A Rule of Life (Benedict of Nursia)

A Rule of Life
Homily delivered on the Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia
11 July 2019 12 noon Healing Mass
Parish Church of Trinity Ashland, Oregon

Prov 2:1-9, Psa 119:129-136, Phil 2:12:16, Luke 14:27-33

The Very Rev. Fr. Tony Hutchinson, SCP, Ph.D.

God, take away our hearts of stone
 and give us hearts of flesh. Amen.

Today is the feast day of the founder of the great monastery at Monte Cassino Italy and the author of the Rule of St. Benedict, a guide to monastic living and community that served as the basis of the largest stream of community monasticism in the European Middle Ages.  

Benedict was from a noble family, and as a university student disgusted with the dissipation, inattention, and sometimes cruelty he saw in his fellow students in Rome, made the decision to leave his life behind to live in the faithful poverty, prayer, self-supporting work, and loving service he saw the Jesus of the Four Gospels calling us all to.   His twin sister Scholastica became a nun.   

The spirit and gist of Benedict's Rule is summed up this way by John McQuiston in his book, Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living:

“Live this life and do whatever is done in a spirit of thanksgiving. Abandon attempts to achieve security, they are futile. Give up the search for wealth, it is demeaning. Quit the search for salvation, it is selfish. And come to comfortable rest in the certainty that those who participate in this life with an attitude of thanksgiving will receive its full promise.” (pp. 17-18)

Sr. Joan Chittister, (in her book A Spirituality for the 21st Century, The Rule of Benedict), tells us that St. Benedict directed the reading of the psalms in monastic liturgy of the hours (Morning and Evening Prayer) as he did to remind us, “that life is not perfect, that struggle is to be expected, that the human being lives of the brink of danger and defeat at all times”, And that, “having lived through everything life has to give that week, the community bursts into unending praise for having survived.”

Reciting the Psalms daily tells us something about ourselves.  There is no way around it:  though many of the Psalms are exquisite, some of them are horrible.  We have: “Cast your burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain you.  He will never suffer the righteous to fall.  He is at your right hand.”  But we also have:  “Defend me from my enemies, God! Kill them. Make their children orphans and their wives widows. Put them in prison never to be set free.  May they be buried alive!”  The emotions here—sometimes raging and out of control—are ultimately a side show.  The point is that no matter how hard life is, regardless of our feelings, we still are in relationship with God, beneath it all, sustaining the good and the right and pushing us on to glory.  It’s okay to feel emotions.  What matters is what we do with them.

If you feel you are spinning your wheels, or just getting by in your spiritual life, you may want to consider to try a rule of life.  A rule of life is a way to focus our energies and efforts. 

Winston Churchill is famously quoted as saying, “My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite: smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.”

The idea of a rule of life, a set of practices and observances with which we seek to order our lives on a day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour basis, is at the basis of all monastic life and programs of spiritual growth.   A Rule of Life establishes a rhythm in our daily activities conducive to opening up to the Holy Spirit and its healing and transforming power. 

Benedict in his Rule notes the importance of gentleness is establishing a Rule:  “In drawing up its regulations we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome.  … Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation.  It is bound to be narrow at the outset.  But as we progress in the way of life and faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with inexpressible delight of love” (tr. Joan Chittister). 

Benedict understood that his Rule was simply a means to an end, a tool in a larger kit of life growing from and into the Great Mystery, and not an end in itself.  A Rule of Life, whether communal of personal, should help us to feel the love of God more, and should never be a mere technique or trick for supposedly earning points with God or impressing others.   Thus the traditional term “rule” here may be misleading.  It is more like a rhythm or musical score, a course curriculum, or a strategy for change and progress. 

Christians living in today’s world have many means of adopting appropriate rules of life.    Practices can be as simple as a commitment to give on a regular basis a certain amount to the poor or the Church (many of us give 10% of our income, the biblical “tithe”), or a commitment to a regular schedule of prayer and meditation.  The reciting of Daily Morning and Evening Prayer (BCP pp. 74-136) might be a difficult starting place.  The more simple “Devotions for Individuals and Families” (BCP pp. 136-40) perhaps is an easier starting commitment.  More focused and community-based commitments include participation in regular retreats, spiritual direction, and affiliation as associates or oblates with such groups as the Cowley Fathers (the Society of St. John the Evangelist), the Order of St. Julian of Norwich, the Anam Cara Fellowship, the Community of the Resurrection, the Community of the Holy Spirit, or the Third Order of St. Francis. 

In trying to design a Rule of Life, it is helpful to reflect on various areas, evaluate where you are now and then design steps—small ones at first—for  growing in each area:   

1)  The Holy Eucharist—how often do I attend and receive Communion?  Every Sunday, a couple times a month?  What about during the week?  Am I willing to share the Eucharist with others, either by inviting them to Church or becoming a Eucharistic Minister or Visitor?

2)  Prayer—when and how often do I pray?  In the morning? The evening?  Before I sleep?  Do I use the Daily Office or the shorter Prayers for Individuals and Families, or some other prayer cycle as a way of making my reflection on holy things systematic? Do I have quiet time where I pour out my hopes and fears and thanks to God? 

3)   Bible and other spiritual reading—when and how often am I going to read the Bible?  Each day?  As a study with notes, or devotionally as part of Daily Prayer?  Do I use lectio divina?  Do I do it as part of a prayer or study group? 

4)   Giving—how much can I commit to giving to others?  A tithe?  Will I divide this between the church and other charities?  When do I review my giving?  Can I make a small commitment to increase my giving as a percentage of my income, and then gradually grow it? 

5)   Confession—will I make sacramental confession to a priest?  Will I talk to someone else about my own spiritual journey?  How often?  Will I find and then regularly talk with a spiritual director?  

6)   Mission—how often do I share my hope and faith with others?  In action?  In words? 

7)   Retreat—will I make a spiritual retreat once each year?  For a day, a weekend, or longer? 

8)   The creation—how will I be a good steward of the natural world God has entrusted to me?  How can I honor the earth and care for her?  How can I better care for my body?  More exercise?  Better habits in eating and drinking? 

9)   Family and friends—how much time will I commit to other people?  How will I keep in touch with those I seldom see?  How can I keep my relationships alive and healthy?  

10) Rest—How will I take my rest?  How much sleep do I need?  How do I treat my body with respect?  (adapted from Lift up Your Hearts (SPCK, 2010).  

Think about it and see what you come up with.

In the name of God,  Amen.