way out west: St Brendan Meditation

The full text of the led meditation based on St. Brendan (We will be using both the Francis Drake and St Brendan's prayers and the introduction which I have already posted) ... and don't forget to download the audio version from the sidebar while you are at it!

Picture yourself in the place of Brendan… staring across the ocean toward the horizon.. the edge of your known world… the unknown… maybe there are distant lands across the sea… maybe there is nothing… only God knows!

See yourself standing at the wooden jetty, in front of you a feeble looking boat, made of unseasoned wood and leather, smeared all over in animal fat to seal it from the waves… in the bottom of the craft there lies a roll of leather, there to patch the unavoidable leaks and tears. The boat continuously slams into the jetty bruising the leather as the swell of the great western ocean throws it around… who knows, maybe the waves themselves are returning from those far off shores.

Deep inside you hear a call – “SET SAIL”, a secret voice heard only in your heart “SET SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN”...a stirring on the edge of the wind “SET SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN, STEP OFF THE EDGE OF YOUR WORLD”… an echo of stones dragged along the beach by the tide “SET SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN, STEP OFF THE EDGE OF YOUR WORLD, COME WITH ME INTO MINE”

Like St Peter stepping tentatively out of the boat onto the waves… you step from the planking of the jetty into the boat… it flexes beneath your feet… was it the water or the leather? Either way it does not feel secure. Like St Brendan and a hundred other Pioneers and Missionaries you SET SAIL.

What does it feel like to truly abandon the shore? To leave behind Models and Strategies… to ignore Maps and Guides… to cut oneself adrift from techniques and practices… to place yourself beyond the horizon… no turning back… no clutching to tried and tested solutions or the words of an expert… to put yourself solely in the hands of God… to SET SAIL

Brendan put himself at the mercy of the wind, at the whim of the waves in the will of God… what would it mean to drift in the Missio Dei? What would it mean to Sail beyond the horizon of your own knowledge, experience and ideas, to put your faith in the beckoning Christ?

Lord, open my ears to your call, make me attentive to you
Open my eyes to your presence, make me aware of you
Open my heart to your love, I surrender myself into your hands
Without reserve but with boundless confidence
I am ready for all, I accept all, I welcome all
Here I am Lord send me
(Adapted from David Adam's 'A Desert in the Ocean')

Those whom God calls God sends
To be sent by God is to move out of the comfortable place, to accept the adventure, the wild journey, the risk, the danger.
It is to join God in God’s Wild World!

A Responsive Prayer
As I go I will not question the journey, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will not refuse any destination, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will embrace all that crosses my way, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will open my heart to the good in all creation, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will hold close to the Word of God, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will not be bound by self-doubt or restricted by my weaknesses, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will not be limited by my strengths, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will see each struggle as a place of learning, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will welcome any companion who wishes to journey with me, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will never cease to pray, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will not be corrupted, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will not be tempted to predict outcomes, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will relish the surprises, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will take great risks, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will not hold to my culture as if it were right and pure, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

As I go I will look for God in all people, for:
Holy, Holy is the Lord

You Lord, are not my destination on this journey, because you travel with me, you guide me, you sustain me. You, Lord, are the journey itself, I am refreshed in you.
Holy, Holy is the Lord

St Teresa of Avila’s prayer
Trust in God
Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
All things pass,
God never changes
Patience achieves
All it strives for.
Whoever has God lacks nothing
God alone suffices.

Creator and sustainer God, in Christ we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice. Send us out in the power of the Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. You alone.

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