An Introduction to the Desert Fathers. Jason Byassee

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An Introduction to the Desert Fathers - Jason Byassee


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possessions in order to follow Jesus in costly ways.1 If the Sayings sound harsh to our ears, we must remember that the most “compassionate” thing one serious ascetic can do for another is to remind one of the importance of their mutual calling—to call the other to ongoing repentance and Christlike divestment of themselves.

      The oddity of this genre is immediately apparent. What is this work for? How was it used in ancient Christianity? There is no clear scholarly consensus on this question, but clearly it was used to encourage others to similar forms of life, whether fellow monks in the desert or those reading in more “worldly” places, like Alexandria, who would pursue a milder sort of asceticism within a more ordinary life in Roman north Africa. As we shall see, visitors from the city would often pursue monks of great reputation for spiritual advice, though with limited success. At least that trope in the Sayings suggests the authors’ intent was to reach those beyond the desert.

      We can quickly see both the appealing nature of the Sayings and their worrisome dark side in this first chapter. The unappealing first: there seems to be a kind of body-denying ethic at work here, as though it would be easy to be Christian if we were disembodied. The “tongue” and the “belly” are problems to be bridled. We are told to give up “self-will,” to embrace “suffering,” while a monk who lives “as though buried in a tomb” is praised. We are to “avoid the company” of other people, and in the crescendo of the chapter, we are warned not to “make friends with a woman, or a boy, or a heretic.” Christianity’s nature as an incarnational faith, in which God is not mere spirit but takes on flesh to share our lot, seems to be under threat here. Death is loved, other people are shunned, and anyone who differs (especially women and those judged outside the faith) is cast aside.

      And yet the Sayings do present a side to themselves that is immediately appealing. For those whose faith is so rigorous that they give up family, progeny, and wealth to pursue it are given surprisingly few demands to meet on the way to salvation. “Wherever you go, keep God in mind; whatever you do, follow the example of holy Scripture; wherever you are, stay there and do not move away in a hurry. If you keep to these guide-lines, you will be saved” (I.1). Really? That’s all? Think about God, follow scripture, and don’t move around: the first two seem appropriately “religious,” the last, not so much. In fact, it is hard to imagine in our highly mobile culture. And yet it is striking that we are not told to memorize the creed, avoid all sin, exercise heroic virtue— just to meditate on God and stay put.

      Questions

      1. What has your experience of the desert been, whether in actually visiting or in imagining it?

      2. Many of these Sayings take the form of a younger monk approaching an older and wiser one for an edifying word. To whom do you go for such wisdom? Can we approach the Sayings literature itself that way? As though it might present us with a saving “word”?

      3. Do these first few sayings suggest rejection of oneself, others, and the world—or acceptance? Or some middle ground between?

      4. How do these Sayings envision the Christian life? How does that compare with your own experience of Christianity?


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