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An Abbot who is worthy to be in charge of a monastery must always bear in mind what he is called and fulfil in his actions the name of one who is called greater. For he is believed to act in the place of Christ in the monastery, since he is called by his title, as the Apostle says, ‘You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, through whom we cry, Abba! Father!’ Therefore the Abbot should not teach or ordain or command anything that lies outside the Lord's commands, far from it; but his commands and his teaching should mingle like the leaven of divine justice in the mind of his disciples. The Abbot must always remember that at the fearful judgement of God two things will be discussed: his own teaching and the obedience of his disciples. The Abbot must also realise that whatever lack of fruitfulness the Father of the family may find in his sheep will be blamed on the shepherd. And likewise if the shepherd has laboured with complete diligence over a troublesome and disobedient flock, and has expended every care over their diseased behaviour, he will be acquitted in the Lord's judgement and will say with the prophet, ‘I have not hidden your justice in my heart, but I have spoken of your truth and saving help’; ‘but they have contemptuously despised me.’ And then finally the penalty of death will swallow up the sheep who were disobedient to his care.

The word ‘abbot’ means ‘father’. The word shares the same root as the Aramaic word abba – an especially intimate term like ‘Papa’ which Jesus himself uses for the Father (Mark 14.36), and which St Paul says we should use for God (Rom. 8.15). In his consideration of the traits of a good abbot or father this basic word abba, with all its implications of both intimacy and respect, comes into play.

In the monastery the abbot holds the rank of a bishop and, as the bishop holds apostolic authority, so Benedict is clear that the abbot's authority comes from Christ himself. In this he echoes the first-century writer, Ignatius of Antioch, who said, ‘Clearly then we should regard the bishop as the Lord himself…’ Likewise the Christian father exercises authority in the family as from the Lord. St Paul commands children to ‘obey their parents in the Lord’ (Eph. 6.1–2), and thus keep the fourth commandment.

Anyone who glories in their position of power is a fool. Benedict recognizes that holding such authority over others is an awesome responsibility. The responsibility to speak and act as Christ in our families is a high calling which both lifts us up and casts us down at the same time. It lifts us up because we share in Christ's own ministry of reconciliation within our families (2 Cor. 5.18). It casts us down because we cannot ‘speak Christ’ if we don't ‘live Christ’; and how can we hope to live Christ when we are aware that nothing good lives in us? (Rom. 7.18). Benedict then casts us down further when he says that we will be held responsible for the failure of our children.

How can any father hope to fulfil such a high calling? Benedict hints at the answer in today's passage. ‘The abbot should not teach or ordain or command anything that lies outside the Lord's commands…’ In other words, the Christian father must clothe himself in Christ (Gal. 3.27) if he wishes to speak and live Christ in the home. This calls for a mysterious transaction in which we die to ourselves and live to Christ (Gal. 2.20). St Paul says this death to self is a daily requirement, and he grounds his own authority in this same identification with Christ (1 Cor. 15.31). Likewise a daily death to self is the only basis for a Christian father's authority in the home because it is through taking up our cross daily that we identify most fully with the Christ we hope to represent (Luke 9.23).