An Abyss na farraige (The Abyss of the sea)

It would be difficult to restrain myself from not being humbled at the very idea that I would selfishly prevent the words of my petty pen to flow onto pages, those words which mean to recollect nautical and theological tales of the works of the Lord on these waves of trials. Ah, my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ! I pray that the individual members of my audience would find the necessary mercy to pardon the great transgression which I have foolishly committed. I more than vividly recall making a similar plea in the past, requesting the forgiveness of my audience those many weeks ago. May my audience collectively turn to the love of our Lord to forget my iniquitous action. As the threatening waves of trials of this vast, but beautiful, sea perpetually attempt to take our meager boat asunder, Bréanninn, the brothers, and I continue to stand fast by the Lord Christ Jesus, He Whom we clap our hands for (cf. Psalms 47.1), Whom we undeservingly consult as our unfailing and mighty stronghold (cf. Psalms 18.2), and Who unceasingly blesses us to establish our spiritual vitality (cf. II Corinthians 9.8). When the waves seem overwhelming, we worship Him (cf. Psalms 23.4). During the days when the waves are tamer, we “praise Him in His mighty firmament” (Psalms 150.1b). Indeed, we still recall why we are together on this anointed nautical voyage, that is to “praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!” (Psalms 150.2). We suffer the waves of trials that we may be found even remotely worthy in the awesome Presence of God (cf. Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1), for “the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalms 34.18).

[Source: http://www.newmiamiarch.org/Atimo_s/articles_images/11112224518349.JPG]

In my last dated entry, I noted that Bréanninn strongly “...believes it to be best that we finally leave this isle within the next few days.” Well, not before receiving the assurance and the blessing of the Lord, the brothers and I left that comforting “iota of an isle” at last. Yet, that was many weeks ago. Now, that duration of time is merely a distant memory in the back of my mind. Other than a stop at a different isle to celebrate the birth of the Word Incarnate on Christmas together, we have been warring with the waves of trials on this wide-spanning sea. One day, the waves may quietly slosh by the edges of our humble little vessel. The next day, the waves may violently react to quite the tempest, noisily and ruthlessly beating against the sides of our boat, which leaves the brothers and me no choice but to “sing to the Lord” (Psalms 98.1), that He might awaken “...as from sleep” (Psalms 78.65) and have mercy on our lives. Thus far, He has been compassionate to us by saving us from potential death in this life, which would mean nothing better than rejoicing and “being exceedingly glad,” for He has said that “...great is your reward in heaven...” (Matthew 5.12), which includes that “crown of life” given to those who are “faithful until death” (Revelation 2.10). During the time I produced not a single word onto this space of parchment, we have been tested by the waves, tried by the uncertainty of the features of the horizon, and tempted to complain over the lack of corporeal sustenance. Yet, we have remained faithful to our beloved Lord Christ Jesus, in whom we trust and love, for He is the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14.6). By His revelatory knowledge and His saving graces, we know true life and true love. This opportunity to contemplate our Lord God is a beautiful one, and everyone on this tiny vessel is quite thankful to be a participant in this anointed voyage.

[Source: http://www.stainedglassinc.com/images/glass/panels/medium/146601.jpg]

Remembering why we band of Christian brothers set sail from our beloved County Galway, and having compiled the experiences with the Lord which we have had, I would not hesitate to remark that this divinely anointed odyssey is not for vain. Rather, we have grown closer as a small contingent of spiritual siblings who would love nothing better than to see “...that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2.11), to whose unfathomable and unattainable perfection we strive to achieve (cf. Matthew 5.48) out of love for He who is the very embodiment of Love itself (cf. I John 4.8).

[Source: http://www.stainedglassinc.com/images/glass/panels/large/414617.jpg]

It is out of sheer honesty, compassion, and love that I write of the abundance of thanksgiving which simmers well within my soul due to the care the readers of this entry have exercised whilst pondering its words, which merely seek to sing the praise of our Lord Father, whose glory radiates from Heaven (cf. Psalms 19.1). It matters not how many pairs of eyes may glance over the marks of my pen; rather, the edification of those readers toward satisfaction in He who is “the resurrection and the life,” through belief in Whom, “though he may die, he shall live” (John 11.25). As the brothers and I continue to sail on these waves of trials, with a myriad of days having passed since the last landfall, our supply of water has shrunk to its last drops. But through my faith in He who is the embodiment of Wisdom (cf. Proverbs 8.22-30; James 3.17), who is “the bread of life” and the reason why I “...shall never hunger...shall never thirst” (John 6.35), I have the wonderful and awesome response to my song, that is the song of the psalmist, to our Lord:

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You” (Psalms 63.1-3).

Out of love for our King of kings, we “...will bless [Him] while [we] live” (Psalms 63.4). It was our beloved Lord of lords that quite recently revealed our next destination to Bréanninn. It is at that next island that we intend to celebrate the Holy Week of Easter, with its sacred days of Maundy Thursday, the Good Friday, and the day of the resurrection of our Lord Christ Jesus itself, that is Easter Sunday. Bréanninn has remained tight-lipped about this enigmatic isle, merely saying, “As our Lord lives, we shall arrive at that place in due course.” I suppose that my brother is right, for so long as we remained focused on our beautiful Lord, nothing else truly matters. Not even our upcoming source of solace and corporeal nourishment can hold a light against He who is light (cf. I John 1.5), Whose “word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalms 119.105). May our Lord preserve our unworthy lives as we slowly approach this mysterious, but apparently soothing isle.

[Source: Darcy Ireland.]

‘But, O man’, saith the sage, ‘if thou deem it difficult to believe in this miracle of the Resurrection, consider the other works of the Lord; and though these are more numerous, not the less are they miracles. Behold the breadth of the sky and its amplitude, the size of the earth, the abyss of the sea which surrounds that earth on every quarter, and all the creatures that are therein. Behold, again, the angels of heaven, yea, behold those creatures and the other creatures that have been made of nothing through the strength and might of the Lord. For it is much less of a miracle to make of matter at present any structure through the Word of God than to make there at the beginning all creatures of nothing through that Word. For the Voice of God which is now declared here (as being that) whereby the Resurrection will be for all the dead is the same as the Word whereby He made at first all creatures out of nothing.’

- (Author Unknown), The Tidings of the Resurrection, 36. (Trans. 1903).*

[Source: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4hdZ-g6ngaE/0.jpg]

*Source: http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T207001/text036.html

As Aigéan ar a gcladach wintry (Of Ocean on his wintry shore)

The air is cold. Now, when I state that the air is cold, I actually mean that the air is much colder than it has been the past fortnight. The brothers and I have begun sailing on frigid waves. The maelstroms have begun to take on an icier identity, which seemingly does not bode well for my spiritual family sans the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, we know that we are to “stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free” (Galatians 5.1a). Additionally, is it not written that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8.38b-39)? With that verse having been given, I am confident that not even the forthcoming maelstroms shall separate my brothers and me from that wondrous and indescribable love of God.

[Source: http://www.reigngallery.com/artwork.php?id=14&giclee=1&showit=1]

Now, the obvious conclusion to surmise is that the increasingly colder state of the ocean has generated more temptations to fall away from the mission (and thus, fall away from spiritual life in Christ). Well, that proposed result is founded in truth, and, indeed, it is fair. It would be unwise to believe that the brothers and I would embark on such a spiritually-encouraging journey without meeting challenges in waves. The brothers and I choose not to fear. After all, Satan once even tried to tempt our Lord, which was a predictable failure of an action from the onset (cf. Matthew 4.1-11). Certainly, it is written that the “sword of the Spirit” is the word of God (Ephesians 6.17b). It was by that powerful weapon that Christ our Lord gained an unquestionably great victory over that serpent of old (cf. Luke 4.8). Satan should have known better than to even contemplate baiting our Lord, let alone actually uttering such words of temptation. We serve a wise and mighty God, who has charged us not to “put the Lord your God to the test” (Deuteronomy 6.16). Having written of that divinely-ordained commandment, I nobly, yet humbly, choose to serve that Lord God without question and without temptation.

Yet, this weak servant of the Lord could use another source of spiritual strength. In such a seemingly-bleak state of mind, I am thankfully reminded by the First Book of Kings, chapters 17 through 21. In other words, the stories of the prophet Elijah could serve well to be that by which the Lord can sustain my spiritual sanity. Now, in the eighteenth chapter, Elijah has a great showdown between himself, representing the Lord of Hosts, and the northern tribes of Israel, which very much had succumbed to the evils associated with the Canaanite god Baal (cf. I Kings 18.20-40). When the prophets of Baal failed to see their animal sacrifice miraculously alit by the false god, Elijah not only sees his sacrifice to the Lord honoured, but also sees it alit despite the sacrifice being drenched in water (18.38). In the nation which the Lord had specifically chosen to be God over (cf. Exodus 6.7), a mediator of His sovereignty was necessary. Fortunately, as the Lord had undoubtedly foreseen, the pious prophet Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead (cf. I Kings 17.1a), was more than willing to answer the spiritual call. Such an influential prophet of the Lord was Elijah that the reader of the Holy Scriptures ought not to be surprised by his appearance at the Transfiguration of our Lord Christ Jesus on that anonymous and high mountain (Luke 9.30), along with Moses, whom God had used to grant the Israelites their freedom from corporeal bondage. It is the will of this petty servant of the Lord to strive to be as pious as the prophet Elijah, as mighty as the Lord Christ Jesus, and as perfect as our God.

[Source: http://cdn.blog.mrm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ElijahCarmel1.jpg]

On another subject I have recently pondered as this ship has sifted through these frigid waters, one wonderful consequence of the fulfillment of the innumerable prophecies through the incarnation of Christ is that the torah, the law, is no longer necessary, as especially Paul advocated and expounded admirably (cf. Romans 7.1-6). From this great occurrence, we realize that our Lord views no sin as better or worse than another, with the lone exception of the blaspheme of His unknowable name (cf. Matthew 12.31-32). After all, the astute readers of the Holy Scriptures ought to recall the presentation of the Lord before Moses at the burning bush.

"'Moses said to God, ‘When I come to the Israelites and say to them,

"'The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me,

"'What is His name?, what shall I say to them?’ And God said

"'to Moses, ‘Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh’”

(Exodus 3.13-14a).

Now, ‘Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh’ is Hebrew for ‘I Am Who I Am,’ a clever and accurate way to simultaneously provide Moses with an apt answer to his inquiry and to show who the Lord is by descriptions. Whenever a person blasphemes the Lord, He is essentially denying both His access to the person’s heart (not denying His existence in the while) and His sovereignty over everything in existence. Against that idea do I choose to identify with Joshua, who once said, “‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’” (Joshua 6.24).

[Source: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-79279966/stock-photo-victorian-stained-glass-window-showing-moses-and-the-burning-bush-window-over-years-old-on.html]

Although I have expounded on the possibility of blaspheming the unknowable name of the Lord as the lone unforgivable transgression one can commit, a renowned theologian once wrote that the greatest of sins is pride (C.S. Lewis, ‘Mere Christianity’). When one steps back and examines the plausibility of pride truly being the most significant sin, the idea is not insane. After all, it is written that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16.18). However, the Holy Scriptures point to blasphemy as being the unforgivable sin. As Christ once said,

"'Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men,

"'and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes

"'against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to

"'eternal condemnation’”

(Mark 3.28-29).

But that renowned writer Lewis is correct, for it could be argued that blasphemy comes about due to an asinine measurement of pride within a given person. Such a person, bounded by pride due to choosing to view personal accomplishments from a rather ungodly and sinister angle, is so committed to the wiles of that crazed agent of Satan, that is haughtiness, that he is even willing to rebuke the name of the Lord out of a sickening likening towards himself. I, this meek servant of the Lord, zealously pray for such people, that they may find the great Saviour, the Lord Christ Jesus, before they drive themselves to such rash and foolish acts as blaspheming the name of the Lord (whether blasphemy or pride is the greatest of sins).

Regarding the immediate future with my band of spiritual brothers, Bréanninn confidently anticipates more time in the ocean, amidst the icy, but still challenging, waves. The clouds shall grow darker still, he envisions, as I had previously conjectured. With the increase of the smoky clouds shall likely come thick, nautical fog. The dark mist shall tempt us to abandon our mission, to subsequently turn our wretched and shamed faces from the incomprehensibly wondrous face of our Lord, who sent His Son to atone for our iniquities and evils. Since He understands our plight, particularly through the petty temptation episode with Satan himself, we are assured that He shall not forsake us (cf. Psalms 37.28). No matter how ruthlessly we are tempted, and no matter how many times we succumb and comply to the wiles of the enemy, we have the knowledge that He shall not forget about us. Through love, through His Son and His Holy Spirit, He encourages us to not forget about Him, even if that means that He has to find an unthinkable avenue by which to break the pride from any one of us. Such a beautiful thought uplifts me even now, as the thick mist onsets, as the murky fog begins to envelop our ordained vessel....

A hard, dull bitterness of cold,
That checked, mid-vein, the circling race
Of life-blood in the sharpened face,
The coming of the snow-storm told.
The wind blew east; we heard the roar
Of Ocean on his wintry shore,
And felt the strong pulse throbbing there
Beat with low rhythm our inland air.

- John Greenleaf Whittier, ‘Snowbound’ 11-18.*

[Source: http://interwar.tumblr.com/post/5618169296/snow-storm-steam-boat-off-a-harbors-mouth]

*[Source: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/roots/legacy/snowbound.html]