Sayings of the Desert Fathers #1

It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew and lived in the desert at Scetis with an old man of Thebes. His Abba, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it and said to him, 'Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears fruit.' Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in the evening and return the following morning. At the end of three years the wood came to life and bore fruit. Then the old man took some of the fruit and carried it to the church saying to the brethren, 'Take and eat the fruit of obedience.'

Are any of us patient and dedicated enough
to devote three years to what would seem an impossible task? My first answer would be-no. The journey that God has given me in New Orleans has given me cause to rethink that answer. Arriving shortly after the city had received its devastating blow, it was evident that growth would be slow, patience would be required and most of all deep commitment would be necessary. In our fast pace, instant world Abba John teaches a great lesson.               Let God work out the timetable

Do you allow God to work in His time or do you insist that He work in yours?

The Desert Fathers

The Desert Fathers were monks, asethics and hermits who lived mainly in Egypt beginning around the third century. Their objective was to remove themselves from the many corruptions of the world and to seek God in the "emptiness" of the parched dry desert. The greatest of these was Antony who live a remarkably long life of 95 years and is considered the father of monasticism.There main practices were: love for all men., silence and stillness to wait for God,recitation of scripture and withdrawal from society. They truly tried to get as close to God as possible.

I shared in an earlier post that I had committed myself to a study of the wisdom of the desert. This has been a most fascinating journey for me. It has led me to open myself to new ways of thinking about and listening to God. The study of the sayings and history of these men of the desert has brought out a yearning for a "desert place" of my own. One of the outgrowths of this journey has been to establish a Contemplative Worship time at St. Luke's.

From time to time I will be sharing one of the preserved "sayings" of the fathers on this blog along with a few thoughts that I have about it. It will be my attempt to apply these sayings to the life of a Missional Christian. I hope it may be helpful or encouraging and I invite your comments so that I might add your wisdom to this discussion.

My Spring Retreat

The routine of my retreat began with a worship followed by breakfast. After breakfast I would retire to my room for a time of solitude and study until about noon. I would then had lunch with the workers of the community and after lunch I would retire, once again, to my room for a time of solitude, prayer and additional study until 4:30pm. My evenings were spent with times of recreation and discussion with Fr.David and friends of the monastery. The topic of study was the Desert Fathers of Egypt. I believe that we Christians can learn much from these Desert Fathers. Their dedication to the purity of Christianity and determination to find God in the dry parched lands of the Egyptian desert is an inspiration to me. They had to get away to find the true wisdom of God. For us they have left behind a wealth of wisdom that can be a real blessing to our rushed and worried world.

What Did I study?
My study book for the retreat is Desert Mystics by Linus Mundy. I am using selected readings from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers by Benedicta Ward SLG.

What Do I Take Home?
A retreat is an intensely personal experience. It is very difficult to really express in just a few words the content that I take home with me. This I can say -- that my study of the Desert Fathers led me to re-examine the way I live my life day-to-day. In our world we assume so many things. The world of the Desert Fathers is so different than anything we can imagine. It was a world that required an intense closeness to God. No one could live in the desert without being committed and dedicated to survival each day. That survival was directly link to their relationship with God.

I take home the notion that a relationship with God requires constant attention. We must be willing to allow ourselves to be emptied of all that we are in order that we might be filled with all that He has to offer. It is in discovering the parched condition of our very souls that we find the refreshing nature of God's Spirit. We begin to get our nourishment from our daily walks and talks with God. Desert spirituality helps us to discover the importance of making the simplest of tasks a spiritual offering to God. The chores we do around the house, the cutting of the grass, the washing of the car and all these other simple tasks are part of our pilgrimage which God.

  

What Actions Am I Led to Take?
Just a few Thoughts:

• Pray the Psalms every day
• Observe at least 30 minutes of silence a day
• Choose a work that is dedicated to God (something outside of my profession)
• Work with the poor whenever possible

My retreat took place May 10-14. I write this as an attempt to get back into the discipline of blogging. In the coming weeks and months I will attempt to share some thing thst strike me as I study and read the writings of the Desert Fathers.