RB Reflection: 23 May 2008

The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all. Because of the holy service they have professed, or because of dread of hell and for the glory of everlasting life, they carry out the superior's order as promptly as if the command came from God himself. The Lord says of [men] like this: No sooner did he hear than he obeyed me (Ps 17[18]:45); again, he tells teachers: Whoever listens to you, listens to me (Luke 10:16). Such people as these immediately put aside their own concerns, abandon their own will, and lay down whatever they have in hand, leaving it unfinished. With the ready step of obedience, they follow the voice of authority in their actions. Almost at the same moment, then, as the master gives the instruction the disciple quickly puts it into practice in the fear of God; and both actions together are swiftly completed as one.

It is love that impels them to pursue everlasting life; therefore, they are eager to take the narrow road of which the Lord says: Narrow is the road that leads to life (Matt 7:14). They no longer live by their own judgment, giving in to their whims and appetites; rather they walk according to another's decisions and directions, choosing to live in monasteries and to have an abbot over them. Men of this resolve unquestionably conform to the saying of the Lord: I have come not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).

The idea of obedience is spelled out here in great detail. In other words, if the Abbot stands as Christ in the community, obeying the abbot is the same as obeying Christ. This is a powerful statement, both for the one giving the order and the one obeying it.

I heard a story once about a woman who was sending money to a TV evangelist, and when told that the evangelist was using her money for his own ends, she said, "I gave the money to God." That illustrates a type of obedience that makes sense. If you have an abbot who is giving questionable orders, but you obey them anyway, have you sinned by being obedient?

As Lay Cistercians we are all called to a similar obedience. Fr. Michael Cassagram has put it this way "by becoming obedient to the demands of the moment, whether these come from family, work, the needs of others. . . ." The following is a longer quote from Fr. Michael's paper, Toward the Formation of LCG Members.

Obedience to God is often mediated through another human being in the mysterious design of grace. Without this, as one sees even in the very early desert fathers/ mothers, the inner transformation cannot take place. Often it is a simple matter of humility, of learning to surrender one's own will so that God's may be accomplished. Accountability is a major step toward spiritual maturity.