September 12

Chapter 2 pt. 4

The Rule of Benedict September 12

This morning, in the course of reading through the Gospel of St. Mark for my practice of lectio divina, I read the end of chapter 3, vs. 31-35:

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”


I was struck by what appears to be Jesus' dismantling of the basic unit of societal structure, the family.  He rejects any claim on him that is based on terms of honor or shame, which are strictly human associations (see v. 21), and only acknowledges as "family" human relationships that derive from a common relationship with God.


I found the synchronicity of this passage in Mark and the passage in the Rule today worth paying attention to.  Benedict's vision of the cenobitic religious life regarding family and social status--honor, shame--mirrors that of Jesus in the passage above.  People are not judged in terms other than doing the will of God.


I am brought to wonder what the implications of these passages are for us as we explore our own religious identities.  What does the title "Brother" or "Sister" mean if not that our identity as a member of a family has fundamentally changed.  Let us sit prayerfully with these things.