IONA PSALM

My daughter spent a week on Iona, with the community in Scotland, and brought me a small piece of rock from the beach, to remind me of the place. I have been an Associate member of the Community for many years. The little piece of stone brings back so many memories of the place and the people. It is a holy place in the Inner Hebrides, oozing religious traditions ....

Holy, grey and green, this stone in my hand:

marbled Iona rock of promise and hope,

in it are Arctic breakers, violent, weathered:

the calm clear waters of the mull of peace.

Pointers to Columba are here, Scots faith-bringer:

of Margaret, the good abbess, ruined walls,

with the vision of George MacLeod, a new community:

and Ralph Morton's wisdom, hope provoking.

Revealing God in the High Street, voice in the wind:

a gesture against the wild in city and island.

So, God, help me discover your promise to me:

your hope seen in the centuries for my future, too.