Thursday, January 13, 2011

Thought for the Day

For those of you that didn't know, I'm a big fan of the Desert Fathers, the ascetic Coptic Christian monks who practiced lives of spiritual discipline in the desert. Many of their sayings and doings are compiled into a single collection entitled Apopthegmata Patrum. Here's one of their stories.

Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion, said, "One day, when we were walking beside the sea, I was thirsty, and said to Abba Bessarion, 'Father, I am very thirsty.' He said a prayer and said to me, 'Drink some of the sea water.' The water proved sweet when I drank some! I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. 'Forgive me Father,' I said, 'It is for fear of being thirsty later on.' Then the old man said, 'God is here. God is everywhere.'"

I like it. What do you think it means?
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. Tyler TankersleyJanuary 13, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    I like this story. It smacks of the biblical narratives' theme of living in the moment. Do not collect too much manna. Do not worry about what you will wear or what you will eat.

    But what I like most about this story is the idea of the sweetness of a life with God, retaining its sweetness despite our circumstances. Perhaps the good news of Christ is found in the ability to be at peace despite what goes on around us. It challenges us to live in that peace and to work towards initiatives and endeavors that allow others to bask in that peace.

    Thanks for sharing, Yeshua.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)