John Scotus Eriugena, not to be confused with John Duns Scotus, the Franciscan priest/theologian of the Middle Ages, was one of many non-ordained wandering Irish monks (peregrini) of the 9th century. More a philosopher than a theologian, Eriugena eventually became head of the Palace School at Aachen (France). His writings inspired many future mystics.
For Eriugena, God is the flow of life in all things: everything reveals God. Creation is a theophany. If you wish to know the creator, come to know the creatures.
Eriugena spoke of two essential books that we must read. The “the little book,” the Bible, guides our relationships, encouraging faithfulness to strangers, refugees, and the poor. The “big book” is the vast living text of the universe, all of which vibrates with the sound of the divine.
What is deepest in us is divine, not corruption. Sin is soul-forgetfulness. Christ, our epiphany, shows us what we have forgotten. Christ lifts the veil so that we can what we truly are. Nature forms us and grace re-forms us.
This positive message, rooted in biblical wisdom, and heralding an inner authority, posed a threat to the Christian Church spouting a corrupted human nature, original sin, in need of the sacraments dispensed by its clergy. Consequently, Eriugena’s teachings were condemned by two church councils.
Eriugena challenges us:
- How would our lives change if we recognized the divine in all things, starting with the core of our being? How would that transform our relationships with ourselves, others and with the created world?
- What if we were more attentive to the sound of the divine in creation, rather than the unhealthy, if not destructive, voices of our tiny world?
- What if our liturgies celebrated, while reminding us of what we already are, the Body of Christ, empowered and sent us to transform the world in loving service?!