Iona

There are some places where it seems possible to touch other worlds, or at least feel the presence of the divine. One of those places is on the island of Iona, just off the coast of Mull. It was the home of a monastic community founded by the Irish monk St Columba in the 6th century. In the century that followed the monks from Iona evangelised Scotland and the north of England.

Today there is still a flourishing community there in the restored monastery leading retreats but also bringing to the world a message of hope and renewal. Many thousands of people travel there each year to reconnect with the divine so they too can return to their places of work with new energy and vision.

Science, too, as it explores the boundaries of existence appears to lead us to a world where matter is not all there is. Behind the surface of things lies a world which we can no longer explain by using our physical senses, and yet whose existence is necessary to make sense of our material world.

So how do you get in touch with this invisible world, touch the untouchable, measure the immeasurable? Some are content to accept the world as they find it but increasingly we are turning to ancient cultures or cultic practices to tap into the hidden forces that hold together our world. Some tune in through nature, others swing crystals, others even rearrange their furniture! But another way of exploring the unknown is through Science fiction. Please forgive a slight diversion.

Interstellar. 2014 Christopher Nolan

Following the hype around Christopher Nolan’s new film, ‘Oppenheimer’, I thought I would watch another of his blockbuster films. ‘Interstellar’ is a parable for today as it tells the story of a dying planet and the secretive attempt by a mad scientist, (Michael Caine) to escape to another planet. They recruit a daredevil pilot (Matthew McConoughey) to explore possible habitable planets beyond our solar system, of course, this involves ‘Wormholes’ and other improbable escape routes! The heart of the story though is the touching story of the pilot and the family he leaves behind. Sensing that this is a no-return journey, his daughter (Mackenzie Foy) pleads with him to stay. The message ‘Stay’ is also communicated by strange gravitational forces that arrange the word ‘Stay’ in binary code written in the sand blown in by one of the many sand storms that are devastating MidWest America. Sorry, but I now have to give away the plot! The message is being sent by no other than the same pilot in the distant future through a time warp. He has discovered that the worlds he has been sent to explore are either barren wastelands or water worlds. He now desperately reaches back into his past to send a message, ‘Stay’. Stay with your world in all its suffering and devastation and work towards its rebirth and renewal.

The Transfiguration

The links to the Transfiguration may appear tenuous, but at its heart the message is the same. The disciples are given a glimpse of heaven and see Jesus in his transfigured glory. Surely, Peter thinks, this is where we should stay as he suggests building an altar to mark the spot. Maybe he is thinking of future pilgrims visiting the sight, as they do! But this is not the plan as Jesus leads the disciples back down the mountain top into the valley where suffering and danger await. Peter, as we do, looks for security either in a remembered past captured in a monument to this sacred moment, or in a pain free and glorious future in glory with Jesus. Like the mad scientist of ‘Intestellar’ he is looking for other worlds, but Jesus leads them back into our world, where equipped and strengthened by this vision, they are to work for a better world. The message is the same ‘Stay’, stay with this world, it is the only one we have and we are stewards of it. We cannot escape, either into the past or the future, our place is here and now equipped with the presence of our risen Lord.

Theophanes the Greek (4th/early 5th century) captures this moment in his icon ‘The Transfiguration’. Like the time warp in ‘Interstellar’, the Icon works like a window into other worlds. Through it we catch a glimpse of heaven as Jesus appears in shining white robes, accompanied by Moses and Elijah who reinforce his authority as law-giver and prophet. Jesus , though, is also the true High Priest who mediates between heaven and earth. Theophanes shows the beams of his dazzling robes reaching down into the darkness and confusion of earth. Here the disciples are shown lying in a confused heap, but the message is “You are not alone, I am with you.”. As the vision fades, he leads them down into the valley where a lost and confused generation waits for them. ‘Stay’ with the pain and confusion of the world that God loves.

Staying with the world

Whether we choose to visit Iona to reconnect with the divine, or just go out into the beauty of our Cotswold countryside we go not to escape from our world but to refresh ourselves to re-engage with renewed energy and vision. We do not go alone, because we have been touched by the presence of the one who comes amongst us to renew the face of the earth.