St. Benedict was a Middle Ages monk famous for especially his “Rule.” Today’s monastic communities and many from the past either were Benedictine or modeled in that image. Today we might call these “intentional Christian communities,” a phrase popularized by New Day in Dallas and a phrase liked by many including Shane Claiborne and the Simple Way. All of these communities live by some type of Rule. Benedict wrote his Rule for the monks at Monte Cassino in the sixth century as a way to help disciples of Jesus know God closer. The Rule helped them be better disciples, read the Bible better, pray better, live better.
“The Rule” is 73 chapters tightly packed into less than a hundred pages. Thumbing threw the book one can comment on any rule. What would happen if you just randomly chose a rule to live by? Chapter 63, chosen randomly is about ranks in the monastery. It is the business of flow charts and organizational structure. Who has what role? Who is boss? Here’s his rule:
- You are ordered by time. Residents are ranked by seniority. Honoring the senior (not by age but by date of entry into the community) was big for Benedict.
- The senior should call one “brother” and the junior should call one “father.” In other words, show respect.
- The junior should heed the blessings, prayers and support of the senior. Benedict believe those with experience could provide wisdom to those without.
Parker Palmer who is a renown philosopher and educator from UC Berkley wrote on similar matters. He was a resident of a Friends (Quaker) community. For Palmer, no matter your rank everyone had daily responsibilities. He washed dishes. From day one.
College, one hopes, will alleviate the burden of rankings and order with an ironic twist. That is, if you one day hope to achieve the superior rank – the boss, the president, the CEO – then finally you are in control. Benedict and Palmer remind us, however, that our attempts at superiority are only false. Even CEOs answer to others. We are all accountable to one another. Paul fought for this in his letters to the churches. There are a lot of passages one can turn to learn about Paul’s word to community living. Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5 address community codes directly. Marva Dawn wrote a great book on Romans 12 called “Truly the Community.” And Galatians 2: 11-21 has Paul asking what it means to be God’s people.
For you, what does it mean to live as a member of God’s house? What does it mean to be a person of God? What are your rules?