He also said: "Life or death depends on our neighbour. For if we have won our brother, we have won God; but if we have rebuked our brother, we have sinned against Christ".
There is much room for charity in the spirituality of the Desert Fathers.
They are not hindered by an ascetic life, they are not hindered by seclusion. In their neighbour they try to see Christ coming to them, in accordance with the Gospel.
Therefore, the above sentence of Saint Anthony should not be considered in relation to the Gospel in which we read: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me".
This seems to be the source of the thought expressed by Saint Anthony.
This phrase also shows that even if the flight to the desert involved a withdrawal from the community, from a certain way of life in which it was more difficult to focus on God, it was not a withdrawal from human beings. Going into the desert, motivated by the commandment to love God, did not exempt one from the obligation to observe the commandment to love one's neighbour.
The fact was, as we will see in the later Apocalypses, that this demonstration of love for others could sometimes take a hard or harsh form. Sometimes it involved a difficult trial or a harsh admonition. But showing love to the other person was never neglected.
In fact, I would like to say a few words on the subject of scandal as we read this Apophthegmata. It seems that modern man does not really understand it. Perhaps in a different way. He understands it in a very one-sided way.
It's very easy for us to use the concept of scandal when we are offended by someone's unseemly, inappropriate or downright evil behaviour. We are then able to clearly identify the source of our offence and condemn the offender and his offending behaviour. We adopt an attitude of indignation and are prepared to draw the consequences, or at least to demand them from people who are in a position to do so.
Outrage also has the ability to become an excuse for us to walk away, change a decision, etc.
We take a more lenient view of the issue when we are the ones accused of the offending behaviour. When we are the ones being blamed.
Then it is much easier for us to wave our hands, to dismiss the matter with disdain, to treat it as unimportant.
In fact, it is easier for us to make demands on others than on ourselves.
Sometimes it is worth stopping and thinking. Is what I am doing wrong? For example, is someone offended by the fact that I speak beautifully about the things of God, but on closer inspection of my life it is impossible to see that I am at all concerned about my own words?
If we have despised a brother.... That is, if we have in any way made him a worse person, if we have made him doubt, if we have made him fall....
"Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers of mine..."
