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Obedience: RB 5. 1—13

The obedience of an automaton or slave is completely unworthy of a Benedictine, or indeed any human being. Chapter 5 of the Rule which we begin today is extremely clear on this point. We are free people, and our obedience is given to the superior as to God because "we hold nothing dearer to us than Christ" and because "we are spurred on by love to attain everlasting life." If that were not enough, Benedict appeals to our sense of honour, the vows we have made, "the holy service we have professed". Only incidentally does he mention "fear of hell" and "the glory of eternal life", presumably because the blockheads among us (you and me) need a reward and punishment system at times to keep us up to the mark. The whole emphasis of this chapter is on our eagerness to seek and find God in the everyday reality of our lives. Superiors are not always wise, their decisions not always just. We are to remember that imperfect circumstances provide perfect conditions for becoming truly humble, truly one with Christ.