Rector’s Daily Reflections Thursday 20th January 2022
Thought for Today
Today, I am continuing some reflections on the Benedictine approach to work. We have seen that Benedictine spirituality recognises and affirms the spiritual importance of the work we do, whether that work is paid or unpaid, but at the same time it reminds us that the work we do is only a part of who we are. Yes, work is important, but we must n’t make it the be all and end all of our lives.
Benedictines have developed a handy way of ensuring that we don’t become overly focussed on the particular job we happen to be doing at a particular moment in our lives. In a typical monastery, most monks or nuns will do a variety of different jobs over the years, as directed by the abbot or abbess. A wise abbot or abbess will doubtless take into account our particular interests and skills, but they might decide to send us to learn to do a job which we’ve never done before. For example, if one of the monks or nuns is an accountant by background, this does n’t mean that they will automatically be assigned to manage the monastery’s finances. They might be directed to become the monastery chef or look after the monastery’s gardens. If the account in our example said to the abbot or abbess, “Help, I’ve never so much as boiled an egg!” , the abbot or abbess would probably reply, “well, this is a good opportunity to learn! Brother John or Sister Mary will teach you”.
Of course such an approach has its disadvantages, and Benedictines recognise there will always be some tasks which can only be performed by someone with the relevant professional qualification or technical expertise. But I think there is much to be said for the general Benedictine approach. It prevents individuals being pigeon-holed for life by the job or jobs they’ve done before : in other words, it provides the opportunity for an accountant to learn what it is like to be a chef. It helps to prevent any sense of snobbery : you will be less likely to look down on some one else because of the job they happen to do, if you might well end up doing that job yourself in a couple of years time! And finally, it provides a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills.
Of course, it might mean that a task is not performed to as high standard as you might like. But a Benedictine would ask : does this really matter, so long as the task got done? Is n’t it more important that the person was given the opportunity to do the task in question? And what gives you the right to demand such high standards from others? Do you think you are perfect?
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