Great Men of Humility
Aidan came to Northumbria around AD 635 with 12 other monks in response to King Oswald’s request for monks to evangelize the area. King Oswald gave him the island of Lindisfarne, (now known as the Holy Island) and Aidan became bishop.
Years later, after Oswald died, Oswin became king. Aidan was indeed evangelizing and he preached widely throughout Northumbria, traveling on foot. King Oswin presented Aidan with a fine horse to make travel easier. Aidan was gracious and thanked the king for the horse but no sooner had he left the palace than he came across a poor man gave him the horse.
When this was reported to the King, he was confounded and asked Aidan, “My Lord Bishop, why did you give away the royal horse which was necessary for your own use? Have we not many less valuable horses or other belongings which would have been good enough for beggars, without giving away a horse that I had specifically selected for your personal use?”
Aidan replied, “What are you saying, Your Majesty? Is this child of a mare more valuable to you than this child of God?’"
This exchange took place before a dinner, and as people sat preparing to eat, the King waited to come to the table thinking for a few moments. Then, he came before Aidan, humbling himself before his Bishop and said, “I will not refer to this matter again, not will I enquire how much of our bounty you give away to God’s children.”
Still later that evening, Aidan reflected on the humility displayed by his king. He was moved to tears, saying to his attendant, "I know the king will not live very long; for I have never before seen a humble king. I feel he will soon be taken from us, because this nation is not worthy of such a king."
Sure enough, not too long after, King Oswin was murdered by his cousin. Eleven days later, Aidan himself died. He drew his last breath while leaning against one of the beams on the outside of the church. Years later, the church was burned to the ground but the beam survived. The church was rebuilt but burned down a second time and again the beam was unscathed. When the church was rebuilt for the third time, they brought the beam inside. There were reports of miracles associated with it. Today, in the stone church that has been erected on the site, the beam has been placed in the ceiling above the baptistery.
I love this story of two men who were not afraid to humble themselves before other men. Father God, our flesh does not want to walk in the sort of humility and service to our fellow man. Fill us with your very Holy Spirit that we might live to praise, reverence, and serve You, and love and serve others in humility, in Jesus name. Amen.
Most of the information in this blog came from StAidanschurch.org
