True Colors:
A Closer Look at St. Margaret of Scotland
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In today's Gospel, Matthew has recorded some of Jesus' teachings about heaven. Heaven is hidden from our earthly eyes. It is only through images, similes, and metaphors that we can begin to grasp the concept. Matthew uses several familiar comparisons to help us understand this place of everlasting life: pearls of great price, good fish are separated from bad fish, righteous people and evil doers pointed out. Matthew concludes this selection by saying that heaven is like a householder who brings out from her treasure what is new and what is old. We might paraphrase this by saying: heaven is like a person who shows her treasure, one who lets the world see her true colors. Today we have with us a team of educators from the Virginia Association of Independent Schools. They will be at St. Margaret's until Wednesday. They will spend time reading a document we have compiled. These pages tell about us as an educational institution. The committee has read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested all manner of details about us before coming to Tappahannock. Now what they are going to do is investigate to learn what our true colors are. All people and institutions have colors. Often times they remain hidden, but in times of crisis or celebration, the colors are brought out for all to see. Colors can give out much information without the need of extensive documents. In the days following the tragedies of September 11, Americans spontaneously displayed the American flag. When the stores ran out of flags, people put on ribbons of red, white, and blue. We all had some inner, basic need to show that we were united under an emblem of freedom. I saw a picture of homeless men standing in front of boxes which served as their shelter. On one of the boxes was a decal of an American flag. I wondered if these men might have fought in our Armed forces. In the days following September 11, we also showed our true colors by sending money and giving blood. Americans wanted to send a message to the rest of the world about who we are. We showed the world our colors. Today many members of the St. Margaret's community are wearing tartans to show a connection with Scotland and the woman who was the Scottish Queen almost a thousand years ago. Now we can all look around the church and see girls in plaids who certainly don't look Scottish. But these girls are wearing plaids to tell us something about whom they are and who they wish to become. I have a stole on which is made of the Clergy Tartan of Scotland. It would tell warring tribes that I was a member of the clergy. Wearing this plaid, I would be granted safe conduct between the rival tribes. The school processed to St. John's Church behind a colorful banner that tells about who we are. In the upper left corner, we have the cross of St. Margaret superimposed upon the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. St. Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross. When Scotland adopted Andrew as their special saint, they showed this by also adopting his cross. And when Margaret was recognized as a saint, Andrew's cross was incorporated into Margaret's coat of arms. The Episcopal Church in America has a special connection with Scotland. Before our revolution, we were a part of the established Church of England. Following the Revolution, the British church refused to consecrate any American priests as bishops. Men elected to serve in this capacity would have to swear allegiance to the King of England. And, showing their true colors, they refused to sign. England marked these clergy as traitors to the crown. So the colonial church turned to Scotland for help. Our first bishops were consecrated according to the Scottish rite, and many of the rituals we use today come to us through Scotland, rather than England. In the lower part of the banner, we see a golden ship on a red background. This ship has been borrowed from the shield of the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia. The Diocesan shield has three such ships: one each for the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. These were the three ships which landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. In the upper right quadrant of our banner, we display the shield of St. Margaret's School and the year the school was established, 1921. The purple thistle also connects us to Scotland, while the cross, chalice, and Bible proclaim our heritage as a church school. Across the top of the banner, you can see the blue waves of the Rappahannock River. And in case these colorful depictions of our history are not clues enough, our name, "St. Margaret's School, Tappahannock, Virginia," has been inscribed in gold around the border. These are our colors. They tell something about us and who we strive to be. But how does a person show her true colors? How do people know who we really are? They can read our colors, recognize our plaids, decipher our banners, and read our documents, but that is only what we claim to be. To really know who a person is, you watch what they do. You observe how they live their lives. Margaret became Queen of Scotland when she married King Malcolm. Margaret used her education and position to bring about many reforms in the church. She helped revise the educational requirements of men seeking to serve as priests. She taught her husband and his court to read. She was an early advocate of equal opportunities for women. Margaret had eight children, but she also found time to establish monasteries, churches, and hostels for pilgrims. Much of her private life was devoted to prayer and the giving of alms to feed the poor. It is recorded that Margaret herself often distributed the food to those in need. Margaret died at the age of 48. Her many admirers petitioned the Pope of Rome to recognize her as a saint. The Pope sent a delegation to look into Margaret's life. He sent men to see what her true colors were. After this investigation, the papal authorities declared that Margaret's true colors were indeed the colors of Jesus. She had lived her life so that God's love showed through her to all she came in contact with. The Pope declared her to be a saint in 1250. We can not all be queens, although I am making a list of things I will do if I ever get crowned. But we can all live a life that takes full advantage of the talents we have been given and the opportunities that come our way. When asked to show your true colors, I pray that the world will recognize in you the colors of love, faith, and charity woven into a splendid tartan: "One grown in age and grace." Just as Jesus used many images to explain heaven, he also assured us that heaven was a reasonable goal for each of us. We are assured that we will not be asked why we were not more like Moses, or St. Margaret, but rather, "How did you use your gifts to show God's love to the world?" |
  Meet Margaret  St. Margaret's School is part of a worldwide organization of schools named for Queen Margaret. The Queen Margaret of Scotland Girls' Schools Association comprises 10 institutions in 7 countries. Students and faculty from SMS-Tappahannock have traveled to Australia, England, and New Zealand on exchanges with QMSGSA members. We think of St. Margaret as Scottish, but she was an English princess born in Hungary (c. 1045). Margaret came to Scotland by chance. Her family was fleeing England after the death of Edward the Confessor when a storm forced their vessel to take shelter on the Scottish coast. It was love at first sight for Malcolm, but not for Margaret. She had been educated by Benedictines for a life of work and prayer, and had to be convinced by
friends to marry. Malcolm came to the Scottish throne after the ruthless Macbeth. Margaret's influence did much to civilize Scotland. At Dunfirmline, Margaret often would sit outside on a special rock so she would be accessible to people in trouble. Margaret was the mother of eight, including three Scottish kings, a Queen of England, and an empress. The Chapel of St. Margaret at Edinburgh Castle is the oldest example of Norman architecture in Scotland. All of the chapel guild members are named Margaret.For more information visit the Queen Margaret of Scotland Girls' School Association at www.qmsgsa.org  Photo above: Queen Margaret's College, Wellington New Zealand - bronze casting of St. Margaret and child. Full details of the sculpture. Chaplain Ann Reeder Riggs presented this sermon to the school community at the St. Margaret's Day service on November 11, 2001. |
