The Kidnapping and Adventures of Maewyn Succat

 The full text as prepared for the Sunday, March 17, 2013 message:

"Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you." (Genesis 26:24)

I want to tell you the story about the kidnapping of a man named Maewyn Succat.

Maewyn lived in Britain in the waning days of being ruled by Rome. He lived what today we would call a life of privilege. Both his Grandfather and his Father held positions of local power: Grandad a Priest and dad a Deacon.

In stark contrast to his forebears, Maewyn was wild and rowdy, prone to robbery at the whim of wanting something. He held to none of the religious beliefs of his dad and granddad. Perhaps we could say he was an atheist, or worse yet, a pagan.

During these days, the first decade of the 400's, raiding parties of Brits into Ireland to capture innocent people and bring them back as slaves was common; so was the same true in reverse.

At about age 16, spoiled, self indulgent, Maewyn was captured, brought to Ireland and sold into slavery. Purchased by a tribal King, the boy was made to tend the sheep on a mountainside. He lived outside day and night with the sheep.

It was during this time that Maewyn turned to prayer, that fragments of bible verses, long forgotten prayers and homilies from his childhood began to emerge in his memory, a sense of the Presence of God... and he no longer felt alone. Later on he would write that he prayed about 100 times a day (and almost as much at night) to escape and return to his home.

Then one night in a dream he was urged to get up and leave; head to the coast and find a ship back to Britain.

"Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you."

He trusted this inner compulsion; made the perilous journey of 200 miles to the coast of Ireland where he was able to find a ship that would take him home.

After 6 years in captivity, Maewyn Succat was home. His experience of God's grace and provision solidified his faith. He began to study in the monastery.

One night he had a dream in which a man from Ireland came to him with a hand full of letters. He opened up one of the letters and it said, "The Voice of the Irish." and then a voice came out of this letter saying to him, "Holy boy, please return to us. We need you."

Maewyn struggled in his soul. Could he return to Ireland and minister to the same people who had enslaved him? Once again, he turned to God in prayer. He received the answer in a dream. He said he dreamed that God way praying for him and he knew he would be protected.

"Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you."

Maewyn, now a priest petitioned his church to let him minster to the Irish.

"Please send me, I know these people, their language, their customs... and they need the message of God."

"No," they said, "you are still too wild, you lack tact, you lack learning; and you are too playful, too lighthearted. We cannot send you. We are sending another."

Three emissaries from the church failed over the next 12 years to bring Christianity to Ireland before Maewyn was given the chance. Like those before him he was made a bishop and given the Christian name Patrick.

Patrick had a personality that was extremely winning with the people. He was unaffected by his position, power, and mission, and he had the kind of welcoming presence that won people over. He was serious but also playful too. It helped him to win converts in every village. As a matter of fact, as a result, it aggravated the Celtic Druid priests. They decided to give him some real problems to worry about. A dozen times, it was recorded he was arrested and put into prison.
Can you imagine? You finally get to do what you want to do; you think it will be the best time of your life so far; and a dozen times you are put into prison. The prisons were cold, harsh places to be. Yet, a dozen times, Patrick was able to escape, which is miraculous in itself. In between times, he traveled throughout Ireland, founding monasteries, schools, and churches that would, in time, transform the non-Christian country into what the Church calls its "proud isle of saints."

People sometimes made fun of him because he said that God had given him a message that there was danger ahead.

"Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you."

Patrick would say, "Laugh at me if you will. This is something that has protected me in Ireland."

Patrick's ministry lasted 29 years. He laid the groundwork of Christianity in Ireland through baptizing over 120,000 Irishmen and planting 300 churches.

Jesus said, constantly, to become like a little child again. Saint Patrick was like that. The church didn't want to send him because he was too playful and that turned out to be a great strength for him. He could reach the people because of his joy and playfulness.

Saint Patrick, like a little child, was playful along with working hard like an adult.

What an example St. Patrick’s overcoming is for our lives, for what we are facing in our lives, today. Here is a man who was an over-comer. Over-comers have challenges in their own lives, but they do not stop at the challenge– they go on to the victory. They always see with a higher perception. They know that they can go further than their eyes tell them that they can go at the moment.

What are you facing? Is it too big for you to overcome? And by the way, whatever it is, don't "be a man about it." Men don't ask for help! :o)

Can you go beyond your humanness and ask God's help? God can help us to overcome any problem. These people (over-comers) that we look at in history, including Jesus, are much just like us, and they have overcome. They have turned to that accessible power that is available to each of us from God and they have gone further.

Perhaps we could do the same with our lives – add more play to it. Think about becoming more enthusiastic about where you are right now. Think about going out this afternoon and actually living – enjoying the moment – taking in the sights and sounds and showering it all with loving vision.

Why worry about Tomorrow today? Think about living, right now, without worry about yesterday or tomorrow: living right now, being totally alive.

"Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you."

Possibilty Junction

(Note: I usually cut and paste the full text. For some reason I am unable to manipulate text as usual. Every time I try it gets worse than before :-). This is actually the good version! I apologize for the formatting problems.) 

Do you sometimes feel like there is something missing in your life?

If your answer is yes, then please listen today not

from a place of lack as in, "I haven't been doing

enough," but from a place of fulfillment as in, "There

is much more to life than I am experiencing and I

choose to fulfill my life through the power of God's

Love.

Richard and Mary-Alice Jafolla write in their

book THE QUEST that, "It is the desire of every

human being to feel he or she can begin anew. Do

you not feel this need in your own soul?"

If your answer is yes - and even if it was no-

please know that you can begin again ... and

again ... and again ...  and again! There are no limits

on new beginnings. Every time we choose fear,

anger, hatred, guilt, etc over Love, God says. "Are

you sure, because you can begin again?" (kids and

knock-knock jokes; it seems they never stop. God has

this relentless stcik-to-it-tivity © in offering us the

opportunity to begin again. Every time we choose

fear, anger, hatred, guilt, etc over Love, God says,

Are you sure? Would you like to begin again?")

It seems as though from the time I started on my

journey to the awareness and experience of

wholeness I have heard frequently heard this

statement, "We are in are the most exciting times!"

Yes, it's true and always has been true for all

people at all times down through the ages!

Here's a story that points to why this is so ...

According to an ancient story, there were once

four people who were walking in the woods. They

were all complaining about their lot in life.

"Woe is me," one said.

And all four of them went on like this over and

over again complaining because their individual

requirements for peace have not been met."

All of a sudden, as they were walking in the woods,

they came across a high wall. They were very curious

because they could not see over the wall, so they built

a ladder.

The first person climbed up and was amazed at the

incredible beauty in this other world, on the other

side of the wall. Then he climbed down and the

second one climbed up and he was also amazed at the

beauty. The third person climbed up and said the

same thing.

Everything they had ever prayed for in their lives

was on the other side of the wall.

The first, the second, and the third thought it was

wonderful, and yet they climbed back down the

ladder and returned to their usual life of complaint.

The fourth climbed up the ladder, stood at the

top, and said, "I want a better life and there is a better

life; and 1 am going to go over the wall and accept it

and make a commitment to it. He did so and lived in

the other world."

Every moment in our life is a decision point to

go forward and live the better life we have been

seeking, or to climb back down the ladder and

continue on in the way things have always been just

hoping that we'll have enough happiness in our lives

to outweigh the bad.

Old maps depicted uncharted territory as Terra

Incognita, Greek for "unknown land," and the maps,

as we can see suggest that this unknown land is

populated with dragons and sea monsters.

True, the unknown can be seen as terribly

frightening, full of dragons and sea monsters; it also

can be seen as a beckoning adventure. What if the

guy who drew the map populated it with rainbows

and smiley faces?

How we see the unknown is based upon the

foundation on which our personal lives have been

built through our moment by moment choices. Do

we have the habit on climbing back down the ladder

and continuing on in the old way when we glimpse

the world we have prayed for all our lives, or do we

sally forth into the beckoning adventure?

The new world in the fable is a state of mind, not

a different location. It's an inner world. A different

way of seeing & being within the very world in

which we live.

In the Gospel according to John, Nicodemus

comes to Jesus and expresses his recognition of the

spirit Jesus carries, saying (3:2), "Rabbi, we know

that you are a teacher who has come from God; for

no one can do these signs that you do apart from the

presence of God."

If that conversation occurred today , Jesus might

answer by saying, "Exactly!" but our Loving Present

Friend was more eloquent and informative than that.

In 3:3 Jesus replies, "Very truly, I tell you, no one

can see the Kingdom of God without being born from

above." 

In order for our lives to change our

consciousness, our awareness, has to be born again

from above. No one can experience the

consciousness of God without living from a higher

understanding ... without living from - and through -

the wisdom of God, the power of God, the will of

God, the strength of God, and the Love of God. True

rebirth is spiritual rebirth.

The fourth person in the story did not go to live

in a land far away never to be seen or heard from

again. He/she lived in the world with a new

.

consciousness.

We are all at a place called "Possibility Junction."

Each "now moment" is another junction at which we

choose between being born again from the Spirit

above, or from our individual ideas alone.

Choose the Spirit above and the power of God 

and allGods Love, without limit, will support you.

Be an ally of God and not "me first" in seeking how

happiness can come to your life.

We're at "Possibility Junction" with every

decision we make. The four in the story were at

possibility junction at the top of that ladder ... we're at

"Possibility Junction" with every decision we make.

How are we "born from above?" How do we make

lasting and satisfying change in our life?

1. Remind yourself that you are a whole and

innocent, fully loved child of God; that you

are a part of God, not apart from God.

2. Choose to feel one with God. We do this

not just once but choose once again at each

possibility junction. (we have to remind ourselves)

3. Ask God, "What would you have me do?"

(not would you have me do this or that?)

4. Stop, look, listen and feel. Stay alert for

your answer. You might hear it as an answer

in your head - you might feel it in your heart

- you might see something that gives you

your answer.

For instance, you might wake up unhappy one

morning and say to yourself, "I am a wholly innocent

fully loved child of God, attempting to remember

how that feels, followed by asking God, "What

would you have me do?" and then you get out of bed

and stumble into the bathroom to see this. 

 

An answer to your question can come from

anywhere, even your bathroom sink!

The ultimate rebirth is an awakening to Spirit,

and that rebirth always leads to a better life and it

doesn't matter what preceded that awareness.

What can be is not bound by what is or was, and

that has to be the most freeing concept anyone can

imagine!

These are exciting times!