The School of the Lord’s Service
THE PATRONAL FEAST OF ST. BENEDICT, ABBOT
As the Rector of this parish, I often receive many questions. One that comes up frequently is, "How did you choose the name St. Benedict's for this church?" Many people assume that I make 99% of the decisions independently, likely because many churches operate like corporations, where the lead pastor acts more like a CEO than a shepherd or a father of a household. You might be surprised to learn that a parish Rector actually makes far fewer decisions on his own than one might expect.
In fact, the name St. Benedict's was chosen by the founding twelve members who helped to plant this church. One evening, I asked each of them to write three potential names for this church on a piece of paper. Then, I took each submission and narrowed it down to the top two names. Which do you think was the first? "St. Michael's Anglican Church" (Problematic). The second was "St. Benedict's Anglican Church." And to the surprise of those who ask this question, I didn't participate in the process. Neither I nor Fr. Templin suggested a name. It was the initial twelve who named this parish, thus forever defining our common identity.
Well, what's in a name? For most of history, parents named their newborn children after someone else. For instance, it was common to name a child after a relative, either alive or deceased, to carry on the name and memory of a particular relative. Children were named after friends or any person who lived an honorable life, worthy of emulation. The underlying idea is that a name represents more than just a name; it serves as an identity for a child to grow into, shaping and guiding their character, and setting forth a course of life to follow.
Whenever we have a baptism, I take the child into my arms and ask the godparents to "Name this Child" (BCP, 279). Why does the baptismal office require this? Because the child (or an adult) is being reborn, born again, and as a newborn child, they must be named now as a child of God. Scripture recounts all sorts of people whose names are changed because of a change in their relationship with God. Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai, Sarah. Jacob's name is changed to Israel; Naomi becomes Mara; Sual, Paul, and Cephas becomes Peter.
God renames individuals, particularly through the act of baptism, to signify a profound change in their identity, purpose, and relationship with Him. This renaming goes beyond a simple linguistic alteration; it represents a declaration of God's transformative work in a person's life. It's also quite common for Christians to choose the name of a patron saint during baptism or confirmation. For example, my patron saint is St. Michael, which makes my baptismal name Michael Michael Vinson. I am named after St. Michael, which means "One like God." This name wasn't given because it was evident at my birth; rather, it was chosen with the hope that I would lead a life of virtue and goodness like Michael the Archangel. The intention was for his identity to influence my own—shaping my choices and my faith—so that I might become one like God and glorify Him. We take the names of Saints we wish to emulate, as St. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to "imitate him as he imitates Christ" (1 Cor 11:1).
Towards the conclusion of the prologue to his monastic rule, St. Benedict casts a vision for what a monastery is and, more importantly, its ultimate purpose in writing the following,
"Therefore we intend to establish a school for the Lord's service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love" (Prologue, 45-48).
According to St. Benedict, the monastic life as a School of the Lord's Service intends for its pupils to walk the narrow road of salvation, growing in faith and obeying God's commandments to safeguard and fill their hearts with the inexpressible delight of love to overflowing. The English Reformers, men like Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, shared a similar vision for laity and clergy alike; a vision for 'Everyday Monks' to be lived out in the parish as a kind of domestic monastery, a 'School of the Lord's service' for every baptized believer. We see this vision for a parish in today's Collect, in which we prayed,
"O GOD, who madest the Abbot Saint Benedict an outstanding master in the school of divine service, grant, we beseech thee, putting nothing before love of thee, we may hasten with a loving heart in the way of thine commandments."
Friends, it is here, in this parish, where we learn to "run on the path of God's commandments" by faithfully giving ourselves to the common life and worship of this "school for the Lord's service" called St. Benedict's Anglican Church. By God's design and the leading of the Holy Spirit, our tutelage in Christ-like love is formed in community, within a people, within a parish: a unified community of deference, sacrifice, and service.
"And all that believed were together and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." As it was in the earliest church, so it is envisioned for our "school of the Lord's service": to live beyond "ordinary life."
To establish and maintain a community built upon the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, established in his name. A community that demands much more of a person, demanding commitments not only to self but to others (our fellow monks in this parish, if you will). As for any Benedictine monk or baptized Christian in a parish, a decision must be made that will guide all others: Will I order my life according to the duties, responsibilities, and commands of the monastery-parish? Or will I drop out of School and make my own way?
It's the same decision we are called to make each and every day, deciding to take up our Cross daily, which will cost your life, your independence, your self-sovereignty. Echoing the Lord Jesus Christ, Benedict is calling us to such a life, one that "puts nothing before the love of God," a life lived on the narrow path, ordered, stable, and transformative. Yesterday, at morning prayer, we blessed this beautiful new Cross that now adorns our sanctuary. And I prayed this blessing over it,
"We beseech thee, O Lord holy Father Almighty, everlasting God: that thou would vouchsafe to bless this sign of the Cross, that it may be a saving remedy for the human race; may it set forward steadfastness in faith, perseverance in good works, and the salvation of souls; may it be a comfort, a defense, and shield against all the fiery darts of the enemy."
A School of the Lord's service, whether monastery or parish, is always the School of the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus was steadfast in faith, never losing trust in the Father. He did not step down from the Cross, but persevered in doing the good work of expiating the sins of the world to attain our eternal salvation.
The way of St. Benedict is the way of the Cross. The good Abbot desires for his monks to be faithful, trusting Christ for all things. He desires for good works to abound within the School of Christ, and for the monks to persevere in doing good. Why? For the salvation of their souls, and not merely theirs, but the salvation of the world. You see, in the final analysis, St. Benedict knows that the way of the Cross is the way of love.
And friends, it is to be our way, in this School of the Lord's service. Here, in this little parish on a hill, St. Benedict's Anglican Church, in Rockwall, Texas. As baptized Christians, you are students in the School of the Lord's Service. It is here, in this monastery-shaped parish, that we learn to love rightly. It is here, in this School of Christ, that our loves and appetites are re-ordered and re-formed by living a common rule of life: daily prayer, weekly communion, and personal devotion.
Today, the two primary images shaping this parish, the rule of St. Benedict and the Celtic Cross, have converged, for they are inseparable. A life governed and ordered by the rule of Prayer Book spirituality must be conformed to the Cross of Christ: its sacrifice, humility, obedience, and love. Let every one of us then, count the costs of our enrollment in the Lord's School, not in monetary terms, but in terms of our life.
"IF any man come to me, and hate not his Father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his Cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." And again, Jesus says, "whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." We are his disciples, and I know that we all desire to remain so. Then, let love compel you to follow him into holiness and virtue, sustained by a prayerful life, given in the service to others. "Run this way," and your hearts will "overflow with the inexpressible delight of love." Amen+
