Arkiv, Høytlesning
Ørkenfedrene 6
Below is the text of the sixth episode in the series Desert Fathers in a Year. You can find it in video format here – a dedicated page – and pick it up in audio wherever you listen to podcasts.
Somebody put a question to Abba Antony, saying: what must I observe in order to please God? In answer, the elder said, ‘Keep what I command you: wherever you go, always have God before your eyes; and whatever you do, have [in mind] the testimony of the sacred Scriptures; and in whatever place you find yourself, do not move quickly. Keep these three things, and you will be saved.
The Fathers spoke various languages, but their words were first recorded in Greek. Their sayings have come down to us in two collections, two handy ways of organising them. The first is ‘alphabetical’. Here the sayings are organised by source, the sources by letter. Chapter one is made up of the sayings of Fathers whose names start with alpha, chapter two of those whose names start with beta. So it goes on. We get a sense of the Fathers as individuals. This is precious. For the purposes of our series, though, I shall work on the basis of the other collection, called ‘systematic’. Here the sayings are arranged thematically, an approach that lets us pursue an overall subject from different angles, universalising teaching.
This is in the spirit of the Fathers. They would all have felt deeply offended, had it been suggested to them that they were saying something original. Their sole concern was to pass on what they had been given through the Scriptures, the Church, and their own spiritual masters. None of them wished to leave a personal legacy or be the object of a cult. That is why Antony asked to be buried in an unknown location. The Fathers did not like to draw attention. Their concern was to point towards Christ, to be roadsigns, which, when we travel, we acknowledge gratefully but then pass beyond, our eyes set on our destination. This attitude is in contrast to our current mindset. We let our most inane statements be followed by elaborate signatures. Why? I suppose, to make monuments to ourselves, to remind ourselves and others that we exist. When, though, you are conscious of being held by immense Love, called to know the Source of all being, such reminders are no longer needed. What a relief to let them go!
Antony’s saying above introduces the first chapter of the systematic collection, entitled, ‘Exhortation of the Holy Fathers to serve the pursuit of perfection’. At this we may throw up our hands in despair. Perfection! Who on earth dares to dream of perfection? What I look for is advice on how to begin to live a coherent Christian life. Such a response is healthy; but does not in fact contradict what this chapter is about.
Let me explain. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ says: ‘You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ The perfection at issue is not primarily a matter of having all your ducks in a row, of being a paragon of faultlessness. Christ tells us, ‘Be perfect!’, just after obliging us to love our enemies. To do such a thing is humanly impossible. Presupposed is a transformation of our heart that makes it a bit like the heart of God, capable of seeing people, including ourselves, not just for what they are now, but for what they have the potential, by grace, to become.
The Greek word for ‘perfect’, used in both the Gospel and the sayings, is teleios. It is constructed from telos, meaning ‘finality’ or ‘purpose’. Think of ‘teleology’: the explanation of things in terms of the purpose they serve. To be ‘perfect’ in this sense is to be ‘fit for purpose’, to correspond to the end for which God made us: ‘to know him, love him and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him for ever in the next’. There is nothing naive, and nothing out of date, in this definition from the Penny Catechism.
In setting out invoking perfection, the sayings of the Fathers tell us to have a clear notion in our minds of why we embrace the ascetic ideal, of the goal we seek to reach, then to walk trustfully, determinedly. We are given, from the word go, three simple counsels. First, to keep God before our eyes at all times, so also when we are not engaged in explicitly religious activities: when we cook, clean, exercise, work, relax, or spend time with family and friends. Do I conduct myself at these times, alone or in company, as if Christ were standing before me? Were I to die this instant, would I be happy for my current state of mind and soul to be displayed before the heavenly host? If not, how can I bring God into my existence now, to live graciously in his presence?
Antony’s second counsel helps us. It bids us have in mind the testimony of Sacred Scripture. The God in whom we believe is not an abstract principle perceptible only as absolute sublimity. He is a personal God who leaves traces. He manifests his will, which is our path to happiness and liberty. We must read the Scriptures carefully, then, and model our lives on them. God speaks to us expecting an answer. To learn to answer well takes time. Hence the third counsel: do not be in a rush. Accustom yourself not to act on whims, not to be a prisoner of your emotions or your fears. Having put your hand to the plough, keep it there. Persevere. There is work to be done. You will feel the heat of the noonday sun, the fatigue of labour. But the ground of your heart will be broken open and precious seed laid in, God-pleasing seed destined to bring forth a harvest of rejoicing unto life eternal.
