From Volume 2, Number 2, Autumn 1995

Dewi's "Little Things"

An anchorite life of Dewi Sant (St. David of Wales) records Dewi's final message to his community: "Arglwydi, vrodyr a chwioryd, bydwch lawen a chedwch awch ffyd a'ch cret, a gwnewch y petheu  bychein a glywsawch ac a welsawch y gennyf i" ("Lords, brothers and sisters, be happy and keep your faith and your belief, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.") It is more homey and less pompous than the version contained in Rhigyfarch's life (written to establish the independence of the Welsh church from the See of Canterbury): "Fratres mei, perseuerate in his que, a me didicistis et uidistis" ("My brethren, persevere in those things which you have learned from me and have seen in me").

Yet aside from the humble simplicity found in the anchorite's version, there is also an expectation that the Christian life was to be a joyous and even happy venture. That is a remarkable sentiment  from a saint renowned for strict asceticism. Yet the ascetic life also brings with it a life of simplicity and a simplified life is free of the burdens which robs our faith of joy. Dewi's legacy to his people still  lives in the "little things" that he modeled during his ministry.

The Rev'd Patrick Thomas lists several of those little things still practiced in the Welsh speaking valleys of western Wales in his book Candle in the Darkness (Gomer Press, Llandysul, Dyfed). According to Thomas these little things "include such qualities as 'parch' ('respect' -- the sort of respect that can only be earned by showing genuine respect for others) and 'bod yn isel' ('being lowly' -- in the sense of not being puffed up, arrogant or proud) and a realization of the importance of being 'cartrefol' ('at home') both with God and our neighbours." (p. 128) For those seeking to form their lives in the pattern of the Celtic saints these "little things" are very great things indeed.

The ninth element of the Aidan Way calls us to exercise parch (respect) within the community of the faithful. We are all too familiar with the disrespect shown in the Body of Christ towards leaders, towards opponents in the troubled debates of our days, and among Christians who fragment themselves into tiny communities of identity such as liberal, charismatic, evangelical or catholic. In the value of Unity and Community "we resist all gossip and destructive talk about our own denomination or others." I find this a hard discipline. As an Episcopal priest I find many tempting targets in the pages of our denominational publications. To show parch in such circumstances means more than just exercising good manners. There is a spiritual reality behind that respect, a reality that will aid or hinder us in our walk with Jesus Christ to the extent that parch is exercised in our spiritual discipline.

The tenth element of the Aidan Way is devoted to Mission. The Celtic saints carried out the evangelical work of the Gospel not only by a lifestyle of parch, but by the attitude of cartrefol (being at home) with God and their neighbors. Celtic evangelism reminds me of a statement made many years ago by the late Canon David Watson. Watson noted: "The Church teaches to answer the questions raised by her worship." In the Celtic style of evangelism one might say the that Church shares the Good News to answer the questions raised by her lifestyle. To evangelize within a community requires that we must live there -- not only geographically, but in our relationships and, in so far as Scripture permits, in our values.

The fifth element of the Aidan Way is Simplicity of Lifestyle. All too often we try to approach this in terms of materialism. That is not surprising in a very materialistic culture. Yet the Celtic  value of simplicity is better expressed by Dewi's value of bod yn isel (being lowly). The lowly person in Dewi's sense is one who is too aware of his or her own failings to judge the failings of another. This kind of lowliness allows us to see our material possessions as tools to fulfill our destiny in Jesus Christ, rather than signs of our success or prestige.

As much as I would like to stand in some high position and call the Church (and particularly my denomination) to repentance and the holistic Christian life characterized by Celtic Christian  spirituality, my first and true task is to heed the exhortation of Dewi Sant, to follow him in the little things.