You Need Milk

Abba Abraham told of a man of Scetis who was a scribe and did not eat bread. A brother came to beg him to copy a book. The old man whose spirit was engaged in contemplation, wrote, omitting some phrases and with no punctuation. The brother, taking the book and wishing to punctuate it, noticed that words were missing. So he said to the old man, ‘Abba, there are some phrases missing.’ The old man said to him, ‘Go, and practice first that which is written, then come back and I will write the rest.’

—–sayings of the desert

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.” Perhaps the Abba was simply taking the advice of scripture by giving the brother the product he produced. We all have a tendency to want more than we can appropriate or manage in our lives. The demand of our day is – I need it all and I need it now. Our real challenge is to have an understanding of place.

I live in New Orleans which is a very unique place with all sorts of people. One the my favorite hustle lines is , “ I bet you five dollars I can tell you where you got ‘dem’ shoes?” I can remember the confusion that came upon me when I heard that line for the first time. How ridiculous, I thought, but the answer was so obvious and correct. I had them on my feet and I was in New Orleans, and that’s where I got ‘dem’ shoes.

The same lesson is taught by the Abba. We miss what we have in front of us for demanding more. Let us learn to be mindful of the milk we have been provided, and grow in the spirit everyday.