Br. Curtis Almquist

Willibrord

Psalm 98:1-4

In the calendar of the church we remember today a monk named Willibrord who was born in the mid-seventh century in what is now southern Scotland, northern England. In his early 30s, and with 12 companions, he sailed from the Isles to evangelize Frisia, which is modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Frisia was a hinterland, largely untouched by Christianity, practicing fearsome tribal religions, and fraught with political contests and wars.

Willibrord and his fellow monk-missionaries countered the strife and fear with unshakable kindness and care, and with the convincing news of God’s love. They were authentically charismatic, and were welcomed and trusted. They embodied the personality of the psalm we just prayed: “Sing to the Lord a new song.” They baptized multitudes, built monasteries, local churches and schools, completely changing that part of the world, from the inside out. Willibrord would eventually become Archbishop of Utrecht, in the modern-day Netherlands, and was recognized by the church as a saint from shortly after his death in year 739.

One reason the church remembers its saints is as an intervention to despair. When times are appallingly bad, when strife is on every corner and in every page of news, when political power is compromised and corrupt, when the rich become richer and the poor, poorer – times such as now for so many people in our world and in our own land – we recollect the life and inspiration of one such as Willibrord as an example of courage, faithfulness, and hope for how then to live in the face of adversity in our own day.

In my moments of despair, when I feel so small in the face of what seems so big and so bad, when my faith feels like I’m hanging from a windowsill, I find someone such as Willibrord galvanizing. And for you, I suggest you recollect some people you know in your personal life history who to you are heralds of courage, kindness, selflessness, and faithfulness in the midst of the egregious needs of their own day. How did they do it? Claim from them a template for how then to live your life with zeal as a missionary to those within your reach. And call on these souls whom you remember for their own intercession.

Blessed Willibrord, whom we remember today.