Many of us assume monks are people stuck in the past, resistant to new ideas. We see monks as people committed to upholding old ideas in traditional ways. We believe monasteries exist to continue doing things “the ways we have always done them.”
The monks I know do not think or behave in the ways I had assumed they would. Yes, they are committed to values and principles that have lasted hundreds of years. Their commitment, though, frees them to be open to remarkably innovative approaches.
I am a lay person connected to a Benedictine community which follows Benedict’s rule. Though written over 1,500 years ago, Benedict’s words encourage innovative ways of living. Each member of the community is supported and encouraged to put their shared values into practice.
Some monks exercise their academic gifts to write books, explore theology, and gain understanding. Some members of the community express their gifts in creative innovations in music and other arts. Some monks contribute to the community’s orderly operation or financial sustainability. Some monks demonstrate their gifts of hospitality and encouragement. Each member helps the community become stronger and more healthy.
It is easy for some of us to see monastic people as essentially passive, escaping the real world. The monks I know face many of the same challenges those of us in the rest of the world face. They, however, develop new ways of dealing with them.
They tend not to be, though, goldfish jumping from one bowl into another. The monks I know are beginning to discover they swim in the depths of an ocean.
Monastic innovation is not primarily about technology or ideas. Monastic innovation grows within us.
How will we practice our monastic innovation today?
What are the new practices we will develop this year?
[Image by Kay Kim(김기웅)]
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