“…when he made them he precisely determined their portions. He arranged his works in an eternal order, and their dominion for all generations; they neither hunger nor grow weary, and they do not cease from their labors…they will never disobey his word.”
Sirach 16:26-28
We might not think much about our home as something to rule. The very word ‘rule’ seems out of place here; it smacks of being over-bearing and oppressive. Isn’t our home too intimate and personal to be a subject for ruling?
But what if ‘ruling’ properly understood and exercised–especially in the household–is the precondition for human flourishing in all its personal intimacy?
The writings of the Jewish scribe Ben Sira (died circa 175 B.C.) present the cosmos as a masterpiece of order. This order is the fruit of a highly intentional and precise arrangement by God the creator. This arrangement evidences an astounding attention to detail in which everything has its proper place and role.
A closer look at this order, as well as at the writings of Ben Sira, reveal God’s rule of the cosmos as essentially a profound and intimate care for persons. It is a care that encompasses many things other than persons, yet always in view of the flourishing of persons.
Just like right rule in a household.
The trees and beasts, rivers and mountains, and stars and planets all pursue their courses in regular harmony because someone has deigned so to arrange it. And lo, we discover the cosmos perfectly fit to be a ‘home’ to human persons. Further, it shows itself to be a context that elicits and encourages the highest reaches of human accomplishment and happiness.
The cosmic harmony unfolds with such ‘natural’ ease that the ruling behind it might be little noticed, or even altogether missed. But at the very core of that ruling of the cosmos, is a pattern and a call to us: to form microcosms, or micro-cosmoses.
Each and every man and woman in a household can discover the challenge and the honor of ruling in our households like the cosmos is ruled.
Our rule in our households will never be effortless or flawless as the creator’s rule; in this and other ways there will always be a difference. But nonetheless, like that other rule, our rule can order the many and various things of home life all in view of the flourishing of the persons who live there. Here, to give order is to give life. It is to enact our love for those closest to us.
To rule well is to receive an incomparable gift. It is to enter into, act under, and pass on the care-full love that rules the cosmos. All this, in the mundane daily life of my own microcosm, my household.
This post is the first in a series in which we will examine various aspects of Ruling Our Households Like the Cosmos. In upcoming posts we will consider just how the order in the cosmos gives pattern and direction for order in the household.
Ruling Our Households Like the Cosmos Mini-Series
I. Ruling Our Households Like the Cosmos
II. A Wife in Her Well-Ordered Home
III: Manual Workers, Wisdom, and Cosmic Order
IV: Three Beautiful Things in the Cosmos
I want to express my debt to the book Wisdom, Cosmos, and Cultus in the Book of Sirach. This masterful study by A. Jordan Schmidt, O.P. has opened my eyes to the treasures in the book of Sirach.
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
Mr. Cuddeback,
I ask for your prayers. Our beautiful daughter Juanita, died the 27 of May in a bike accident coming home from the pool where she worked as a lifeguard. She had graduated a week before with honors and was going to study at University of Dallas in August.
We are heartbroken and exhausted. You always have great words of wisdom and this article today, gives me reason and motive to keep this household functioning in the midst of our grief.
My son Pablo, a Christendom student, has been very brave and helpful as our oldest child, specially with the little ones which are very sad and confused about all this.
Please pray for our family, This is the ultimate sacrifice any parent is asked to do, and only the certainty of God’s perfect order in the cosmos gives comfort and Hope . The Book of Sirach is a treasure.
Dear Catalina! I am heartbroken for you and your family. I cannot imagine the suffering. I immediately think of how in all the Lord asks of us, He is present with us, shouldering the cross with us, under a yoke designed to be carried by two people together. May you feel His presence!
Your faith in God is an inspiration to me, and I’m sure to many others. I thank you.
The Book of Sirach is indeed a treasure; may it be a consolation to you.
With sincere prayers for you and your whole family, John Cuddeback
Saint Maximus the Confessor on teaching economics liturgically?
Dear Catalina,
My daughter was also at Christendom. I also lost a son –to leukemia. No one wants their child to suffer for three and a half years, but I have often wondered how I would respond to a sudden, unexpected death of a child. I can hardly imagine. Since mine were younger at the time, I kept up our normal routines and celebrations, with a nod to what John would have wanted. This, of course, was the best therapy. They deserved to know that we could be a happy home. They learned that sorrow and joy can co-exist. This made the other three very realistic, I think, about life. We frequently talked about their brother. We did not shove aside his memory.
This is almost an abrupt jump into Dr. Cuddeback’s topic, but it makes sense for an adult to see that in the fallen cosmos, grief and joy can abide together. But in the end, one wins.
May the angels encamp around you.