Early Church Fathers: words of wisdom

This week, I have been studying about John Cassian, a monk/priest who lived in the fourth century (360-433). His two most famous works are the Institutes and the Conferences. In the latter, he records conversations with some of the more famous monks who had fled to the deserts of Egypt when Christianity was made the official religion of the empire by Constantine. I was especially encouraged by these words from his conference with Abba Moses, where they discuss the trouble of wandering thoughts and the challenge to fix the mind on God. Since thought life is one of my most difficult daily battles, I was totally blessed by these words from a man of faith from whom over 1,500 years separates me, but with whom I am connected as a fellow disciple of Christ.


"This movement of the heart is not unsuitably illustrated by the comparison of a mill wheel, which the headlong rush of water whirls round with revolving impetus. It can never stop its work so long as it is driven round by the action of the water. But it is in the power of the man who directs it to decide whether he will have wheat or barley or darnel ground by it. Whatever the man in charge of the business puts into it certainly must be crushed by it. So then the mind also through the trials of the present life is driven about by the torrents of temptations pouring in upon it from all sides and cannot be freed from the flow of thoughts. But it will provide the character of the thoughts that it should either throw off or admit for itself by the efforts of its own earnestness and diligence. If, as we said, we constantly return to mediation on the Holy Scriptures and raise our memory toward the recollection of spiritual things and the desire of perfection and the hope of future bliss, spiritual thoughts are sure to rise from this and cause the mind to dwell on those things on which we have been meditating. But if we are overcome by sloth or carelessness and spend our time in idle gossip or are entangled in the cares of this world and unnecessary anxieties, the result will be that a sort of species of tares will spring up and afford an injurious occupation for our hearts, and as our Lord and Savior says, “where the treasure” of your works or purpose “is, there your heart” is sure to be also."

(From Cassian’s Conferences: Conference I, Chapters 15-18)

for the sake of their Redeemer

I have been thinking a great deal about the Christian's responsibility to the poor and to social justice. More to come, but for now, a few words for thought:
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"The poor wretch cries to me for alms: I look and see him covered with dirt and rags. But through these I see one that has an immortal spirit, made to know and love and dwell with God to eternity: I honor him for his Creator's sake. I see through all these rags that he is purpled over with the blood of Christ. I love him for the sake of his Redeemer."

(From a sermon by John Wesley, 1703-1791. Wesley was a leader in the Methodist movement, which made great strides in using the gospel not only to minister to souls, but to the practical needs of social justice. Wesley himself spent his life ministering to the poor.)
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"He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." ( Proverbs 14:31)
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For words from a more familiar face, I cannot more highly suggest checking out Bono's acceptance speech at the NAACP awards, posted on a friend's blog. The last two minutes are astounding.

Early Church Fathers II

John Chrysostom (349-407)

As Bishop of Constantinople (though he was first a lawyer, then a monk turned preacher), John fearlessly spoke out against the injustices that had begun to overtake the church. Since the time of Constantine, who declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire in the early 4th century, large sectors of the church traded the simple, profound faith of common people for a national religion marked by pomp, politics and decadence. John, seeing the dangers this posed to the gospel, would have none of it.

Despite holding a position in the largest church in the empire, regularly preaching before the most powerful of political figures, John spoke boldly against the gross abuses in the church, particularly those which exploited and neglected the poor:

"How think you that you obey Christ's commandments, when you spend your time collecting interest, piling up loans, buying slaves like livestock, and merging business with business?...And that is not all. Upon all this you heap injustice, taking possession of lands and houses, and multiplying poverty and hunger."

"The gold bit on your horse, the gold circlet on the wrist of your slave, the gilding on your shoes, mean that you are robbing the orphan and starving the widow. When you have passed away, each passer-by who looks upon your great mansion will say, 'How many tears did it take to build that mansion; how many orphans were stripped; how many widows wronged; how many laborers deprived of their honest wages?' Even death itself will not deliver you from your accusers."

John's forthright words led him to several terms of exile (though the people always demanded he be returned to Constantinople), and brought about persecution, banishment, and torture for his friends and followers. Even in exile, he wrote against the actions of the Emperor (whose influence over the church was immense). John's death came on the journey to his final place of exile, when the soldiers escorting him pushed him beyond the limits of his failing health. Kneeling before the altar in a small roadside chapel, John's final sermon was this:

"In all things, glory to God. Amen."

Props go to John today, for using great influence and a gift for preaching to ruffle the feathers of the complacent, and to give a voice to those who would otherwise never be heard.


(For some more not-too-dense reading on early church history, check out Justo L. Gonzalez' "The Story of Christianity", Vol. 1.)

perspective for the academic

There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge;
that is curiosity.
There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others;
that is vanity.
There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve;
that is love.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

Early Church Fathers

Really cool church father for the day: Polycarp of Smyrna (69-155 A.D.)

Reasons I'm a fan:

1. His name is Polycarp. Believe it or not, that does not mean "many ugly fish". Still, it's just a great name.

2. Here's the real reason: Standing before a Roman official, Polycarp was commanded to acknowledge Caesar as lord and king, and to curse Christ. (This command was at the threat of being burned at the stake.) His reply was this: "For eighty-six years I have been the servant of Jesus Christ and he never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

Polycarp was matryred that day, but he left a legacy so profound that a seminary student 1,852 years later is giving him props on her blog.