Columbus Day
Look just beyond the yellow slide on the playground and draw a line in your mind 522 miles southeast toward the Atlantic- flying over Fort Pierce and then Freeport, you will come to the small Bahamian island whose original name was Guanahani. Lush and green split by a lagoon, twelve miles long, five miles wide, it was the scene of an inevitable miracle.
In 1485, 34-year-old Genoa native Christopher Columbus proposed to King John II of Portugal a voyage to discover a short cut to the Orient. Abounding with spices and gold, it was widely theorized that the far away East could be reached by going west. He was rejected. In 1485, he tried again and failed. Dejected, he made one last attempt and appealed to the new, united Spanish monarchs. Queen Isabella I was impressed but a committee scoffed, it was impractical.
For two years, through bouts of frustration, he continually lobbied the royals. They were intrigued but too engaged in the Reconquista of Granada, a war to rid Spain of an Islamic invasion from north Africa. For nearly 800 years, the Muslims were a thorn in the Christian Spain. Innumerable battles kept them at bay, finally, on January 2, 1492, the last Muslim ruler was defeated.
Watching this completion of victory, Christopher Columbus thought of passages from the prophet Isaiah.
42:10 Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth,You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
41:9a “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar!
51:5 “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And my arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust.
Columbus seized the opportunity to appeal to the queen… and was rejected. Thinking his cause was lost, he left town on a mule. Yet, when the king heard of her decision he vetoed it and had Columbus returned to the castle. On the evening of August 3, he set sail.
Five weeks later, at 2 am on October 12, 1492, sailor Rodrigo de Triana shouted “Tierra! Tierra!” (Land! Land!). Columbus led a prayer.
“O Lord, eternal and omnipotent God,
Thou hast, by Thy holy word,
created the heavens, the earth, and the sea;
blessed and glorified be Thy name;
praised be Thy majesty,
who hast deigned that,
by means of Thy unworthy servant,
Thy sacred name should be acknowledged
and made known in this new quarter of the world.”
Upon landing, Columbus named the land after Christ the Savior, in Spanish, “San Salvador.”
Across 522 miles, across 522 years, Christ remains San Salvador. His wisdom, His Word, His wonderful love still guides us through uncharted waters. The isles have heard Him; and in this land of flowers (Florida), we, the inhabitants from the East and all other directions, recognize that our hearts and our prayers point blessedly upward. In Christian love, let’s turn the world upside down. –Jason Goldtrap
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