the past month, the readings in celtic daily prayer have been about "the house that john built"--the celtic form of church that saw itself as the work of followers of the beloved disciple, john, who listened to the heartbeat of the holy one. at the council of whitby, overseen by hilda the abbess in the late seventh century, the church of peter imposed its order upon the church of john. the "house that john built" went underground, as it were, surviving in all sorts of practices that we today sometimes call "celtic christianity."
there are many today who are trying to recover such a gentle, less imposing form of the church. celtic daily prayer concludes the series of readings with these encouraging words:
"so,is there a house that john built--today? is it being built again? if so, it will be through leaning as beloved john did on the breast of jesus, through hearing his heart-cry and uniting our hearts with his. it will not be through the establishing of some radical alternative structure that breeds schism or becomes another fast-decaying denomination awaiting fossilization. it may be through living in a way that is recognizably different, as hild and cuthbert and the others did, working in and alongside the structures presented to them--with simplicity and fervour. if the structures fall, so be it--whatever is of lasting value will endure.
"as columba said to his community when he was dying:
'see that you be at peace among yourselves,
my children, and love one another.
follow the example of good men of old,
and god will comfort you and help yo
both in this world
and in the world which is to come.'
"and this was the peace that columba found:
"the peace of christ." (p.794)
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