Augustine the Reluctant Shepherd

A loyal protégé and friend of St. Augustine, one Possidius of Calama, offered an illuminating eulogy of the pastoral work of the famous Bishop of Hippo. At the end of his Vita Augustini (“Life of Augustine”), Possidius writes, “Those who read what he has written on divine subjects profit a great deal; however, I think that people who were able to hear him and see him speak in church found an even greater profit, especially those who knew his life among men…his life matches what we read about in the book of James which says: ‘Speak this way and do it.’”[1] How many preachers can say the same?! Possidius’s Vita details the whole life of Augustine, rather than just the first 30 years or so Augustine covers in his own words in his Confessions. Possidius relates that the words on the page from Augustine’s pen cannot capture what it was like to be in the room while the great man spoke before his well-loved congregation. Even more, Possidius knew his monumental works, but none of that compared to the example Augustine offered through his actions. Possidius’s summary confirms that Augustine lived by his own dictum from Teaching Christianity, “Let him so conduct himself that he not only earns a reward for himself, but also gives an example to others, and so his manner of life can itself be a kind of eloquent sermon.”[2]

Possidius’s summary confirms that Augustine lived by his own dictum from Teaching Christianity, “Let him so conduct himself that he not only earns a reward for himself, but also gives an example to others, and so his manner of life… Share on XSt. Augustine rose to prominence in North Africa in the 4th and 5th centuries and faithfully led a church for nearly 40 years without any disqualifying personal scandal. What sets Augustine apart from many contemporary pastors with large audiences who seem to be wracked by scandal? Two things stand out from his time as a shepherd for his flock: the first was his reluctance to take on the position in the first place, an example of his humility. The second is how he relied on a network of peers to confide in and confess to throughout his time as a pastor. We will look at both of these in turn, gathering what remains from Augustine’s sermons, letters, and the Vita Augustini.

From Renowned Orator to Small Town Pastor

Before we dig into these two aspects of Augustine’s character, it is important to have a brief sketch of his background. Most people, if they know about Augustine or have read anything from him, have read his justly famous Confessions or City of God, two of the great theological and philosophical works of the western world. These works, though, came after a highly renowned public career and a massive change in outlook. Looking further back, Augustine, born in 355, lived most of his early life in modern-day Tunisia, not far from ancient Carthage, modern-day Tunis. On a scholarship from a local wealthy landowner, Augustine was sent to college to be educated in rhetoric in Carthage. The education and the skills he acquired led him to become the most respected public orator in the Roman empire of the late 4th century. In the modern day, it would be something like a combined position of a professor at Harvard and the President’s speech writer.

In his Confessions, Augustine reflects on the long and winding journey that led to his conversion in 386, at about the age of 31. Here he was, a man at the height of his career, arrogant from the fame he received for his celebrated words. In a dramatic reversal, he left it all behind to follow Christ. As Augustine will say later, “For you have hidden the truth from the sagacious and shrewd and revealed them to little ones, so that those who toil under heavy burdens may come to him and he may give them relief, because he is gentle and humble of heart.”[3] He needed to become like the little ones in order to receive the gentle yoke of the God who is humble of heart. How could he continue in a profession that made him so proud?

He gave it up. He resigned from his job and sought a quiet life of reading and writing with a community of like-minded believers, including his mom, his son, and a few of his lifelong friends, at a retreat called Cassiciacum. As far as he could tell in his mid-30s, he had everything he needed. But Christ and His Church had more in store.

After Augustine’s mom and son died in Italy, he moved back to Africa seeking to establish a monastery like St. Anthony the Great of Egypt. Augustine wanted to be a monk, not a pastor. During the process of his conversion, he had read about the beloved saint who devoted his life to prayer and communion with God and became the exemplary icon and founder of monasticism. Augustine wanted the same for Numidia, in North Africa, where he was born. What he did not want, he would tell Possidius, his later confidant and friend, was to become a priest.

Augustine the Humble Pastor

Once a Christian, Augustine decided to move back to Africa, and in the process, he demonstrates one aspect of his laudatory character. Augustine sheds a little light on how he came to be the pastor and head of the monastery at Hippo in a sermon from the end of his life. The 70-year-old pastor attempted to reassure his congregation that he had their best interests at heart in the midst of some trials by reminding them what happened when he came to their church. The former imperial orator told his congregation that he “did not wish to be what he could have been.”[4] Augustine called this the ambitio saeculi, an ambition for this age, because as far as Augustine was concerned, this was a great temptation and a great sin. That kind of vainglory and pride needed to die in the waters of baptism.

In a personal letter to Valerius, Augustine tells a little bit more about the moment of his calling. Confiding to his new Bishop Valerius, Augustine wrote in 391, “And this was the reason for those tears that some of the brothers noticed that I shed in the city at the time of my ordination, and not knowing the reasons for my sorrow, they, nonetheless, consoled me with a good intention with what words they could, though with words having absolutely nothing to do with my wound.”[5] Apparently Augustine cried when he was ordained, an unusual moment in a very Stoic culture but indicative of the kind of passion and emotion Augustine brought to his position. But what was the source of tears? No one at the time seemed to know exactly why Augustine wept so openly. The brothers and the congregation seemed to think he was just legitimately sad at how small the church was and how meager the title he would receive as a pastor of this small church, not even the biggest in the small town of Hippo.

Possidius, though, provides some additional insight. In Possidius’ telling, Augustine was just standing among the congregation while Bishop Valerius was preaching. After Valerius mentioned that he needed help, all the people in the congregation stepped back from Augustine, who stood alone weeping, while the people shouted. “Augustine wept freely as they eagerly presented their request with loud shouting. . . He grieved because he anticipated the many imminent dangers that threatened his life in the rule and government of the Church.”[6] In this quote, Possidius clarifies what was really going on in Augustine’s mind. He would have to give up his life of peace and serenity and give himself to the daily tasks of leading a church. Reluctant though he was to accept the offer of assistant pastor at Hippo, he surrendered to his Lord.

But why? Returning to one of Augustine’s sermons, he says, “I avoided this job, and I did everything I could to assure my salvation in a lowly position and not to incur the grave risks of a high one. But, as I said, a servant ought not to oppose his lord. I came to this city to see a friend, whom I thought I could gain for God, to join us in the monastery. It seemed safe enough because the place had a bishop.[7]” He says that there were “high risks” for preachers. He did not want the responsibility of being a shepherd of a big flock, especially considering he would need to preach on a regular basis. Large groups of people listening to him reminded him of his former life as an imperial orator, a man who sold his words for fame and fortune but at the cost of his very soul.

That being said, the wisened old pastor, Augustine, knew that “a servant ought not to oppose his Lord.” He goes on to say that it was the community who chose him. More particularly, it was God working through his people to select the person who was fitting for their church. “I was caught, I was made a priest, and by this step I eventually came to the episcopate.”[8] On a personal level, Augustine did not go out seeking to be a person of great renown. He did not want the peril that came with celebrity. He had already left the secular version of this kind of profession. He knew how strong the seductive pull of accolades and prestige had been in the secular world. His plan for overcoming this difficulty illustrates the second aspect of his character, which helped him overcome the temptation to pride and moral failings.

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Endnotes

[1] Possidius, Vita Augustini. 31: zweisprachige Ausgabe eingeleitet, kommentiert und herausgegeben, ed. Wilhelm Geerlings (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2005), 104; translated by Roy Deferrari, Fathers of the Church (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1952) 122.

[2] Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana 4. 29.61. Works of Saint Augustine (WSA) v. I/11, trans. Edmund Hill (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1997), 240.

[3] Augustine. Confessions 7.9.15 WSA V. I/1, trans. Maria Boulding, 173.

[4] Sermon 355.2; WSA III/10, trans. Edmund Hill, 166.

[5] Letter 21.2 to Valerius, WSA II/1, trans. Roland Teske, 56.

[6] Possidius, Vita Augustini 4. FC 15, 77.

[7] Sermon 355.2, WSA v. III/10, trans. Edmund Hill, 167.

[8] Ibid.

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