John Chrysostom, On "Let a widow be chosen"

And for this reason things have been turned upside down, and those whom the parents do not discipline, the laws from without discipline. ιαʹ. Are you not ashamed and do you not blush, tell me, when the judge punishes your son and makes him more sober-minded, and he needs correction from without, after having lived with you for so long from the beginning? Do you not cover your face and sink into the ground? And do you dare at all, tell me, still to be called a father, having thus betrayed your son, and not having brought him the necessary provision, but overlooking him as he is corrupted by every vice? And if you see some runaway slave striking your child, you are indignant and angry and displeased, leaping upon the face of the one who struck him more fiercely than a wild beast; but when you see the devil striking him every day, and demons leading him into sins, you are asleep and not indignant, nor do you snatch your son away from that most savage beast? Again, if he is possessed by a demon, you run to all the saints, and you trouble those on the mountaintops, so that they may deliver him from that madness; but when sin, which is more grievous than any demon, continually troubles him, you do nothing more? And to be troubled by a demon is not at all grievous; for the demon cannot by any means cast him into Gehenna, but if we are sober, this trial will even bring us bright and glorious crowns, whenever we bear such outrages with thanksgiving; but for one who lives with sin it is impossible ever to be saved, but it is entirely necessary both to be reproached here, and having departed there to be punished again eternally. But nevertheless, knowing these things, we make great effort for lesser things, but for greater things we are not even willing to rouse ourselves; and seeing one possessed by a demon we lament, but seeing one sinning we do not even perceive it; when we ought then to beat our breasts and mourn, or rather not only to mourn, but also to restrain and bridle, to counsel, to exhort, to frighten, to rebuke, by every means of healing to drive away that sickness, and to imitate this widow, of whom Paul says: If she has brought up children. For not to her alone, but also to all does he direct this saying, and he exhorts all, saying, Bring up your children in the discipline of the Lord. For this is the first and greatest of good things; which therefore he also required first from the widow; then after this he says, If she has shown hospitality to strangers. What are you saying, tell me? Do you require hospitality of a widow? For is it not enough to have raised children? No, he says; but this must also be added, and after the care of her own, she must also have foresight for others, and open her house to strangers. Her husband is gone; spend all the care you had for him on strangers. What then, he says, if she be poor? She is not poorer than that widow who, with a little flour and a cruse of oil, received the great prophet Elijah. For there too children were present; but neither the scarcity of her possessions, nor the tyranny of the famine, nor her expected death, nor the care of her children, 51.332 nor her widowhood, nor anything else became an impediment to the hospitable woman. ιβʹ. Thus everywhere it is not the measure of substance, but the measure of disposition that is sought. The magnanimous person and the one rich in disposition, even if he be poorer in money than all men, will be able to surpass all in both hospitality and almsgiving, and in every other kindness; the petty and poor in disposition, and one who crawls on the ground, even if he be wealthier than all, is poorer and more destitute than all; for this reason he hesitates and shrinks from all such things. And just as for the poor man, his poverty would be no hindrance to almsgiving because of the wealth of his disposition; so for the rich man, his wealth will be able to accomplish nothing towards kindness because of the poverty of his disposition. And the examples are near at hand; for the widow received the prophet even with a little flour; but Ahab, possessing so much wealth, desired even what belonged to others. Thus it is not wealth of money, but wealth of disposition that affords us facility in almsgiving; since that widow also with only two mites, myriads of rich men

καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ ἄνω κάτω γεγένηται, καὶ οὓς οὐ παιδεύουσιν οἱ γονεῖς, οἱ ἔξωθεν παιδεύουσι νόμοι. ιαʹ. Οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ καὶ ἐρυθριᾷς, εἰπέ μοι, ὅταν τὸν υἱὸν τὸν σὸν ὁ δικαστὴς κολάσῃ καὶ σωφρονέστερον ποιήσῃ, καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν ἐκεῖνος δέηται διορθώσεως, τοσοῦτον ἐξ ἀρχῆς σοι συνοικήσας χρόνον; οὐκ ἐγκαλύπτῃ καὶ καταδύῃ; Τολμᾷς δὲ ὅλως, εἰπέ μοι, πατὴρ ἔτι καλεῖσθαι, οὕτω προδοὺς τὸν υἱὸν, καὶ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν οὐκ εἰσενεγκὼν αὐτῷ φορὰν, ἀλλὰ περιιδὼν ὑπὸ πάσης διαφθαρέντα κακίας; Κἂν μὲν δραπέτην τινὰ ἴδῃς ῥαπίζοντα τὸ παιδίον, ἀγανακτεῖς καὶ ὀργίζῃ καὶ δυσχεραίνεις, θηρίου χαλεπώτερον ἐπιπηδήσας τῇ τοῦ τυπτήσαντος ὄψει· τὸν δὲ διάβολον καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὁρῶν αὐτὸν ῥαπίζοντα, δαίμονας εἰς ἁμαρτήματα ἐνάγοντας, καθεύδεις καὶ οὐκ ἀγανακτεῖς, οὐδὲ ἐξαρπάζεις τοῦ χαλεπωτάτου θηρίου τὸν υἱόν; Πάλιν ἂν μὲν ὑπὸ δαίμονος ἐνεργῆται, πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους τρέχεις, καὶ τοὺς ἐν ταῖς κορυφαῖς τῶν ὀρέων ἐνοχλεῖς, ὥστε αὐτὸν τῆς μανίας ἀπαλλάξαι ἐκείνης· ἁμαρτίας δὲ, ἣ παντὸς δαίμονός ἐστι χαλεπωτέρα, συνεχῶς ἐνοχλούσης, οὐδὲν πλέον ποιεῖς; Καὶ τὸ μὲν παρὰ δαίμονος ἐνοχλεῖσθαι χαλεπὸν οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ εἰς γέενναν ἐμβαλεῖν τὸ δαιμόνιον δύναται πάντως, ἀλλ' ἐὰν νήφωμεν, καὶ στεφάνους ἡμῖν ὁ πειρασμὸς οὗτος οἴσει λαμπροὺς καὶ περιφανεῖς, ὅταν εὐχαρίστως φέρωμεν τὰς τοιαύτας ἐπηρείας· τὸν δὲ ἁμαρτίᾳ συζῶντα ἀμήχανον σωθῆναί ποτε, ἀλλ' ἀνάγκη πάντως καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἐπονείδιστον εἶναι, καὶ ἀπελθόντα ἐκεῖ ἀθάνατα πάλιν κολάζεσθαι. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ταῦτα εἰδότες, ὑπὲρ μὲν τῶν ἐλαττόνων πολλὴν ποιούμεθα σπουδὴν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν μειζόνων οὐδὲ διαναστῆναι βουλόμεθα· καὶ δαιμονῶντα μὲν ὁρῶντες θρηνοῦμεν, ἁμαρτάνοντα δὲ ὁρῶντες οὐδὲ αἰσθανόμεθα· δέον τότε κατακόπτεσθαι καὶ ὀδύρεσθαι, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ὀδύρασθαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατέχειν καὶ χαλινοῦν, συμβουλεύειν, παραινεῖν, φοβεῖν, ἐπιτιμᾷν, παντὶ τρόπῳ θεραπείας τὴν ἀῤῥωστίαν ἀπελαύνειν ἐκείνην, καὶ τὴν χήραν μιμεῖσθαι ταύτην, περὶ ἦς ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησεν. Οὐ γὰρ πρὸς ἐκείνην μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντας τοῦτον ἀποτείνει τὸν λόγον, καὶ πᾶσι παραινεῖ λέγων, Ἐκτρέφετε τὰ παιδία ἐν νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου. Πρῶτον γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ μέγιστόν ἐστι τῶν ἀγαθῶν· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ παρὰ τῆς χήρας πρῶτον ἀπῄτησεν· εἶτα μετὰ τοῦτό φησιν, Εἰ ἐξενοδόχησε. Τί λέγεις, εἰπέ μοι; χήραν γυναῖκα ξενοδοχίαν ἀπαιτεῖς; οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ τὸ θρέψαι παιδία; Οὐχὶ, φησίν· ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ τοῦτο προσεῖναι, καὶ μετὰ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων προστασίαν, καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἔχειν πρόνοιαν χρὴ, καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ἀνοῖξαι τοῖς ξένοις. Ἀπῆλθεν ὁ ἀνήρ· πᾶσαν τὴν περὶ ἐκεῖνον σπουδὴν περὶ τοὺς ξένους ἀνάλωσον. Τί οὖν, φησὶν, εἰ πένης εἴη; Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκείνης τῆς χήρας πενεστέρα τῆς ἐν ἀλεύρῳ μικρῷ καὶ ἐλαίου κυάθῳ τὸν μέγαν προφήτην ὑποδεξαμένης τὸν Ἠλίαν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐκεῖ παιδία παρῆν· ἀλλ' οὔτε ἡ σπάνις τῶν ὄντων, οὔτε ἡ τοῦ λιμοῦ τυραννὶς, οὔτε ὁ προσδοκώμενος θάνατος, οὐχ ἡ τῶν παιδίων φροντὶς, 51.332 οὐχ ἡ χηρεία, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἐγένετο κώλυμα τῇ φιλοξένῳ γυναικί. ιβʹ. Οὕτω πανταχοῦ οὐ μέτρα οὐσίας, ἀλλὰ μέτρα διανοίας ζητεῖται. Ὁ μεγαλόψυχος καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ πλούσιος, κἂν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων πενέστερος ἐν χρήμασιν ᾖ, πάντας ὑπερβῆναι δυνήσεται καὶ φιλοξενίᾳ καὶ ἐλεημοσύνῃ, καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ πάσῃ φιλοφροσύνῃ· ὁ μικρολόγος καὶ πτωχὸς τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ χαμαὶ ἕρπων, κἂν ἁπάντων εὐπορώτερος ᾖ, πάντων ἐστὶ πτωχότερος καὶ ἀπορώτερος· διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἅπαντα ὀκνεῖ καὶ ἀναδύεται. Καὶ ὥσπερ οὐδὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ πένητος ἡ πενία γένοιτ' ἂν κώλυμα πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην διὰ τὸν τῆς διανοίας πλοῦτον· οὕτως οὐδὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ πλουτοῦντος ἡ εὐπορία συμπρᾶξαι δυνήσεται πρὸς τὴν φιλοφροσύνην διὰ τὴν τῆς διανοίας πενίαν. Καὶ τὰ παραδείγματα ἐγγύθεν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ χήρα καὶ ἐν ἀλεύρῳ μικρῷ τὸν προφήτην ἐδέξατο· ὁ δὲ Ἀχαὰβ τοσοῦτον κεκτημένος πλοῦτον, καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐπεθύμησεν. Οὕτως οὐκ ἔστι χρημάτων πλοῦτος, ἀλλὰ πλοῦτος διανοίας ὁ παρέχων ἡμῖν εὐκολίαν περὶ τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην· ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ χήρα ἐκείνη διὰ δύο μόνον ὀβολῶν μυρίους πλουσίους