation before they were sent to other places (particularly the boys) at the age of six or seven. The tenderness she showed toward children extended also to animals. Many stories of the saints describe an inherent holiness in the saint that animals recognized and were drawn to. Ita is credited with having a doe that slept outside her cell, a swan that lived near her and many other birds that nested near to her.

There was a donkey that she developed a long and meaningful spiritual connection with. In a West Limerick (the region of Killeedy) oral tradition, the donkey accompanied her daily on an errand to get milk for the children from a neighbouring farm. Eventually it could make the errand on its own, despite a distance of several miles. One time the donkey returned, bloody and beaten from an attack by dogs and men. She nursed it to health and retracing its steps, found the site of the attack and cursed it. Unlike the saints of later medieval stories, like Francis, Cetic saints were capable of wide-ranging emotions. They were not afraid to express anger and even rage -- most often towards acts of injustice.

Recognizing the innate intelligence of chimpanzees is the hallmark of the research work of Jane Goodall. For many decades, her work at Gombe National Park in western Tanzania relied on the relational way in which she observed the natural behaviour of the chimps. After months and years of observation, she was trusted enough to sit among them. Goodall learned to appreciate and love their sentience and expressiveness. She came to understand how they form relationships built on emotional connection. The loss of a family member might cause death in a survivor chimp, simply from the broken heart. Much of Goodall's work was directed toward helping to rehabilitate and heal abandoned chimpanzees and rewilding them.

In our own lives, many of us have animal friends with whom we have deeply meaningful relationships. Sometimes it seems as if our animal companions 'get us' in a way that other human loved ones may not. How might we reflect on this bond as an aspect of divine energy? How much do these relationships grow our capacity to see God in all creatures?

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The embrace of Jane Goodall and Wounda at Tchindzoulou Island, where Goodall and her team relocated many chimps -- is the most available and most-watched footage of any of Goodall's interactions with chimps. The embrace itself, filmed in 2013 by Fernando Turmo of the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of the Congo, is the reason for its popularity: the spontanaeity of the connection is clearly an embrace of friendship and gratitude. The footage has been seen in viral social media posts ever since, often abbreviated, re-edited, adding text and different music or sound effects and other embellishments. There are literally hundreds of versions of it. This video, produced by the Jane Goodall Institute USA, appears to be the longest and most authentic. It gives due space to the woman who actually rehabilitated the chimp, Dr. Rebecca Atencia, and preserves all of Goodall's commentary.


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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.

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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work. 
Thank you and peace be with you!