Prologue in Sermons: November 4

An Example of Patience and Obedience

November 4

(From the Paterikon About Patience and Obedience)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

To more easily attain spiritual perfection, patience and obedience are essential, first and foremost. There are guides to the heavenly homeland, and we must obey them; and to obey and fulfill them, we must have patience. Unfortunately, however, these two virtues are precisely what we lack. Yet, were we strengthened in these virtues, we would gradually ascend from strength to strength, and ultimately, God would help us overcome all obstacles. Some saints offer striking examples of this.

A resident of Antioch approached a certain recluse and begged him to accept him and make him a monk. The recluse replied, "If you wish me to accept you, first sell your property and distribute it to the poor, and then come here." The petitioner complied and returned to the recluse. The recluse then gave him a new commandment — to remain silent. He promised to fulfill this as well and, indeed, remained silent for five years. The elder began to marvel at the monk's patience and obedience and decided to test him. "No," he said, "I have no need of you, so leave me and go to a monastery in Egypt." Meanwhile, he was thinking, "Will he speak or not?" The monk went, but still remained silent. Finally, the abbot who had received him began to be amazed, and, wanting to test whether he would break his silence, he instructed him to go on a certain errand to a monastery across the river. He, too, thought, "Probably, out of necessity, he will say, 'I cannot cross the river.'" Again, the monk said nothing and set out. Arriving at the river and seeing no way to cross, he knelt silently and prayerfully — and, lo and behold! A crocodile swam up to him, picked him up, and carried him to the other side. Having fulfilled the abbot's instructions, he returned to the river, and again the crocodile carried him back. And again, observing the commandment, the monk remained in silence.

This example of patience and obedience is extraordinary and perhaps beyond our comprehension. But it is, at any rate, instructive. Of course, no one will demand such feats of us. But if such great feats could be endured with patience and obedience, do we have the right to shirk obedience and patience when we are commanded to perform feats that, by contrast, are easy and easily accomplished? Let us remember that obedience is greater than fasting and prayer, that only he who endures to the end will be saved, that the more difficult the feat, the more glorious the crowns that await us for it, and, finally, that to the believer all things are possible. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.