470- Two Elderly Monks and a Brick

 

St-Takla.org Image: Two Coptic monks talking, young monk and old monk (raheb) - by Amgad Wadea صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: راهبان قبطيان يتحدثان، راهب شاب وراهب شيخ كبير - رسم أ. أمجد وديع

Two elderly monks were discussing God’s amazing work as usual. When they finished talking one of them said to his brother, “We have been together for so many years, since we were young, and we were never angry with each other even for one minute.”

“What do you mean? How can a person be angry with his brother? What would be the cause?”

“The first cause for anger is the attachment of a person to an earthly matter, even if it is a very trivial one.”

“Do you think that this is the first cause?”

“Do you want to test that?”

“Let’s try to fight each other.”

One of them suggested that they would bring a brick and put it between them. One of them would say, This is mine.”

The other would reply, “No, it’s mine.”

This would cause them to fight. The brick was brought and the first monk said that it was his. The other monk replied that it was his. So the first monk agreed with the second one and told him that it was his and he should take it and go. The two monks could not fight after all.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: راهبان شيخان وقطعة من اللبن النيّ.

Lord, if You dwell in my heart, I will not be angry.

 I do not need to own anything, for You are everything to me.

You will not make me want for anything.

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