Thoughts on The Rule of Columbanus
1. In his section On Obedience, Abbott Columbanus quotes John 12.26, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also."
So then, where is Jesus? Or, perhaps where was he while on earth? Was he not with the "outcasts and sinners"? Was he not with the "prostitutes and tax collectors"? In other words, was Jesus not with those who were marginalized and all-but-fogotten in the social and religious world of his time? I suspect that this is where we will still find him today. And this is where we are to be as well if we say we are his followers.
2. In the section On Silence, Abbott Columbanus quotes Isaiah 32.17, "The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever."
How unrighteous I am! I have such a long way to go to "be peace". I struggle constantly with anger and irritation. And "quiet" or "silence" is so hard for me. Times of quiet are just that - times. And those times are few and far between.
Of course I could just over-look this because I live in a different time than Columbanus. But this will not do! Isaiah stated that this was the "result" of righteousness! That means that it is beyond time and seasons. It is to be manifest in whatever time or season one finds oneself in. If one is indeed righteous. And, therefore, I most certainly am not.
So then, where is Jesus? Or, perhaps where was he while on earth? Was he not with the "outcasts and sinners"? Was he not with the "prostitutes and tax collectors"? In other words, was Jesus not with those who were marginalized and all-but-fogotten in the social and religious world of his time? I suspect that this is where we will still find him today. And this is where we are to be as well if we say we are his followers.
2. In the section On Silence, Abbott Columbanus quotes Isaiah 32.17, "The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever."
How unrighteous I am! I have such a long way to go to "be peace". I struggle constantly with anger and irritation. And "quiet" or "silence" is so hard for me. Times of quiet are just that - times. And those times are few and far between.
Of course I could just over-look this because I live in a different time than Columbanus. But this will not do! Isaiah stated that this was the "result" of righteousness! That means that it is beyond time and seasons. It is to be manifest in whatever time or season one finds oneself in. If one is indeed righteous. And, therefore, I most certainly am not.
Comments
God bless you.
Geoff.
The passage from Isaiah is not about our righteousness but God's. The thought is that when God's reign begins, God's righteousness will bring God's "peace and quietness". God's reign was most certainly started by the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ (Mark 1.15).
My struggle is that, while I am a follower of Christ, I have a long way to go. I feel like, even after 20+ years, I am just beginning walking in 'the Way'.