Chapter 7 pt. 1
The Rule of St. Benedict January 25
Chapter 7 on humility is the longest in the Rule. Today's selection is a sort of introduction to the chapter wherein our Father Benedict makes a case for humility as the means by which we reach our home with God, or, differently put, the means by which we become a place where God is at home.
I see St. Benedict's path of humility as akin to the kenotic path (self-emptying) described by St. Paul in the hymn from Philippians 2 about Christ Jesus:
who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being born in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross.
To follow the steps along this path, or to "climb" the rungs of this ladder, is the work of a lifetime, and it is to be done in the midst of an intentional and supportive community. A community that knows the difference between ascent and descent.
Br. Chad 2013
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