Today's Scripture Reading (September 21, 2026): Lamentations 3
Harold Godwinson (1022-1066) was the last
Anglo-Saxon King of England. His reign actually lasted for less than a year.
His reign seemed to have begun with his excommunication from the Roman Catholic
Church, which appears to have been political rather than religious. Harold's
departure from the Church paved the way for his military defeat. Harold's
excommunication removed him from the list of active monarchs approved by the
Catholic Church. It made the Norman ruler William the Conqueror's conquest of
England a proper and legal action. The Catholic Church decided that it could
support William's conquest of England.
Harold died on October 14, 1066 C.E. at the
Battle of Hastings, trying to defend England from the Norman invaders. But the
saga of Harold Godwinson (or Harold II) did not end with his death. After
Harold Godwinson died, his body was stripped of everything that suggested his
rank or identity, including the head that had once borne the crown of England.
In one story of Harold's death, his widow is called in to identify the naked
body of her husband, and the only way that she could do it was by identifying a
private mark on his body about which only she knew. Harold's body was placed
into the hands of his enemies. We are told that Harold's mother offered her son's
enemies Harold's weight in gold so that she could regain control of the body of
her son and give him a proper burial, but the offer was refused. Instead, the
body of Harold Godwinson was disposed of, and it seems that it was disposed of
in such a way that his supporters would never be able to find the body of their
King. Some rumors maintained that his body was buried at sea, where no one
could find it. However, as a direct result of this mysterious disposal of the King's
body, some held onto the hope that Harold had not died, that he had somehow
escaped the Battle of Hastings and was forced to live as a hermit in some
remote back corner of England for the rest of his days. In 1954, an Anglo-Saxon
coffin was found in a church in Bosham, a village that was 57 miles southwest
of London and Harold's birthplace. When the body was exhumed, it was found to
be missing its head, one complete leg, and the lower portion of his other leg; wounds
that are identical to the wounds of Harold II. For some, no other evidence was
needed; this was the body of Harold Godwinson, the excommunicated King.
The tale of the body of Harold Godwinson was
really an attempt to erase Harold Godwinson from the pages of history. Harold's
enemies believed that Harold was literally beyond redemption. However, even if
there were religious reasons for this belief - and I need to stress that we don't
know of any such reasons from our position in history- the belief is untrue.
The beauty of God's story is that no one is beyond God's redemption, not even
King Harold II.
Jeremiah lists all the reasons why Judah has
been cast off and discarded. Yet he still holds out hope for Judah because
Jeremiah knows that God never casts anyone off forever. Jeremiah's hope for
Judah is our hope and an important part of our story. No matter what it is that
we have done, no matter how we are seen by religious people or even by the Church,
even if we have gone through the fire of removal from the Church like Harold
Godwinson, God still stands at the ready to redeem us and bring us back into
his community and presence. This promise, buried deep in Jeremiah's weeping,
brings hope to all who will believe.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Lamentations 4
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