Brigit’s faith, like a grain of mustard seed, worked upon the one born blind and, like the Lord, she gave that person full and normal sight through a great miracle. And so, celebrated for such great feats, for her humility of heart and purity of mind, for her temperate way of life and spiritual grace, she merited the great authority and renown that came to her above all the virgins [nuns] of her day.
– Cogitosus, The Life of St. Brigit the Virgin
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
– Matthew 11.29
Following Jesus
Following Jesus is hard. Put another way, being a disciple is hard. We must get in the yoke with Jesus and pull to break up the hard ground of human souls, beginning with our own. We need to learn from Jesus—to learn Him, as Paul put it (Eph. 4.20). And instead of grumbling about how hard the work is or how much time it takes to learn Jesus, true disciples will nurture a gentle and lowly heart, always ready to care, serve, and encourage. For it is in following Jesus like this that we find rest for our souls, the quiet, peaceful joy of knowing that in our Lord Jesus we are restoring our world to our Father.
It seems this is the kind of person Brigit was. Cogitosus—not my favorite hagiographer—surrounds every remembrance of Brigit with a miracle of some sort. As in the case mentioned above, when she is reported to have healed a person who was blind from birth. The miracles Cogitosus reports are so many that it can be difficult to pick out anything in his account that might have the whiff of a real person and a reliable history.
Brigit followed Jesus. Just like we should all follow Jesus. That is Cogitosus’ message in a nutshell, an encouraging and needed word. I salute him for that. Following Jesus is what all believers want to do, or it should be.
But not many of us expect to do the kind of daily miracles Brigit did, at least, as Cogitosus reports them. We are in the yoke with Jesus in our own furrow, drawing on Him for strength and encouragement to plow the ground assigned to us each day and to sow it with good Kingdom seed. And that sowing is done by everyday deeds, in casual conversations, by prayer and intentional living.
Just like Brigit.
A woman of character
I sense authenticity in Cogitosus’ description of Brigit’s character: “her humility of heart and purity of mind, for her temperate way of life and spiritual grace…” I like to think that the reports of miracles were designed to draw hearers or readers to Brigit by magnifying her person and importance. Most people would accept—like I do—that the “miracles” (or whatever) of Brigit were beyond their reach.
But not her character. While they may not be able to match her miracles, they could certainly aspire to be like her—and like Jesus—a person of gentleness, lowliness, humility, moderation, and true spiritual grace. A vessel of grace in their own space and time. We see what that looks like in Jesus and in saints like Brigit. Those telling the stories of great saints sought to “celebrate” the greatness of their chosen saint but also to leave some low-hanging fruit for the people to pluck and enjoy.
The Irish were used to “tall tales”, and they might wink and smile at one another with every report of one more amazing miracle. But they also knew what amounted to true spirituality—to one who was a true disciple of Jesus—and it had more to do with the kind of people we are than the magnitude of the works we do.
And Brigit, like other Irish leaders, was a model of Christian devotion and life. And it’s for these that she should primarily be remembered, admired, and emulated.
True disciples look to Jesus and take His yoke upon them. Walking and working with Jesus can so transform us that, to the people of the lost world with whom we interact, our love and kindness and patience and listening could seem like something they’d never experienced before.
Almost like a miracle.
For Reflection
1. What do you expect from getting in the yoke with Jesus?
2. How do you expect Jesus to advance His Kingdom in you and through you today?
Psalm 110.1-4
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation)
“Sit by Me at My right hand,” the LORD says to my Lord,
“until I make Your foot stand on all who hate Your Word.”
The LORD sends strength from Zion: “Rule all Your enemies.”
While those who Him rely on go forth their LORD to please.
Your people in Your power, arrayed in holiness,
like dew of morning’s hour shall serve like youth refreshed.
The LORD has sworn and never will He His promise check:
“You are a priest forever after Melchizedek.”
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 begin looking at the nature of justice as God defines it. In our Read Moore podcast we wrap-up our readings from the book, To Know Him. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
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. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
