A Marvelous Book, Part 1

During our recent vacation, I had an opportunity to read a good portion of The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality and the Scribe by Michelle Brown. It has been calling to me for quite some time, having sat on my shelf since our last year in England.

The ‘Lindisfarne Gospels’—a Latin gospel book—is considered one of the great landmarks of human cultural achievement. Its inception began in the early 700’s in the northeast of Britain, probably written to accompany the following of the Celtic St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne. It boasts a style of art which fuses Celtic, Germanic and Mediterranean forms, which is energetic and sophisticated. It is one of the most famous items in the national collections held at the British Library, enjoying periodic visits back ‘home’ to Durham Cathedral, where lies the remains and sundry relics of St. Cuthbert.

Michelle Brown’s opening description of the Lindisfarne Gospels captures some of the mystery which has drawn generations back to this book. “Its pages exude a passion, an energy and a thoughtful, receptive commitment to an earnestly held purpose, a higher ideal, which speaks of the very best of human aspiration. Books are about people. They can embody many different aspects of human activity—intellectual, literary, spiritual, ideological, artistic, historical, political and economic. They are portals into past lives, facilitating that vital organic communion between past, present and future. Whenever one such witness survives the ravages of time and the vagaries of fortune it presents a valuable testament. When such a survivor has come through comparatively intact and still preserves its brilliance its voice can be particularly eloquent. The enthusiasm and skill of the Lisdisfarne Gospels’ maker is a constant source of inspiration, the technical and artistic refinement a cause of wonderment, enquiry and admiration.”

Such imagination, ingenuity, artistry, excellence, devotion and care poured into a work of Word and worship! What a blessing! What a testimony! May we all be of the same mind in our mission and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Blessings,
JON