Sermon by Mr Ray Gascoigne

When I received the invitation from your Rector to preach today on the occasion of a very important date in your Church life – your Patronal Festival – my first thoughts were of pleasure at being with you on such a special day.

My next thought was – mm ... just wait a minute – your Rector as you know, was a tutor at the then TISEC and as it happened at a time when I was training for Lay Readership – so no pressure there then.

Seriously – though – it is indeed a pleasure to be here today on this special day and thank you Nicholas for your kind invitation.

As I reflected on the life of Saint Aidan and on the readings for today I soon realised just how little I actually knew about either Saint Aidan or his life.

I decided that it might be a good idea to rectify this and using that ultimate research tool – I googled Saint Aidan and one of the links led me straight to your church website – where there is an excellent account of everything you need to know about Saint Aidan.

This leads me to believe that most of the congregation – if not all – are – unlike me – more than likely to know a great deal about his life already.

Continuing my research I decided therefore to share with you some facts that I did not know about your Patronal saint.

I did know that he was a Celtic Saint – born in Ireland – but I did not know that he was educated in Iona – I did not know that he founded the community at Lindisfarne – and indeed became the first Bishop of Lindisfarne - I did not know that he was known as the Apostle of Nothumbria and was one of three Saints who were considered to be the Great Saints of the North East of England - the other two being Saint Bede and Saint Cuthbert.

While these three never met, their lives were interlinked. When Aidan died, Cuthbert was just 16 and it is said that he had a vision of Aidan being carried to heaven by angels – a vision which was responsible for him becoming a monk.

Bede was 12 when Cuthbert died and was greatly influenced by both Aidan and Cuthbert – although it would appear that he did not entirely approve of Aidan's writings - mainly because he apparently did not celebrate Easter at the correct time – however he did approve that he observed Easter and had great respect for him – holding him up as an example for other Bishops.

Cuthbert and Bede of course have tombs in Durham Cathedral and Aidan is buried on Lindisfarne – which because of the number of Saints who are associated with it became known as Holy Island or Holy Isle – another fact that I did not know.

I did not know that Saint Aidan died at Bamburgh or that he was buried on Lindisfarne.

What is surprising about my lack of knowledge about all of this you may ask? – well I was brought up in the North East of England – being born in Cuthbert Street – my home church was in fact Saint Cuthbert’s and I was confirmed by the Bishop of Durham - my first school trip was to Lindisfarne and, as a family, we would visit Bamburgh on day trips. So all of the aforementioned places were extremely familiar to me in my younger days - Food for thought there.

So having filled these gaps in my knowledge – not before time perhaps – I then reflected on the readings and as far as I am aware the Gospel, at least, does not actually appear in the Revised Common Lectionary so why were they chosen for today I wondered – well I do not know for sure – but perhaps your Rector will enlighten me later - however as I looked at them more closely I began to realise how relevant they are to today’s celebration of the life of Saint Aidan.

So let us put Aidan into the context of the readings.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul is making it clear that while by right he could expect to be supported - and provided for - by the congregations he visited - he did not put them under any obligation to do so - he was not preaching for gain or for any glory – in fact there were absolutely no strings attached. Rather he travelled around spreading the gospel for the glory of God. He understood that God wanted a relationship not only with him but with all those he met in his travels - He put the needs of others first – ‘so that many might hear, he makes himself a slave’ – he wanted them to learn of God’s gift – his Son – Jesus Christ – but as he spoke about this gift he realised that it also gave him the opportunity to rejoice in the blessings of the Good News.

Aidan too travelled - having left what was the familiar – in his case throughout Northumbria - spending time talking to those he met along the way – not just talking but spreading the Gospel – He - like Paul - did so because he wished to serve Christ. He also did this of his own free will and asked for no reward. As Bede wrote his only motive was – ‘to strengthen them in their faith and to stir them up by words and actions to alms and good works.’

The Gospel reading this morning consists of five verses – not a lengthy reading but it has much on which to reflect. They follow on after the wonderful story of the Last Supper when – of course – Jesus washed the feet of the disciples – an act demonstrating both humility and service to others.

Aidan followed this example indicating his own humble way of living - his own service to others - There are many stories to illustrate this – my favourite being when the King gave Aidan a horse to assist in his travels – he passed it on to a poor man whose need he perceived to be greater than his own.

However the words in this short passage which struck me as being the most relevant in the life of Aidan are ‘servants are not greater than their masters, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.’

Why did Jesus say these words to the disciples after the washing of their feet? He was probably trying to teach them to become humble servants of God and humanity - to pass on God’s message to others.

Aidan – was surely a servant and a messenger of God - he answered God’s call - he was a devoted, powerful missionary - he was a messenger of the Gospel passing on the same message and teachings as Jesus did - not only in his words - but also in his actions to all those he encountered. His life was spent in the service of others.

He travelled to Northumbria – to carry out King Oswald’s wish to bring Christianity to his Kingdom. Unlike his predecessor, Corman, whom he described as being ‘too hard' – he used patient teaching – a caring example – and gradual instruction.

He demonstrated that a joyful, kind person is a powerful witness to others.

He used his educational skills to educate and train boys at Lindisfarne – and also in instructing monks.

He never allowed wealth to accumulate in the church – making sure that any surplus went to the poor while he himself lived in poverty.

He encouraged the laity to follow the monastic practices of fasting and meditating on the Gospel.

We too are called, like Aidan and other Saints, to witness to the Gospel – not only through words but through our actions.

We too should be humble -- we too should live our lives for others – in the service of God – treating others as we wish to be treated - showing love and care.

So - yes - there is much we can learn from the life of Aidan – to develop a relationship with God – rooted in prayer - to have the courage to share the Good News of God’s love with others – a love which sent his Son to die for us – a Son who loved us enough to do so - to endeavour to lead a life that includes time for God – for ourselves – for our loved ones – a life of service to others.

But mainly we should learn that - like Aidan – we should follow the life and teachings of Jesus – this was the only example Aidan needed – and the only example we need to show us how to live our lives – loving and serving God and others.

So, in conclusion, I leave you with the words of St. Bede as an epitaph to St. Aidan:

“He neither sought nor loved anything of this world, but delighted in distributing immediately to the poor whatever was given to him by kings or rich men of the world. He traversed both town and country on foot, never on horseback, unless compelled by some urgent necessity. Wherever on his way he saw any, either rich or poor, he invited them, if pagans, to embrace the mystery of the faith; or if they were believers, he sought to strengthen them in their faith and stir them up by words and actions to alms and good works.”