The Name's Bond...

While updating the blog at the weekend, I discovered that yesterday (15th Sept.) was the feast of a St. Bond of Sens. He is a rather obscure Spanish saint of the late sixth early seventh century who appears to have committed a crime of some sort (maybe even fratricide) and become a public penitent, moving to Sens, a town south-east of Paris, and coming under the guidance of St. Artemius, a bishop.

Of course, Bond stood out to me because of his name! Notwithstanding M’s ‘desire’ to make Bond a ‘half-monk, half hitman’ it is probably as close to sainthood as 007 will ever get. Or is it. He is constantly prepared to die for the safekeeping and peace of the world (and in No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s Bond does exactly that), which is rather more than most people would do. Where his cause for sainthood would falter is in the methods he chooses to achieve this aim.

James Bond methods are those of a broken man, but one who is broken in the manner of the Japanese art of kintsugi. In his brokenness Bond kills and uses people. The gold lacquer that mends him is the cause for which he fights. And it not only holds Bond together but heals him, enabling him to fight again another day. 

By and by, Saints are kintsugi people also. The correct definition of a saint is not someone who is perfect but one who realises that they are not and turns to God for help. They are broken in their sinfulness and their gold lacquer is God’s grace. J. Bond and St. Bond, therefore, are two sides – sacred and profane - of the same coin.

Amazingly, or perhaps not, St. Bond is not the patron saint of spies. Yes, there is one, and it is Joshua who reconnoitred /spied on Canaan for Moses. The Saint as well as the spy remains in the shadows. There are advantages to this: good work is easier to achieve when no-one is looking.

taken from my instagram page @sehnsuchtandwine