Everyone wants, and we say that every American deserves, the good life. I believe it. Like you, everyone is seeking God, the author of the good life. Every creature, it seems to me, hopes happily to meet his Maker.
I was triple blessed. I had a father and mother who saw to it that we kids had a good life. It was poor, but good. Next I became a Benedictine. I came under the guidance of a man, Benedict, who wrote about the good life. Finally, I came to the reservation where, in those days, poor people, like us Benedictines, had very little personally but were with God and had the good life. I am eternally grateful for the blessings people gave me. I love them, because they gave of their abundance.
I wonder at this. It seems that being poor is always somehow joined to the good life. As kids we saw rich people, but, very often we didn’t see anything in them that we’d want. They had things that we would have liked, but there was not much we saw noble in them, the people.
We lived across the street from a rich family. They had a big house, but it was dark and hidden deep in moaning pine trees. We never saw any of their kids out playing on the lawn. Almost every day we saw the boy and the two girls get into one of the cars and go somewhere. Maybe they went somewhere to play. They had dogs, but the dogs weren’t for playing either. If you came close to the fence, the dogs came stalking up to look at you, and their look was warning enough. We never took a chance of batting a ball over their fence.
Maybe now both the rich man’s house is gone and our’s too.
The book of Benedict is still handy, though. I wish you’d have a chance to see in his book what Benedict has to say about the good life. Don’t expect from him a strange laid-out complicated plan that will twist you into some odd shape called holiness. Benedict knows that you came from good stock. That you had sensible parents. That you had good teachers. He takes it for granted that they worked hard for you, and in his book, or in his Rule, he lays out the way to use the wisdom that your parents and relatives had put in you.
For Benedict “God is not elsewhere.” “He is with you.” God – and the good life – are in the simplicity of your home, of your family, of your neighborhood. Look, listen, see.
God is right here.
The first word of Benedict’s Rule of Life is simple. When you were little, you heard it a million times. Benedict heard it from his folks, and he repeats it for you. Listen. Your mom said it to you. Your dad said it. Your teachers said it. Listen.
In Latin the word that Benedict uses for ‘listen’ means “cultivate an ear”. That’s not so peculiar, is it? It means “learn to listen”. Listening is essential for learning. You and I know, though, that there are some folks who just don’t, somehow can’t, listen, can’t learn. They can’t learn about the good life. Pity them.
In a way they know they are broken and dysfunctional or off the mark, but they don’t know why. They don’t have good judgment or wisdom. They are the victims of con artists and scams. They are addicts, going back again and again, to things that promise gaudy pleasure or quick escape. They think that in cruel diversion they’ll find a good life. Right now we are in a flood time of people like that.
For yourself take a look at the simple headings in Benedict’s book. Begin with listen. You’ve done a lot of that. Next respect. Not always easy to see why respect is so important and good, but with a little thought you’ll understand. Share. Since you were little you did a lot of that. Being humble, knowing yourself. Knowing yourself is the beginning of wisdom. Work. Every creature is fulfilled, comes to full flower, when he or she produces something by effort or work. Working is a hard lesson to teach children, but you know that, when children have grown up and have learned to work, they are the trustworthy ones.
Benedict in his book has a key word: moderation. “Do everything with moderation.” You, like me, don’t go much for all this stretching and straining to get in shape. There is no reason for it. It’s good to know that Jesus has done all that for us. In the prologue of his book Benedict says right up front…with Jesus “we shall learn to run with heart enlarged.” There are, for sure, greater things to come for us in heaven, but right now the good life here is a guarantee for something better in the life to come.
Would you like to read about it? Write to me. I’ll answer. I’ll send you some notes on Benedict’s book. You’ll like what you read.