We are a nautical nation with a long coastline and a long tally of maritime exploits. We take pride in the likes of Francis Chichester and Ernest Shackleton. We support the RNLI and we respect Captain Cook and Captain Bligh for their navigational skills.
We may not sing ‘Eternal Father strong to save’ as often as we once did and the forms of prayer to be used at sea are not as familiar as they once were but there remains an awareness that the cruel sea requires something like a sublime respect for the raw power it can display.
The Bible is not strong on the place of old salts and tars in its concept of society, though the Psalms have a respect for natural forces that makes it a valuable anthology for us all. But there are two places where a life on the ocean wave made its way into the New Testament narrative – Paul’s hazardous voyage to Rome and the instance where the writer of ‘Hebrews’ uses the word ‘anchor’. Paul’s hazardous experience in the Mediterranean is closely and knowledgeably described in ‘Acts’.
When we turn to ‘Hebrews’, the word ‘anchor’, however, comes with a jolt. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the writer, whoever he was, must have been a landlubber. Or perhaps like Shakespeare he had no qualms about mixing his metaphors. He says we have an anchor that is placed inside the holiest part of the tabernacle or temple. The anchor symbolises hope. Why an anchor should be found there, so far from any serious stretch of water, is odd. The mixture of metaphors is outrageous. But it was taken up by the Boys’ Brigade and made their emblem.
Even odder is the choice of symbol when we remember that the virtue of an anchor is that it secures a vessel to a fixed point. A ship at anchor is not going anywhere. The Christian faith is anything but that. Indeed it is fashionable today to speak of it in terms of a journey, just as Bunyan did.
None the less at just about the same time as Sir William Smith founded the Boys’ Brigade Priscilla Owens, in Baltimore, made her own use of the symbol when she wrote the song ‘Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?’. This use of the symbol has the merit of celebrating commitment and constancy but it seems likely that the writer of ‘Hebrews’ might have been surprised if he or she had seen the way the idea has taken off.
BB ANCHORAGE
The Boys’ Brigade can well sing ‘We have an anchor’. It is the BB emblem and with it goes the slogan ‘Sire and Stedfast’. Formed in 1883 by Sir William Smith in Glasgow, it was the first voluntary uniformed youth movement in the world. Its companies and battalions are found more readily in the north of England than the south. With 750,000 members in 60 countries, it continues to seek to advance Christ’s kingdom among boys and the promotion of ‘true Christian manliness’. It has been exploring views on its vision, mission and values over the past two years. It now has a girls’ section.
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