The Waves of the Sea
If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. Isaiah 48:18-19
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”Matthew 11:18-19
Piety
Rule of St. Benedict Chapter 60
The Admission of Priests to the Monastery
If any ordained priest asks to be received into a male monastery, do not agree too quickly. However, if he is fully persistent in his request, he must recognize that he will have to observe the full discipline of the rule without any mitigation, knowing that it is written: "Friend, what have you come for (Mt 26:50)?" He should, however, be allowed to stand next to the abbot, to give blessings and to celebrate the Eucharist, provided that the abbot bids him. Otherwise, he must recognize that he is subject to the discipline of the rule, and not make any exceptions for himself, but rather give everyone an example of humility. Whenever there is a question of an appointment or of any other business in the monastery, he takes the place that corresponds to the date of his entry into the community, and not that granted him out of respect for his priesthood. (http://www.eriebenedictines.org/daily-rule)
Study
In one of my favorite theology books (“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”), there is a famous line about our search for the Truth. Robert M. Pirsig writes: “It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, ‘Go away, I'm looking for the truth, and so it goes away.’ Puzzling.”
Isaiah. Matthew. St. Benedict. Pirsig. Wonder where this Tripod is heading?
In essence, all are writing about the past, present, and future of our spirituality. We cannot let the past or present get in the way of the future.
That seems to be what is happening here in today’s Good News. John the Baptist and Jesus both preached the “truth” in their own unique but complementary ways. However, the people they addressed turned away and remained focused on that which was already their daily focus. They may have wanted the truth but they did not seem to want the truth as either man presented it. So, the people made excuses for not receiving the truth. The invading Romans. Not enough money. Family commitments. The plow. You name it.
In today’s scripture, Jesus speaks about two approaches to righteousness: the “separatist” approach of John (neither eating nor drinking, living out in the desert), and the sociable approach of Jesus (a glutton and a drunkard). The majority of people reject both approaches. They are as children at play, fault-finders who cannot be pleased.[i]
God used both approaches to lead us into righteousness and deliver us from evil. If one did not work for some people, maybe the other approach would succeed.
In modern-day theology, Fr. Chester P. Michael concluded after studying people and their prayer lives, those who have different temperaments, need to be approached by different methods! Jesus and John were slightly ahead of their time – and ahead of Myers-Briggs.
With the publication of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in 1962, a new interest in the differences in human personality arose. Following that, the theory that there was a connection between personality types and prayer types (spirituality) was conjectured. Fr. Michael was the first to study these connections in his Prayer Project that involved more than four hundred participants from all over the US, Canada, and Australia.
The recommendations for the different forms of prayer appropriate for the different temperaments and personality types have been tested in a number of workshops, in parish retreats, and in the spiritual direction of numerous persons.
Deacon Jim Bayne reminded me of these “prayer types” in one of his talks on the Men’s 135 Cursillo in October. For an INFP like me, St. Luke’s Gospel of Amazement is most preferred. Check. We are “idealists” who in the Augustinian mode like the use of creative imagination to transpose the words of Sacred Scripture to our situation today. Check. Using the prayers aligned with your personality will help ignite your spirituality and help you make the required changes.
What’s your type?
Action
Too often we justify and hold onto our inconsistencies and contradictions in life because listening to God may require us to change the way we live. Here is what the Tao has to say (according to Sr. Joan in her Rule of St. Benedict):
The Master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.
Jesus’ comments today require us to empty our minds and put down some part (or all) of our past in order to follow him. If our hands are pre-occupied, how will we ever pick up our cross daily and follow him?
Everyone makes a major life change at some time or other. Marriage. College choice. Career change. Retirement. We must be open to being formed again or we will reject the truth when it comes knocking on our door. The only thing that can possibly deter the new formation is if we refuse to let go of what is at hand. If we cling to the past and the present, the door to the future will remain locked.[ii] Sr. Joan Chittister continues:
It is hard to let go of the past and yet, until we do, there is no hope whatsoever that we can ever gain from the future. Priests, Benedict knew, came to the monastery having already been formed in another system. They were accustomed to living a highly independent and highly catered life. They had been a world unto themselves and leaders of others. In the monastery, they would have to be formed in a whole new way of life and spirituality. They would have to defer to the presence and needs of others. They, who had given so many orders, would have to take some. They would have to begin again.
So do we. Always. Because truth (wisdom) is vindicated by her works.
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