|
GROWING
EDGES
Dear
Friends,
 In
this issue we are looking at Celtic Christian
spirituality to see what we can learn about
“how should we then live?” This vigorous
expression of Christian life and witness
flourished in the 4th to the 8th centuries
in the rugged lands of Ireland, Scotland,
Wales, England, and beyond. The evangelical
passion and heroic exploits of Patrick and
Brigid and Brendan and Columba and Aidan
and Cuthbert and Chad and Cedd and Hilda
and so many others should thrill us and
fill us with gratitude for their faithfulness
in bringing the gospel to the English speaking
world. But even more importantly, we want
to learn from them a faithfulness for our
day and our time. Like us they lived in
a transition period when culture was changing
radically, and the ways they confronted
those cultural changes—giving an alternate
vision of life in the kingdom of God and
ultimately turning culture toward Christ—have
much to teach us.
Three
Considerations
Because
of the renewed interest today in all things
Celtic there are things to consider when
studying the spirituality that came from
this time. I mention three.
Firstly,
there is a tendency today to twist and turn
Celtic spirituality into anything and everything
people favor at the moment; from ecological
passion to feminism to New Age magic-religion.
But this simply cannot be done if we are
to be true to the historical record. This
was an explosion of Christian orthodoxy
which was deeply Trinitarian in its expression.
To be sure, they did have an extraordinary
love of the natural world, but this was
because they saw creation as a beautiful
expression of the loving heart of the Creator.
They did indeed have both women and men
in all expressions of leadership, but this
came only as the natural expression of their
dealing severely with the human love of
power in relationships. Once human power
grabs were defeated through the love of
Christ, then it really didn’t matter who
was in any particular position of leadership
and authority. And so forth. Celtic spirituality
was throughly and authentically Christian.
Secondly,
many today overly romanticize Celtic spirituality,
as if these saints spent their days walking
through flowering meadows and their nights
drinking ale around a cozy fireplace. On
the contrary, theirs was a rough, rugged
spirituality that faced squarely the trials
and sorrows of everyday life. They developed,
for example, liturgies of common life like
“The prayer of the milkmaid” and “The prayer
of how to relate to the neighbor who is
a nuisance”. Far from a romanticized, rose-tinted
faith, the Celts engaged life fully with
all its sorrows and joys.
Thirdly,
some approach Celtic spirituality in only
a bookish, academic sort of way, and when
they do this they miss the heart and passion
which is at the very center of their faith.
This was a spirituality of the heart that
was deeply relational and community based.
They saw prayer and action, contemplation
and engagement, to be of the same cloth.
And their passion—passion for God, passion
for people, passion for life—is truly amazing.
Their jubilant festivals, their missional
lifestyles, their celebration of creation,
all speak of the Celtic passion. Would to
God that we too would have such a passionate,
heart faith!
Enjoy
the resources available here. Read . . .
study . . . grow . . . live!
Peace
and joy,
Richard J. Foster
|
