Monday in the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time
“We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose” (2 Thes. 1:11). Today’s first reading brought to mind Scott Peck’s story entitled The Rabbi’s Gift. I’ll share a few excerpts.
The Rabbi welcomed the Abbot at his hut. When the Abbot explained the reason for his visit, the Rabbi could only commiserate with him. “I know how it is,” he exclaimed. “The spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore.” So, the Abbot and the Rabbi sat together discussing the Bible and their faiths.
The time came when the Abbot had to leave. “It has been a wonderful visit… Is there nothing you can tell me to help save my dying order?”
“The only thing I can tell you,” said the Rabbi, “is that the Messiah is among you.”
When the Abbot returned to the monastery, his fellow monks gathered around him and asked, “What did the Rabbi say?” The Abbot answered. “The only thing he did say, as I was leaving was that the Messiah is among us. Though I do not know what these words mean.”
In the following months, the monks pondered this and wondered whether there was any possible significance to the Rabbi’s words: The Messiah is among us?
As they contemplated in this manner, the monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that one among them might be the Messiah. In turn, each monk began to treat himself with extraordinary respect.
As Cistercian monks, we are called to respect one another (Rom 12:10) and support each other’s weaknesses of body and behavior with the greatest patience. This means that we are to treat each brother as if he were Christ. When commitment to Christ fills the heart, love abounds. Brotherly love and patience with one another are the ways we express faith. By showing brotherly love and mutual respect we offer God a sacrifice of praise.
Christ is among us
He is and always shall be.