The Natural Human Longing For Peace
There is a longing for peace deep within the human soul today. It is a yearning within us and between us in the most important relationships of our lives. It is a yearning among us as nations and as an entire earth community. Yet ranged against this longing peace are some of the most threatening forces that history has seen. These are forces of fear and fragmentation. And they are wedded to the mightiest political powers and religious fundamentalisms of the world today. Yet deeper still I believe is the longing for peace.
To see Christ as leading us further into the unity of life is a belief that was cherished in the ancient Celtic world. I have spoken of the new longing for peace today and the growing consciousness of the earth's oneness. But this is an ancient longing and a perennial wisdom. All the great spiritual traditions of humanity have pointed in their distinct ways to the Oneness from which we come and the Oneness that we long for. The Celtic tradition has done this through its love of Christ. He is viewed as leading us not into a separation from the world and the rest of humanity but into a renewed relationship with the Ground of Life, the One from whom all things come.
And so the Celtic tradition has some important contributions to make today That is not to say that we all need to become Celtic Christians, which would be as absurd as saying that we all need to become Roman Catholics or Jehovah's Witnesses. These are the definitions of the past that have been used to separate us. What we need today are insights and spiritual practices that remind us of the Unity of our origins and that further nourish the longing for peace that is stirring among us.
The Celtic tradition offers these to us while at the same time being deeply aware of the disharmonies within and between us that shake the very foundations of life. This is not a tradition that is naive regarding the destructive energies of evil. [It draws upon] material that ranges from the earliest centuries after Christ through to today. Some of these sources historically have been hidden or lost sight of, such as The Acts of John and The Secret Book of John. Others, such as the biblical gospel of John, have been avail-able all along although viewed through lenses colored by the imperial orthodoxy of the fourth century and following. The Celtic tradition cherishes the memory of the one whom Jesus especially loved. John is remembered as leaning against Jesus at the Last Supper. It was said of him that he therefore heard the Heartbeat of God.
To see Christ as leading us further into the unity of life is a belief that was cherished in the ancient Celtic world. I have spoken of the new longing for peace today and the growing consciousness of the earth's oneness. But this is an ancient longing and a perennial wisdom. All the great spiritual traditions of humanity have pointed in their distinct ways to the Oneness from which we come and the Oneness that we long for. The Celtic tradition has done this through its love of Christ. He is viewed as leading us not into a separation from the world and the rest of humanity but into a renewed relationship with the Ground of Life, the One from whom all things come.
And so the Celtic tradition has some important contributions to make today That is not to say that we all need to become Celtic Christians, which would be as absurd as saying that we all need to become Roman Catholics or Jehovah's Witnesses. These are the definitions of the past that have been used to separate us. What we need today are insights and spiritual practices that remind us of the Unity of our origins and that further nourish the longing for peace that is stirring among us.
The Celtic tradition offers these to us while at the same time being deeply aware of the disharmonies within and between us that shake the very foundations of life. This is not a tradition that is naive regarding the destructive energies of evil. [It draws upon] material that ranges from the earliest centuries after Christ through to today. Some of these sources historically have been hidden or lost sight of, such as The Acts of John and The Secret Book of John. Others, such as the biblical gospel of John, have been avail-able all along although viewed through lenses colored by the imperial orthodoxy of the fourth century and following. The Celtic tradition cherishes the memory of the one whom Jesus especially loved. John is remembered as leaning against Jesus at the Last Supper. It was said of him that he therefore heard the Heartbeat of God.
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