URC Daily Devotion Thursday, 11 September 2025

Notes from Small Islands 10: The Highway of the Sea

Psalm 77 17 – 21

The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled;

the depths were moved with terror.
The clouds poured down rain,
the skies sent forth their voice;
your arrows flashed to and fro.

Your thunder rolled round the sky,
your flashes lighted up the world.
The earth was moved and trembled
when your way led through the sea,
your path through the mighty waters
and no one saw your footprints.

You guided your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Reflection

Orkney and Shetland were valuable in the Norwegian empire as they were, roughly, in the middle of a realm stretching from Scandinavia to Iceland, The Faroes, Greenland, the Isle of Man, Anglesey and parts of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.  Now we think of the Northern and Western Isles as being remote and inaccessible; as we noted yesterday, in an age of sea travel these islands were at the centre.  Even now, from my perspective, London is very remote – further away than Oslo, Bergen, or Esbjerg!

The Psalmist reflected on God leading the Jewish people through the sea to achieve freedom.  Policy debates now are consumed by ferry replacement arguments, discussions on whether tunnels would be better than boats, and public subsidies for “remote” areas.  Instead of the ancient idea of the oceans as routes to freedom, most people are now disconnected from them,  meaning we tend to disregard those who make their living from the sea.  Fishers leave the profession facing increased regulation from people who often don’t understand the pressures they work under, the high cost of equipment, and the lack of youngsters wanting to go to sea.

This distance, and disconnection, from the sea for most folk means we disregard the pollution we cause, the harm done to fish and marine life by global warming, and the damage some greed-motivated fishing practices, like dredging, do to fishing grounds.  Ironically, we follow a saviour who worked as a fisherman, whose miracles were often performed at, or near, the sea, and whose first disciples were called to leave their nets and fish for people.  

Perhaps the experience of islanders, and their familiarity with the sea, might help us value it as a source of energy, a transport route, and a source of food to be nurtured and preserved, not exploited and despoiled.  Perhaps we need to make the “remote” more central to our thinking and, in remote seas, find signs of God’s loving kindness.

Prayer

God of tempest and seashore,
of fish and bird, of wind and wave,
help us to treasure the sea,
to nurture the life that exists there,
and to learn that You are found on the edge,
not just in the centre.  Amen.