The way of the desert

Over the Christmas break, as part of my doctoral studies, I have been reading about the early desert Christians. These were women and men who, predominantly in the fourth century AD, broke away from mainstream society to live in the desert regions of Syria and Egypt. Some lived alone, in caves or holes or huts, whilst others lived in monastic community. As people travelled to visit them, so they wrote down both some of the things these desert Christians said and accounts of some of their lives. And so we are able to read these ancient documents today and get a glimpse into this life that is so very very different to our own. They were extraordinary people. Some of what they did can seem very bizarre to us living thousands of years later and, indeed, there is no doubt that some of them took things to the extreme. Nonetheless, what comes through is people who said words and lived lives that were full of wisdom.

Take, for example, our obsession with fame and the famous. An old man said, 'Do not be intimate with the abbot and do not visit him much, for you will learn a certain over-familiarity of speech from it and finally you will want to be superior in your turn'. Or think about the way, as Christians, we chase after the latest supernatural outbreaking, loving the big and the spectacular: Someone asked an old man, 'How is it that some say, "We see visions of angels"?' - and he replied, 'Happy is he who always sees his sins'. Despite their asceticism (or was it maybe because of it?) there is a realism to their words and a deep understanding of the human nature. An old man said, 'He who loses gold or silver can find more to replace it, but he who loses time cannot find more'. And we thought we were the only ones to think that?! They understand, too, that intention is sometimes of more importance than achievement and that you must be slow to judge outward appearances: There was a man who ate a lot and was still hungry, and another who ate little and was satisfied. The one who ate a lot and was still hungry received a greater reward than he who ate little and was satisfied. And I can see the twinkle in the eye with this one: The old men used to say, 'When you see a young man ascending up to heaven through his own will, seize him by the foot and pull him down, for this is good for him'!

Perhaps the aspect of the desert Christians that I appreciate the most is their take on how we view ourselves and how we view others, not judging others but developing humility. Again, their asceticism is not seen as an end in itself but as a means to an end. So, 'An anchorite was living close to a monastery, and he led a very austere life. Now it happened that some visitors came to the monastery and constrained him to eat outside the proper time. Afterwards the brothers said to him, 'Abba, were you not grieved by that? He said to them, 'I am grieved only when I do my own will'. Their words challenge us in our relationship with others, when we are schooled by a society that teaches us to fight for our rights and take easy offense. When an old man was asked, 'what is humility?', he replied, 'It is when your brother sins against you and you forgive him before he comes to ask for forgiveness'. And then, similarly, 'If you say to someone, "Forgive me", in humiliating yourself you are burning the demons'. What is our attitude when we see someone doing wrong? The desert fathers took a radical approach: A holy man who had seen someone in the act of committing a sin wept bitterly and said, 'He today, and I tomorrow. In truth, even if someone commits sin in your presence, do not judge him, but consider yourself a worse sinner than he'.

Although the sayings I have used here all come from men, there were many 'desert mothers' too who spoke and lived with equal wisdom. All of these people lived in a culture and age very different from ours and yet I find in them so much that resonates with me as I too, in my own small way, attempt to live a life that is in some sense distinctive to the society around me. These people truly lived lives that demonstrated the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of Jesus and I hope that I can learn something from them.

In conclusion, this particular saying reminds me of what is really important in following Jesus: A brother went to see an anchorite and as he was leaving said to him, 'Forgive me, abba, for having taken you away from your rule. But the other answered him, 'My rule is to refresh you and send you away in peace'.

Ruth Valerio, 06/01/2010