The Tao of the Word

During Lent, I am reading the Desert Fathers. On occasion I will post sayings that strike me during my Lectio. This particular passage strongly reminds me of Tao Te Ching.

Abba John, who had been exiled by the emperor Marcian, said:

We went to Syria one day to see Abba Poemen and desired to question him concerning purity of the heart. But the old man did not know Greek and no interpreter was to be found.

And then, seeing how embarrassed we were, the old man began to speak Greek, saying, “The nature of water is soft, and the nature of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung above the stone, allowing the water to fall down drop by drop, it wears away the stone. So it is with the Word of God: it is soft and our heart is hard, but the man who hears the Word of God often opens his heart to the fear of God.”