Heavenly Father, who didst call thy servant Bede, while still a child, to devote his life to thy service in the disciplines of religion and scholarship: Grant that as he labored in the Spirit to bring the riches of thy truth to his generation, so we, in our various vocations, may strive to make thee known in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
I was given a translation of Bede’s ‘History of the English Church and People’ by a family member. As Melvin Bragg’s introduction has it:
[blockquote]Read Bede. If you want to learn about the origins of the English Christian faith, the warriors and women, the sacrifice, violence and enterprise of the English people who were later to flood across the world, read Bede. Read Bede for his invaluable chronicles and his poetry, for the miracles and for the subtle early medieval reasoning[/blockquote]
I can vouch for that – far from the dry and turgid history I had expected, it opened up a foreign and yet familiar world, with perhaps a few lessons for the modern church in how to minister to a pagan world; but more than that a delight to read.
I am certainly thankful for the continuing and enjoyable witness of the excellent and Venerable Bede.
And perhaps he has some guidance for us and in particular for the upcoming ECUSA General Convention:
[blockquote]The death of the Christian king Sabert of the East Saxons aggravated the upheaval; for, when he departed for the heavenly kingdom he left three sons, all pagans, to inherit his earthly kingdom. These were quick to profess idolatry, which they had pretended to abandon during the lifetime of their father, and encouraged the people to return to the old gods.
It is told that when when they saw Bishop Mellitus offering solemn Mass in church, they said with barbarous presumption: ‘Why do you not offer us the white bread which you used to give to our father Saba [for so they used to call him], while you continue to give it to the people in church?’
The bishop answered, ‘If you will be washed in the waters of salvation as your father was, you may share in the consecrated bread, as he did; but so long as you reject the water of life, you are quite unfit to receive the bread of life’.
They retorted: ‘We refuse to enter that font and see no need for it; but we want to be strengthened with this bread.’ The bishop then carefully and repeatedly explained that this was forbidden, and that no one was admitted to receive the most holy communion without the most holy cleansing of baptism. At last they grew very angry, and said: ‘If you will not oblige us by granting such an easy request, you shall no longer remain in our kingdom.’ And they drove him into exile, and ordered all his followers to leave their borders.
Bede: ‘History of the English Church and People’ trans. Leo Sherley-Price Folio Society London 2010 pg 75[/blockquote]
Plus ça change….