Chapter 36: The care of the sick in the monastery
The care of those who are sick in the community is an absolute priority, which must rank before every other requirement, so that there may be no doubt that it is Christ who is truly served in them. (From para. 1 of Ch. 36 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
It seems to me that here St. Benedict describes the kingdom of God on earth. Sometimes I may seem to be the sick or weak one, and sometimes the servant, but the gifts of the Spirit permeate all conditions.
The sick are obviously in need, and they are dependent. In a community, where we enter into a relationship with each other, much of that which is community is a dance of vulnerability, where to paraphrase Sr. Joan, my dearth meets the strength in you - today. Tomorrow it could be the other way around. Benedict is saying NOTHING is more important than paying attention to this. How humane! When we reflect on our own terror at being vulnerable, we can appreciate this. And in relationship with those that seemingly have the least to give, sometimes in meeting their needs, we find ourselves the real receivers of a gift. And since the ultimate relationship that we all are called to is our individual one with Christ, He has already directed us not to draw our own false lines around what is a priority here - it is all one. When we give to the "least"of these, we are giving to Him.
ReplyDeleteAbba, my Father, our Father, Jesus, my Brother, hindsight IS always 20-20! What immense gifts I now see my sicknesses have been to me. Rheumatic fever at age ten that put this hyperactive kid onto my back for a year with mandated bed rest including six months in a Children’s Hospital. It also kept me out of competitive sports through adolescence, but got me into reading. My lifelong challenges from mental illnesses: anxiety, depression and panic attacks that peaked in my late twenties, early thirties. My substance abuse through my forties. My lifelong restlessness. But these and all of my other personal “stings for the flesh” have finally led me to surrender. And in the weakness of surrender found Strength. You le me to come to rest in you, Lord, the Ground of my being and to rediscover the child's peace that passes all understanding.
ReplyDelete