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The Row Boat"Had we but world enough, and time..." *
Doing in the Desert10/06/2005 01:20:30Lately on account of being instructed to I have been going back to the Sayings of the early Desert Fathers, these beautiful strokes of description and instruction that immediately surround one, a welcome into their world. What is so natural about these fragments (Barthes would be envious) is their insistence on practice. The monks who said them, heard them, and passed them on lived lives of tremendous extremity, eating nearly nothing, hiding from the world yet exposing themselves to the brutality of nature, not to mention demons. Surviving could not occur except by the love and grace of God, as well as the guidance of the abba, the older monk and confessor. The secret that we learn from them of a good theology is one that makes a space for living. Though the life they carve out sounds quite unendurable to most of us, it is a life nevertheless meticulously crafted, one meant for being lived. Words are at a premium for these monks who dwell silently (save for psalms) in the holes of Egyptian mountains. One word from the abba might have to last twenty years or more. In the Sayings, words are therefore concerned immediately with the task of living: how much to eat, what to do about temptation, how to pray all day, and how guests should be received. They come in the form of stories rather than commandments. A story gives room for breathing, sleeping, and creating. Teachings vary, and sometimes contradict each other consciously. "Why did you tell my brother to eat once a day and me only every second day?" a monk might ask. Each soul, according to the abbas, has its own course, its own needs, and its own strengths that must be accounted for. Each monk has his own story to be guided along. By a theology of doing, every person must be found a place in the community. Today, the preoccupation of religious thinkers with systematics in difficult areas like abortion and homosexuality might gain from reflection on the theology of the Desert Fathers. All people must be allowed their narrative in life that is true to the soul, and all should be answered with love who ask, "Abba, give me a word." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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