John the Dwarf, son of poor parents in Tees, was born about 339. The second story here clearly belongs to his youth at home before he became a monk, while he was living
with his family. At the age of eighteen he went to Scetis and was trained by Abba Ammoes for twelve years. One of the most vivid characters in the desert, he attracted many disciples and in order to preserve his own solitude he dug himself a cave underground. He was ordained priest, and the number of his sayings, recorded and preserved, points to his importance among his disciples. After 407 he went to Suez and the Mountain of Anthony.
1. It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew
and lived in the desert 'at Scetis with an old man of Thebes.
His Abba, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it and said to
him, 'Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears
fruit.' Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in
the evening and return the following morning. At the end of
three years the wood came to life and bore fruit. Then the
old man took some of the fruit and carried it to the church
saying to the brethren, 'Take and eat the fruit of obedience.'
2. It was said of Abba John the Dwarf, that one day he
said to his elder brothers 'I should like to be free of all care,
like the angels, who do not work, but ceaselessly offer
worship to God.' So he took off his cloak and went away
into the desert. After a week he came back to his brother.
When he knocked on the door, he heard his brother say,
before he opened it 'Who are you? 'He said, 'I am John, your
brother. 'But he replied, 'John has become an angel, and
henceforth he is no longer among men.' Then the other
begged him saying, 'It is I.' However, his brother did not let
him in, but left him there in distress until morning. Then,
opening the door, he said to him, 'You are a man and you
must once again work in order to eat.' Then John made a
prostration before him, saying, 'Forgive me.'
3. Abba John the Dwarf said, 'If a king wanted to take
possession of his enemy's city, he would begin by cutting off
the water and the food and so his enemies, dying of hunger,
would submit to him. It is the same with the passions of the
flesh: if a man goes about fasting and hungry the enemies of
his soul grow weak.'
4. He also said, 'He who gorges himself and talks with a
boy has already in his thought committed fornication with
him.'
5. He also said, 'Going up the road again towards Scetis
with some ropes, I saw the camel driver talking and he made
me angry; so, leaving my goods, I took to flight.'
6. On another occasion in summertime, he heard a brother
talking angrily to his neighbour, saying, 'Ah! you too?' So
leaving the harvest, he took to flight.
7. Some old men were entertaining themselves at Scetis by
having a meal together; amongst them was Abba John. A
venerable priest got up to offer drink, but nobody accepted
any from him, except John the Dwarf. They were surprised
and said to him, 'How is it that you, the youngest, dared to
let yourself be served by the priest?' Then he said to them,
'When I get up to offer drink, I am glad when everyone
accepts it, since I am receiving my reward; that is the reason,
then, that I accepted it, so that he also might gain his reward
and not be grieved by seeing that no-one would accept
anything from him.' When they heard -this, they were all
filled with wonder and edification at his discretion.
8. One day when he was sitting in front of the church, the
brethren were consulting him about their thoughts. One of
the old men who saw it became a prey to jealousy and said to
him, 'John, your vessel is full of poison.' Abba John said to
him, 'That is very true, Abba; and you have said that when
you only see the outside, but if you were able to see the
inside, too, what would you say then?'
Ciao!
+Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment