Iona: from St. Ernan to George McLeod

December 22nd 3 days left in Advent
Saint Ernan of Hinba

There are two "Saint Ernans" listed under the Celtic and Old English Saints for today, both related to St. Columba. The older of the two, Saint Ernan of Hinba was Columba's uncle. I sometime make an assumption the someone reading this will know who Columba was. That may be an erroneous assumption, so here is a quick review on Columba!

Columba, or Columcille, who died in 597, was from a royal family in Ireland and was inspired to become a monastic. He created quite a stir by copying an illuminated manuscript and taking it from its home monastery without permission, which caused a "war" between two monastic groups and resulted in a not insignificant loss of life. Columba, in remorse, left Ireland never to return, along with 12 disciples to Northwest Scotland where he founded the great Abbey of Iona. Iona became one of the main centers of the Celtic Christian movement at this time, and it was from here that St. Aidan was sent as a missionary to Lindisfarne, evangelizing most of Northern England.

Columba's uncle was one of the twelve disciple who accompanied him on his "green martyrdom." After a time at Iona, he was asked by Columba to set up a church at the nearby island of Hinba, identified by some as the modern island of Canna. It is reported by Columba's biographer, Adamnan, that many of the prominent leaders of the Celtic church at the time, such as Comgall and Brendan, came at times to worship at Ernan's church.

As a much older man, Ernan made one last journey from Hinba to the main Abbey at Iona to see Columba, but was overcome by weakness and died a mere 24 steps from where Columba was staying, fulfilling a prophecy by Columba that he would not see his uncle in the flesh again. He was buried at the spot and a stone cross was raised at that location.

This story about the beginnings of the Abbey of Iona made me start to think about a more contemporary person, George McLeod, who died also at a quite advanced age in 1991. McLeod served in World War I and was affected forever after by the horror and devastation of the war. Living a life that revolved around alcohol and cigarettes after the war, he had a conversion experience in a Scottish railway station and became eventually a Presbyterian minister. He was drawn to serve the poor and destitute and during the depression was involved in an inner city ministry in Glasgow.

In 1938, McLeod had a revelation and felt called to move to Island of Iona and to rebuild the abandoned monastery of Columba at Iona. He and a few colleagues lived in huts, not unlike the beehive huts of the early Celts, until more permanent places could be erected. Out of his effort the Iona Community was created, an ecumenical neomonastic group with three centers around Iona, including one at the Canna, the probable site of Ernan's church at Hinba. The Community was one of the main revival movements for Celtic Christianity and focuses its mission and writings on caring for creation, peace and social ministry. It continues McLeod's originial mission in inner city Glasgow as well.

McLeod's biography is included in one of the books in my library: Prayers with Celtic Saints, Prophets, Marytrs and Poets by June Skinner Sawyers. She has a small reflection after each biography. Here is was she has to say about MacLeod: "When everyone else thought he had lost his senses, George MacLeod soldiered on, knowing he was doing the right thing. How does the opinion of your peers affect your decision making process? Once you make a decision, do you stick with it?"

I really resonated with this short reflection. (Perhaps it was the influence in the 1950's of watching Fess Parker as Davy Crockett, whose famous phrase was "Be sure you're right, then go ahead.") Ernan, Columba and McLeod all had to make decision about life changing directions. Without them we would likely had neither the flourishing of the early Christian Celts, nor the magnitude the modern revival of interest in their teachings.

Lord, thank You for the renewal and rediscovery of the values and teachings of the early Celtic Christians like Columba and his uncle, St. Ernan. Thank You for the vision and energy of people like George McLeod who reallized the need to bring back the Celtic way into our mainstream and to combine it with ministry to the underserved. Help me with my life decisions as You did with them, and allow me listen to You as they did. Amen.