In my quest for ancient examples of forgotten church practice, I have recently come across a collection of writings called 'penitentials', specifically a bunch of them that were written in Ireland and Wales roughly 1300 years ago. For those of you not really interested in 8th century texts written by monks living in Co. Meath (are there any??), a penitential is simply a list of instructions of how to get 'back on track' with God after a person has done something wrong. The formula runs thus: mess up, go to priest, priest looks up corresponding penitential, priest tells you what to do, do it, things all good again.If there are any Roman Catholic of Eastern Orthodox folk reading, you will be much more familiar with this sort of thing than I am, being a rather blinkered Baptist. But before everyone gets up in arms about this sort of legalistic formula being what's wrong with Christianity in general, let me say why I found the principles behind the Celtic penitentials both enlightening and also potentially important for a 21st century Christian church.
Tom O'Loughlin writes that the penitentials' understanding of 'repentance' (because that is ultimately what we're talking about here) comes from ancient Celtic culture. The Welsh and Irish legal systems were based on what is called 'honour price'. The idea was that if you committed a crime against another person, you would have to pay that person's family an honour price (depending on severity of the crime, family's status etc), and once the was done, the matter was settled. Behind this practice is the idea that ALL crimes are redeemable. Now put God in the equation. So you've done something to break one of God's laws (i.e. committed a crime against him), and there is an honour price you have to pay (as recorded in the penitential). Depending on what you have done this price might be more of less, but ultimately there IS a way back onto the right path. There always is, without exception.
If there's one thing I excel at as a Christian, it's messing up. Sometimes I've messed up so badly that I feel God is on the other side of the galaxy and that there's no way back to him, I could never get myself out of the hole I've gotten myself into. For people like me (and I think there might be a few), the penitentials bring a message of hope. There IS a way back. It might not be an easy road and may involve me paying a high price in terms of forgiving, seeking forgiveness, reforming habits etc, but there is always a way. There is always a way.
Everything is redeemable.
Amen! There is always a way. Everything is redeemable! What hope this is for today's generation!
ReplyDeleteThe truth and practice of repentance is a vital business in our lives - for those not-yet-Christ-followers, repentance will be their first step, as it was for all new Christ-followers. And for those who are now Christ-followers, it will continue throughout our path of discipleship, every time we mess up we need to 'turn and re-turn'.
And that is why Baptism, and understanding its theology, is SO vital! Not just for our Baptismal act, but for us to live the baptised life!
The danger with such developments as the 'Penitentials', and any man-made approach (religion), is that 'I do it my way', leaving God out completely. God's way says that I can't pray my way out, repent my way out, pilgrimage my way out of the mess. The only way to leave the mess is death!
I will never grow out of this, as the Apostle Paul didn't - 'I am crucified WITH Christ'. The old me, and the messing up me, needs to be laid to rest in the tomb with Jesus!
And the wonder of the Gospel is, that the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me!
So, the Prodigal, who well and truly messed up his life, and lost all the gifts of his father, had to 'come to himself' and face up to the pit he was in.
Repentance, in Hebrew meaning, is both a 'turning' and a 're-turning'. The prodigal turned, and he re-turned, back to his father's arms, and his father's house and his father's relationship and his father's blessing!
What a beautiful story of a biblical 'penitential'. Not a set of instructions, but a story that every child can remember!