A famous Christian monastery once attracted many visitors, as well as a constant stream of would-be acolytes. With time, however, disputes broke out among the brethren, and the the monastery’s image became tarnished. Fewer and fewer visitors came, and instead of acquiring new recruits, the monastery lost veteran monks. The situation went from bad to worse, until only five monks remained, and they could not agree on what to do next. One of them heard of a wise Jewish rabbi living nearby, and suggested they go to consult with him.
The rabbi listened to their stories about how past life in the monastery had been, and what it had come to. He pondered for a long time, the said:
“I don’t know what to tell you to help you solve your problem. The only thing I can say is that one of you is the savior—only one—but I don’t know which of you that is.”
The five monks returned to the monastery disappointed, because the rabbi could not tell them what to do. Still, since one of them was the savior, and it could be any one of them, they began to respect each other. This created a change for the better in the atmosphere. Visitors began to return, and their positive impressions encouraged more visitors to come. Not only did the monastery’s reputation begin to improve, but new acolytes were also attracted. Finally the monastery resumed its former glory.