John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

they guard what has been given, and do not misuse what has been entrusted to them, but distribute to whomever the master commands, and whenever he commands. You do this too. For you received more than others, and accepted it, not so that you might spend it alone, but so that you might also become a good steward for others. And it is worthwhile to ask this, why ever does he not see Lazarus with some other righteous man, but saw him in the bosom of Abraham. Abraham was hospitable; therefore, so that this might also be a rebuke to him for his inhospitality, for this reason he sees him with that man. For that man hunted for passers-by and drew them into his own house; but this man overlooked even the one lying inside his gate, and though he had so great a treasure and a means of salvation, he ran past it each day, and did not make use as he ought of the opportunity provided by the poor man. But the patriarch was not such a man, but entirely the opposite; sitting before his doors he would enclose in his net all 48.989 who passed by, and just as some fisherman, casting a net into the sea, draws up fish, and often also draws up gold and pearls; so indeed this man, netting men, once also caught angels, and this is the wonderful thing, that it was without knowing it. And so Paul, in admiration, advises and says: Do not neglect hospitality; for by it some have entertained angels unawares. And well did he say, "Unawares." For if he had knowingly received them with such goodwill, he would have done nothing great and wonderful; but the whole praise is this, that not knowing who the passers-by were, and thinking them to be simply men, travelers, he called them inside with such eagerness. You therefore, if receiving some distinguished and illustrious person, you show great eagerness, you have done nothing wonderful; for the virtue of the one entertained often compels even an inhospitable man to show every goodwill; but the greatest and most wonderful thing is when we receive with much goodwill the ordinary, and the outcasts, and the humble. For this reason Christ also, receiving those who do so, said: Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me. And again: So it is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish. And again: Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it is better for him that a millstone be hung about his neck, and that he be cast into the sea. And everywhere Christ has much to say of the little and the least. And so Abraham, knowing this, did not examine the passers-by, who they were and from where, as we do now; but simply received all who passed by. For one who shows kindness ought not demand an account of one's life, but only to relieve the poverty, and to fulfill the need. The poor man has one defense, his want and his being in need; demand nothing more from him henceforth, but even if he be the most wicked of all and is in want of necessary food, let us relieve his hunger. So also Christ commanded us to do, saying: Be like your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. The merciful man is a harbor for those in need; and a harbor receives all who have suffered shipwreck, and frees them from their dangers; whether those in peril be wicked, or good, or whatever they may be, it guides them into its own bosom. You, therefore, when you see a man on land who has suffered the shipwreck of poverty, do not judge, nor demand an accounting, but relieve the misfortune. Why do you make trouble for yourself? God has freed you from all meddling and officiousness. How many things would many have been likely to say and to complain about, if God had commanded to examine a life with exactness, to investigate each person's conduct and deeds first, and then to show mercy? But now we have been freed from all such difficulty. Why then do we draw superfluous cares upon ourselves? A judge is one thing, a merciful man is another. Mercy is so called for this reason, because we give also 48.990 to the unworthy. This Paul also advises us to do, saying, But as for you, that which is good

φυλάττουσι τὰ δεδομένα, καὶ οὐκ ἀποχρῶνται τοῖς ἐμπιστευθεῖσιν, ἀλλ' οἷς ἂν ὁ δεσπότης, καὶ ἡνίκα κελεύσῃ, διανέμουσι. Τοῦτο καὶ σὺ ποίησον. Καὶ γὰρ ἔλαβες ἑτέρων πλείονα, καὶ ὑπεδέξω, οὐχ ἵνα αὐτὰ ἀναλώσῃς μόνος, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ ἑτέροις οἰκονόμος γένῃ καλός. Ἄξιον δὲ κἀκεῖνο ζητῆσαι, τί δήποτε οὐχὶ παρ' ἑτέρῳ δικαίῳ τὸν Λάζαρον ὁρᾷ, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς κόλποις εἶδε τοῦ Ἀβραάμ. Φιλόξενος ἦν ὁ Ἀβραάμ· ἵν' οὖν καὶ οὗτος ἔλεγχος αὐτῷ γένηται τῆς μισοξενίας, διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν μετ' ἐκείνου βλέπει. Ἐκεῖνος γὰρ καὶ τοὺς παριόντας ἐθήρευε, καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἷλκεν εἴσω τὴν ἑαυτοῦ· οὗτος δὲ καὶ τὸν ἔσω κείμενον παρεώρα, καὶ θησαυρὸν τοσοῦτον ἔχων καὶ σωτηρίας ὑπόθεσιν, παρέτρεχε καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, καὶ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο εἰς δέον τῇ τοῦ πένητος προστασίᾳ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ πατριάρχης τοιοῦτος, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν· πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν καθήμενος ἐσαγήνευε τοὺς παριόντας 48.989 ἅπαντας, καὶ καθάπερ τις ἁλιεὺς ἀμφίβληστρον βάλλων εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν ἀνασπᾷ μὲν ἰχθὺν, ἀνασπᾷ δὲ καὶ χρυσίον πολλάκις καὶ μαργαρίτας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ οὗτος, σαγηνεύων ἀνθρώπους, ἡλίευσέ ποτε καὶ ἀγγέλους, καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι μὴ εἰδώς. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ Παῦλος ἐκπληττόμενος παραινεῖ καὶ λέγει· Τῆς φιλοξενίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε· διὰ γὰρ ταύτης ἔλαθόν τινες ξενίσαντες ἀγγέλους. Καὶ καλῶς εἶπεν, Ἔλαθον. Εἰ γὰρ εἰδὼς αὐτοὺς ὑπεδέξατο μετὰ τοσαύτης εὐνοίας, οὐδὲν μέγα καὶ θαυμαστὸν ἐποίησεν· ὁ δὲ πᾶς ἔπαινος, ὅτι ἀγνοῶν τίνες οἱ παριόντες ἦσαν, καὶ ἀνθρώπους αὐτοὺς εἶναι νομίζων ἁπλῶς ὁδίτας, μετὰ τοσαύτης αὐτοὺς ἔνδον ἐκάλεσε τῆς προθυμίας. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, ἂν μέν τινα περιφανῆ καὶ λαμπρὸν ὑποδεξάμενος, πολλὴν ἐπιδείξῃ τὴν προθυμίαν, θαυμαστὸν οὐδὲν εἰργάσω· ἡ γὰρ ἀρετὴ τοῦ ξενισθέντος καὶ τὸν μισόξενον καταναγκάζει πολλάκις πᾶσαν εὔνοιαν ἐπιδείξασθαι· τὸ δὲ μέγιστον καὶ θαυμαστὸν, ὅταν καὶ τοὺς τυχόντας, καὶ τοὺς ἀπεῤῥιμμένους, καὶ τοὺς εὐτελεῖς μετὰ πολλῆς δεχώμεθα τῆς εὐνοίας. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τοὺς ποιοῦντας οὕτως ὑποδεχόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἐφ' ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε. Καὶ πάλιν· Οὕτως οὐκ ἔστι θέλημα ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑμῶν, ἵνα ἀπόληται εἷς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων. Καὶ πάλιν· Ὃς ἐὰν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων, συμφέρει αὐτῷ, ἵνα κρεμασθῇ μύλος ὀνικὸς περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ῥιφῇ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ. Καὶ πανταχοῦ πολὺς τῷ Χριστῷ τῶν μικρῶν καὶ ἐλαχίστων ὁ λόγος. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ Ἀβραὰμ εἰδὼς, οὐκ ἐξήταζε τοὺς παριόντας τίνες εἶεν, καὶ πόθεν, καθάπερ ἡμεῖς νῦν· ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς τοὺς παριόντας ὑπεδέχετο πάντας. Τὸν γὰρ φιλοφροσύνην ἐπιδεικνύμενον οὐκ εὐθύνας ἀπαιτεῖν δεῖ βίου, ἀλλὰ μόνον τὴν πενίαν διορθοῦν, καὶ τὴν χρείαν πληροῦν. Μίαν ἔχει συνηγορίαν ὁ πένης, τὴν ἔνδειαν καὶ τὸ καθεστάναι ἐν χρείᾳ· μηδὲν αὐτὸν λοιπὸν ἀπαίτει πλέον, ἀλλὰ κἂν ἁπάντων ᾖ πονηρότατος καὶ τῆς ἀναγκαίας ἀπορῇ τροφῆς, λύωμεν αὐτοῦ τὸν λιμόν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκέλευσε ποιεῖν, λέγων· Γίνεσθε ὅμοιοι τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς, καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους. Λιμήν ἐστι τῶν ἐν ἀνάγκῃ ὁ ἐλεήμων· ὁ δὲ λιμὴν τοὺς ναυαγίῳ περιπεσόντας ἅπαντας ὑποδέχεται, καὶ λύει τῶν κινδύνων· κἂν πονηροὶ, κἂν χρηστοὶ, κἂν ὁτιοῦν ὦσιν οἱ κινδυνεύοντες, εἴσω τῶν οἰκείων αὐτοὺς παραπέμπει κόλπων. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, ὁρῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τῷ τῆς πενίας ναυαγίῳ περιπεσόντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον, μὴ δίκαζε, μηδὲ εὐθύνας ἀπαίτει, ἀλλὰ λῦσον τὴν συμφοράν. Τί σαυτῷ παρέχεις πράγματα; Ἀπήλλαξέ σε περιεργείας ἁπάσης καὶ πολυπραγμοσύνης ὁ Θεός. Πόσα ἔμελλον πολλοὶ λέγειν καὶ δυσχεραίνειν, εἰ προσέταξεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν βίον μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐξετάζειν, τὴν ἀναστροφὴν, τὰ πεπραγμένα ἑκάστῳ περιεργάζεσθαι πρότερον, καὶ τότε ἐλεεῖν; Νυνὶ δὲ πάσης τοιαύτης ἀπηλλάγμεθα δυσκολίας. Τί οὖν περιττὰς ἐπισπώμεθα φροντίδας; Ἕτερόν ἐστι δικαστὴς, ἕτερον ἐλεήμων. Ἐλεημοσύνη διὰ τοῦτο λέγεται, ὅτι καὶ 48.990 τοῖς ἀναξίοις διδόαμεν. Τοῦτο καὶ Παῦλος παραινεῖ ποιεῖν, λέγων, Ὑμεῖς δὲ τὸ καλὸν