Saints 04: Anthony the Great

Redemption Church KC Sermon Podcast

1. In his sermon about the life of St. Anthony the Great (and the desert fathers), Tim outlined some of the core practices of the desert fathers and those who came to learn from them: Silence Solitude Prayer Fasting Meditation Contemplation & Testing Which of these most catch your attention? Why do you think that is? Do some feel especially unappealing? Why do you think that is? When you consider this list, do they make sense for you as individual practices? For example, how do you understand silence to be different from meditation? Or contemplation different from meditation? Do some of these automatically go together for you (e.g. silence and solitude) or do you see different ways to engage in them that might be less obvious? Share your imaginings with the group.

2. Tim emphasized St. Anthony’s specific engagement with the practice of silence. Though it might sound simple, silence can be very hard to come by in our busy world. St. Anthony sold his possessions and retreated to an abandoned tower in the desert to pursue his spiritual practices and engage with his own inner demons. How does this scenario strike you (other than hot and uncomfortable)? Is it extreme? Necessary? Both? Neither? How difficult is it or would it be for you to carve out quality space for silence and inner-work in the midst of the busyness of your regular life? How valuable do you think that might be? In a practical sense, what might it look like for you to engage in some of the wisdom St. Anthony’s example gives us while also remaining an active participant in your own life?

3. Timhared some clear instruction from James 3-4 and posed some questions to us all. Review those paraphrased questions below and ask/answer those that feel most engaging for you and/or your group. “Submit yourselves to God.” - Who and what do you submit yourself to in your life? What are we actually risking to submit ourselves to God? “Resist the devil. - What are we doing to resist? Are we living and deciding consciously? Or just resigning ourselves to whatever comes and giving in? “Draw near to God.” - How do we do that? As Tim said, “You don’t become a Christian through osmosis.” “Cleanse your hands” - How are the things we do with our hands shaping us? “Purify your hearts.” How do we live in a way that doesn’t just look Christian, but actually engages our hearts in the deeper work of purification? 4. The final instruction from the passages in James is “Humble yourself.” Of this, Tim said that Anthony’s discovery was that if we take James’ words to heart and do the hard work of facing our own demons while adopting the simple practices of the desert fathers, we can become friends with God…and then the means by which other people become friends with God. St. Anthony said, “Our life and death are with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God.” Share the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you consider these ideas.