Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15
“Always have the fear of God before your eyes. Remember Him who gives death and life. Hate the world and all that is in it. Hate all peace that comes from the flesh. Renounce this life, so that you may be alive to God. Remember what you have promised God, for it will be required of you on the day of judgement. Suffer hunger, thirst, nakedness, be watchful and sorrowful; weep, and groan in your heart; test yourselves, to see if you are worthy of God; despise the flesh, so that you may preserve your souls.”
Anthony the Great (c. 251-356) also known as Abba Anthony, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, and Anthony the Anchorite, in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1975) 8.
Anthony was a leader among the Desert Fathers, who were Christian monks in the Egyptian desert. Many people give the Desert Fathers a bad rap. What do I mean?
They say toss them out as extremists without examining their lives and the fruits. I am realizing, because of their attentiveness to “remember” (my word for the year) what is important and not be fooled by all things counterfeit (which tends to be what happens with most of us), the Desert Fathers might actually be on target in the middle. I was awakened to this notion in recently re-reading excerpts of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic, Cost of Discipleship (see my post entitled “Higher Life” on 6 January 2021).
Look at what Anthony wants us to remember: “Remember Him who gives death and life” and “remember what you have promised God.”
Regardless of what we say we believe, how we live shows what we actually believe. This brings me to repentance this morning. Following Jesus is about orienting our desires toward Him alone and abandoning all other loves and allegiances. Forgetting this causes us to live in our false self which limits our impact.
When we desire things of the flesh, we become slaves to whatever we desire. The Desert Fathers chose to focus on Christ rather than desires linked to power, pleasures, and possessions not because these things are bad (which is what most people think) but because we are bad. We are broken. We don’t know how to handle them.
Interestingly, Anthony was born to a wealthy family. He distributed his wealth to the poor inspired by Matthew 19:21, and lived a long and largely reclusive life to 105 years old. Read more about him here. Before technology, his renown spread all the way to Emperor Constantine though he spent most of his life in a cave or abandoned Roman fort.
So what’s the lesson for us today? I think Anthony would say this each of us: test yourself.
He would likely remind us that God does not need us to do anything for Him but to live the Christian life that denies self, sells possessions, shares with those in need, and follows Him to show His glory to a watching world. That is the path of greatest impact and generosity. Will you test yourself?
I think Anthony would add, “when you obey, it will cost you everything in the whole world but you will preserve rather than lose your soul.”