Remember John Wesley ... and St. Patrick

In honor of St. Patrick and of John Wesley, not a combination you probably expected, today's reflections feature a treasure in the keeping of the Methodist Church in Ireland.  Nearly three years ago, Scott, my daddy, and I visited Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and one of the highlights was visiting the Methodist Archives at Edgehill Theological College in Belfast.  In addition to artefacts like a lock of Charles Wesley's hair and various bits of Wesleyana, the Archives boasts a number of letters to and from the Wesleys -- and the book pictured here.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, John Wesley visited Ireland twenty one times between 1747 and 1789, preaching, organizing societies and classes, and influencing thousands,  including Arthur Guinness -- yes, THAT Guinness.  Because of his insistence on ordinary Methodists as well as his preachers being a "reading people," Wesley published books inexpensively and distributed them widely.

This particular book was John's personal copy of his Notes on the New Testament, a volume he apparently had loaned out prior to his presentation of it to the preachers of Cork.  On the left hand page, an inscription in Wesley's own hand informs the reader that the book is the property of the Revd. Mr. Wesley and admonishes him or her not to write in it "or let it be dirtied."  On the title page, he inscribed the book as his gift to the preachers in Cork in 1785, a treasured gift that was surely much used and deeply cherished over the centuries.

I was so overcome with emotion at actually touching something belonging to John Wesley and seeing his handwriting that I could hardly speak.  Just imagine the effort it took for him to lug this weighty tome across the Irish Sea and through the countryside and towns as he embarked on his itinerant ministry there.  Imagine the immensity of the love he had for his preachers and for the crowds who thronged to hear him. Imagine their gratitude and joy at receiving this precious resource that was his very own possession. Imagine the white hot intensity of his fervor that compelled him to make the trip again and again, up until his 85th year. Most of all, imagine the zeal and passion he had for God, the same drive that had fueled the ministry of another Briton in Ireland, Patrick, centuries before.

Nobody (not even me) is going to dress up to celebrate Wesley on March 17, but perhaps you will pause as you eat your corned beef and cabbage just long enough to recall the dedication of a wee man who was afire with love of Christ and his neighbors, a man whose heart's desire was that all should know how deeply God cared for every single one of them.