“Acquire
a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved.”
–
Seraphim of Sarov
Seraphim
of Sarov is not widely known in the West. But, he is an intriguing and
inspiring saint. He has sometimes been referred to as the Russian St. Francis
given his humble way of life and unusual relationship with wild animals. For
years, he lived in an isolated hermitage where
Only the birds and the wild beasts visited him,
and he dwelt with them as Adam did in Paradise. They came at midnight and
waited for him to complete his Rule of prayer. Then he would feed bears,
lynxes, foxes, rabbits, and even wolves with bread from his hand. St Seraphim
also had a bear which would obey him and run errands for him.
Here
is another story from his life that I find particularly interesting and
edifying:
One day, three robbers in search of money or valuables
once came upon him while he was working in his garden. The robbers demanded
money from him. Though he had an axe in his hands, and could have put up a
fight, but he did not want to do this, recalling the words of the Lord:
"Those who take up the sword will perish by the sword" (Mt. 26: 52).
Dropping his axe to the ground, he said, "Do what you intend." The
robbers beat him severely and left him for dead. They wanted to throw him in
the river, but first they searched the cell for money. They tore the place
apart, but found nothing but icons and a few potatoes, so they left. The monk,
regained consciousness, crawled to his cell, and lay there all night.
In the morning he reached the monastery with
great difficulty. The brethren were horrified, seeing the ascetic with several
wounds to his head, chest, ribs and back. For eight days he lay there suffering
from his wounds. Doctors called to treat him were amazed that he was still
alive after such a beating. For the rest of his life Seraphim walked hunched
over and in pain.
(This and the quote above are borrowed from here.)
Years
passed and Serapim’s reputation as a holy man grew. Eventually, he began to
receive visitors offering them spiritual counsel as well as physical and
emotional healing. One morning,
Seraphim’s three aggressors [the three who had
beaten him so badly years ago] appeared on his clearing. They were led by a
huge one with a red face, who sobbed like a child. When Seraphim ran forward to
greet them, they fell on their knees and touched the ground at his feet with
their foreheads.
“Forgive us, man of God, forgive us and tell us
what penance we must do. Lord have mercy upon us! Shall we leave our families,
journey to the Holy Land, chasten our sinful flesh under the monk’s habit?
Seraphim raised them up from their knees. “Go
back to your families and your work; strive to be loving to your wives,
children, parents, and to each other, to all. You’ll find it hard enough. Try
to be of good cheer and sin no more. I’ll do penance for you, I’ll carry your load
on my back. Go in peace.”
– Flame in the Snow by Julia de Beausobre, P. 104
For
the rest of his life, Serphim carried a bag of rocks slung over his
hunched-over back. When he returned to life in community he substituted a
large, heavy iron cross around his neck. He thus bore the burden of his
attackers.
Beyond his simple life and communion with animals, there is a Franciscan intensity to Seraphim. That is to say, he took the radical mercy of Jesus more seriously than most. I am moved by the tenderness with which Seraphim treats his former attackers and the gentle charge he lays on them which he admits they will find hard enough. But, more, I wonder at his offering to do penance for them.
Beyond his simple life and communion with animals, there is a Franciscan intensity to Seraphim. That is to say, he took the radical mercy of Jesus more seriously than most. I am moved by the tenderness with which Seraphim treats his former attackers and the gentle charge he lays on them which he admits they will find hard enough. But, more, I wonder at his offering to do penance for them.
I
am not sure what it might mean to do penance for someone else’s sins. But, I do
appreciate what I take to be Seraphim's recognition that we belong more
intimately to one another than we are often inclined to admit. If indeed we are
"the body of Christ and individually members of it" (1
Corinthians 12:27), I
wonder if bearing one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) might also mean bearing the burden of
one another. How often do we distance ourselves from the "burden" of
others who we find burdensome? How different would disagreements in church (at
any level) look – or, for that matter, family and political disagreements – if
we understood those with whom we disagree as members of ourselves whose burden
we are to bear? Even when bearing with them weighs on our hearts like a bag of
rocks over our shoulder? Would we be as quick to relish exposing the latest
outrage or foible of our foes? Would we speak of them with derision and
disdain? Would we dismiss their questions and concerns with contempt? What if
we, like Seraphim, attempted penance on behalf of those with whom we disagree
or who we find most disagreeable? Or at the very least what if we practiced
bearing the load that is the other for the sake of our own souls?
Here
are a couple more quotes from Seraphim of Sarov
You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to
appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from
the face of one who gives and kindles joy in the heart of one who receives.
God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart
and inward parts. Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the
devil – for the devil is cold – let us call on the Lord. He will come to warm
our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but also for our neighbor, and
the cold of him who hates the good will flee before the heat of His
countenance.
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