Prologue v6-7

[Cellariarius]

6 With his good gifts which are in us, we must obey him at all times that he may never become the angry father who disinherits his sons,
7 nor the dread lord, enraged by our sins, who punishes us forever as worthless servants for refusing to follow him to glory.
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What do folk find in this passage, please? Clearly, St B is alluding to family and feudal structures far removed from ours. Obedience hold primacy, of course, but what can we usefully take from his concepts of anger and punishment - or do we place them aside as an element of his culturally conditioned content?

What do we think?
Thanks,
C

[Digitalnun]

Isn't it possible to misuse gifts? One may have been given a brilliant mind. One can use one's intellectual gift to help others or to belittle them (think witty put-down, amusing to all but the butt of the joke). One may have been given a flair for finance. One can use that for good and altruistic purposes or for personal gain at the expense of others. Yes, the imagery used by Benedict reflects the social understanding of the sixth century but the point he is making is surely of perennial relevance: there is a moral dimension to all we do and our deeds have consequences. If we hope to be eternally united to Christ, shouldn't we also fear being eternally separated from him? Our experience (or lack of it!) in prayer may throw some light on this passage. God is all love, but he is utterly transcendant too.

[Anselm]

I agree, I see the obedience aspect as the significant part, which for me relates to the imagery in the lines 6 & 7.
We have a responsibility to discover and make use of the gifts given us. In the context of obedience, I read this as giving attention to, giving due regard to. I also read this in the context of my work with teams. Each member of the team has something to offer, and has a responsibility to make the offer using the gifts given us. Blind action on instruction won't do, nor silent grumbling.
At this point I can appreciate the imagery of the angry father - for which I read frustrated father. I have a daughter at university who sometimes seems not to be as dilligent in her studies as her father would like. I can see talents, gifts she has, but I can see that they are not being made use of fully (yet). What frustration! (I don't mean here, of someone just followng some pattern laid down by the father - like, say, St Anselm's father - I'm not like that! But there must be more to student life than endless parties....isn't there? :o Many ways of dealing with that kind of situation; books galore, advice abounds. But I'm sticking with the frustration aspect as being a consequence of seeing gifts underutilised - the imagery is powerful for me. And before anyone worries - the daughter isn't disinherited....) :)

Now the punishment. I don't conceive of God in the way, say, the Greeks viewed their gods; characters dispensing largesse or punishment seemingly on a whim. So I don't see punishment as something handed out. I believe, like Cardinal Newman, we all have gifts to use in God's service ("God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another...," Cardinal Newman 'Your Vocation'). To understand that vocation, I must be fully listening with the heart to everything going on around me. I read 'sin' in the old archery context - missing the target, missing the mark, and it's extension, simply missing the point. I am aware of the situations when I am not consciously giving attention to everything around me, of not fulfilling my vocation, when I am missing the mark, and I am aware of the absence of rest that ensues. I don't mean the kind of 'feet up, slippers on' rest, but an unrest, a disquiet, of heart. Of soul. The trigger that prompts me to reflect, and reflect deeply. This is where St Benedicts imagery is so powerful for me - the disquiet of heart I'm describing has the same feeling as if punishment were being dispensed. I can conceive of the eternal unrest for failing to listen to the God again and again.
In this regard, I reflect on the imagery, and haven't put aside this as an aspect of culture pertinent to the 6th century.

Pax,
Anselm

[Cellariarius]

Thanks, Anselm; that's most helpful. As a problate, I may be back for more!

C

[Alexander]

Probably out of ignorance I saw something quite different in Pro.6/7.I see words like "good things" and "follow Him to Glory". The warning about behaviour is surely the same as our parents warning us as children about right and wrong.
A parents love is very forgiving and ,just as Julian of Norwich explains ,Gods love ,which " enfolds and embraces us; that tender love completely surrounds us, never to leave us "
Jesus himself tells us that wonderful parable about the prodigal son, not only did the father forgive him but feasted with delight over the return of his son. Then we come to the "Glory" surely the Transfiguration tells us quite simply that we are born for this and each of us has the capacity to achieve it by Gods loving grace.
Without upsetting the code of conduct , I cant help feeling that 6/7 is rather a concerned parent , rather than a condeming parent.
Perhaps my interpretation is emotional rather than theological. I want a way to God that welcomes me with the possibility of transfiguration rather than condemnation .