Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
 
Picture
"Place your hope in God alone. If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge." - Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4.

People often ask how I can be both a Presbyterian and a Benedictine. One of the answers is the remarkable similarity of our teachings. The Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Confessions . says we are all capable of utter depravity. As a Presbyterian I believe there is nothing we can do that is good enough to justify ourselves with God. Even the love of Christ is a God given gift as we are not capable of it on our own. As a Benedictine I believe in constant conversion; the process of falling from God's path but through God's grace finding a way to return to it once again. This process of falling and getting up again will continue for the rest of my life.     

This Sunday I'm preaching on the story of David and Bathsheba. You know the story. David seduces Bathsheba. Bathsheba gets pregnant. David has her husband murdered. I doubt any of us could call such an action anything but evil. But despite such evil, out of the marriage of David and Bathsheba came their son, Solomon.

Thank you Lord, for the good you do through each of us and your grace which brings us back to your path when we stray.
 
 

"Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge." -Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4.

How is our way different from the world's way? All too often I keep hearing the refrain from pre-Christians that they do not come to church because its filled with hypocrites. I tell them the standard answer that the church is a hospital for sinners and not a home for saints. But in my heart, I know they have a big point. People act in churches in ways that they would not dare act elsewhere. We attack others who disagree with us and call them evil sinners. It's no wonder that the church is the last place most postmoderns would come for help. They take one look at all our fights and decide its time to look for aid somewhere else.

Perhaps we should all reflect on Benedict's admonition. Think today, how is what I am doing different from the world's actions? Am I demonizing those who disagree with me over points of theology or the interpretation of scripture? How do my actions show that the  love of Christ comes before all else for me? And for all of us, myself included, if we cannot find a difference between our actions and the world's, we need to reflect on how we can change our ways.