09/01/07 Tuesday in the First Week of Epiphany
09/01/07 Tuesday in the Week of Epiphany 1
[Please remember that this is a selection, Feel free to pick and choose]
Collect
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Today's Scriptures:
Ps 5, 6 * 10, 11; Isaiah 40:25-31; Eph 1:15-23; Mark 1:14-28
From Forward Day by Day
Mark 1:14-28. What is this? A new teaching?
People were so amazed. The way Mark tells it, Jesus' arrival in Capernaum just after John the Baptist was arrested must have felt like a whirlwind. That sense of amazement is everywhere in Mark--amazement at Jesus' healing power, at his authority over demons and unclean spirits, at his authority to teach about matters of faith and power in ways that lesser men could never touch. It all looked so new--and for the people of Capernaum, as for all of us, such newness can feel dangerous. The demons recognize the threat. They are terrified in the face of such power, and flee the district at the command they immediately recognize as divine. Talk about amazed! And it's not just the demons. It's as if all the onlookers of this unfolding drama were now literally caught in "a maze," their paths to God crisscrossing this way and that. And their only hope of redemption--the only way through the maze of this world--is to follow the lead of this powerful new master fresh out of Nazareth. There is danger here, as the demons are the first to recognize. The path that Jesus forges through the maze will lead to a cross on Calvary hill. But most amazing of all--that path also leads to Easter morning, and a dawning reign of God from which the demons that haunt us will be banished forever.
A Reflection:
Mark 1:14-20
Jesus' call to the men who were to become known as his disciples was
compelling. We read, both here and in the other gospel accounts, that they
all left what they were doing and followed. Their response, and commitment,
was immediate and total. Have you ever dropped what you were doing and
followed a vocation, a call, or made a similar, radical, change in your
life? Do you know why you did? Would you do it again? If not - why not?
Mark 1:21-28
The people in the Synagogue heard something new, something different,
something they had not heard before. It captured their interest and soon the
crowds flocked to Jesus. This is the same today. When we find ourselves
inspired, or moved by a preacher/teacher/evangelist etc, we strive to hear
as much from this person that we can. We study their views, thoughts, and
then seek to apply these new insights into our lives. When was the last
time you were inspired by a preacher/teacher/evangelist? Do this person's
teaching still inspire you? What inspired you? Are you perhaps an
inspiration for others?
Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
the Diocese of London (Canterbury, England)
Today we remember: Julia Chester Emery, Upholder of Missions
Psalm 67 or 96:1-7
Romans 12:6-13
Mark 10:42-45 (St2)
O Almighty God, who have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant Julia, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may with her attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
read more: satucket.com/lectionary/Julia_Chester_Emery.htm
Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen)
Stepping over Our Wounds
Sometimes we have to "step over" our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the "offended one," "the forgotten one," or the "discarded one." Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them. It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment to step over them, leave them behind and travel on.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
Our second birth
We know, and our knowledge is true, that we who were defiled by our first birth have been cleansed by our second birth; we who were enslaved by our first birth have been freed by our second birth; we who became children of earth at our first birth became children of heaven at our second birth; we who were fleshly because of the corruption inherent in our first birth have become spiritual by virtue of our second birth. The first made us children of wrath; the second, children of grace. Therefore let everyone know that any attack on the reverence due to holy baptism is an insult to God himself who told us: No one who is not born again of water and spirit can enter the kingdom of heaven.
Sound instruction therefore give us the grace to understand the nature and purpose of saving baptism. As the apostle puts it: If we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Christ; for the object of our dying and being buried with Christ is to enable us to rise again and live with him.
Fulbert of Chartres, (960 - 1028) was born in Italy and was appointed chancellor of the cathedral school of Chartres where later he became the bishop. He contributed much to the spiritual renewal of his day.
read more: www.newadvent.org/cathen/06312a.htm or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Fulbert_of_Chartres
Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection, http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
"Marriage and Celibacy: Gifts for the Community"
Jesus says in Matthew 19:12, “There are some of you who are celibate for the sake of the Kingdom. Let anyone accept this who can.”
Deep within the Catholic tradition, we’ve taken that passage and concluded celibacy is better than marriage. But Jesus isn’t saying that. I don’t think that’s what the Church wants to say. Jesus is saying the celibate is simply a gift in the midst of the Body of Christ, like the married people are a gift. The celibate people are a gift to tell us of what ultimately matters and what’s ultimately real. The final state of affairs is community, not coupling.
Healthy celibates give us that pledge, that calling power. Their lives tell us God’s love is sufficient. The Body of Christ, for its wholeness, must have celibates within its midst to tell us that Jesus’ love is enough, that the Kingdom can be primary and can be now.
That’s why unhappy celibates – complaining, materialistic, soft – are such an uncertain trumpet. They’ve lost their power for the Body of Christ. In that state they actually do more harm than good.
Growing Each Day http://www.aish.com/spirituality/growing/
For kindness is Yours, O God, when You compensate each person according to his actions (Psalms 62:13).
In our productivity-oriented society, we tend to place value on the product rather than on the process. Success is praised and failure is condemned, and we have little interest in the circumstances under which others function.
This attitude might be justified in the marketplace, since commerce lives by the bottom line. Still, our preoccupation with commerce should not influence us to think that people's successes and failures should be the yardsticks for how we value them.
God does not judge according to outcome. God knows that people have control only over what they do, not over the results. Virtue or sin are determined not by what materializes, but by what we do and why.
Since the Torah calls on us to "walk in His ways," to emulate God as best we can, we would do well to have a value system so that we judge people by their actions, not their results. This system should be applied to ourselves as well. We must try to do our utmost according to the best ethical and moral guidance we can obtain. When we do so, our behavior is commendable, regardless of the results of our actions."
Today I shall ...
... try to be considerate of others and of myself as well, and realize that none of us is in control of the outcome of our actions, only of their nature.
Epiphany: Revealing, Radiating, Reminding
by Barbara Bate
Epiphany is an unfamiliar word to many of us -- even to many Christians. Here are some phrases that may help it to make more sense:
* a revealing of the presence of God;
* the light of God radiating outward and inward;
* a gift, a reminder that God is here.
Why does this word "epiphany" matter in the church?
The time after Christmas is often a letdown within a secular, consumer-focused culture. But in the Christian "kin-dom," the story is different. Light expands into dark places. Newness appears in the midst of routine. Life bursts out of the expected deadness in the natural world.
Here is one example. It occurred in Zimbabwe, in the middle of July 1997. I was traveling to the rural village of Bindura to preach and lead a workshop for lay preachers in that area. After worship, I was able to visit a children's village called S.O.S. It is one of several places in Zimbabwe where orphaned and "dumped" children (that is the word used by the African people there) are raised, schooled, and loved in small groups presided over by local house mothers. Most of those women are active United Methodists, and they bring the children from the S.O.S. house to worship each Sunday.
On the day of my arrival, I heard about a newborn infant who had been found in the weeds by a local police officer. He had heard her crying while he was walking home along the path outside the village. He took her to S.O.S. The women on the staff determined that the baby was probably four days old and apparently unharmed. In the two weeks before I saw the baby, she had been fed, held, given a place to stay, and a name. The name she was given? Christina.
I watched her napping on one Sunday afternoon, and I realized that she was vulnerable and in one sense abandoned--perhaps by a mother whose family would not accept the presence of a child with an unnamed father. But Christina was also a gift -- to the community of people who were prepared to dedicate themselves to her well-being, to the pastor who supported the ongoing ministry of S.O.S., and even to this visitor from the United States who saw the power of God in her young life. She is a reminder that in the eyes of God, every child is sacred -- in Bethlehem, in Brooklyn, in Bindura.
Where are the epiphanies that are awaiting your attention? Watch and listen, and you will find them.
-- Barbara Bate formerly served on the staff of the General Board of Discipleship of the United methodist Church
PURRS AND PRAYERS
I think maybe cats purring doesn't always mean they're happy, I said to Dave, who was telling us about their old cat who has breast cancer. Cats get breast cancer?
Oh, yeah, his wife said. We've had two who got it.
Kate was purring on the table, when we put her to sleep, I said. I will never forget: the little body, the beautiful fur, the loud purr, the needle.
I think they sometimes purr to make themselves feel better. Maybe to help themselves relax, Marti said.
This made immediate sense to me, and tugged at my heart. What fine animals they are: wise enough to give themselves the gift of calm when the chips are down, knowing that sometimes you can help yourself feel a little better by doing something you do when you are happy.
Sometimes they purr to make themselves feel better. Prayer can be like that sometimes: sometimes it's not a set of brilliantly chosen original words. Sometimes it can't be anything more than the familiar drone of ancient words from someone else, someone long ago, words you learned yourself a long time ago, words that are part of your brain stem now, after all these years, because that is all you have. You're fresh out of brilliant words. So you use the old ones, and they wash over you like a kindly stream of sweet warm water.
Never think that you have to be brilliant in prayer. Don't worry if you can't find the words, or if the only words you do find may not be the right ones. There are no wrong words in prayer. Sometimes there's just a sound, and sometimes there is only silence. God enters anything you inhabit, even if all you have left is your own emptiness.
Well, she's eighteen years old, Dave said. She only weighs four pounds now. It won't be long. And she will probably purr right to the end. which is probably what we should do, as well.
Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org
From the Rule of St. Benedict
CHAPTER 2: QUALITIES OF THE ABBOT OR PRIORESS
Jan. 9 - May 10 - Sept. 9
To be worthy of the task of governing a monastery, the prioress or abbot must always remember what the title signifies and act accordingly. They are believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery. Therefore, a prioress or abbot must never teach or decree or command anything that would deviate from God's instructions. On the contrary, everything they teach and command should, like the leaven of divine justice, permeate the minds of the community.
The social revolution of the Rule starts in this paragraph on authority. This will be a different kind of life than the sixth century Roman ever saw. The head of the monastery will not be a chief or a queen or a feudal lord. The superior of a monastery of Benedictines will be a Christ figure, simple, unassuming, immersed in God, loving of the marginal, doer of the gospel, beacon to the strong.
Once you begin to understand that, you begin to understand the whole new type of authority that the Rule models for a world gone wild with power. You begin to understand that it is not the laws of the mighty that will govern this group. It is the law of God that will preempt all other considerations.
Like Christ, this leader does not lead with brute force. This leader understands the leavening process. This leader, called appropriately abbot or abbess or prioress, is a spiritual parent, a catalyst for the spiritual and psychological growth of the individual monastic, not a border guard or a warden. This leader is not a parent who terrorizes a child into submission; this leader believes in the best and gives people the opportunities to make the mistakes that lead to growth.
The prioress and abbot provide an environment that confronts the monastic with the presence of God, that shows them the Way. After that it is up to the monastic to let the practices of the community and the rhythm of the prayer life work their way until the piercing good of God rises in them like yeast in bread.
"If you meet the Buddha on the road," the Zen master teaches the disciple, "kill him." Don't let any human being become the measure of your life, the Zen implies. Eliminate whatever you would be tempted to idolize, no matter how worthy the object. The role of the spiritual leader, in other words, is not to make martinets out of people; it is to lead them to spiritual adulthood where they themselves make the kind of choices that give life depth and quality. Like the teacher of Zen, Benedict does not make the superior of the monastery the ultimate norm of life. Pleasing the abbot is not what monastic life is all about. Becoming what the abbess or prioress thinks you should be is not the goal of monasticism. Following the leader is not the end for which we're made; finding God is. Benedict makes the superior of his monasteries a lover of people, a leader who can persuade a person to the heights, show them the mountain and let them go.
In our own culture, becoming someone important, climbing the corporate and ecclesiastical ladder has so often meant pleasing the person at the top rather than doing what conscience demands or the situation requires. That kind of leadership is for its own sake. It makes the guru, rather than the gospel, the norm of life. That kind of obedience puts the business before the soul. That kind of authority is not monastic and it is not spiritual. That kind of authority so often leads to the satisfaction of the system more than to the development of the person and the coming of the reign of God. That kind of authority breeds Watergate and My Lai in the face of a tradition that holds up for public emulation Joan of Arc and Thomas More whose obedience was always to a much higher law than the institutions of the country.
[Please remember that this is a selection, Feel free to pick and choose]
Collect
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Today's Scriptures:
Ps 5, 6 * 10, 11; Isaiah 40:25-31; Eph 1:15-23; Mark 1:14-28
From Forward Day by Day
Mark 1:14-28. What is this? A new teaching?
People were so amazed. The way Mark tells it, Jesus' arrival in Capernaum just after John the Baptist was arrested must have felt like a whirlwind. That sense of amazement is everywhere in Mark--amazement at Jesus' healing power, at his authority over demons and unclean spirits, at his authority to teach about matters of faith and power in ways that lesser men could never touch. It all looked so new--and for the people of Capernaum, as for all of us, such newness can feel dangerous. The demons recognize the threat. They are terrified in the face of such power, and flee the district at the command they immediately recognize as divine. Talk about amazed! And it's not just the demons. It's as if all the onlookers of this unfolding drama were now literally caught in "a maze," their paths to God crisscrossing this way and that. And their only hope of redemption--the only way through the maze of this world--is to follow the lead of this powerful new master fresh out of Nazareth. There is danger here, as the demons are the first to recognize. The path that Jesus forges through the maze will lead to a cross on Calvary hill. But most amazing of all--that path also leads to Easter morning, and a dawning reign of God from which the demons that haunt us will be banished forever.
A Reflection:
Mark 1:14-20
Jesus' call to the men who were to become known as his disciples was
compelling. We read, both here and in the other gospel accounts, that they
all left what they were doing and followed. Their response, and commitment,
was immediate and total. Have you ever dropped what you were doing and
followed a vocation, a call, or made a similar, radical, change in your
life? Do you know why you did? Would you do it again? If not - why not?
Mark 1:21-28
The people in the Synagogue heard something new, something different,
something they had not heard before. It captured their interest and soon the
crowds flocked to Jesus. This is the same today. When we find ourselves
inspired, or moved by a preacher/teacher/evangelist etc, we strive to hear
as much from this person that we can. We study their views, thoughts, and
then seek to apply these new insights into our lives. When was the last
time you were inspired by a preacher/teacher/evangelist? Do this person's
teaching still inspire you? What inspired you? Are you perhaps an
inspiration for others?
Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
the Diocese of London (Canterbury, England)
Today we remember: Julia Chester Emery, Upholder of Missions
Psalm 67 or 96:1-7
Romans 12:6-13
Mark 10:42-45 (St2)
O Almighty God, who have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant Julia, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may with her attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
read more: satucket.com/lectionary/Julia_Chester_Emery.htm
Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen)
Stepping over Our Wounds
Sometimes we have to "step over" our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the "offended one," "the forgotten one," or the "discarded one." Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them. It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment to step over them, leave them behind and travel on.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
Our second birth
We know, and our knowledge is true, that we who were defiled by our first birth have been cleansed by our second birth; we who were enslaved by our first birth have been freed by our second birth; we who became children of earth at our first birth became children of heaven at our second birth; we who were fleshly because of the corruption inherent in our first birth have become spiritual by virtue of our second birth. The first made us children of wrath; the second, children of grace. Therefore let everyone know that any attack on the reverence due to holy baptism is an insult to God himself who told us: No one who is not born again of water and spirit can enter the kingdom of heaven.
Sound instruction therefore give us the grace to understand the nature and purpose of saving baptism. As the apostle puts it: If we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Christ; for the object of our dying and being buried with Christ is to enable us to rise again and live with him.
Fulbert of Chartres, (960 - 1028) was born in Italy and was appointed chancellor of the cathedral school of Chartres where later he became the bishop. He contributed much to the spiritual renewal of his day.
read more: www.newadvent.org/cathen/06312a.htm or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Fulbert_of_Chartres
Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection, http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
"Marriage and Celibacy: Gifts for the Community"
Jesus says in Matthew 19:12, “There are some of you who are celibate for the sake of the Kingdom. Let anyone accept this who can.”
Deep within the Catholic tradition, we’ve taken that passage and concluded celibacy is better than marriage. But Jesus isn’t saying that. I don’t think that’s what the Church wants to say. Jesus is saying the celibate is simply a gift in the midst of the Body of Christ, like the married people are a gift. The celibate people are a gift to tell us of what ultimately matters and what’s ultimately real. The final state of affairs is community, not coupling.
Healthy celibates give us that pledge, that calling power. Their lives tell us God’s love is sufficient. The Body of Christ, for its wholeness, must have celibates within its midst to tell us that Jesus’ love is enough, that the Kingdom can be primary and can be now.
That’s why unhappy celibates – complaining, materialistic, soft – are such an uncertain trumpet. They’ve lost their power for the Body of Christ. In that state they actually do more harm than good.
Growing Each Day http://www.aish.com/spirituality/growing/
For kindness is Yours, O God, when You compensate each person according to his actions (Psalms 62:13).
In our productivity-oriented society, we tend to place value on the product rather than on the process. Success is praised and failure is condemned, and we have little interest in the circumstances under which others function.
This attitude might be justified in the marketplace, since commerce lives by the bottom line. Still, our preoccupation with commerce should not influence us to think that people's successes and failures should be the yardsticks for how we value them.
God does not judge according to outcome. God knows that people have control only over what they do, not over the results. Virtue or sin are determined not by what materializes, but by what we do and why.
Since the Torah calls on us to "walk in His ways," to emulate God as best we can, we would do well to have a value system so that we judge people by their actions, not their results. This system should be applied to ourselves as well. We must try to do our utmost according to the best ethical and moral guidance we can obtain. When we do so, our behavior is commendable, regardless of the results of our actions."
Today I shall ...
... try to be considerate of others and of myself as well, and realize that none of us is in control of the outcome of our actions, only of their nature.
Epiphany: Revealing, Radiating, Reminding
by Barbara Bate
Epiphany is an unfamiliar word to many of us -- even to many Christians. Here are some phrases that may help it to make more sense:
* a revealing of the presence of God;
* the light of God radiating outward and inward;
* a gift, a reminder that God is here.
Why does this word "epiphany" matter in the church?
The time after Christmas is often a letdown within a secular, consumer-focused culture. But in the Christian "kin-dom," the story is different. Light expands into dark places. Newness appears in the midst of routine. Life bursts out of the expected deadness in the natural world.
Here is one example. It occurred in Zimbabwe, in the middle of July 1997. I was traveling to the rural village of Bindura to preach and lead a workshop for lay preachers in that area. After worship, I was able to visit a children's village called S.O.S. It is one of several places in Zimbabwe where orphaned and "dumped" children (that is the word used by the African people there) are raised, schooled, and loved in small groups presided over by local house mothers. Most of those women are active United Methodists, and they bring the children from the S.O.S. house to worship each Sunday.
On the day of my arrival, I heard about a newborn infant who had been found in the weeds by a local police officer. He had heard her crying while he was walking home along the path outside the village. He took her to S.O.S. The women on the staff determined that the baby was probably four days old and apparently unharmed. In the two weeks before I saw the baby, she had been fed, held, given a place to stay, and a name. The name she was given? Christina.
I watched her napping on one Sunday afternoon, and I realized that she was vulnerable and in one sense abandoned--perhaps by a mother whose family would not accept the presence of a child with an unnamed father. But Christina was also a gift -- to the community of people who were prepared to dedicate themselves to her well-being, to the pastor who supported the ongoing ministry of S.O.S., and even to this visitor from the United States who saw the power of God in her young life. She is a reminder that in the eyes of God, every child is sacred -- in Bethlehem, in Brooklyn, in Bindura.
Where are the epiphanies that are awaiting your attention? Watch and listen, and you will find them.
-- Barbara Bate formerly served on the staff of the General Board of Discipleship of the United methodist Church
PURRS AND PRAYERS
I think maybe cats purring doesn't always mean they're happy, I said to Dave, who was telling us about their old cat who has breast cancer. Cats get breast cancer?
Oh, yeah, his wife said. We've had two who got it.
Kate was purring on the table, when we put her to sleep, I said. I will never forget: the little body, the beautiful fur, the loud purr, the needle.
I think they sometimes purr to make themselves feel better. Maybe to help themselves relax, Marti said.
This made immediate sense to me, and tugged at my heart. What fine animals they are: wise enough to give themselves the gift of calm when the chips are down, knowing that sometimes you can help yourself feel a little better by doing something you do when you are happy.
Sometimes they purr to make themselves feel better. Prayer can be like that sometimes: sometimes it's not a set of brilliantly chosen original words. Sometimes it can't be anything more than the familiar drone of ancient words from someone else, someone long ago, words you learned yourself a long time ago, words that are part of your brain stem now, after all these years, because that is all you have. You're fresh out of brilliant words. So you use the old ones, and they wash over you like a kindly stream of sweet warm water.
Never think that you have to be brilliant in prayer. Don't worry if you can't find the words, or if the only words you do find may not be the right ones. There are no wrong words in prayer. Sometimes there's just a sound, and sometimes there is only silence. God enters anything you inhabit, even if all you have left is your own emptiness.
Well, she's eighteen years old, Dave said. She only weighs four pounds now. It won't be long. And she will probably purr right to the end. which is probably what we should do, as well.
Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org
From the Rule of St. Benedict
CHAPTER 2: QUALITIES OF THE ABBOT OR PRIORESS
Jan. 9 - May 10 - Sept. 9
To be worthy of the task of governing a monastery, the prioress or abbot must always remember what the title signifies and act accordingly. They are believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery. Therefore, a prioress or abbot must never teach or decree or command anything that would deviate from God's instructions. On the contrary, everything they teach and command should, like the leaven of divine justice, permeate the minds of the community.
The social revolution of the Rule starts in this paragraph on authority. This will be a different kind of life than the sixth century Roman ever saw. The head of the monastery will not be a chief or a queen or a feudal lord. The superior of a monastery of Benedictines will be a Christ figure, simple, unassuming, immersed in God, loving of the marginal, doer of the gospel, beacon to the strong.
Once you begin to understand that, you begin to understand the whole new type of authority that the Rule models for a world gone wild with power. You begin to understand that it is not the laws of the mighty that will govern this group. It is the law of God that will preempt all other considerations.
Like Christ, this leader does not lead with brute force. This leader understands the leavening process. This leader, called appropriately abbot or abbess or prioress, is a spiritual parent, a catalyst for the spiritual and psychological growth of the individual monastic, not a border guard or a warden. This leader is not a parent who terrorizes a child into submission; this leader believes in the best and gives people the opportunities to make the mistakes that lead to growth.
The prioress and abbot provide an environment that confronts the monastic with the presence of God, that shows them the Way. After that it is up to the monastic to let the practices of the community and the rhythm of the prayer life work their way until the piercing good of God rises in them like yeast in bread.
"If you meet the Buddha on the road," the Zen master teaches the disciple, "kill him." Don't let any human being become the measure of your life, the Zen implies. Eliminate whatever you would be tempted to idolize, no matter how worthy the object. The role of the spiritual leader, in other words, is not to make martinets out of people; it is to lead them to spiritual adulthood where they themselves make the kind of choices that give life depth and quality. Like the teacher of Zen, Benedict does not make the superior of the monastery the ultimate norm of life. Pleasing the abbot is not what monastic life is all about. Becoming what the abbess or prioress thinks you should be is not the goal of monasticism. Following the leader is not the end for which we're made; finding God is. Benedict makes the superior of his monasteries a lover of people, a leader who can persuade a person to the heights, show them the mountain and let them go.
In our own culture, becoming someone important, climbing the corporate and ecclesiastical ladder has so often meant pleasing the person at the top rather than doing what conscience demands or the situation requires. That kind of leadership is for its own sake. It makes the guru, rather than the gospel, the norm of life. That kind of obedience puts the business before the soul. That kind of authority is not monastic and it is not spiritual. That kind of authority so often leads to the satisfaction of the system more than to the development of the person and the coming of the reign of God. That kind of authority breeds Watergate and My Lai in the face of a tradition that holds up for public emulation Joan of Arc and Thomas More whose obedience was always to a much higher law than the institutions of the country.
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 12:11 PM
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