Surely the Lord is in this place!

Summertime sees our islands teeming with tourists again. As hospitality and tourism are important employments in the Hebrides, it’s a busy time for the locals whose job is to ensure that the visitor leaves with happy memories of their holiday. Some visitors are people making one of their regular trips home to connect with family; others are looking for a change of pace and scenery. All of them have left behind the demands of daily life in order to relax and return to resume their responsibilities with fresh zeal.
We all need to rest and God Himself makes this demand of us in the commandment concerning the Sabbath. We need to lay aside our work so that body, mind and soul can be refreshed. No one is so indispensable that the world will stop turning if we take time out! The word ‘Sabbath’ comes from a Hebrew word meaning “he rested”; if God rested at the end of His labours, then so too must His creatures.
In a Christian context, what does ‘rest’ mean? The Hebrew word ‘Shabbat’ is a verb; in other words, resting is an activity. A great modern saint, St. Josemaria Escriva said, “…to rest is not to do nothing: it is to relax in activities which demand less effort” and “…rest means recuperation: to gain strength, form ideals and make plans. In other words, it means a change of occupation, so that you can come back later with a new impetus to your daily job.” We see in the Gospels how Jesus took time to rest, especially before some of the important events of His ministry. Jesus demanded of His disciples that they should do likewise. In St. Mark’s Gospel we read, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So, they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” (Mk.6:31,32). This is a divine command, not an invitation.
Rest should involve spending time in the company of people who will refresh us, rather than drain us. When Jesus tells His disciples to leave the people behind, He asks them to spend quality time with Him instead. This was not ‘me-time’ on their own, but a chance to renew themselves in God’s presence. True rest involves an encounter with God, however fleeting, however opaque. “Come to me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” (Mt.11:28)
Our daily work is sacred – a participation in the creative work of God Himself. What is good in life ultimately comes from God and points us back towards Him. Not without reason did Jesus work as a carpenter before engaging in public ministry – those years were not time wasted. But more importantly than work, we were created for relationships which give meaning and purpose to our lives, especially the creature’s relationship to the Creator. The command to set aside our labours on the Sabbath is given so that we can spend time with the God of life and be renewed in His presence.
For the visitors who have opted to come “away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” such as our islands, the attractions are manifold. The beauty of the surroundings points back to the God whose handiwork they are (Ps.95:4,5); the tranquillity and change of pace bring calmness to the weary or frenzied soul (Ps.131:1,2), the social encounters enrich both visitor and local, renewing old friendships or creating new ones (Ps.133:1). In and through all these things, God touches our lives although we might not have an explicit awareness of His presence (Ps.24:1). Wherever the soul is truly refreshed, the hand of God is at work (Ps.23:2,3).
As a priest living on Eriskay, I delight in the number of visitors who have a more direct encounter with
God. Our Churches are open daily and the Visitors’ Book in St. Michael’s is replete with comments by visitors from Australia, Japan, Canada, Italy, Germany, Ireland who have spent a quiet moment in our beautiful, little Church and have unexpectedly connected with God. Cnoc na Sgrath is not Mount Tabor, but it is a place of Transfiguration for many visitors who catch a brief glimpse of the God of Glory as they sit in the quiet, stillness of the Church.
How often we take our Churches for granted! They are part of the landscape and we pass them by every day without a second thought about their significance. But they are there for us – places where we can leave the world behind briefly and go to be by ourselves in the presence of Christ. Day and night, the soft, red light of the Sanctuary lamp burns, indicating that God is present to us, waiting for us to make a short visit and be present to Him.
God reaches out to us in many different ways, often where and when we least expect it. Jacob puts it well when he says, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it!” (Gen.28:16) Our landscapes, our way of life, our relationships can all be places of encounter with God if we don’t take these things for granted. Perhaps we need to learn to see them again with the eyes of the visitor – of one who is merely passing through. It would do us no harm to pause from our activities, to take time out to be with the Lord and renew our sense of appreciation for the blessings that surround us. What better place to do so than in one of the many Churches which abound in these islands? In the words of Jacob, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God, this is the Gate of Heaven” (Gen.28:17) as many a visitor to St. Michael’s will attest.
Fr. Ross Crichton
Parish Priest of St. Michael’s, Eriskay, Our Lady of Sorrows, Garrynamonie and St. Peter’s, Daliburgh.
Our new monthly Reflections column will feature different members of the clergy from around our island parishes.