John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

they stand by sober! Whom shall I call a slave? the sober one, or the drunk one? the slave of a man, or the captive of passion? That one has his slavery from without, this one carries his captivity within. These things I say, and saying them I will not cease, so that you may have a mind that ministers to the nature of things, and not be led astray by the deceit of the many, but that you may know what a slave is, what a poor man is, what a low-born man is, what a blessed man is, what passion is. For if you learn to distinguish these things, you will endure no disturbance. But lest the digression of the discourse, having become too long, lead the discourse astray, let us hold to the subject. This rich man, therefore, was henceforth poor; for rather, when he was rich, he was poor. For what profit is it to a man to have what belongs to others, and not have what is his own? What profit is it to a man to possess money, but not to possess virtue? Why do you take what belongs to others, and lose what is your own? I have, he says, fertile land. And what of that? but you do not have a fertile soul. I have slaves. But you do not have virtue. I have garments. But you do not possess piety. You have what belongs to another, but what is your own you do not have. If someone gives you a deposit, can I not call you rich? No. Why? For you possess what belongs to another. For this is a deposit; would that it were only a deposit, and did not become an addition of punishment for you. The rich man, therefore, seeing Lazarus, says: Father Abraham, have mercy on me. The words of a poor man, of a beggar, of a pauper. Father Abraham, have mercy on me. What do you want? Send Lazarus. The one whom you passed by countless times, whom you did not even wish to see, do you now ask for him to be sent to you for salvation? Send Lazarus. And where now are your cupbearers? where are the carpets? where are the parasites? where are the flatterers? where is the pride? where is the arrogance? where is the buried gold? where are the moth-eaten garments? where is the silver honored by you? where is the ostentation and the enjoyment? They were leaves; winter overtook them, and all withered; it was a dream; but when day came, the dream departed; it was a shadow; the truth came, and the shadow passed by. Send Lazarus. And why does he see no other righteous man? not Noah, not Jacob, not Lot, not Isaac, but Abraham? Why? Because Abraham was hospitable, and drew travelers into his tent. Therefore, his hospitality becomes a greater accuser of this one's inhumanity. Send Lazarus. Hearing this, let us be afraid, beloved, lest we too see the poor and pass them by, lest in place of Lazarus many become our accusers then. Send Lazarus, so that dipping the tip of his finger in water, he may drop it on my tongue, for I am being fried. For with what measure you measure, it will be measured back to you. You did not share crumbs? you do not receive a drop. Send Lazarus, so that with the tip of his finger he may drop it on my tongue, for I am being fried. And what did Abraham say to him? Child, you received in full your good 48.1040 things in your life, and Lazarus likewise his evil things; and now he is comforted here, but you are in anguish. Again here he did not say, You took, but, You received in full. The addition of the prefix makes a great difference. For as I have often told your love, we ought to be investigators even concerning syllables; For, he says, Search the Scriptures; for one iota or one tittle often raises up a meaning. And so that you may learn that the addition of one letter also makes a meaning, this patriarch Abraham was formerly called Abram. And God says to him, Your name shall not be Abram, but Abraham. He added an Alpha, and made him the father of many nations. Behold, therefore, the addition of one letter showed great nobility. Do not, therefore, simply run past such things. For he did not say, You took your good things, but, You received them in full; and he who receives in full, receives in full what is owed. Pay attention to what I say; for it is one thing to take, and another to receive in full; for one receives in full what one had, but often takes what one did not possess. You received in full your good things, and Lazarus his evil things. Behold, the rich man also received in full his good things, and Lazarus his evil things. All these things have been said by me on account of those who are punished here, and not there, on account of those who live luxuriously here, and are punished there.

παρεστήκασι νήφοντες! Τίνα καλέσω δοῦλον; τὸν νήφοντα, ἢ τὸν μεθύοντα; τὸν δοῦλον ἀνθρώπου, ἢ τὸν αἰχμάλωτον πάθους; Ἐκεῖνος τὴν δουλείαν ἔξωθεν ἔχει, οὗτος τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν ἔνδοθεν περιφέρει. Ταῦτα λέγω, καὶ λέγων οὐ παύσομαι, ἵνα ἔχητε γνώμην διακονοῦσαν τῶν πραγμάτων τῇ φύσει, καὶ μὴ ἀπάγησθε τῇ τῶν πολλῶν ἀπάτῃ, ἀλλ' εἰδῆτε, τί δοῦλος, τί πένης, τί δυσγενὴς, τί μακάριος, τί πάθος. Ἐὰν γὰρ μάθητε ταῦτα διακρίνειν, οὐδένα ὑποστήσεσθε θόρυβον. Ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ τὸ πάρεργον τοῦ λόγου πλέον γενόμενον ἀπάγῃ τὸν λόγον, ἐχώμεθα τῆς ὑποθέσεως. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ πλούσιος, λοιπὸν δὲ πένης· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἡνίκα ἐπλούτει, πένης ἦν. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος ἀνθρώπῳ ἀλλότρια ἔχοντι, καὶ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ ἔχοντι; Τί ὄφελος ἀνθρώπῳ χρήματα κεκτημένῳ, ἀρετὴν δὲ μὴ κεκτημένῳ; Τί λαμβάνεις τὰ τῶν ἄλλων, καὶ τὰ σὰ ἀπολλύεις; Ἔχω, φησὶ, χώραν εὔφορον. Καὶ τί τοῦτο; ἀλλὰ ψυχὴν οὐκ ἔχεις εὔφορον. Ἔχω ἀνδράποδα. Ἀλλ' ἀρετὴν οὐκ ἔχεις. Ἔχω ἱμάτια. Ἀλλ'εὐλάβειαν οὐ κέκτησαι. Τὰ μὲν ἄλλου ἔχεις, τὰ δὲ σὰ οὐκ ἔχεις. Ἐάν τίς σοι δώσῃ παρακαταθήκην, μὴ δύναμαί σε καλέσαι πλούσιον; Οὐχί. ∆ιὰ τί; Ἀλλότρια γὰρ κέκτησαι. Τοῦτο γὰρ παρακαταθήκη ἐστίν· εἴθε γὰρ παρακαταθήκη μόνον ἦν, καὶ μὴ προσθήκη σοι τιμωρίας ἐγίνετο. Ἰδὼν οὖν ὁ πλούσιος τὸν Λάζαρον, λέγει· Πάτερ Ἀβραὰμ, ἐλέησόν με. Πένητος ῥήματα, προσαίτου, πτωχοῦ. Πάτερ Ἀβραὰμ, ἐλέησόν με. Τί θέλεις; Πέμψον Λάζαρον. Ὃν μυριάκις παρέδραμες, ὃν οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν ἠθέλησας, τοῦτον νῦν αἰτεῖς πεμφθῆναί σοι εἰς σωτηρίαν; Πέμψον Λάζαρον. Καὶ ποῦ νῦν οἱ οἰνοχόοι σου; ποῦ οἱ τάπητες; ποῦ οἱ παράσιτοι; ποῦ οἱ κόλακες; ποῦ ὁ τῦφος; ποῦ ἡ ἀπόνοια; ποῦ τὸ χρυσίον τὸ κατορωρυγμένον; ποῦ τὰ ἱμάτια τὰ σητόβρωτα; ποῦ ὁ ἄργυρος ὁ τιμώμενος παρὰ σοῦ; ποῦ ἡ φαντασία καὶ ἡ ἀπόλαυσις; Φύλλα ἦν· χειμὼν κατέλαβε, καὶ πάντα ἐξηράνθη· ὄναρ ἦν· ὡς δὲ ἡμέρα ἐγένετο, ἀπῆλθε τὸ ὄναρ· σκιὰ ἦν· ἦλθεν ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ παρέδραμεν ἡ σκιά. Πέμψον Λάζαρον. Καὶ διὰ τί οὐδένα βλέπει δίκαιον ἄλλον; οὐ τὸν Νῶε, οὐ τὸν Ἰακὼβ, οὐ τὸν Λὼτ, οὐ τὸν Ἰσαὰκ,ἀλλὰ τὸν Ἀβραάμ; ∆ιὰ τί; Ἐπειδὴ φιλόξενος ἦν ὁ Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ τοὺς ὁδοιποροῦντας εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν εἷλκε. Τῆς τοίνυν ἀπανθρωπίας τούτου ἡ ἐκείνου φιλοξενία μείζων γίνεται κατήγορος. Πέμψον Λάζαρον. Ἀκούοντες φοβηθῶμεν, ἀγαπητοὶ, μὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἴδωμεν πένητας, καὶ παραδράμωμεν, μὴ ἀντὶ Λαζάρου πολλοὶ ἡμῖν τότε γένωνται κατήγοροι. Πέμψον Λάζαρον, ἵνα τὸ ἄκρον τοῦ δακτύλου αὐτοῦ ὕδατι βάψας, ἐπιστάξῃ μου τῇ γλώττῃ, ὅτι ἀποτηγανίζομαι. Ὧ γὰρ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε, ἀντιμετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν. Οὐ μετέδωκας ψιχίων; οὐ μεταλαμβάνεις σταγόνος. Πέμψον Λάζαρον, ἵνα ἄκρῳ τῷ δακτύλῳ ἐπιστάξῃ μου τῇ γλώττῃ, ὅτι ἀποτηγανίζομαι. Καὶ τί πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἀβραάμ; Τέκνον, ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγα48.1040 θά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακὰ αὐτοῦ· καὶ νῦν οὗτος ὧδε παρακαλεῖται, σὺ δὲ ὀδυνᾶσαι. Πάλιν ἐνταῦθα οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἔλαβες, ἀλλὰ, Ἀπέλαβες. Πολλὴν διαφορὰν ἔχει ἡ προσθήκη τοῦ συνδέσμου. Ὅπερ γὰρ πολλάκις εἶπον ὑμῶν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, καὶ περὶ τὰς συλλαβὰς ὀφείλομεν εἶναι ἐρευνηταί· Ἐρευνᾶτε γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰς Γραφάς· ἰῶτα γὰρ ἓν, ἢ μία κεραία πολλάκις νόημα ἐγείρει. Ἵνα δὲ μάθῃς ὅτι καὶ προσθήκη ἑνὸς στοιχείου ποιεῖ νόημα, οὗτος ὁ πατριάρχης Ἀβραὰμ Ἁβρὰμ ἐλέγετο πρότερον. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. Οὐκ ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου Ἁβρὰμ, ἀλλ' Ἀβραάμ. Ἄλφα προσέθηκε, καὶ πατέρα αὐτὸν πολλῶν ἐθνῶν ἐποίησεν. Ἰδοὺ τοίνυν ἑνὸς στοιχείου προσθήκη πολλὴν εὐγένειαν ἔδειξε. Μὴ παράτρεχε οὖν ἁπλῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, Ἔλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου, ἀλλὰ, Ἀπέλαβες· ὁ δὲ ἀπολαμβάνων, τὰ κεχρεωστημένα ἀπολαμβάνει. Πρόσεχε ὃ λέγω· ἄλλο γὰρ τὸ λαβεῖν, καὶ ἄλλο τὸ ἀπολαβεῖν· ἀπολαμβάνει γάρ τις ἅπερ εἶχε, λαμβάνει δὲ πολλάκις ἅπερ οὐκ ἐκέκτητο. Ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου, καὶ Λάζαρος τὰ κακὰ αὐτοῦ. Ἰδοὺ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος τὰ ἀγαθὰ αὐτοῦ ἀπέλαβε, καὶ ὁ Λάζαρος τὰ κακὰ αὐτοῦ. Ταῦτα δέ μοι πάντα εἴρηται διὰ τοὺς ἐνταῦθα κολαζομένους, καὶ μὴ ἐκεῖ, διὰ τοὺς ἐνταῦθα τρυφῶντας, καὶ ἐκεῖ κολαζομένους.