Bernard Bangley - By Way of the Desert: 365 Daily Readings

BY WAY OF THE DESERT

By Way of the Desert: 365 Daily Readings

2007 First Printing

Copyright 2007 by Bernard Bangley

ISBN: 978-1-55725-537-2

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from Contemporary English Version. Copyright The American Bible Society 1995. Published under license from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

By way of the desert : 365 daily readings / compiled and modernized by Bernard Bangley.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-55725-537-2

1. Devotional calendars. 2. Desert Fathers. I. Bangley, Bernard, 1935-BV4810.B9 2007

242.2--dc22

2007024342

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Paraclete Press
Brewster, Massachusetts
www.paracletepress.com

Printed in the United States of America

BY WAY OF THE DESERT

T HE FERTILE CRESCENT is never far from desert wilderness, and the biblical story unfolds among a people familiar with dry sand and hot sun. Throughout the Bible, great spiritual decisions resulted from encounters with God in this silent wilderness.

It was in the desert that Jesus began his public ministry with forty days of retreat. After his baptism by desert-dwelling John, Jesus wisely sought uninterrupted time alone with his heavenly Father. Subjected to powerful temptations, Jesus emerged from his wilderness experience not only with a clear understanding of his assignment, but also with the strength to accomplish it.

Other people of the desert include Elijah, who discovered that God spoke not in the noisy earthquake, wind, and fire, but with a still, small voice, a voice he detected as he was in the desert hiding from Jezebel.

The experience of those ammas, abbas, monks, nuns, and solitaries who left the world in order to seek God quietly continues a grand biblical precedent. Not only John the Baptist and Elijah, but David also escaped to the desert, avoiding the wrath of King Saul. There can be little doubt that he conceived the substance of many of his psalms in that lonely place.

Nations as well as individuals sought the clarity of the desert. Here, in this arid land, the Israelites wandered with Moses for the span of an entire generation looking to God to lead them. The experience transformed them spiritually.

Abraham, the father of the wandering nation, as we observe near the beginning of the biblical drama, lived his own nomadic life in the desert until God had prepared him for his destiny.

The desert, then, is a place where ones relationship with God may become vivid and inspiring. This severe landscape beckoned alluringly to Christian men and women during the declining years of the Roman Empire. By the fourth century, thousands of Christians lived in the desert areas spanning hundreds of miles on both sides of the Nile, from Egypt to Syria. We may never fully understand what forces motivated them to seek an ascetic life. Yet from their comments, we conclude they sought a purer spirituality than they could find among the distractions of ordinary life. Placing ultimate trust in God, they took extraordinary risks to live in areas wild and barren of resources.

In the book Lives of the Desert Fathers, we read about a place in Egypt called Cellia, because of the many hermit cells that were scattered about the desert there. Those who have already begun their training in Nitria and want to live a more remote life, stripped of external things, withdraw there. For this is the utter desert and the cells are divided from one another by so great a distance that no one can see his neighbor, nor can any voice be heard. Living alone in their cells, the hermits experienced a huge silence and a great quiet. Only on weekends would these reclusive monastics see each other, in order to receive Holy Communion and worship at church with others in their spiritual community. A fascinating article with photographs may be found on the Internet at www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kellia.htm.

These Christian hermits and monks came from regular occupations in common life. Many were illiterate, and few had any religious training. The more experienced of them attracted followers seeking spiritual direction. Their followers addressed them as abba (father), amma (mother), and sometimes simply as old man or old woman. These were not official titles, but designations of high regard. A few among these hermits became famous and, to their own dismay, drew many visitors from far away. St. Antonys cave remains a popular tourist destination, as is the monastery of St. Catherines at Mount Sinai.

Living in a desert freed a person to ponder basic spiritual issues with extended prayer and meditation. While survival required time and attention, there were many quiet, unmolested hours. Monks, nuns, and solitaries explored their personal inner space. It is their recorded insights (some of which are gathered in this collection) that began our rich heritage of Christian mysticism. Centuries later, Meister Eckhart and many others received spiritual direction from these early seekers.

The original texts of these desert writings are in Coptic, Greek, and Syriac. Most of the remarks and anecdotes began as oral tradition and evolved over time into a mixture of legend, quote, and sources unknown that makes a scholars work difficult. Many sayings remain anonymous, while others may be attributed to several speakers. By medieval times, a Latin translation, Verba Seniorum, became the accepted authoritative collection of much of this material.

The selections included in this daily devotional guide represent a wide sampling of the literature associated with the desert fathers and mothers. Within this collection is also a sprinkling of sayings and writings from a few other contemplatives of their time. All have been freshly paraphrased for modern readers. Perhaps, as you read, you will find yourself in contemplation for brief periods in your own personal desert. Know, then, that you are in the company of men and women for whom the life of the Spirit was the only goal.

Spiritual seekers and disciples of these abbas and ammas often asked for a word. These short sayings were offered for the listener to reflect upon for long periods of time, until this word of wisdom became an indwelling source of spiritual truth for the seeker.

In order to aid you, the reader, in keeping the essence of the word or desert saying in your heart throughout the day, a small portion of the saying or a portion of Scripture upon which it is founded is provided at the end of each daily reading. For the reader who wishes to keep the short phrase in mind, this focus point aids both in remembering the longer word throughout the day, and in forming a refrain for meditation, the way various psalms repeat short lines. An example occurs in Psalm 136, where the responsive refrain to every line is for his steadfast love endures forever.