Jan 19 - A Call To Acting Differently

Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long.
Psalm 25:4

Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else.
Benedict's Rule 4:20-21 (Chittister, Pg. 57)

Holiness, this ancient Rule says to a culture that has made crafty packaging high art, has something to do with being who we say we are, claiming our truths, opening our hearts, giving ourselves to the other, pure and unglossed.
Chittister, Pg. 58

Here I find yet another key in this life that I have dedicated to the Lord. I am to live differently from others. I am called to live God's truth. Not to varnish my call, to remain pure. Like so much else I encounter in these readings, this is no easy task, and certainly something I do not do perfectly. It is not an easy task when I am called by the web, by the television, by the desire (even attempts) to prove myself just as good as the others around me, most especially others that have not chosen as dedicated a call as I.

It would be so easy if from the first time I "found the Lord" I no longer responded to these temptations. That is not the case. However, I do find solace here. It appears that we have been battling this for a long time. The psalmist asks to be led to God's truth. Benedict includes the reminder to act differently right in the Rule. Sister Joan Chittister reflects on how "crafty packaging" has become high art. I can take comfort from not being alone. But I cannot relax. The reminder is still here. As a Benedictine I am a part of a community that finds it important to remind ourselves regularly of all the basics. We don't grow out of our need to reach for the Lord.

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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