Jan 12 - The Insane Jesus Life

I lie down and go to sleep; *
I wake, again, because the Lord sustains me
Psalm 3:5

The prioress or abbot should avoid all favoritism in the monastery.
Benedict's Rule 2:16 (Chittister, Pg 40)

This is the Jesus life. What is insane in the streets is common coin here.
Sr. Joan Chittister, Pg 41

If this is the Jesus life, I am looking for some easy perfection. I want it to be easy to do the things that are "insane in the streets". Benedict is speaking about leaders, and the "insanity" of not ranking by education, money, or social status. The leaders, Benedict says, are to "show equal love to everyone and apply the same discipline to all..." Sister Joan ends her reflection with request to "Imagine a world that was run by holy listeners."

Yes, I want the "Jesus life", or at least I want Jesus in my life, and I want to be known by others as being holy. Or do I? At work do I want to be thought of as someone living the Jesus life, or do I want to be known as successful? At home do I want to put my hobbies, my recreation, my book reading aside to attend to another's needs? Do I love God enough that I am ready to sacrifice my life? I must admit, "Not Always", to say the least.

I can imagine being a holy listener, though. At least some of the time. Perhaps this is enough go keep me moving forward in the Jesus life today.

A Note To Anyone Reading:

This entry is part of a series that is developing as I read The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century, Joan Chittister, Crossroads, 2010. I am offering this both to those at St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington VA, that may be reading Ms. Chittister's book and to anyone that is interested.

Unless stated otherwise quotes from St. Benedict's Rule from the translation in this same book.

Psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer, The Episcopal Church, 1979 unless otherwise noted.

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