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De eleemosyna

Of Chrysostom on almsgiving. 60.747 Again a time has been given to us by our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ to cast into your ears the seeds of almsgiving; again Christ has given us to imitate the sower who sows his seed on good soil, and reaps a hundredfold. For behold, the proclamation of hands has sounded the trumpet; behold, the theater of almsgiving has been assembled. Let, therefore, the lovers of God and lovers of honor and lovers of the poor be called into the midst; let the lovers of crowns be called. For God is present, the provider of prizes, receiving a little money from the lovers of the poor, and granting them the kingdom of heaven. Let none of you, I beseech you, be deprived of such grace; let no one overlook this great and super-cosmic gift for the sake of a little money, not the poor, not the rich, not the slave, not the free, not the wise, not the unlearned, not man, not woman; but let all of us, I beseech you, with eagerness purchase the kingdom of heaven. And let none of the poor say to me: I am poor; for it is necessary to address them first, since they think their defense appears readily acceptable to God. For what does the poor man often say? I have no money, I cannot afford daily food, I labor and toil the whole day, that I might scarcely be able to survive; I carry loads, I do carpentry, I hammer, and I waste away the strength of my body; and you sit judging me to bestow from my labors upon others? For in general, tell me, do you speak of your labors, and do you consider the strength of your body your own possession? and do you not believe that if you give some small part of what you call your labors, you offer alms to the one who granted you the strength and power for work? Rather give a little less to your body, so that you may grant a great treasure to your soul. For if, having ten obols, you give nine to the body and one to the soul, will because of this everything in your life be overturned? If you acquire fifty obols, and give five to God through the needy, and forty-five to yourself, you have strengthened your soul by faith, you have also invigorated your body through the prayer of others, and you have received grace to work again, and again to gain many times more, and you have become richer than the rich in almsgiving. But you will certainly say to me: And what, he says, will I gain from this? That you are no longer called poor, but a lender to God. And how, he says, will this happen to me? Believe the Scripture which says: He who has mercy on the poor lends to God; and you can hear from Him: As you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me. Have you not often, while sitting in the marketplace, seen a rich man passing by, and called him blessed, saying, "Blessed is this rich man, because he has no need of the support of others, but rather even lends"? And he indeed lends to men, but you to God; he receives from each the fruits of their labors 60.748 with toil and with strife in sin; but you receive from God without toil, without anxiety, with joy a hundredfold; he receives for this short life, but you inherit eternal life for the unending life. And if you do not believe me, believe God who assured you with an oath, and says: Amen I say to you, you will receive a hundredfold, and you will inherit eternal life. Therefore, do not think

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De eleemosyna

Χρυσοστόμου περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης. 60.747 Πάλιν ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐδόθη καιρὸς τοῦ καταβαλεῖν ταῖς ὑμετέραις ἀκοαῖς τὰ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης σπέρματα· πάλιν ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστὸς δέδωκε τὸν σπορέα μιμήσασθαι τὸν ἐπὶ τὴν καλὴν γῆν σπείροντα τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἑκατονταπλασίονα κομισάμενον. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ τὸ τῶν χειρῶν ἐσάλπισε κήρυγμα· ἰδοὺ τὸ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης θέατρον συνεκροτήθη. Καλείσθωσαν οὖν εἰς μέσον οἱ φιλόθεοι καὶ φιλότιμοι καὶ φιλοπένητες· καλείσθωσαν οἱ τῶν στεφάνων ἐρασταί. Πάρεστι γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ τῶν βραβείων χορηγὸς, ὀλίγα χρήματα παρὰ τῶν φιλοπενήτων ὑποδεχόμενος, καὶ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν αὐτοῖς χαριζόμενος. Μηδεὶς τοίνυν ὑμῶν, παρακαλῶ, ζημιωθῇ τῆς τοιαύτης χάριτος· μηδεὶς τὸ μέγα τοῦτο καὶ ὑπερκόσμιον δῶρον δι' ὀλίγα χρήματα παρίδῃ, μὴ πένης, μὴ πλούσιος, μὴ δοῦλος, μὴ ἐλεύθερος, μὴ σοφὸς, μὴ ἰδιώτης, μὴ ἀνὴρ, μὴ γυνή· ἀλλὰ πάντες, παρακαλῶ, μετὰ προθυμίας ἀγοράσωμεν τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν. Καὶ μή μοί τις τῶν πενήτων λεγέτω· Πτωχός εἰμι· αὐτῶν γὰρ πρῶτον ἀναγκαῖον καθάψασθαι, ἐπειδήπερ νομίζουσιν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀπολογίαν εὐπαράδεκτον παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ φαίνεσθαι. Τί γάρ φησι πολλάκις ὁ πένης; Οὐκ ἔχω χρήματα, τῆς καθημερινῆς οὐκ εὐπορῶ τροφῆς, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν κάμνω καὶ ταλαιπωρῶ, ἵνα μόλις τῆς ζωῆς δυνηθῶ περιγενέσθαι· ὠμοφορῶ, τεκτονεύω, σφυροκοπῶ, καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος καταμαραίνω δύναμιν· καὶ σὺ καθέζῃ κατακρίνων με τῶν ἐμῶν καμάτων τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις χαρίσασθαι; Ὅλως γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, τῶν σῶν καμάτων λέγεις, καὶ σὸν κτῆμα νομίζεις τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ σώματός σου; καὶ οὐ πιστεύεις, ὅτι ἐὰν μικρόν τι τῶν, ὡς λέγεις, καμάτων σου δώσεις, ἐλεημοσύνην ἐκείνῳ παρέχεις τῷ χαρισαμένῳ σοι τὴν ἰσχὺν καὶ δύναμιν τῆς ἐργασίας; Μᾶλλον παρὰ μικρὸν δὸς τῷ σώματί σου, ἵνα τῇ ψυχῇ χαρίσῃς τὸν πολὺν θησαυρόν. Μὴ γὰρ, ἐὰν ἔχων δέκα ὀβολοὺς δώσῃς ἐννέα τῷ σώματι καὶ ἓν τῇ ψυχῇ, παρὰ τοῦτό σοι πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὸν βίον ἀνατρέπεται; Ἐὰν εὐπορήσῃς ὀβολοὺς πεντήκοντα, καὶ δώσῃς τῷ Θεῷ πέντε διὰ τῶν ἀδυνάτων, καὶ τὰ τεσσαράκοντα πέντε ἑαυτῷ, ἐνίσχυσας τὴν ψυχὴν τῇ πίστει, ἐνεδυνάμωσας καὶ τὸ σῶμα διὰ τὴν ἑτέρων προσευχὴν, καὶ ἔλαβες χάριν πρὸς τὸ πάλιν ἐργάσασθαι, καὶ πάλιν κερδᾶναι πολυπλασίονα, καὶ γέγονας πλουσίων πλουσιώτερος εἰς ἐλεημοσύνην. Ἀλλὰ πάντως ἐρεῖς μοι· Καὶ τί, φησὶ, κερδανῶ ἐκ τούτου; Ὅτι οὐκ ἔτι ὀνομάζῃ πένης, ἀλλὰ δανειστὴς Θεοῦ. Καὶ πόθεν μοι, φησὶ, τοῦτο γενήσεται; Πίστευσον τῇ Γραφῇ τῇ λεγούσῃ· Ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν δανείζει Θεῷ· καὶ ἔχεις ἀκοῦσαι παρ' αὐτοῦ· Ἐφ' ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε. Ἆρα οὐ πολλάκις καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς εἶδες πλούσιον παρερχόμενον, καὶ ἐμακάρισας αὐτὸν λέγων, Μακάριός ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ πλούσιος, ὅτι τῆς τῶν ἑτέρων οὐ χρείαν ἔχει χορηγίας, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ δανείζει; Καὶ ἐκεῖνος μὲν ἀνθρώποις δανείζει, σὺ δὲ τῷ Θεῷ· ἐκεῖνος ἑκάστου τὰ ἀπὸ καμάτων λαμ60.748 βάνει μετὰ κόπου καὶ μετὰ μάχης ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ· σὺ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ λαμβάνεις ἀκόπως, ἀμερίμνως, μετὰ χαρᾶς ἑκατονταπλασίονα· ἐκεῖνος εἰς τὸν βραχὺν τοῦτον βίον λαμβάνει, σὺ δὲ εἰς τὸν ἀτελεύτητον βίον ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομεῖς. Εἰ δὲ οὐ πιστεύεις μοι, πίστευσον τῷ Θεῷ τῷ μεθ' ὅρκου σε πληροφορήσαντι, καὶ λέγοντι· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἑκατονταπλασίονα λήψεσθε, καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσετε. Μὴ οὖν νόμιζε