True Wisdom is in simplicity

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The Three Hermits

 

Once upon a time there lived on a desert isle three aged and pious

religious hermits. They were very, very old, so old that none of

them could remember how old he was, nor how long he had been there.

Their long white beards hung down to their waists, and their faces

were wizened with age. So old were they and so long had they been

secluded on their desert isle that they had long ago forgotten all

they knew. Their daily devotions consisted of but a single prayer:

 

"You are Three, we are three - bless us!"

 

This they performed reverently many times throughout the day, facing

east, with heads bowed, first the eldest, then the next older, and

then the youngest, standing side by side, holding hands:

 

"You are Three, we are three - bless us!"

 

One day a bishop was sailing along in his ship, inspecting all the

various religious communities under his jurisdiction to make sure

that they were adhering to the canons of the faith, when he spotted

this hitherto unknown island and noted that it appeared inhabited.

He ordered the ship to draw ashore. It so happened that the three

hermits were not far off and noticing the arrival of the luxurious

ship and the bishop in his magnificent robes, they approached

reverently and bowed at his feet. The bishop shrank somewhat; they

were dirty, their clothes were in shreds. Nevertheless, he made the

sign of the cross over them and asked them to stand. Then he began

to question them as to their origin, length of stay on the island,

and what religious austerities they were performing to their merit.

The three hermits bowed their heads and explained that all they knew

or did was to hold hands and repeat a single prayer.

 

"Show me," said the bishop.

 

"You are Three, we are three - bless us!"

 

"What!" he exclaimed in astonishment and not a little

indignation. "Is that it? What kind of prayer is that? I never heard

of such a thing! Who taught it to you?"

 

The hermits answered that, as with everything else, they couldn't

remember.

 

The bishop couldn't believe his ears.

 

"You mean no Divine Liturgy, no recitation of psalms, no scripture

reading?"

 

It was then that he learned that the tree hermits were quite

illiterate.

 

"Well," he said, grasping at one remaining hope, "at least you

repeat the 'Our Father' every day?"

 

"Our Father?" said the youngest and most alert. "Our

Father? ...Perhaps ...No. If I ever did know it is most certainly

forgotten." The others hung their heads.

 

"What!" exclaimed the bishop. "The most important prayer in the

whole Christian faith! The cornerstone, the very foundation of our

glorious religion, given to us by Jesus Christ Himself! Forgotten?"

 

The three hermits continued to hang their heads silently, ashamed.

 

"Well," said the bishop, "This most certainly will not do. As your

bishop, your spiritual well-being is my responsibility. As your

spiritual shepherd I owe it to you to teach you at least this one

orthodox prayer so that your souls may find some rest in the

afterlife."

 

The three hermits agreed readily enough, but they all found it very

hard going. For one, they were all quite hard of hearing and the

bishop had to repeat himself many times to make himself understood.

Then also, due to their extreme age and the memorisation was long

and tedious. In the end, although the prayer takes one or two

minutes to recite, it took the bishop all day from dawn till dusk

with innumerable stumblings and repetitions, to satisfy himself

that, between the three of them, the hermits had mastered the

prayer. At last, as dusk fell, he bade them farewell and counselled

them to repeat the prayer as often as possible throughout the day.

With this, he climbed into his ship and sailed away.

 

"Look! over there!" cried the sailors. The bishop looked and beheld

a strange spectacle: a radiant point of light was moving on the

water and approaching their ship. He stared incredulously. As the

point of light approached, it grew in size until it was like a

blazing sun. Within that sun the bishop beheld the three hermits,

running over the water, hand in hand.

 

As they neared the ship the three hermits waved their arms and

cried, "What! Come back! We forgot your prayer!"

 

Although this story was most recently retold by Leo Tolstoi, it

exists in many religious traditions to illustrate one and the same

truth. The hermits' prayer refers to the Christian mystery of God as

a Trinity.