The 17th of January is the feast day of S. Anthony the Great, Father of Monks, and I wanted to offer one of my favourite of his sayings in recognition of his wisdom. It’s from the Apophthegmata Patrum:

One day some old men came to see Abba Anthony. In the midst of them was Abba Joseph. Wanting to test them, the old man suggested a text from the Scriptures, and, beginning with the youngest, he asked them what it meant. Each gave his opinion as he was able. But to each one the old man said, ‘You have not understood it.’ Last of all he said to Abba Joseph, ‘How would you explain this saying?’ and he replied, ‘I do not know.’ Then Abba Anthony said, ‘Indeed, Abba Joseph has found the way, for he has said: “I do not know,”‘

p.4, Sayings of the Desert Fathers, tr. Benedicta Ward, Cistercian Publications 1975

image from Wikipedia. See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

There are many reasons why this apparently simple story speaks so eloquently. First, it’s as much a story about Abba Joseph as Abba Anthony, and this reflects Anthony’s vital principle that ‘our life and death is with our neighbour’. The attention is not on him, but on his brother. Second, it underlines another ascectic principle which is that humility is more to be prized than knowledge. Humility, in this case, is that state of constant openness to learning and to growth and is contrasted with the closed mind that is quick with ready answers. It is notable that neither the biblical text nor its interpretation are revealed in the story. Third, and expanding on this last point, Abba Joseph is commended not for finding the meaning, but for finding a way. It is his fundamental disposition that matters, not his ability to provide a ‘correct’ answer. The interpretation of the Scripture is revealed when one knows how to hear, and this is less likely to be a fixed meaning than a word of insight that will speak to a particular set of circumstances. One hears when one is open to receiving a vital and life-giving word for now rather than a theoretical answer to a quesiton that is merely ‘interesting’.

Elsewhere in the Sayings, Abba Joseph said that, ‘If you want to find rest here below, and hereafter, in all circumstances say, Who am I? and do not judge anyone.’ (ibid. p. 102) This beautifully encapsulates the humility praised by Abba Anthony in response to Joseph’s answer. We do not judge because we do not know. We know nothing of what lies behind another’s words or actions – we find it hard enough to fathom our own motivations! – and to live with the question, Who am I?, is to live not seeking a position in this world, but rather a condition of complete simplicity and openness. May the prayers of the Venerable and God-bearing Father Anthony assist us in this great calling!