A Lesson on Balance: A Reflection on Abba Eulogius 1

A lot of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers that we’ve looked at so far have wrestled with the very human tendency to go to extremes in the life of faith. While most of us are unlikely to be tempted by the extremes of fasting or sleeplessness that tempted some of the Desert Fathers, I have certainly seen this play out in Christians, of various stripes, today, from people trying to pray the whole series of Hours daily to those wanting to attend every service and event in their churches, or those who, already abstaining from things like drugs and alcohol, wanted to abstain from caffeine too. I think it’s fair to say that there’s quite a bit of nuance in what the Desert Fathers had to say about this; there’s definitely a theme of putting first things first that de-centres extremism, but there’s also a strong warning against casting judgement on another’s path — and that warning goes both ways.

Today I’d like to share a story about a monk who learns an important lesson about finding balance and avoiding extremes in the life of faith:

A certain Eulogius, a disciple of the priest and great ascetic the blessed John the bishop, used to fast two days together and often extended his fast to the whole week, eating only bread and salt. People thought highly of him for this. But he went to Abba Joseph at Panephysis, in the hope of finding greater austerity with him. The elder received him joyfully and supplied him with everything he had to refresh him. Eulogius’s disciples said, ‘The priest only eats bread and salt.’ Abba Joseph ate in silence. The visitors spent three days there without hearing them chanting or praying, for the brothers laboured in secret. They went away without having been edified. By the will of God, it became so dark that they lost their way and returned to the elder. Before knocking on the door, they heard chanting. So they waited for a suitable moment and then knocked. Those who were inside, having ended their psalmody, received them joyfully. Then, because of the heat, the disciples of Eulogius rushed to the water jar and offered it to him. Now it contained a mixture of sea-water and river-water, so that he could not drink it. Coming to himself, Eulogius threw himself at the elder’s feet and, wanting to know about his manner of life, he asked him, ‘Abba, what is this? You did not chant before, but only after we left. And now when I take the jug, I find salt water in it.’ The old man said to him, ‘The brother is distraught and has mixed sea-water with it by mistake.’ But Eulogius pressed the elder, wanting to learn the truth. So the elder said, ‘This little bottle of wine is for hospitality, but that water is what the brothers always drink.’ Then he instructed him in discernment of thoughts and in controlling all the merely human in himself. So he became more balanced and ate whatever was brought him and learnt how to work in secret. Then he said to the elder, ‘Truly, your way of life is indeed genuine.’

To summarize the story, we have a monk who is already famous for his austerity of life, but is unsatisfied and goes with his disciples to visit another famous elder in the hopes of learning how to become still more extreme in his practices. His party is received warmly, but don’t receive the hospitality graciously. When circumstances force them to return, now, exhausted and parched, they are eager to receive the hospitality offered to them. In the end, he learns that his desire for severity and renown are just as much of a trap as being obsessed with food, and he departs more balanced, able to receive hospitality graciously, and conducting his practices in private so as not to be distracted by what others think of him.

Humans being as we are, it’s no surprise that this kind of lesson is common in faith traditions around the world. It’s very reminiscent, for example, of the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment, when he learned that the proper path was neither to eat no rice nor to eat too much rice, but simply to eat some rice. The point of spiritual disciplines is to free us from being controlled by things like food, drink, sleep, or sex. The deep truth that seekers have had to uncover time and time again, across time and cultures and religious traditions, is that being driven to extremes of denying these drives is just as much a sign of one’s lack of freedom as thoughtlessly chasing after them: Wanting to eat nothing is just as much evidence that you’re obsessed with food as gorging yourself is. If there is a correct path, it’s the middle path of moderation.

But again, the Desert Fathers’ teachings about all this are nuanced. What is moderate for me may not be moderate for others — it’s not my place to judge them, nor is it their place to judge me. Perhaps someone is further down their path than I am in mine, or vice versa. To judge the other in this regard would be like a ten year old judging a toddler for not walking well, or judging an adult for being too serious. Or, it may not be ‘spiritual’ at all. Some people’s bodies simply require more or less food, sleep, exercise, or what have you, to function. Again, it’s simply never our place to judge another’s path.

But that said, pursuing the middle path is the wisest course of action in the life of faith: to eat not too much or too little, but enough, to feast when it’s time to feast and to fast when it’s time to fast, to rejoice when it’s time to rejoice and to mourn when it’s time to mourn. May God grant us all the discernment to live out the vocation of the present moment as best we can, and to make the next best choice. Amen.