There is no doubt that the desert is a wilderness. It is a place of scarcity and seclusion and struggle. I get that. But the desert is also a paradise. And that, I don’t get.

Henri Nouwen writes:

“There is another side to the desert. The desert is also a paradise. The monk does not just withdraw from the world, but is en route to paradise. 

“The best way to think of paradise is to think about it as a life in Christ. By being in the desert, the fathers sought their own true selves in Christ. The proximate end of all their striving was ‘purity of heart,’ a clear unobstructed vision of the true state of affairs and an intuitive grasp of one’s own inner reality as anchored in God through Christ. A pure heart is a heart that is not attached to anything, or anyone, except God.

“We cannot avoid going to the desert if we want to make God our only concern.”

Elsewhere, Nouwen contrasts the world with its compulsions and deceitful voices with the desert where we can truly hear God’s voice. He writes:

“It is not easy to enter into the silence and reach beyond the many boisterous and demanding voices of our world and to discover there the small intimate voice saying: ‘You are my Beloved Child, on you my favor rests.’”

Nouwen is inviting us to enter into the desert, not because it is a wilderness filled with silence, but more importantly, because it leads into paradise. And it is in that paradise where we find our true identity in God’s love. But to get to that paradise, we need to enter into the desert, for it is there that we learn to die to self, to abandon selfish ambition, to renounce greed and to put the needs of others ahead of our own. Jesus said it this way (Mt. 16:24-27):

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.”

Here are four stories from the desert fathers that describe the path through the desert. 

“A disciple said to an old man: ‘There are two brothers. One of them stays quietly in his cell, fasting for six days at a time and imposing on himself a good deal of discipline, and the other serves the sick. Which one of them is more acceptable to God?’ The old man replied: ‘Even if the brother who fasts six days were to hang himself by the nose, he could not equal the one who serves the sick.’”     [Nomura, page 66]

“Once some bandits came to the hermitage of an old man, and said: ‘We have come to steal away everything in your cell.’ And he said: ‘Take whatever you see, my sons.’ Then they took whatever they found in the cell and went away. But they left behind a little bag that was out of sight. After they had left, the old man saw the bag. He picked it up and ran after the bandits, shouting: ‘My sons, you forgot this! Here, take it!’ They were amazed by the faith of the old man and brought everything back into his cell. And all of them repented because they had said to each other: ‘He really is a man of God.’”        [Nomura, page 64]

“Abba Poemen said: ‘If a monk overcomes two things, he can be free from this world.’ A brother asked: ‘What are they?” He replied: ‘Bodily ease and vainglory.’”        [Nomura, page 77]

“Isidore of Pelusia said: ‘Prize the virtues, and do not be the slave of glory; for the former are eternal, while the latter soon fades.’”          [Ward, page 98]

Three Questions to Ponder

Christ followers throughout the centuries have wrestled with the question, “What constitutes true holiness?” Some believe it is removing ourselves from society with all its temptations and sin so that we can pursue personal piety at every turn. Others believe true spirituality consists in giving ourselves away in service to others. Which of the two do you think the desert fathers believed? Which do you believe is the correct path? Why?

Do you possess your possessions or do they possess you? If you fear they possess you (even a little bit), what can you do to free yourself of the sins of covetousness and greed? 

Abba Poemen said bodily ease and vainglory were the two things that kept him enslaved to this world. How would you complete this sentence for your own life: “If you overcome these two things, you could be free from this world. Those two things are: ___ and ___.

References:

  • Desert Wisdom, Yushi Nomura, Orbis Books, 1982 (Henri Nouwen wrote the epilogue)
  • The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: An Alphabetical Collection, Benedicta Ward, Cistercian Publications, 1975