My congregation recently gave approval for a three-month sabbatical for myself, which will take place over the summer ahead, in the months of June, July and August of this year. This is a tremendous gift from Christ’s people, and I am both humbled as well as grateful for the blessing that has already been received, as well as blessings that will yet to be received and shared.

The focus of my sabbatical will be upon the care of God’s creation, especially as this is revealed in the life of the Celtic church. Think of the British Isles: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This is the land of the ancient Celts who, having come to faith in Christ, brought with them a tremendous respect and reverence for the natural world around them: earth, sky, water, etc. I think we have much to learn from them, and I plan to explore this more deeply, as well as seek out connections with our own contemporary world today about the care of God’s creation.

A member of my congregation shared a book with me that I’ve read, How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe,  by Thomas Cahill (you can find this on Amazon). The title may seem disproportionate to the scope of history, but after reading, I have come to understand that there really is truth in this. Especially in Ireland, separated not only from the other British Isles but the continent of Europe as well, the Christian Gospel flowered for hundreds of years. It was the Irish church that sent out untold numbers of missionaries who brought the light and love of Christ to countless places all over Europe in the centuries following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. The Celtic church had a unique approach to the Christian faith, that among other things, included this holy reverence for all things created by the hand of a gracious God.

The history of all this begins with Patrick (d. 461 A.D.), who was born into a Roman family in what is now Britain, was kidnapped by Irish slave traders and forced to work as a sheep herder for six years in Ireland. He escaped, and then received a vision of Irish people calling out to him to “come and walk among us.” This is similar to what Paul the apostle experienced in his own missionary endeavors (see Acts 16:6-10). In many ways, Paul’s missionary zeal was taken up by Patrick, bringing the light and love of Jesus to the very people who had previously enslaved him. Patrick and his successors were not concerned about elaborate churches or fine points of doctrine, but with sharing the good news of Jesus with people who had not yet heard it. This was the beating heart of the Celtic church.

There is little of Patrick’s writings that have passed down to us today, but what we do have reveals a strong connection between faith and the natural world around us. As Thomas Cahill writes: “New life was everywhere in rank abundance, and all of God’s creation was good” (p. 115). The well-known hymn ascribed to Patrick (found in Lutheran Service Book #604) reminds us of this blessed truth:

            I bind unto myself today

            The strong name of the Trinity

            By invocation of the same,

            The Three in One and One in Three.

            Of whom all nature has creation,

            Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.

            Praise to the Lord of my salvation;

            Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

It remains uncertain whether Patrick did or did not write these words, but as Cahill points out: “If Patrick did not write it (at least in its current form), it surely takes its inspiration from him. For in this cosmic incantation, the inarticulate outcast who wept for slaves, aided common men in difficulty, and loved sunrise and sea at last finds his voice” (p. 116).

The great creation of an even greater God is all around us. Our calling is to recognize our role as caretakers of what God has made, utilizing vs. exploiting earth and its resources. What began in a garden (Eden – Genesis 1 and 2) and will find its fulfillment in the city of God, with the river of life and the tree of life, bearing its fruit each month, and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-5). In Christ, we look forward to a new creation where everything will be made new.

With all of this before me, I marvel at the works of the Lord, and can only say with the psalmist: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8).