January 19, 2005
Wulfstan
I’d forgot about Wulfstan (if I’d ever known) when I rediscovered him today, his day shadowed by yesterday’s garrulous old Peter. Rediscovered how he had bridged a gap between William the Conquerer and the Brits way back in the 11th century and at one point was the only English bishop standing in the lot of them.
He was, unlike me and so many others in orders these days, a holy man, they say, disciplined, prayerful, exemplary. I’d like to think he didn’t bother much about that which bothers us much. I’d like to think he cared about prayer — eccentric or not — but especially about justice and peace and about how they require each other.
I like to be reminded by Wulfstan and his kind, rare though they may be, that in Christ, we are none of us “an island” apart even from ourselves.