Poetry of the Celtic Revival (2)
Hearken, all you lovers of God, to the holy merits
of a man blessed in Christ, the bishop Patrick:
how through his good deeds he is like the angels,
and on account of his perfect life is made equal to the apostles.
– Sechnall, Audite Omnes Amantes
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
– Ephesians 2.8-10
How God blesses us
God is at work in all who believe in Jesus to turn them into poems. The Greek word which is translated “workmanship” is ποίημα, poiema—poems. God is making His sons and daughters into lyrics and rhymes that sing through a myriad of poetic devices—good works and true words—about His greatness and glory. Each of us is a unique song, wrought upon by God, for the purpose of glorifying Him in even the smallest, most quotidian details of our lives. You and I are poems in the process of composition by the Great Poet, and we sing to the world, “Listen up! We have something momentous to declare” (Ps. 49.1-4).
Lewis wrote that not only are we poems, we’re also poets, because we touch nothing that we do not improve or adorn. We want things to be beautiful and pleasing, and nothing could be more beautiful and pleasing than the everyday good works and true words we express to glorify our Savior and King (1 Cor. 10.31). Not what we know, nor what we espouse, nor how impressive we can be with words; not the slot we fill in our church, nor any official titles we might bear in our service to the Lord. These are but the forms in which our poems come to expression, but the real poetry is in the works and words of love and joy that adorn our lives.
If we want to end up as God is working to make us, we must focus on our works, especially on the daily, every moment, every opportunity good works and words that, combined over time, sing like a lyric poem to the world.
Just like Patrick
This is where Sechnall began his poem about Patrick. Audite Omnes Amantes is a no-nonsense picture of the great British saint whose labors gave escape velocity to the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD). Faithful saints had labored in Ireland before Patrick, and they made a good start against much opposition. But Patrick provided the booster power to launch the vehicle of revival, renewal, and awakening out of its launch pad on the southeast coast all throughout Ireland and beyond.
And with him for much of his 60-year ministry was his friend, Sechnall. We know them to have been contemporaries both from later historical accounts but also from the fact that Sechnall wrote his poem—the first Christian hymn composed in Ireland (John Carey)—in the present tense. Patrick was still alive at Sechnall’s writing.
See where he begins: There is merit in the life and work of Patrick, not that we may claim or plead, but that we may emulate. Patrick was appointed Bishop of the Irish by the Irish, not by Rome. But he was made bishop because of his good deeds, which appeared like angels to the pagan Irish. He preached, taught, discipled, helped, cared for, purchased from slavery, taught to read, and much more for a people whose lives were mainly without hope or meaning. And he was able to do this because of the kind of person he was. Sechnall insisted that his was a “perfect life”—his character was like that of the apostles. He denied himself, spent and was spent for the salvation of souls, worked day and night to help believers grow and become holy enclaves in a pagan world. He was deeply spiritual, courageous, undaunted, tireless, gracious, courteous and kind, yet clear in his beliefs and firm in his convictions. He was a poem that burst into the pagan Celtic world of the Irish like a song they’d always known but had never heard before, and to which they flocked in droves, that they might find their own songs, too.
Forget the snakes, shamrocks, and green beer. Patrick is one of the greatest saints in all of Church history, and his song, adeptly captured by Sechnall, will continue to sing to the world until the world is no more. Let’s all join that song with stanzas and themes and rhythms, and rhymes of our own. The sad, songless world needs us more than we know. It has nowhere to turn but to the Song of all songs, Jesus.
For Reflection
1. How can it it helpful to think of your Christian life as a poem?
2. Who are the people in your world who need to read your poem day after day?
Psalm 49.7-9, 15
Sagina: And Can It Be, That I Should Gain
No man his brother can redeem, or give a ransom for his soul.
Let him leave off the vain attempt to gather redemption’s priceless toll.
Vainly he longs for eternal day, that he may not endure decay.
Refrain v. 15
My God redeems my soul from hell!
His grace and mercy let me tell!
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Two books-free for the downloading—can encourage the poem you are becoming. Get Small Stuff and Such a Great Salvation from The Ailbe Bookstore today.
For a good complementary study to this, check out Pray for Your Church. It’s free in The Ailbe Bookstore. And download our ReThinking Church Appraisal Tool by clicking here. And to refresh and deepen your time in God’s Word, order a copy of The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart while you’re there.
Other columns of interest: This week: Our ReVision series on “The Church” raises questions all church leaders must answer. Our Read Moore podcast has begun a new series of readings from our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. The focus of our Scriptorium daily study is on “Matthew: The Coming of the Kingdom.” Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
