Did you know? The conversion of St Paul

 

As Saul neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. Acts 9:3–6

The conversion of Saul probably occurred about 4–7 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It was a pivotal event in his life and of the early church. But the actual ‘conversion experience’ is worth studying.

Saul was extremely devout and had studied under the very best teachers. He therefore knew the scriptures very well indeed. There is no doubt that he sincerely believed he was doing God’s work when her persecuted the church. He knew that Jesus was describing himself as God, which he regarded as blasphemy, and it was therefore his duty to eradicate the early disciples who accepted this abomination.

The description of Saul’s ‘conversion’ in Acts 9 involved light from heaven and an audible voice. (His travelling companions heard the sounds but saw nothing; Acts 9:7.) To a man of Saul’s learning and mindset, this display of heavenly power would have suggested the commissioning of a prophet. Examples include Moses, who saw the light of a burning bush from which God spoke (Exodus 3:2–6); Isaiah had a vision of heaven and angels and God spoke to him (Isaiah 6:1 ff.); and Ezekiel saw a bizarre image of creatures, angels, light, and voices (Ezekiel 1). So when Saul saw light and heard voices, he would think it was from Heaven, and that the voice was God’s telling him that he too was to become a prophet. He would have taken this commissioning as a reward for his faithfulness. But the voice described itself as coming from Jesus. To Saul’s way of thinking, that the voice said it was Jesus would be proof of sorts that Jesus was indeed divine. 

Lammas day

Lammas Day is an ancient festival that occurs on 1 August. This date was chosen as the exact mid-way point between the summer solstice in June and the autumn equinox in September.

The name ‘Lammas’ comes from an Old English name with two roots: the ‘lam’ part originates from the word ‘loaf’ and refers to bread while ‘mass’ refers to the Eucharist.

As a festival, Lammas signifies the start of the harvest season, which is also called ‘first fruits’, itself signifying the very first portion of the harvest that was mature enough to be collected. The first fruits were collected and given to God. That’s why, in some places, the flour from the first corn or wheat to be harvested was used to make communion wafers. In some communities, one highpoint of the Lammas celebration involved bringing to church and blessing a loaf of bread made using the first fruits of the harvest.

In some parts of the country, the Lammas Day celebration also involved a procession to local bakeries, where those working there were blessed by the priest.

The nunc dimittis

The nunc dimittis is also known as the ‘Song of Simeon’ or the ‘Canticle of Simeon’ and is a poem from Luke’s Gospel. Its name is of Latin origin and comes from its opening words (in the Vulgate translation of the passage) ‘Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine …’ (‘Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord …’

Simeon’s name derives from šāmaʿ, meaning ‘to hear’ and, according to the narrative in Luke 2:25–32, Simeon was an elderly, devout Jew who devoted his life to listened to God, and had learned from the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Simeon was waiting in the Temple when Mary and Joseph took their baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem in response to the Law of Moses, for the ceremony of redemption of the firstborn son (it was after the time of Mary's purification, so about 40 days after the birth, and thus distinct from the circumcision, which occurred when the child was seven days old). Simeon took the infant into his arms and said the words we today call the ‘Nunc dimittis’:

Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
the glory of your chosen people Israel.

Although very brief, the poem abounds in allusions from the Old Testament. For example, ‘Because my eyes have seen thy salvation’ alludes to Isaiah 52:10.

Simeon could now rejoice at the prospect of death. Such a situation was previously unknown in Israel but things began to change. Simeon had seen the Saviour, and was now ready to die joyfully. One extremely ancient tradition says he died before the Holy Family had even left the Temple.

Since about the fourth century, the Nunc dimittis has been used in Christian services of evening worship such as Compline, Vespers, and Evensong.

They came, as called, according to the Law.
Though they were poor and had to keep things simple,
They moved in grace, in quietness, in awe,
For God was coming with them to His temple.

Amidst the outer court’s commercial bustle
They’d waited hours, enduring shouts and shoves,
Buyers and sellers, sensing one more hustle,
Had made a killing on the two young doves.

They come at last with us to Candlemas
And keep the day the prophecies came true
We glimpse with them, amidst our busyness,
The peace that Simeon and Anna knew.

For Candlemas still keeps His kindled light,
Against the dark our Saviour’s face is bright.

Candlemas, by Malcolm Guite

Sonnet © Malcolm Guite and reproduced with permission from https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/a-sonnet-for-candlemas-6/

Margaret of Scotland

Queen Margaret from a medieval manuscript.

Saint Margaret of Scotland was also known as ‘Margaret of Wessex’ and ‘the Pearl of Scotland’ (because ‘Margaret’ means ‘pearl’).

Margaret was born in exile in the Kingdom of Hungary, probably in 1045. In context, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-reigned and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Edward the Confessor invited the family back to England in 1057, but again they fled following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. This time, the Scottish King, Malcolm III offered his protection to the royal family. Margaret married Malcolm in 1069 or 1070 to become Queen of Scots.

Margaret was pious from an early age. Her biographer was Turgot of Durham, Bishop of St Andrew’s, who credits her with having a civilising influence on her husband, the king, by reading him narratives from the Bible. Among many charitable works she established a ferry across the Firth of Forth to enable pilgrims to reach the shrine of St Andrew in Fife which, incidentally, gave the towns of South Queensferry and North Queensferry their names. She rose at midnight every night to attend the liturgy. She gave alms on a lavish scale. Her charitable works included serving orphans and the poor every day before she ate and, in imitation of Jesus at the Last Supper, washing the feet of the poor.

Margaret’s faith was later inspired by Lanfranc, a future Archbishop of Canterbury. With his help, she reformed the Scottish monasteries and helped the Scottish Church conform to the continental Church. She founded churches, monasteries, and pilgrimage hostels, and established the Royal Mausoleum at Dunfermline Abbey with monks from Canterbury. She also helped restore the ancient abbey on Iona, where the remains of almost all the Scottish kings are buried.

Under Margaret, Mass was changed from the many dialects of Gaelic to the unifying Latin. By adopting Latin in this way, she hoped that all Scots could worship together in unity, along with the other Christians of Western Europe. Indeed, in doing so, Margaret sought not only to unite the Scots but also the two nations of Scotland and England in an attempt to end the bloody warfare between the two countries.

Margaret was mother to three Scottish kings and passed her faith to each, especially the youngest, who became King David I of Scotland and who clearly revered her.

Margaret’s piety involved severe fasting and abstinence, and probably shortened her life. According to Turbot’s Life of St Margaret, Queen of the Scots, she died at Edinburgh Castle in 1093, a few days after receiving the news of her husband’s death in battle. She was aged forty-seven. She was buried beside her husband, Malcolm, in Dunfermline Abbey. Her youngest son, King David I, honoured her memory by building St Margaret’s Chapel at Edinburgh Castle on the spot where his mother died in 1093. Within a few years, miracles took place in and around her tomb, and it became a popular shrine.

The Church formally declared her a saint in 1250, and celebrates her feast on the anniversary of her death, 16 November.

The anawim

 

 

In Old Testament times, it was common to group together those of lowly status without earthly power: the vulnerable, marginalised, and those oppressed in a socio-economic sense. They were often known as the ‘bowed down’—the anawim, which is pronounced ‘ann-a-weem’.

The Hebrew word originally meant ‘to be stooped, lowered or humbled, overwhelmed’.The prophets often spoke up often for the anawim, usually because so few others cared for them. Many of the anawim gained a reputation for righteous living. The anawim often remained faithful to God, hence the phrase ‘bowed down’—so the phrase could imply worship as well as being brow-beaten.

The anawim were referred to by euphemisms such as ‘the poor’ or ‘little ones’, so many references in the New Testament to ‘the poor’ can also be read through this lens: it’s not so much economic poverty (though that aspect was very real indeed) as an underclass living without hope. The idea also arose that the anawim placed their entire trust in God because they were lowly and humble of heart. They were ‘poor in spirit’ and the true handmaids and servants of the Lord.

Likely scriptural references to the anawim include:

• God loves his people and he adorns the lowly with victory (Psalm 149:4)
• The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor (Isaiah 61:1)
• These are the ones I look on with favour: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word (Isaiah 62:2)
• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3)
• Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5)
•  Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord’ (Luke 1:38)
• Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of God belongs to those who have hearts as trusting as these little children … Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it’ (Luke 18:16–17)