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An English scholar of ancient religious archeology, David Elkington, who has seen the collection, believes that the books could be 'the major discovery of Christian history'. He said, 'It's a breathtaking thought that we have held these objects that might have been held by the early saints of the Church.' Though in code, there are images decorating the covers of the books which are clearly Christian.
In the age of computers and advanced technology when information can be buzzed around the globe in seconds, it is quite salutary to think that God may be communicating with the 21st century through a small collection of texts inscribed on lead which has remained hidden for most of Christianity's existence in a desert cave.
Perhaps we are being given a reminder here that God often reveals himself in small and supposedly insignificant and sometimes quite hidden ways. The 13th century mystic, Julian of Norwich gave us a famous example of how God reveals the totality of his love for us and all creation through a simple hazelnut. Julian wrote:
It was at this time that our Lord showed
me spirituality how intimately he loves us. I saw that he is
everything that we know to be good and helpful. In his love he
clothes us. And he showed me more, a little thing, the size of a
hazel nut, on the palm of my hand, round like a ball. I looked at
it thoughtfully and wondered; "What is this?" and the answer came, "It
is all that is made." I marvelled that it continued to exist and did not
suddenly disintegrate; it was so small. And again my mind
supplied the answer, 'It exists, both now and for ever, because God
loves it. " In short, everything owes its existence to the love of God."
One of the positive things we can do during Lent is to remember just how much God loves us, insignificant though we may feel ourselves to be. If God can show us this love through an hazelnut, how much more thorough the action of his grace in our hearts. Perhaps we might find time to do a little exploration of the caves of our souls. There we may be surprised that God has been leaving us coded messages of his love for years. It's just that these messages are so small we might not have notices. But small, with god, never means insignificant.
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