Matthew, Mark, and Luke record a story that Jesus used to illustrate how the gospel message impacted different people. We call the story The Parable of the Soils. In St. Luke’s account the Christ says, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” Jesus, knowing the minds of his audience, declared how things were with them at that moment. Some were hard as rocks, rejecting the Grace of God standing among them. Others were shallow, excited by his presence, but not convicted by his teaching. Another group was influenced by the popularity the social elites. Whatever they thought of Jesus was quenched by the prickly elitist opinions of the powerful and influential. Some people received Jesus with open hearts. They were true disciples who desired to know and follow the Son of God. However, Luke writes, “As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”” (Luke 8:5-8). Where was the large yield to come from the seed planted in good soil? Why did Jesus make such a strange conclusion?
Please allow me to pause for a moment and consider Chapter 1 of The Rule of St. Benedict. Benedict writes about four different hearts of people seeking community, each motivated by a very different objective. His passion on this topic is evident in his words as he strongly exalts the first two kinds of monastics and condemns the third and fourth. Benedict uses titles that are unfamiliar to many readers trying to apply The Rule in non-monastic or neo-monastic settings. He labels each group; cenobites, anchorites, sarabites, and gyrovagues. Walk with me as we stroll through the neighborhoods of each group. Each are as recognizable today as they were in Benedict’s life. They reflect the soils of Jesus’ story.
Who are the cenobites? Benedict declared them to be seekers of spiritual life. They live in community with others and seek the welfare of that community. For Benedict, communal living was the proper environment for growth in relationship with others, as well as God. He realized that holiness does not develop in a vacuum, but it thrives through giving and receiving edification to and from others. St. Paul wrote the church in Thessalonica, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) He also wrote, “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.” (Romans 14:7-8) Sharing life in community is how God created us and is one way in which we reflect God’s image. God is perfect community; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Community, even monastic community, requires shared life by people walking together to work out the way to God. There is no escape from life, only opportunity to confront it and sanctify the daily tensions of being in community with one another.
So, if Benedict valued community then why does he esteem anchorites? Anchorites are hermits who have separated themselves from community, left the “battle line in the ranks of their brothers to the single combat in the desert.” It is important to emphasize what Benedict is not promoting in that description of recluse life. He is not suggesting that true spirituality mandates leaving life as we know for devotion to some contemplative lifestyle as suggested by some modern “spiritualists.” Throughout The Rule, Benedict’s roadmap to holiness involves sharing community to gain patience, wisdom, and selflessness. As we mature in the person of Christ, we discover that seed of the anchorite in each of us. We find ourselves yearning for one-on-one time with God. We are centered through contemplative prayer, fasting, as we bask in the light of the Son and lay alongside the streams of Living Water. Benedict noted two important aspects of hermits. First, these are disciples who have lived in community for a long time and learned the values of nurturing others, as well as being uplifted by them. They are prepared to “grapple single-handed with the vices of the body and mind.” Behind Benedict’s description of these monastics is a not-so-subtle warning of spiritual warfare that awaits the single warrior. Satan lurked in the desert place for Jesus and attacked him there. The documentary movie Letters reveals the loneliness felt by Mother Teresa after she left her community at the Loreto Convent in Calcutta. She labored in her calling to the poor, but felt very alone in her sacrifice. The second important aspect of the anchorite is that they were never cutoff from community, neither by their community nor themselves. They were always welcomed on their occasional return for communion with others.
The third type of heart is found in sarabaites. Benedict harshly described these monastics as being detestable. Perhaps what Benedict found so repugnant about these individuals was their immature self-promotion. Their desire for autonomy and rejection of authority. They launched out from community to “hang their shingle” as a religious before maturing as the result of submitting themselves to others and learning the lessons of life. In doing so, they separated themselves and missed opportunities to give and receive godly discipline necessary for growth. Being shallow, they risked falling prey to birds or being choked by thorns. We witness modern sarabaites. If we closely examine ourselves, we may see their face staring back in the mirror. We may see our mediocre commitment. We find ourselves listening only to our own opinion and resisting correction from others. We look more for comfort than preparation for spiritual battle. We are quick to point out to others the spiritual heights to which we have ascended. We begin to grow tired of formation and seek that place to settle down. Joan Chittister describes this place as, “A sense of self-sacrifice dies in us and we obey only the desires and demands within us.”
Gyrovagues are Benedict’s fourth category of heart. His words for this group are more harsh than the sarabaites. These were the people who began by following Christ. They were vagrant monks, after taking vows of poverty, chastity, and humility, they became burdens on community after community. Traveling and begging, exhibiting their spirituality as a charade of self-centeredness. They visit place to place taking from every group, but contributing nothing in return. Again, we must be cautious in judging these restless travelers for we may be incriminating ourselves. We can display our gyrovague roots by roaming from place to place in search of the perfect community where we can be edified without any demands on us to edify others.
Chapter One challenges me to critically examine myself. What kind of neighbor am I in my community? What kind of soil is found in my heart and how is the seed of the Gospel growing (or not)? If we read The Rule or Jesus parable of the soils as a final judgment with no opportunity to change, then we find ourselves in a dilemma. Do I accept my own condemnation or reject the teaching of Christ? However, we are not bound to these options because Jesus is Christ! Because of Jesus’ love, His death, His victory over death, His redemption – we are able to be transformed into His image. Our congregation’s vows include; obedience, stability, and cruciform life. That is the Gospel message.
Benedict wisely provided a measuring stick, his Regula, to help the follower recognize the opportunity to grow and measure our progress along the way. The Rule does not suggest “once a gyrovague, always a gyrovague.” Instead, The Rule provides a path to grow from the gyrovague and sarabaite that is within all of us and seek Christ in communities to which we are committed and are held accountable in our journey together. Through Christ-loving communities, the rock of our hearts may be crushed, fertilized, and tilled into good soil that yields a hundredfold.
In Him,
Br. Dan, OSB
