The reference is to Elijah the prophet of course, recognised as the first hermit in the Judaic and Christian traditions. There’s a way in which the hermit life is inevitably prophetic because the life in itself bears witness to there being something beyond petty self-concern. That is why it comes as a challenge to certain people and they do not like it, it’s especially true if they’re involved in the search for material success. The hermit life is, hopefully, a different way of being in the world, in which people try to live with some degree of silence, and therefore some degree of sensitivity in their lives, instead of this endless conflict, the battle against oneself, the scramble of competition and so on.
The hermit is someone who is learning to be vulnerable – everybody wants to be invulnerable, doesn’t want to be hurt, but all that happens is that you get a heart of stone, and maybe you think that will make you invulnerable, but it doesn’t, because a hard enough knock will break it in two, and you’ll have a broken heart. A hermit is learning to be vulnerable which means having a heart of flesh. I once heard this story: it’s said that if your hand was made of the finest steel, even with everyday usage it would wear out in seven years and there would be nothing left of it. But it’s not, it’s made of flesh and blood, it’s a living thing and therefore able to regenerate itself. If your heart is of stone it will wear out in seven years, but...
Today we are going to look at the relationship the hermit has to God and to the life of God within him. The first thing we should notice is that the hermit has this relationship, and that is remarkable in itself, because most people actually don’t, they seek not love or truth, but pleasure and security. Most people are looking to protect themselves from the uncertainties of life, but when you are responding to this call to give birth to God, then you have to be looking at self-deliverance as a first step in that journey. I feel that life can only find fulfilment when this becomes a reality in our lives, this is what all life is coming to, it’s the meaning of creation, which is why the Incarnation itself is so important, but it doesn’t...
You have a special responsibility for that part of creation which is nearest to you, which is your body and mind. You can be a channel whereby God is present to the world, and therefore you have to take care to see that you are healthy and sensitive. Those who don’t know God are the ones who indulge themselves in gross and unnecessary stimulation of one sort or another. This is not secondary, it’s an expression of the attitude you have with all creation. People only abuse themselves when they are in a false relationship with the world, one that is based on pleasure and pain. The means for the spiritual life are harmony and balance, and this has always been the case in the main Christian tradition. At the outset of Christian reflection...
In Christianity there is the understanding that there is communion in the Godhead itself, and the Son, which is the word, which is creation, and the Father, which is the silence or ground upon which everything arises, are in communion, bound together by love, which is the Holy Spirit. The world is the place where God’s manifestation and self-realisation can take place, which means that creation has meaning and purpose, and this is a very profound understanding of the nature of reality, and it has far-reaching implications.
The point about this is that you shouldn’t force anything onto anyone, neither the silence, nor the talking. You must meet people with an open heart, which means being sensitive to people and their needs, and the fact that their needs change day by day. A hermit is patient and allows people to develop at their own rate, he doesn’t force it.
Hopefully then the hermit is developing this art of listening, but the real difficulty is that people come seeking answers to their problems. The reason is simple enough, if your car breaks down you go to a mechanic, if you want a house built you go to an architect, and so on, and this idea is carried over into the spiritual life, and a hermit is supposed to be the expert in his particular field so he should be able to fix your spiritual problems, no? But please see this: nobody is an expert in the spiritual life, it makes no sense.
A hermit is someone who is alive and awake and sensitive to other people, and he is not encumbered by attachment of any sort. He has lots of time and can be responsive to people’s needs. If you are always busy you will operate out of a rut, because that is the way you can get by. But if you have some silence, inwardly and outwardly, you will have time to give attention to others, which is a sign of your love. There’s a story from the desert fathers that I like: a brother came to one of the fathers, and later when he was leaving he said: Forgive me father for breaking in on your rule – on his ascetic practice it means – but the father said: My rule is to receive you with hospitality and to let you go in peace. That’s beautiful, that’s...
You find yourself in a new relationship when you hear this call from God and set out on this journey of self-discovery. In the eremetic life there is a new relationship you have with other people, and it may help you uncover the reality of your life, not the theory. If you ask anybody if they feel they are sensitive, alive, awake to other peoples’ needs, and so on, they will all say yes. But if you can learn to look at the actuality of your life, you can see whether that is true or not. This is very important when we’re thinking of any kind of community life, the problem arises because all relationships have a history, we all know each other too well, whether we have known each other for a short or a long time is not relevant, because...
Any time you come across freedom you also come across joy – you have to go through this self-stripping process, get to know how your mind works and so on, but once you are free of self you are full of joy, because you are free of fear, it no longer runs your life; you are free of opinions, you no longer have opinions, therefore you are able to listen carefully to other people; you are free of the past, and therefore able to respond to the present, and of course in all this there is great joy.