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| Image by Luca Sartoni |
St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer
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A GREETING
Answer me, O God, for your steadfast love is good.
(Psalm 69:16)
A READING
“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
(Psalm 61:2)
A REFLECTION
I find [Patrick's] story intriguing. Here was a man enslaved, who escaped by divine intervention, and then heard the call to return to the land of his slavery—and he went willingly... There are churches founded by Patrick in the area around Galway. One of my favorite sites is Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, just a few miles north of us. Legend tells us that Patrick was banished here for a time by local Druids. The name of the place means “island of the stranger.” The island is now uninhabited, but there is a stone church at the site where Patrick’s fifth-century wooden church would have been...
Seeking out this strangeness and exile was at the heart of the monastic call. In going to the places that make us feel uncomfortable and staying with our experience rather than running away, they cracked themselves open to receive the Spirit in new ways.
- from The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Keeping the Sacred,
by Christine Valters Paintner
THE ST. PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE PRAYER
(Part 2)
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of the Cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of the resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
- from a literal translation by Kuno Meyer
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| Celtic Tree of Life wire sculpture, by Jeanette Hibbert . |
The first words of today's and yesterday's excerpt from the Breastplate Prayer, are Irish words that are translated here as "I arise today." Among scholars, some believe the first verb should be translated differently, as "I bind unto myself today." What does it mean to 'bind' the self to God?
Yesterday, we heard how the 'lorica' prayer asks God to shield us from that which we fear is coming. In today's reading we hear an invitation to instead give our deepest fears, concerns and lived challenges to Jesus, to hold. Jesus takes on the yoke and burden of being bound to us, and we bind ourselves to him, in faith. Is this what Patrick means?
Images of being bound make us deeply uncomfortable. We can easily bring to mind prisoners and captives of war, those who have been held hostage and those in forced labour. Patrick himself was enslaved for much of his life. Why would he reach for images of 'binding' in his prayer? Wouldn't he prefer to imagine freedom?
Perhaps he is thinking of how Jesus talked about the yoke. The Greek word is ‘pra-us,’ which conveys a meaning of ‘mild’ or gentle’ but also has the cadence of ‘strength under control’ and even ‘showing power without harshness’. Jesus’ words are holding both that sense of authority as well as burdened suffering. Patrick perhaps felt Jesus walking with him and helping him in his work as an enslaved shepherd and then later as a free man with a monastic community in Ireland.
How can we bind ourselves to hope, knowing that having hope is an act of faith? How can we help Jesus carry our burdens, by helping to carry those of others?
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| Inchagoill Isle. Image by Heribert Bechen |
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Scripture passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
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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!
