February 14, 1999
St. John the
Dwarf:
Teachings on the Ascetic Life -- pt. I
Today we will begin a two-part study of the life and teachings
of St. John the Dwarf who was born in Egypt about 339. At the age of 18, he left for
Scetis and was trained there by Abba Ammoes for twelve years. One of the most vivid
characters in the Egyptian Desert, he attracted many disciples and in order to preserve
his own solitude, he dug himself a cave underground. Abba John was later ordained priest
and the number of his sayings that are recorded and preserved point to his importance
among his disciples. After 407, he went to Suez and the Mountain of St. Anthony. We have a
photo in our Egypt Gallery that shows the door of a very old Coptic Church in Upper Egypt
on which an image of Abba John has been carved. This church is over the cave where he
spent much of his life. The image can be seen at in our Egypt
Gallery.
BEGIN: 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. 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."
It was said of Abba John the Dwarf, that one day he said to his elder brother, "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." (NOTE: this story is,
according to most sources, from Abba John's youth when he was still living with his
family)
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."
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 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.
The brethren used to tell how the brethren were sitting one day at an agape* and one
brother at table began to laugh. When he saw that, Abba John began to weep, saying,
"What does this brother have in his heart, that he should laugh, when he ought to
weep, because he is eating at an agape?"
Some brethren came one day to test him to see whether he would let his thoughts get
dissipated and speak of the things of this world. They said to him, "We give thanks
to God that this year there has been much rain and the palm trees have been able to drink,
and their shoots have grown, and the brethren have found manual work." Abba John said
to them, "So it is when the Holy Spirit descends into the hearts of men; they are
renewed and they put forth leaves in the fear of God."
Abba John said, "I am like a man sitting under a great tree, who sees wild beasts and
snakes coming against him in great numbers. When he cannot withstand them any longer, he
runs to climb the tree and is saved. It is just the same with me; I sit in my cell and I
am aware of evil thoughts coming against me, and when I have no more strength against
them, I take refuge in God by prayer and I am saved from the enemy."
Abba Poemen said of Abba John the Dwarf that he had prayed God to take his passions away
from him so that he might become free from care. He went and told an old man this: "I
find myself in peace, without an enemy," he said. The old man said to him, "Go,
beseech God to stir up warfare so that you may regain the affliction and humility that you
used to have, for it is by warfare that the soul makes progress." So he besought God
and when warfare came, he no longer prayed that it might be taken away, but said,
"Lord, give me strength for the fight."
The old man also said this to a certain brother about the soul which wishes to be
converted, "There was in a city a courtesan who had many lovers. One of the governors
approached her, saying, "Promise me you will be good, and I will marry you." She
promised this and he took her and brought her to his house. Her lovers, seeking her again,
said to one another, "That lord has taken her with him to his house, so if we go to
his house and he learns of it, he will condemn us. But let us go to the back, and whistle
to her. Then, when she recognizes the sound of the whistle she will come down to us; as
for us, we shall be unassailable." When she heard the whistle, the woman stopped her
ears and withdrew to the inner chamber and shut the doors." The old man said that
this courtesan is our soul, that her lovers are the passions and other men; that the lord
is Christ; that the inner chamber is the eternal dwelling; those who whistle are the evil
demons, but the soul always takes refuge in the Lord.
One day when Abba John was going up to Scetis with some other brothers, their guide lost
his way for it was night time. So the brothers said to Abba John, "What shall we do,
Abba, in order not to die wandering about, for the brother has lost the way?" The old
man said to them, "If we speak to him, he will be filled with grief and shame. But
look here, I will pretend to be ill and say I cannot walk any more; then we can stay here
till the dawn." This he did. The others said, "We will not go on either, but we
will stay with you." They sat there until the dawn, and in this way they did not
upset the brother. END
*agape: the primary meaning of this Greek word is "love." Here, it refers to the
common meal taken by the fathers after the celebration of the Liturgy. It can also refer
to the Liturgy itself.
from Sr. Benedicta Ward, "The Sayings of the Desert Fathers," (Kalamazoo,
Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 1975), pp. 85-89
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