From Volume 4, Number 4, Spring 1998

The Place of Resurrection

Many a newly ordained pastor, regardless of tradition, regardless of gender, soon runs into the deep frustration of trying to lead a congregation in to the patterns and practices of discipleship. The  obstacles are many, including denominational tradition, congregational personality, etc. However, should the new pastor find a congregation (or a congregation's leadership) that agrees that Christian discipleship  "is probably a good idea and maybe we ought to have some programs..." a new obstacle, always present but hitherto hidden, comes lumbering into view.
Discipleship is a journey in which the disciple seeks  to become more and more like the Teacher or Master. A student of an artist might want to study the artist's method and approach with a view of developing his or her own unique style. The disciple on the other hand,  as Jesus said, becomes "like his master" (Matthew 10:24). This implies two things: First, because discipleship is a journey, those who journey together in discipleship must either start from the same place  or find a common place on their journeys to meet and continue together. The soul friend relationships of the Celtic saints were possible because of common values, common beliefs, and the second implication of being  disciples, a common goal.

Without the common goal, the common portion of the journey of discipleship would be rather short for if my goal is to become like Vice President Gore and my companion's is to become like Senator  Helms, we must part company long before our goals are achieved.

The hidden obstacle for the new pastor is just that, a gathering of people with an interest in discipleship, but no common ground and no common goal. When Jesus gathered the Twelve, he found a group  of men who had common ground. They were Jews who knew the Jewish story.

Some, like Matthew the tax gatherer, may have abandoned the observation of the Torah, but they knew the story. Others, like Simon the Zealot, may have twisted the story to serve their desire for the  expulsion of the Roman occupation, but they knew the story. From their disparate backgrounds they had been brought together around a common goal: Jesus the Messiah. True, they may have had no common idea of what the  long awaited Messiah would be or would do. True, their relationship to their Jewish heritage might have been quite varied among them. Nevertheless, both their ground and their goal were common enough to become a  community of disciples.

The Celtic Christians were bound together by relationships rather than by institutions. There were difference in styles, differences in tribal loyalties, contention and competition around their  saints, but their remarkable unity in the face of sinful division spoke of common ground and common goals, common enough to bind them together.

The contemporary world of Celtic spirituality displays no such commonality. A quick search for "Celtic Spirituality" on the world wide web reveals literally hundreds of thousands of 'hits'  with little in common but the presence of those two words on the web sites. A search for "Celtic Christianity" narrows the field somewhat, but not as much as one might expect. There are the neo-pagans who  seek the pre-Christian Celtic spirituality without the taint of Christianity (from a scholarly point of view a hopeless task). There are sites which seek a synthesis of paganism and Christianity — a synthesis not  unreasonable in some sectors of mainline denominations but nonsensical to the likes of Patrick, Columba and Aidan. There are sites which are Protestant (evangelical, charismatic and liberal), Catholic and Orthodox,  each seeking to stake a claim in the renewed interest in Celtic spirituality.

For those who hoped that the resurgent interest in Celtic spirituality would usher in a new wave of renewal in the Christian community, the outlook is fairly bleak. However, one's outlook depends a  great deal on where one stands. This article is being written on Holy Saturday, without doubt the bleakest moment the disciples knew. Their hopes were in chaos and they hid in fear. But the disciples had not  understood God's agenda — nor have we. The ultimate goal of Jesus seemed like a defeat, an ignominious death on a cross. Yet that death made possible a new and unimaginable good, resurrection. The ultimate goal of  God is not, according to the Bible, an earth restored to paradise, but a new and unimaginable good, a new heaven and a new earth.

The Celtic saints, with their common ground of the Christian faith and their common hope of the glory of heaven set about their discipleship with a heavenly goal - the likeness of Jesus, and an  earthly goal - their place of Resurrection. The purpose of the life we take on in the Order of St. Aidan is similar. The elements of spiritual discipline implicit in the Way of Life are directed towards becoming  like Jesus. The attitude we carry in a world steeped in chaos is that of peregrenati pro Christi — pilgrims for the love of Christ, seeking our place of resurrection.

To that end we need to seek the common ground that makes a community of disciples a possibility. The common ground of the living relationship with Jesus Christ, the common ground of the Holy Spirit as  our Sustainer and Empowerer on the journey, the common authority of the Bible to govern our lives and values, the common faith of the Creeds as our common confession; all these, no matter how great our diversity in  other areas, is common ground enough for our pilgrimage.