Wherever Coemgen performed ascetic devotion,
He planted Gaels with him,
Henceforth they fast dangerously
Right often in the sacred dwelling.
A glen without threshing floor or corn rick,
Only rugged rocks above it;
(Yet) a glen where no one is refused entertainment,
(For) the grace of the Lord is there.
– The Monk Solomon, Life of Coemgen
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
– Psalm 1.3
Hard love
Coemgen founded his monastery in the site where he had been praying as a hermit, the site between two lakes, which, in Irish, is Glendalough. He was obedient to the command of the Lord and immediately began teaching and preaching the Word of God in the environs around his hut. It was not long before some men attached themselves to Coemgen to begin their own work in the ministry of the Word.
This verse account of Coemgen’s life and ministry is by a monk named Solomon. It is unique among the various hagiographies Charles Plummer translated and assembled in his Lives of Irish Saints in that Solomon was a disciple of Coemgen. And this has been accepted as so. Solomon—which would have been a chosen name, not his Irish name—tells us that everywhere Coemgen went to preach or teach “Gaels”, that is, Irish men, heard God calling them to join him, and Coemgen “planted” them firmly in the Word of God from the beginning—a clear reference to Psalm 1.
He also tells us that the devotional life at Glendalough was hard. The monks had to live off the land, as there was no arable ground within easy reach of the monastery. They would often fast, apparently, at times, dangerously so. But their bodies were being made subject to their souls, to seek the Lord only rather than to indulge the delights of the flesh.
Nevertheless, whoever came by needing lodging or food (“entertainment”) the monks at Glendalough did not deny. They must have stored a certain amount of food—probably mostly fish and other marine life—in the event someone stopped by, which people often did.
The grace of the Lord was in Glendalough, in the disciple-making work of Coemgen, the lives of the monks, through their various ministries, and for all who made their way there for entertainment. The grace of God at Glendalough was hard love, learned hard by an ascetic life and shared sacrificially.
Agents of grace
God abounds toward us with His grace. Grace is the Lord’s loving disposition toward us, communicated by His Word, and empowered by His Spirit to bring glory and honor to God. Grace works in and through us as we believe the Word of God and step out obediently to serve Him by loving others.
The purpose of God’s grace, working through us, are many and varied. God grows us by His grace, making us more like Jesus. He may use His grace in us to help plant someone more firmly in the Word of God. Or to encourage fellow believers to keep up their devotional life and press on to know the Lord. He may flow His grace through us, like rivers of living water (Jn. 7.37-39), to refresh a weary soul, meet the need of the poor, or proclaim the Good News of Christ.
God reaches us by His grace to move us by His grace so that His grace may reach others. We are the means by which the grace of God spreads to more and more people, issuing in thanksgiving to God (2 Cor. 4.15).
Our lives can never be too hard nor our resources so meager that we cannot be agents of God’s grace to our world. Let us continue to be built up in grace and ready for every opportunity to know God at work through us, sharing His grace with others. It’s what Coemgen and his monks did, and it is what believers in every generation have understood to be their calling.
For Reflection
1. How do you expect the grace of God to work in you today?
2. What opportunities will you have for the grace of God to work through you?
Psalm 1.1-3 (Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
Blessed the one who walks not in the counsel of ungodly men;
stands not in the path of sinners, joins not scorners in their sin.
But his joy is in the LORD’s law, and he meditates therein.
He shall flourish like a tree transplanted by the streams of grace;
rooted near life-giving waters, growing strong in this blessed place—
ever fruitful, never with’ring, prospering before God’s face.
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).
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are investigating the role of culture in God’s Kingdom. Our Read Moore podcast wraps-up working through The Gospel of the Kingdom, to understand the true Gospel of the Lord. The focus of our Scriptorium daily study is Ephesians 6. 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.
