When the superior accepts the charge to lead, he is allowed his weaknesses. No leader is perfect, nor should he need to be. If there is any possibility of the the religious superior serving the members of the community without the fear and defensiveness of his ego running the show, he must remember who he truly is, weaknesses and all, and place his trust in the One by whose grace he is called and empowered to serve.
This is how I desire to lead, and for this reason, today's passage seems to advocate a way of being that is repulsive to my sensibilities. My path to God involves the removal of my masks and defenses, not using them to "rule" others. But if I turn the focus from myself, the picture our Father Benedict is painting becomes clearer.
We have here not the putting on of airs to enforce the leader's will, but the transcendence of the ego on the part of the superior. When a leader operates from her true self--vulnerable, weak, and saturated with Divine favor--she is freed from the egoic need for what appears "authentic," and is able to perceive the deep and true needs of the other. The varied postures the superior assumes when leading from this place of union with God are, then, not a means of earthly power, but manifestations of Divine grace in response to the deep, true needs of each sister and brother.
Br. Chad
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