"[T]hou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12: 30-31)
366 A.D. - elsewhere in Egypt
Since our last encounter, Br. Paphnutius has temporarily left his cave in order to secure some more supplies: reeds for making baskets, water, a fresh supply of coffee and some more papyrus. But he is never very happy about having to leave and would prefer to stay at home. You take quite a chance going out your front door in the morning. There is the opportunity to hear something edifying or perform a work of charity, but there is also the opportunity to criticise or look down on someone or to say something imprudent that you will regret later.
While buying necessities in Alexandria, Br. Paphnutius always stays with the brethren of the Sfeerspons* Skete. Their community is located right in the middle of town so it is not always the quietest place, particularly during harvest time. As you might expect, some (most?) of the monks there are not exactly thrilled with their current living arrangements. However, as they still have 15 more years left on their mortgage and the market for purchasing a monastery on a short sale just isn't there, the disgruntled brethren are stuck.
The first morning of Br. Paphnutius' present stay, the above quote from St. Mark's Gospel was included in the Vigil Office that day. Always a good reminder of the humility that we ought to cultivate at all times, it is particularly apt for those who aspire to holiness under vows. So you can imagine his surprise when, every day at noon, the brethren of Sfeerspons Skete appeared at their front gate and gave a collective (and loud!) "SHH!" to the townsfolk, then immediately returned to their enclosure.
Later, when he had a chance to speak with the abbot, Br. Paphnutius asked (per his usual custom in as few words as possible) about this strange occurence. "Oh?!" said the abbot. "I thought that was just some new mechanical device in the town making that noise. I need to see this for myself."
So the next day at noon Br. Paphnutius and the abbot of Sfeerspons Skete were waiting at the front gate when the brethren appeared just like clockwork for their daily (apparently unauthorised!) ritual. The abbot was horrified. In his former life, Br. Paphnutius would have laughed, but now he regards any act of selfishness and needless criticism as something to be mourned.
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Editorial comment: This is a ridiculous story, but it is intended to make a serious point.
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Some days later, as he was preparing to return home, Br. Paphnutius came to say goodbye to the abbot and noticed that the Skete was strangely quiet(er than usual). Upon asking the abbot about it (again, in as few words as possible), he was told that the entire community was sent out to apologise personally for their intrusions into the life of the town and each monk was to spend the night with a family to see what their lives were like and to appreciate their circumstances more. The abbot hoped that this would bring about a bit more compassion in the jaded brethren and that they would learn to thrive in the midst of the messiness (and sometimes noisiness) of everyday human life.
The moral of (this part) of the story: We do indeed love ourselves quite enough. We live with our own needs, wants and desires so intimately that it seems only natural that they should take the highest priority. What Jesus says here is that we are commanded to bear in mind that everyone else is in the same situation and the needs of others will sometimes (often?) press against our own. Not only is that okay, it is one of the beneficial things about living here this sometimes messy, noisy human life where not everything goes "according to plan" and life is "interrupted" by other people making their own noise and their own mess. And...that is a good thing!
To be continued...
* Dutch: party pooper (lit. "atmosphere sponge")
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