Oneness

When we were in Scotland last summer, the landscape was dotted with ancient Celtic crosses. I came to love the symbolism.

Planted firmly in the ground, they remind us of the great cathedral of earth, sea, and sky, and they point to the deep connection between heaven and earth. The cross itself, of course, is a symbol of Christ, and the circle which overlays it represents the cosmos. The circle is centered on the intersection of the horizontal and the vertical beams, reminding us that all that is, comes forth from the same point of origin, and all that has being is therefore sacred.

Inside the cross, the sculpted knot work is interlaced. This is called the everlasting pattern. It is difficult to see where one strand ends and another begins. It is a vision of the weave of time and eternity, heaven and earth, God and humanity, the soul and the senses, the sacred forever flowing deep within the matter of earth.

At a time when so much of life is fragmented, this is a powerful reminder to me that there is much more to this life than we can see or hear or feel. And, it calls me open wide my heart to God’s presence woven into every aspect of my life.

Let us pray: Holy God, Even in the midst of life’s fissures and fragmentation, we sense there is an underlying connection, a wholeness. We sense an underlying oneness of your presence binding us together. Give us open eyes, open hearts, open hands that we might notice You, woven into all that has being. May we receive this life and all your gifts as sheer blessing. Amen.