The Word incarnate, the Divine Logos (λόγος), is so fundamental to a Christian anthropology, that is it sets the stage for everything that follows in John's gospel. God speaks life into existence in the very first chapter of Genesis, and so to in John's account of the pre-existent Christ: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn 1:1). To ascribe finite language with the Unknowable, Unnamable, infinite Creator of the Universe may seem strange to general Deists, ignostics, and even Jews. But the Christian god--God incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, who comes crashing through space and time to ransom His captive people, "the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (Jn 1:14).
The Scripture, the Word of God, is not dead letters on a page as in a history book, but alive and with power. Like a spore or a tiny seed carried through the air, it has the power to take root in a man's heart and turn his life inside out when he is disposed to it. As St. James writes, "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:22-25)
I have two icons on the wall on either side of the crucifix at my prayer station. On one side is Our Lady of Guadalupe, and on the other is St. Anthony of Egypt--ascetic, battler of demons, and the father of Western monasticism. But it all started with a word. From St. Athanasius:
"Not six months after his parents’ death, as he [Anthony] was on his way to church for his usual visit, he began to think of how the apostles had left everything and followed the Savior, and also of those mentioned in the book of Acts who had sold their possessions and brought the apostles the money for distribution to the needy. He reflected too on the great hope stored up in heaven for such as these. This was all in his mind when, entering the church just as the Gospel was being read, he heard the Lord’s words to the rich man: If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor – you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.
It seemed to Antony that it was God who had brought the saints to his mind and that the words of the Gospel had been spoken directly to him. Immediately he left the church and gave away to the villagers all the property he had inherited, about 200 acres of very beautiful and fertile land, so that it would cause no distraction to his sister and himself. He sold all his other possessions as well, giving to the poor the considerable sum of money he collected. However, to care for his sister he retained a few things.
The next time he went to church he heard the Lord say in the Gospel: Do not be anxious about tomorrow. Without a moment’s hesitation he went out and gave the poor all that he had left. He placed his sister in the care of some well-known and trustworthy virgins and arranged for her to be brought up in the convent. Then he gave himself up to the ascetic life, not far from his own home."
The Word took root in this fertile soil. Anthony would go on to be a great saint and, as mentioned previously, the father of Western monasticism and catalyst for a "flight to the desert." Why a flight? Constantine's Edict of Milan issued in 313AD essentially put an end to state-sanctioned persecution and the opportunity for martyrdom. The "radical" discipleship of Anthony was only radical in contrast to the comfortableness of status-quo Christians or CINOs (Catholics in Name Only) who enjoyed the benefits of the protection of the Emperor. Anthony sparked a unintentional movement of solitary (and eventually, communal) living apart from the world and devoted to the practice of prayer and asceticism.
It was common for those coming to the desert seeking the way to Life to beg one of the Fathers to "give a word," the way Lazarus longed even for the crumbs that fell from the table of the rich man (Lk 16:21). And so we see this theme again, of the word emanating and giving life, being alive and pregnant with the kernel of Truth itself. While the holy men and women in the desert lived on crumbs of bread, those who have not been mortified seeking a new way of life lived on the utterances of sparse words, the utterances of wisdom from those who had merit.
The early Desert Fathers and Mothers were the first "self-selecting" believers. Until the Edict of Milan was issued, Christians were minorities subject to persecution, who believed the Parousia was imminent. When Christianity gained protected legal status, it had a 'relaxing' effect--believers could breath a sigh of relief, but also seek status and remain in a comfortable state. The early monastic communities were essentially an alternative Christian society for quote-unquote "serious" Christians who sought also an alternative martyrdom through asceticism, a "death to the flesh."
What was their motivation? Some interesting notes from New Advent:
"Besides a desire of observing the evangelical counsels, and a horror of the vice and disorder that prevailed in a pagan age, two contributory causes in particular are often indicated as leading to a renunciation of the world among the early Christians. The first of these was the expectation of an immediate Second Advent of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; 1 Peter 4:7, etc.) That this belief was widespread is admitted on all hands, and obviously it would afford a strong motive for renunciation since a man who expects this present order of things to end at any moment, will lose keen interest in many matters commonly held to be important. This belief however had ceased to be of any great influence by the fourth century, so that it cannot be regarded as a determining factor in the origin of monasticism which then took visible shape.
A second cause more operative in leading men to renounce the world was the vividness of their belief in evil spirits. The first Christians saw the kingdom of Satan actually realized in the political and social life of heathendom around them. In their eyes the gods whose temples shone in every city were simply devils, and to participate in their rites was to join in devil worship. When Christianity first came in touch with the Gentiles the Council of Jerusalem by its decree about meat offered to idols (Acts 15:20) made clear the line to be followed. Consequently certain professions were practically closed to believers since a soldier, schoolmaster, or state official of any kind might be called upon at a moment's notice to participate in some act of state religion. But the difficulty existed for private individuals also. There were gods who presided over every moment of a man's life, gods of house and garden, of food and drink, of health and sickness. To honour these was idolatry, to ignore them would attract inquiry, and possibly persecution. And so when, to men placed in this dilemma, St. John wrote, "Keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21) he said in effect "Keep yourselves from public life, from society, from politics, from intercourse of any kind with the heathen", in short, "renounce the world"."
We are entering a 4th century situation, but in reverse. Those Christians who "self-select," who may be accused of being overzealous or "too-serious" Catholics share the same horror of vice and pagan disorder, as well as a vivid belief in evil spirits, "the kingdom of Satan realized in the political and social life of heathendom around them." It is not necessarily solitude we seek out in the desert and secluded places, but each other--those hidden believers to whom we can confide our "seriousness," to whom living as if the parousia was scheduled for tomorrow is not weird or extreme, but in line with how a Christian should be living all along. Just as Anthony sought out Abba Paul, who sought out the cold comfort of the harsh desert life, so too do the Christians of the new age of martyrdom seek to separate themselves from the persecution of a pagan culture and be strengthened and fortified by those who "get it." We "seek a word," and wisdom is always appreciated; but it could be a word of encouragement to keep going when our own family or friends have turned against us (as our Lord tells us to expect), to NOT feel so alone, where many of us are forced--either by necessity or circumstance--to be in the world.
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:1-17).
The Word--the living Word--sustains us. As our Lord says, "man does not live by bread alone" (Mt 4:4). And yet bread alone is what the world offers. And not only the world, but fellow "semi-believers" and quasi-Catholics as well, who have the husk without the grain, the veneer without the engine, the Faith without belief. Yes, we are called to be a light of the world (Mt 5:14), but we also must be fortified and strengthened for what lies ahead, and this may very well not happen among non-believers and CINOs. It is this kind of new monasticism that is interdependent rather than independent, in the world rather than separated from it, clandestine rather than flying out in the open. It's only because we know what is coming.
