What is it about Iona?

As Christians, we believe that God made the heavens and the earth, and that God is in fact still in the business of creating and re-creating, and we believe that God stood back after that initial birthing of all that is, took a look at everything and smiled with satisfaction, saying, "That's good stuff I did there!"

If we truly do believe that, then it follows that everything in all creation has value and meaning and is special in the eyes of the One who creates, redeems and sustains it all, and therefore all ground is holy ground for there is no place we can be where God is not.  If that is so, if one can encounter God at any time, in any place, in any circumstance, why is it that people have for centuries flocked to this particular tiny island off the coast of yet another island that is off the coast of Scotland?  What is it about Iona?

This wee isle has captured the imagination and stirred the souls of countless pilgrims who travel here at some expense and inconvenience, partly because of its rugged beauty, yes, but the world is filled with vistas as lovely or even perhaps lovelier than here.  Perhaps for some,  because it's almost expected that a Christian visiting Scotland will check off coming to Iona as part of a bucket list, and for others, well, it's just another stop as they hop and skip along the islands of the Hebrides.

But for people like the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and the fiery minister George MacLeod, and Celtic monk Adomnan, this is sacred ground that is somehow different from any place else on earth.   If the traveler stops and stays on the island for a few days and develops a rhythm of being a part of the endless sky and the restless sea and the craggy rocks and the relentless wind, she or he is in a position of being mindful of not only the majesty and power of the Spirit but of the challenging yet comforting presence of Christ.  Whether worshiping in the Abbey, staring meditatively at the outdoor Celtic crosses, reading the words of pilgrims in whose footsteps one follows, or simply stopping to let the peace of the place soak in,  for those with eyes to see and hears to hear it is clear that the boundary between the ordinary world and the world to come is porous and thin indeed.

I hope that you will make a space in the busyness of your life where you can stop and simply be in the "loneliest loneliness."  You might try a little exercise using Psalm 46: 10:  "Be still and know that I am God."  Sit quietly and repeat those words 3 times and then pause to let them sink in.  Then repeat, again 3 times -- "Be still and know that I am."  Pause.  Then  3 times, "Be still and know."  Pause.  3 times, "Be still."  Pause. And then finally, simply repeat, "Be."