Jan 18 - What I Want Or...

Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song; *
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.
Psalm 149:1

You must relieve the lot of the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and bury the dead. Go to help the troubled and console the sorrowing.
Benedict's Rule 4:14-19 (Chittister, Pg 57)

The call to contemplation here is the call not simply to see Christ in the others but to treat the others as Christ.
Chittister Pg. 57

Two Thoughts:

1. Now we are getting to the core of why we have Benedict's spirituality at the heart of the Community of Hope
2. This is when it gets hard for me

I clearly understand the call to see the other as Christ. Now I have to give up my selfish desires and make room for that other in my life.

I realize that often this I do not want to do.Should I stop reading that article that I think provides insight about the others around me? Do I keep watching more television or do I go to bed so I have energy for tomorrow? Or do I stop and listen to the person that asks me a question at the end of my weekly self-help meeting? Do I greet the newcomer at church before running over for my coffee at coffee hour?

The bottom line seems to be a choice: Do I do what I want or do I do what God wants?

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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