This is a prayer by St Patrick to the tune of "Morning has Broken".
Christ beside me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, King of my heart;
Christ within me, Christ below me,
Christ above me never to part.
Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me, shield in strife;
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my life.
I don't know about you but every time I get to the line "Christ below me", I cringe. How can Christ be below me? It is as if I am the one trodding on the fumie, the image of Christ (See Silence, by Shusaku Endo). It feels disrespectful, and so I quieten my voice when I get to that line.
It bothered me for a few days and then I kept thinking about the phrase over and over again. And then it struck me: the phrase reminds me that the people under me at work, the people who serve me in restaurants, who clean my table, and remove my trash is Christ to me. Jesus says that when you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoners, you are actually doing it for Christ!
If you have been given position and status in life, you have to serve. The image is of Christ on a donkey. That is like a CEO on one of those black ah-pek bicycles with cases of cardboard tied at the back. Not exactly glamorous transportation. It is not at all easy to be a servant -- in fact, Jesus says that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (lots of camel references in the New Testament, you noticed?). But we've got to at least try.
4 comments:
I like your interpretation, though my first thought went along the lines of Christ being the foundation on which the church is built or something like that.
I thought of that too while I was chewing on the phrase, but it didn't quite work for me because the phrase is "Christ below me" rather than "Christ below us".
Then again, you could go with the house on solid ground parable for a single life as for the entire church as well. So that works too.. Interesting..
You know what picture always pops into my mind when I hear that "Christ below me" phrase of Patrick's prayer?
The top of Jesus' head. That's because it's what Peter would have seen when, despite his objections, Jesus washed his feet.
Your comment made me laugh. Yes, yes and yes. What a great image! Thanks.
Post a Comment