|
go here to buy my stock photography
Alan Creech
 Custom Search
i have a ticket sites & things i like
abbey of gethsemani faith communities christ the king blogs i read
aaron klinefelter
|
July 13, 2006
> 10:31 AM
  First, let me say that I'm not trying to be a "church historian" here or to write a scholarly article for a journal. Those journal people would chuckle at me I'm sure. I'm not really trying to do that.My purpose in talking about these two men and what they did and influenced is, basically, to talk about us, to talk about you and me. That's one of the points in any veneration of the saints - that is, to understand that they are us and we are them. We are part of the same Body of Christ. We are inhabited by the same Spirit of God that they were (and are). Therefore, there is hope that God can and will do the same kinds of things in and through us. It IS possible. It only happens through His Grace. Same for Benedict (left) and Francis (right). They were men who couldn't do squat except through the Grace of God transforming them and working through them. That's point number one. Let's get that straight. You ARE St. Benedict! I am Saint Francis! If you and I can never do what they did, then they couldn't either and it never happened. One thing that is very interesting to me about these two men. Well, first, that people still remember who they are at all and that what they started still exists and flourishes. It's amazing how deeply they've respectively affected the Church and the practice of Christianity - how people are Christian. Then, that neither one of them were ordained. Neither Benedict nor Francis of Assisi were Priests! Just soak that in for a minute. Of course, I know not everyone reading this has the same view of what a "priest" is and what that means, but most of you have some view of ordination, what that means, etc. No ordination. No one laid their hands on these men and ordained them to do what they did. Now, later, what they had already been doing may have been recognized or "sanctioned" in some way, but if they were around today, you Catholics, Anglicans and Orthodox wouldn't be able to call them "Father Benedict" or "Father Francis." How 'bout that. I personally find that very interesting. You have my permission to read all manner of something into that if you like. I think many non Catholics would assume these men were Priests. I'd bet a lot of Catholics think so too. Why? Why would you assume something like that? Because how could you start and do something so great and be so holy unless you were a Priest!? Nothing against Priests here - please - or any ordained persons (I've been ordained a couple of times) - but we have a problem. We have a deeply systemic perception problem in the whole Church. It's built-in - normal Christians (in the pews) are just that, "normal," but the superstars, the reeeeaally holy ones who are really dedicated and Christ-like are the ones up front, the Pastors, Priests, Monks, Nuns, Missionaries, Preachers, etc., etc. In some Catholic circles there's even a hierarchy of holiness recognized, sometimes even stated: laity > religious (that means someone who becomes a "brother" or a "nun") > Priests (the diocesan variety) > monastic religious (now HERE's where the real holiness happens) > a Priest in a monastic order (SON! you are the CREAM of the crop! - especially the cloistered kind who don't talk much and are very ascetic). This idea of holiness - that one state in life, vocation, etc. is more inherently holy than another, is flawed on such a foundational level I think. It's extremely unfortunate. It cripples us all, even the ones considered more holy. That economy of holiness is not fully Christian. It is not commensurate with Life as it has been given us in Jesus, in this New and final Covenant. I mentioned the Catholic thing only because I'm familiar with it and have seen it written about. I've also experienced it in the protestant arena and know others who have. It is, as many are, an equal opportunity problem in the Church as a whole. I'm not trying to single any one sector out. Back to the boys up there - another thing that strikes me as very interesting and personally, very encouraging, is that they started doing what they did without any official sanctioning. Sounds a little rebellious doesn't it? I'm not sure it was all that rebellious but it sounds that way to some people. I think they were strongly moved by the Holy Spirit to do something for the health of the whole Body and they did it. They didn't wait around for years waiting to get their papers signed. Sure, they eventually got them signed, so to speak, but that was just a matter of course, after they had already started moving. I don't think either one of them probably saw themselves as totally abandoning the Church and starting some totally new thing, so at that level, there was no conflict. I do think they both saw some rot and tried to go back, as they did it, to the root. Not to totally reinvent the wheel, but perhaps to come up with a new kind of cart that wheels can fit on. Analogies only go so far people - cut me some slack. OK, I never intended to write that much on this. That's enough I think. I wanted to point out something that was rolling through my mind about them, about us, and about me. It's time for us to start acting like fully alive members of the Body like our brothers did so long ago. We can't just lean on them like they were supermen that we can never be. Sure, ask them to pray for you, but so that you and I can serve as well as they did. It's time to start some monasteries people. Grace be with us. technorati tags > monasticism, new monasticism, saint benedict, saint francis of assisi, ordination, church, emerging church Labels: monasticism 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
|
daily prayer
ordinary time lectionary readings > today
my blog post labels
blogging archives
|
038
