Quite a long time ago, I became a Benedictine oblate. Basically that means I wanted to be affiliated with a Benedictine monastery and live with some guidance from the Benedictine Rule which the founder of that monastic tradition wrote sometime in the sixth century. Of course, I am not a monk. Being a monk in today’s understanding means specific things and I won’t qualify for that. But originally the term, monk, simply meant one who was a solitary. A monk was someone who withdrew from the craziness of culture and attempted to live with a sense of God’s presence and to do what God desired from that person. In that sense I still would like to live monastically.
But when you are married, have kids and grandkids, you certainly can’t do it the way real monks and nuns do it. I am ok with that. Besides when I was married and having a family, I would not have known as much about monks as I came to know. When you grow up as a Quaker in rural Indiana, there are not any monks around. I would have had no clue what that meant. So it was not really an option.
But I came to learn a great deal. And I appreciated what I learned from the monastic tradition throughout the centuries. At its heart, the monastic movement began and prospered because men and women of the Spirit did not want to be co-opted by a culture which they thought would not provide meaning. This was not just the problem of the Roman Empire. I could argue it is potentially the problem of our American culture, too.
One of the things I try to do in a disciplined manner is to follow the Benedictine lectionary. That simply means I follow the daily readings of the Bible that the monks use throughout their day. I don’t do it with the intensity they do. All monks meet multiple times daily to worship and some biblical verses are used every time. To follow the lectionary simply means I have some prescribed readings provided and, as such, I don’t pick and choose the stuff I like and ignore other stuff in the biblical tradition.
In addition to the biblical readings, the monks also have daily readings from the Rule of St. Benedict. The Rule is that sixth century document Benedict wrote to govern the life of monks and the monasteries. Clearly some of that material is not relevant to me and my life. But significant pieces are still very relevant. For example, Benedict has a long passage on humility. We all know humility is the antidote to unhealthy pride. Benedict knows and I do, too, that healthy communities cannot thrive with a bunch of egomaniacs running around. Authentic community requires folks to be humble and willing to put others before self.
Recently, one of the daily readings from the Rule focused on a section of humility. Benedict talks about twelve degrees of humility. The reading I wanted to focus on targeted the sixth degree. Listen to how St. Benedict counsels his monks and those of us who want to listen. Benedict says, “The sixth degree of humility is that a monk be content with the poorest and worst of everything, and that in every occupation assigned him he consider himself a bad and worthless workman, saying with the Prophet, ‘I am brought to nothing and I am without understanding;
I have become as a beast of burden before You, and I am always with You.’” (Ps. 73:22-23). This comes fairly early in the Rule, namely, Chapter 7. Let’s unpack this commentary on humility to see what it teaches us today.
In effect, Benedict challenges us to be content. Be content with whatever we have, I think is what he wants to tell us. He puts it more stringently for the monks. Be content with the poorest and even the worst of things. If we can manage that, we won’t be found complaining and uncooperative. In most cases things will be better than this. I think of the times I felt slighted because someone else seemed to get a better deal. This breeds jealousy and envy. And those wreck our individual spiritual lives and our life in community. Be content!
Monks are assigned work. They may or may not get the job they wanted. But again, Benedict teaches us to learn to be content. Perhaps he overstates it in today’s terms when he says we should consider ourselves bad and worthless people at work. What I think he really is wanting from us is to learn to be content with what life gives us to do. Even if we strive to follow God’s will, we have to be ready to accept that for what it is. We remind ourselves, the story is not about us. If we want to be spiritually alive, the story is about what the Spirit will do in our lives. Our journey is not an ego journey, but rather a Spirit journey.
Perhaps it is not too much to say, the question is not success or failure, but obedience. If we establish our perspective this way, then we are able to be content with any outcome. If we set our expectations on the success model, then it is impossible to be content when we are not successful. If I am obedient, then I can be content---period.
Working with Benedictine spirituality helps me stay focused and committed. It is a good, daily reminder that my goal is to be in relationship with the Spirit and be content with that.
But when you are married, have kids and grandkids, you certainly can’t do it the way real monks and nuns do it. I am ok with that. Besides when I was married and having a family, I would not have known as much about monks as I came to know. When you grow up as a Quaker in rural Indiana, there are not any monks around. I would have had no clue what that meant. So it was not really an option.
But I came to learn a great deal. And I appreciated what I learned from the monastic tradition throughout the centuries. At its heart, the monastic movement began and prospered because men and women of the Spirit did not want to be co-opted by a culture which they thought would not provide meaning. This was not just the problem of the Roman Empire. I could argue it is potentially the problem of our American culture, too.
One of the things I try to do in a disciplined manner is to follow the Benedictine lectionary. That simply means I follow the daily readings of the Bible that the monks use throughout their day. I don’t do it with the intensity they do. All monks meet multiple times daily to worship and some biblical verses are used every time. To follow the lectionary simply means I have some prescribed readings provided and, as such, I don’t pick and choose the stuff I like and ignore other stuff in the biblical tradition.
In addition to the biblical readings, the monks also have daily readings from the Rule of St. Benedict. The Rule is that sixth century document Benedict wrote to govern the life of monks and the monasteries. Clearly some of that material is not relevant to me and my life. But significant pieces are still very relevant. For example, Benedict has a long passage on humility. We all know humility is the antidote to unhealthy pride. Benedict knows and I do, too, that healthy communities cannot thrive with a bunch of egomaniacs running around. Authentic community requires folks to be humble and willing to put others before self.
Recently, one of the daily readings from the Rule focused on a section of humility. Benedict talks about twelve degrees of humility. The reading I wanted to focus on targeted the sixth degree. Listen to how St. Benedict counsels his monks and those of us who want to listen. Benedict says, “The sixth degree of humility is that a monk be content with the poorest and worst of everything, and that in every occupation assigned him he consider himself a bad and worthless workman, saying with the Prophet, ‘I am brought to nothing and I am without understanding;
I have become as a beast of burden before You, and I am always with You.’” (Ps. 73:22-23). This comes fairly early in the Rule, namely, Chapter 7. Let’s unpack this commentary on humility to see what it teaches us today.
In effect, Benedict challenges us to be content. Be content with whatever we have, I think is what he wants to tell us. He puts it more stringently for the monks. Be content with the poorest and even the worst of things. If we can manage that, we won’t be found complaining and uncooperative. In most cases things will be better than this. I think of the times I felt slighted because someone else seemed to get a better deal. This breeds jealousy and envy. And those wreck our individual spiritual lives and our life in community. Be content!
Monks are assigned work. They may or may not get the job they wanted. But again, Benedict teaches us to learn to be content. Perhaps he overstates it in today’s terms when he says we should consider ourselves bad and worthless people at work. What I think he really is wanting from us is to learn to be content with what life gives us to do. Even if we strive to follow God’s will, we have to be ready to accept that for what it is. We remind ourselves, the story is not about us. If we want to be spiritually alive, the story is about what the Spirit will do in our lives. Our journey is not an ego journey, but rather a Spirit journey.
Perhaps it is not too much to say, the question is not success or failure, but obedience. If we establish our perspective this way, then we are able to be content with any outcome. If we set our expectations on the success model, then it is impossible to be content when we are not successful. If I am obedient, then I can be content---period.
Working with Benedictine spirituality helps me stay focused and committed. It is a good, daily reminder that my goal is to be in relationship with the Spirit and be content with that.
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