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Incarnation

Incarnation


Contemporary Christianity has seen a perceptible resurgence of what can only be described as a Celtic influence. This awakening of interest in all things "Celtic" is not confined to spirituality but extends to various other aspects of everyday life including arts and music. The celebration of nature, worship of the feminine and the whole hearted acceptance of the concept of incarnation are some of the aspects of Celtic spirituality which have contributed to its revival (Cowan 1993). Celtic Christianity is a special part of Christianity which exhibited several aspects of the pagan religion which the Celts followed before they became an essentially Christian society (Fitzgerald 1998). This paper shall analyze the early Celtic society in general and Celtic Christianity in particular to understand the relevance of the concept of Incarnation in Celtic spirituality. As religious art, sculpture and poetry offer a good window into the prevalent religious beliefs of the day; their examination would help us to understand Incarnation as depicted in different media. It is essential to identify one example of art, sculpture and poetry for the purposes of our study. It is essential that the works chosen be representative of Celtic spirituality and contains allusions to the concept of incarnation which we shall examine. The Book of Kells, the Celtic High Cross and the anthology "Carmina Gadelica" are particularly suited for our study. Before examining these works of art it is critical to understand the importance of the various symbols which form a recurrent theme in various Celtic works of art. These symbols often represent metaphors and allegories which illustrate important theological concepts which form the basis of Celtic spirituality. A brief overview of the ancient Celtic pagan religion will help us in understanding its influence on Celtic Christianity.


Distinctive Features of Celtic Christianity

The ancient Celts were a pagan civilization who at their peak occupied a large part of Europe. Our knowledge of their civilization primarily is based on the writings of Julius Caesar, Diodorus Sicilus and Strabo. These writings offer us an essentially Roman perspective on the Celtic way of life (Ceaser 1980). Celts had a rich cultural heritage, but they followed an oral tradition which implies that very little of it survives today. Their priests were called Druids and occupied an exalted place in their society (Cowan 1993); they had a strong belief in reincarnation. All Saints day and the feast of Saint Bridget are some Christian festivals which owe their origin to ancient Celtic pagan festivals. Nature was worshipped and the sun was especially venerated. The circle in the Celtic cross is in fact a symbol of the sun. It is fortunate that religious themes were often the motifs of choice and several examples of Celtic art from this pagan period have survived. Art often expressed their understanding of religion.

Though Christianity predated Roman influence in Britain, Ireland and Scotland, the withdrawal of Roman legions from Britain had the effect of insulating Celtic Christians from their Roman counterparts. Hence a distinctive type of Christianity evolved in the predominantly Celtic lands of Britain, Scotland and Ireland (Nash 1991). It is important to understand the various features which contributed towards the distinctive nature of Celtic spirituality, some features are; a monastic tradition which emphasised an austere life dedicated to the contemplation of god, importance of preserving the environment, recognition of the importance of the sacred feminine, community living, interpreting the gospels in a manner comprehensible to the populace and finally having a rich tradition of spirituality (Nash 1991).Another noteworthy feature was the monastic tradition of the early Celtic Christians.


Incarnation in Celtic Spirituality: A Literature Review

Incarnation is a recurring theme in Celtic art. It is important to appreciate the concept of incarnation as understood by ancient Celtic Christians. They regarded Jesus Christ as a living embodiment of god. In other words, Jesus Christ was a physical manifestation of god (Burton-Christie 1999). More importantly the Celtic Christians viewed the entire matrix of creation as a manifestation of the divine (Baggot 1999). They saw divinity in all of god's creation. This explains the Celtic emphasis on coexisting with the environment. This coexistence is seen as vital to the preservation of the natural order (Baggot 1999). The human being is viewed as a microsm who represents the macrosm (Nash 1991). The Celtic school of thought's major contribution to orthodox Christianity is this concept of ecologically sustainable theology.

With this as the background, it is essential to understand that many features of nature have been attributed to the fall of man by the gospels of Matthew and Luke (Mathew 4:24, 1:22, Luke 13:16) in the New Testament. These features are diseases, natural disasters and death. The miracles wrought by Jesus Christ are phenomenon which reiterates his divine antecedents (Luke 7:18–23; Matthew 8:16–17). As the entire matrix of creation was thought to be a divine manifestation, nothing was considered dirty or impure; this was prior to the orthodox tradition of self denial and the original sin. The entire cosmos was charged with the divinity of god and hence was basically sacred. The Orthodox Christian school of thought implies that conception of the cosmos out of nothing means that the formation of the cosmos was done by God by an act of free will and in a movement of love. Humanity was created by God in his likeness and this implies that humanity is blessed with similar freedom but that, like the rest of creation, we too are contingent and dependent on God. Incarnation of god is responsible for the creation of not only humanity but the entire fabric of cosmos. This to a large extent was responsible for the veneration accorded to nature by the Celtic Christians.

As incarnation is an integral part of the Celtic tradition, God is perceived to be much more approachable as his incarnation has allowed him to empathize with the lot of humans. This is apparent in many prayers of Carmina Gadelica, an anthology of Celtic poems and prayers, compiled by Carmichael. This study shall be examining this work in some detail.
De Waal (1999) writes about a Celtic prayer which can be translated as "This is a God physically present, alongside, behind, before, above, below. God is companion, guest, fellow traveler, friend, fellow worker. This flows from their real, lived-out grasp of the centrality of the incarnation. 'God with us' is true!" This is a good indicator of the nature of god as perceived by the Celts. At this stage it is essential to outline the differences in the pre Christian Celtic beliefs which existed in France and Ireland. The Druids of Gaul laid great stress on reincarnation and hence the unchangeable nature of the soul whereas the druids of Ireland believed in the concept of an afterlife.

De Waal (1999) has referenced many Celtic prayers relating to the pastoral occupation of the early Celtic Christians. These prayers are addressed to a variety of saints and the trinity. The common Celtic customs referenced by De Waal indicate their pagan origins and relate to nature worship. This establishes that the Celtic Christians were panentheistic in nature and regarded the entire matrix of creation to be of divine origin and hence sacred. The panentheistic nature of Celtic Christians highlighted their belief in incarnation.

The monks Kallistos and Ignatius (1966) said that through his incarnation God revealed that man too was capable of reaching an elevated state of spiritual development. Celtic Christianity has a holistic view of creation does not see God as separate from His creation and finds the Incarnation of Christ as proof of that view. Celtic theology, inherited from the Druids, teaches that the universe is like a body. God is the head and the cosmos is considered his body. Identification of god with his creation does not obliterate the difference between the creator and his creation, God retains his nature and this implies that God shares in the joys and sufferings of his creation; this unity is personified by Jesus Christ (De Waal 1991). The fundamental concepts of Christian theology remain incarnation, creation, passion and finally resurrection. The monastic nature of Celtic spirituality and the seamless assimilation of several elements of their pre Christian pagan religion are largely responsible for the empathy which a Celtic Christian felt for Jesus Christ (Green 1995).

In conclusion, the concept of incarnation is central to Celtic spirituality. Incarnation to the Celtic Christians was not just a theological concept but was something which pervaded their entire life and affected their interaction with the environment. The concept of incarnation enabled them to view the entire cosmos as a manifestation of the divine. This enabled them to incorporate prayer in a meaningful manner in all their daily jobs like farming, grazing, fishing etc. This in turn led to a rich religious tradition. The establishment of monasteries created the ideal environment for the pursuit of the divine, in addition these monasteries also served as centres of learning during the 'dark ages'.



REFERENCES

Caesar, Julius, 1980 (new trans.) The Battle for Gaul, Boston: David R. Godine [Out of Print]

Burton-Christie, Douglas. 1999 (January). "The Sense of Place." The Way" 39:1

Baggot. A. 1999. Celtic Wisdom. London. Judy Piakus

Nash, James A. Loving Nature: Christian Responsibility and Ecological Integrity. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991

Posted by: Natalie Saturday

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