<\/p>\n
June 9 commemorates Columba, the Abbot of Iona (d. 597), who
\nhas become a rather unlikely saint-hero to contemporary emergence, liberal, and
\nprogressive Christians–as well as postmodern folks who might identify
\nthemselves as spiritual but not particularly religious.<\/p>\n
Born in Donegal, Ireland in 521 with the given name, According to ancient Celtic Christians like Columba, faith God Unlike the early Roman Christians who made pilgrimage to Over the centuries of Christian history, the journey But for untold millions of others, metaphors of stability Postmodern people possess no stable identity, nothing is Against the backdrop of change, some Christians argue that This is, of course, a new-and-ever ancient vision of what it Traversing corries, traversing forests, <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Happy St. Columba Day. Sometimes the journey is the way. I wish you s<\/span>afe travels. <\/span>Hope the road June 9 commemorates Columba, the Abbot of Iona (d. 597), who has become a rather unlikely saint-hero to contemporary emergence, liberal, and progressive Christians–as well as postmodern folks who might identify themselves as spiritual but not particularly religious. Born in Donegal, Ireland in 521 with the given name, “Colum,” meaning “dove,” Columba devoted his life…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3,9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-history-and-theology","category-holiday","category-saints"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n“Colum,” meaning “dove,” Columba devoted his life to God and the Celtic
\nchurch. <\/span>He was a peripatetic
\nfellow, wandering about Ireland founding monasteries. <\/span>In 563, for unknown reasons, Columba left Ireland for
\nScotland. <\/span>As his biographer notes,
\n“he sailed away, wishing to be a pilgrim for Christ.”<\/p>\n
\nwas a sacred journey. <\/span>They did not
\ninvent the practice of pilgrimage.
\n<\/span>Rather, the Celts redefined the whole of the Christian life as a holy
\njourney. <\/span>As Columba is said to
\nhave written:<\/p>\n
\ncounseled Abraham to leave his own country and go on pilgrimage to the land
\nwhich God has shown him . . . Now the good counsel which God enjoined here on
\nthe father of the faithful is incumbent on all the faithful; that is to leave
\ntheir country and their land, their wealth and their worldly delight for the
\nsake of the Lord of the Elements, and go in perfect pilgrimage in imitation of
\nhis.<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/i><\/p>\n
\nspecific locations associated with Christ or the saints, Celts tended toward no
\nparticular destination–except toward “paradise,” toward wisdom, salvation, or
\ndivine union with God. <\/span>On this
\nquest they wandered across the seas; they wandered on land. <\/span>Occasionally they stopped to set up a
\ncross, some huts, and a small monastic community–as Columba did at Iona–but
\nthen they mostly wandered again.
\n<\/span>Theirs was a vagrant life for Christ, a self-imposed exile from their
\nhomeland to find new life in God.
\n<\/span>As one ancient historian noted, “They wanted to go into exile for the
\nlove of God, they cared not whither.”<\/p>\n
\nmetaphor became somewhat lost–replaced by metaphors of kingdom, tribe, family,
\nand social order for faith and the church. <\/span>For many generations, faith was accepting one’s place in
\nGod’s divine design and being obedient to those in authority above you. <\/span>Some Christians–those of a more fundamentalist
\nsort–still see things this way.<\/p>\n
\nand authority have become meaningless. <\/span>As a result, the metaphor of faith-as-a-journey has been
\nrediscovered and recovered. <\/span>It resonates
\nwith many contemporary people.<\/p>\n
\ninherited from the past, no family ties bind, and all forms of personhood must
\nbe chosen, and often, chosen again.
\n<\/span>Many people live in several states (or countries), marry more than once,
\nchange religions one or more times, and switch jobs a dozen times or more. <\/span>Indeed, instability is so pronounced
\nthat some philosophers argue that constant questing for personal meaning is the
\nonly sane way to adapt to the contemporary world. <\/span>Life is an unfinished and unfinishable project. <\/span>Human beings are, in essence, homeless
\nwanderers, spiritual tourists or religious nomads.<\/p>\n
\nthe church must be more orderly or more authoritative–looking toward old
\nexamples found in Roman Catholicism or Calvinism to enforce conformity and
\nstability. <\/span>But others have decided
\nthat the better choice is to, as St. Columba did, embrace homelessness as a way of life–to leave the familiar homeland
\nand set sail for Christ wherever that may lead. Stability and assurance come as they walk. Progressing on the journey is the mark of spiritual faithfulness, discerning the way the spirit leads is maturity. <\/span>Following in the footsteps of the ancient Celts, many
\ncontemporary Christians have become peregrini,<\/i>
\nwanderers with Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nmeans to be a person of faith. <\/span>A
\nnever-settled, always-grounded traveler of the way. <\/span>Or, as was prayed by ancient wayfarers:<\/p>\n
Traversing valleys long and wild.
The fair white Mary still uphold me,
The Shepherd Jesu be my shield,
The fair white Mary still uphold me,
The Shepherd Jesu be my shield.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nrises up to meet you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"