State of the Church: The Celtic Revival (29)I cannot understand for what reason a Christian can strive about the faith with a Christian; but whatever has been said by the orthodox Christian, who rightly glorifies the Lord, the other will reply Amen, because he also loves and believes alike. Thus do you all say and mean one thing, that you may both be one, all Christians.
– Columbanus, Letter to Pope Boniface
“…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
– John 17.21
Points of division
The clergy of Gaul had insisted that Columbanus come to meet with them, so that they could set him straight about their differences. He declined. They were not his superiors and had no authority over his work. The land on which Columbanus built two ministries was given by local kings who were assured the people in their jurisdiction would be blessed by the undertaking, which they were.
Ultimately, one of those kings, offended at Columbanus’ calling him to repent of his sinful ways, would conspire with the clergy to run the Irishmen out of town.
But for the time, Columbanus encouraged the clergy to meet, and for their boss from Rome to come and meet with them. On the surface, the issues the clergy insisted on resolving had to do with having the right haircut (tonsure) and how to calculate the date of Easter. Columbanus regarded these issues as strictly secondary; they were not central to the Gospel which all Christians believe. By holding fast to the Gospel and its explicit requirements, we declare our true faith and communion with all others who love and believe the Lord.
Which, Columbanus had come to see, based on the reports of the many men who had fled their parishes to join his communities, these priests did not. He urged them, via their pope, to meet together and see if they might settle their own differences and find their way back to the Gospel. He would not submit to them because they were not in submission to Christ.
It wasn’t the Irish missionaries who were shattering the peace of the Gospel. It was the clergy of Gaul who were great nitpickers but false disciples of Christ.
Key to peace
Jesus is the Key to the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God is the defining context of the life of every true believer. There, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit are the central virtues. There, repentance from known sins is the daily practice of all. There, love abounds, even with those who cut their hair different from one another. Jesus is the Key to the peace of the Kingdom, and those who truly believe in Him hold fast to Him only as they pursue together good works of love.
As long as we focus on Jesus and our calling to His Kingdom, we can let a good many secondary issues slide. Wear robes or not wear robes? Praise songs or hymns? Luther or Rome? And dozens more secondary issues. Surmounting such differences for the sake of Christian unity is precisely what churches today don’t seem able to do. To my knowledge, no visible oneness of the Body of Christ exists in any community. No common worship. No joint efforts of evangelism or caring for the poor. No common meals or sacraments. Only scores of churches, all claiming to be Christian, assiduously pursuing their ministries without any regard for one another, guarding their sheep against what they perceive as poachers on every hand.
Meanwhile, as is painfully obvious, Jesus withholds the blessing of neighbors coming to believe in Him because those neighbors do not see the oneness He insists we must have.
Columbanus did not insist that the Catholic clergy of Gaul believe like he did in every detail. All that he insisted on was that they believe in Jesus and His Kingdom of righteousness and love one another in His Name. He could not make that happen in his day, and we are far from making it happen in ours.
But the way to overcome our differences and begin to become one in the Lord begins in prayer, individually and with other believers, seeking Jesus and His Presence, that we might be visible as His Body to our world.
For Reflection
1. Why do you think Christians today care so little about that for which Jesus prayed so earnestly?
2. How can prayer be an effective way to overcome our differences and fold hands together before the Lord?
Psalm 48.1-8
Cwm Rhondda: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Great is God, now greatly praise Him in the city of the LORD!
Holy she, His lovely mountain, great and glorious by His Word!
God her King is great within her, He, her Stronghold ever sure!
He, her Stronghold ever sure!
Earthly kings, amazed and wond’ring, look upon the Church with fear.
See them flee in dread and anguish, knowing that the LORD is near.
For the city of the Savior God will keep forevermore!
God will keep forevermore!
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For a good complementary study to this, check out Pray for Your Church. It’s free in The Ailbe Bookstore. And download our ReThinking Church Appraisal Tool by clicking here. And to refresh and deepen your time in God’s Word, order a copy of The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart while you’re there.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Church” raises questions all church leaders must answer. Our Read Moore podcast has begun a new series of readings from our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. The focus of our Scriptorium daily study is on “Matthew: The Coming of the Kingdom.” Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
