Homilies on First Corinthians 43

Homily XLIII. 'Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.'

Having completed his discourse concerning doctrines, and being about to enter upon the more practical part, he leaves all else aside and proceeds to the chief of good things, making his discourse concerning almsgiving.

But having discoursed concerning this alone, he takes his leave;

and yet nowhere else did he do this, but concerning almsgiving, and concerning temperance, and concerning meekness, and concerning long-suffering, and concerning all the rest he discourses at the close of his other Epistles.

For what reason then does he here exercise this part only of the practical matter? Because most of the things said before were also of a more practical nature: those whereby he punished the fornicator, whereby he brought to soberness those who went to law before them that are without, whereby he struck fear into the drunkards and gluttons, whereby he condemned those who were factious and contentious and lovers of preeminence, whereby he delivered over to that intolerable judgment those who approached the mysteries unworthily, whereby he discoursed concerning love.

For this reason, that in which he most especially needed their aid toward the saints, this alone he mentions;

when he had persuaded them concerning the resurrection and made them more zealous, then at length he discourses also concerning this.

And yet he had also discoursed with them concerning these matters before, when he said:

'If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things?' and, 'Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof?' But since he knew the greatness of the achievement, he does not decline to add it also at the end of the Epistle.

He calls the gathering a 'collection,' from the very outset making the matter light;

for when it is contributed by all in common, to each one the injunction becomes light.

But having spoken of the gathering, he did not immediately say, 'Let each one of you lay by him in store, treasuring up;'

and yet this was what would naturally follow;

but first saying, 'As I gave order to the churches of Galatia,' then he brought this in, leading them on to emulation by the recital of what had been rightly done by others, and setting it in the form of a narrative;

which he did also when writing to the Romans.

For there also, while seeming to relate the occasion of his journey to Jerusalem, he thus throws in the discourse concerning almsgiving, saying:

'But now I go to Jerusalem, ministering unto the saints.'

'For it hath pleased Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints.'

But those he urges on by means of the Macedonians and Corinthians, while these he urges on by means of the Galatians.

'For as I gave order,' he says, 'to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye also.'

For they would have been ashamed, after all, to appear inferior to the Galatians.

And he did not say, 'I exhorted' and 'I advised,' but 'I gave order,' which carries more authority.

And he does not bring forward one city, or two, or three, but a whole nation;

which is exactly what he does in the case of doctrines too, when he says:

'As also in all the Churches of the saints.'

For if this is a strong argument with respect to faith in doctrines, much more is it so with respect to the imitation of good works.

'What then did you give order for?' tell me. 'On the first day of the week'—that is, on the Lord's Day—'let each one of you lay by him in store, treasuring up whatever he may be prospered in.'

See how he urges them on even from the occasion of the day;

for the day was well suited to lead them to almsgiving.

'For remember,' he says, 'what blessings you obtained on this day.'

For the unspeakable good things, and the root and beginning of our life, came to pass on this day.

And not only is the season fitting for the eagerness of loving-kindness on this account, but also because it brings rest and a respite from toils.

For a soul that is released from labors becomes easier and more disposed to show mercy.

And besides these things, the fact of partaking on that day in Mysteries so awesome and immortal implants great eagerness.

On that day, therefore, let each one of you—not merely this man or that, but every single one, whether he be poor, whether rich, whether woman, whether man, whether slave, whether free—lay by him, treasuring up.

He did not say, 'Let him bring it into the church,' lest they be ashamed because of the smallness of the sum; but having increased the contribution by these little-by-little gatherings, then let him display it when I am present.

'For the meantime lay it by you,' he says, 'and make your house a church, and your money-chest a treasury;'

become a guardian of sacred wealth, a self-ordained steward of the poor.

Loving-kindness bestows on you this priesthood.

A symbol of this is also the treasury-chest that now exists.

But while the symbol remains, the deed is nowhere to be found.

And I know indeed that many of those who sit with us will again bring charges against us when we discourse on these matters, saying:

'Do not, I beg you, do not become burdensome and oppressive to your hearers;

leave it to their free choice, yield to the judgment of those who hear;

for as it is now, you put us to shame and make us blush;'

but I will not endure these words.

For neither was Paul ashamed continually to trouble people on behalf of such matters, and to utter words like those of men who beg.

For if I were saying this—'Give to me, and lay it up in my house'—perhaps what was said would be a matter for shame;

'For those who wait upon the altar,' he says, 'share together with the altar.'

Nevertheless, perhaps someone might have censured me as though I were making the plea on my own behalf;

but as it is, I make my supplication on behalf of those in need—or rather, not on behalf of those in need, but on behalf of you who give.

For what shame is there in saying, 'Give to the Lord who is hungry, clothe Him who goes about naked, receive Him who is a stranger'? Your Master is not ashamed to say these things in the sight of the whole world:

'I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat;'

He who lacks nothing and is in need of nothing;

and shall I be ashamed and shrink back? Away with the thought!

This shame is of the devil's contriving.

I will not, therefore, be ashamed, but with all boldness I will say:

Give to those in need, and with a louder voice than that of the needy themselves.

For if anyone is able to show and to prove that, in saying these things, we are drawing you to ourselves, and that under the pretext of the poor we ourselves are making gain, then these things are worthy not only of shame, but of ten thousand thunderbolts, and those who do such things are not even worthy to live;

but if, by the grace of God, we trouble you in nothing on our own behalf, but have set the Gospel before you without cost—not toiling at all as Paul did, but content with our own means—then with all boldness I will say:

Give to those in need; and I will not cease saying this, and if you do not give, I will be a severe accuser.

For even if I were a general and had soldiers, I would not be ashamed to ask provisions for the soldiers.

For I am exceedingly in love with your salvation.

But that the discourse may become more effective and more forceful still, taking Paul as my supporter, I will discourse together with him, saying:

'Let each one of you lay by him, treasuring up whatever he may be prospered in.'

For consider from this too how unburdensome he is;

he did not say, 'So much or so much,' but 'Whatever he may be prospered in;'

whether much or little;

and he did not say, 'Whatever one may gain,' but 'Whatever he may be prospered in,' showing that the supply is from God.

And not only in this way, but also by not commanding them to lay down the whole at one time, does he make the counsel easy;

for by gathering it little by little, the service and the expenditure become imperceptible.

For this very reason he does not even bid them bring it forth at once, but grants a long term beforehand, and, giving the reason, he says:

'That there be no collections when I come.'

That is: 'That you be not compelled to gather at the very time of the contribution.'

And this too he did not urge upon them casually;

for the expectation of Paul made them more eager.

'And when I come, whomsoever you may approve, these I will send with letters to carry your bounty to Jerusalem.'

He did not say, 'This man and that,' but, 'Whomsoever you yourselves may approve, whomsoever you may choose,' so as to render the service free from suspicion.

Wherefore he makes the choice of those who are to carry it their own vote.

The contribution is yours, but the authority of choosing those who convey it—that is not yours.

Then, lest it seem that he is left out by them, he adds the letters, saying:

'Whomsoever you may approve, them I will send with letters.'

As though he were saying, 'I too will be with them, and will share in the service by means of the letters.'

And he did not say, 'These I will send to carry your almsgiving,' but 'Your bounty,' that he might show them as doing great things, that he might show them as gaining.

And elsewhere he calls it both a 'blessing' and a 'fellowship';

the one, that he may not make them more slothful; the other, that he may not puff them up;

nowhere, however, did he name it 'almsgiving.'

'But if it be worth while for me also to go, they shall go with me.'

Here again he urges them on to bountifulness.

'For if it be so great,' he says, 'as even to require my presence, not even this will I decline.'

But he did not promise this straightway, nor did he say, 'When I arrive, I myself will carry it off';

for he would not have augmented the collection so greatly had he laid this down from the outset;

later, however, he adds it well and seasonably.

For this reason he did not promise it at once, nor did he pass it over in complete silence, but having said 'I will send,' he then adds himself as well.

And here again he made them the masters of the matter by saying:

'If it be meet that I also go.'

But this depended upon them, namely, to make the sum that was gathered large, and so great as to prevail upon even him to set out.

'And I will come to you,' he says, 'when I have passed through Macedonia.'

He said this earlier too, but then it was with indignation:

'And I will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but' —

but here he speaks more gently, that they may also long for his coming.

'Why then do you prefer the Macedonians to us?' He did not say, 'When I depart,' but 'When I pass through Macedonia.'

'For I do pass through Macedonia.'

'And it may be that I will abide with you, or even winter with you.'

'For I do not wish to make you a mere by-work of my journey, but to spend time and remain with you.'

For when he was writing these things, he was at Ephesus, it being winter.

He says therefore, 'Until Pentecost I will tarry at Ephesus;

and after these things I will depart into Macedonia, and having passed through it, I will come to you in the summer;

and often I will even spend the winter with you.'

But for what reason did he say 'It may be,' and not declare it outright? Because Paul did not foreknow all things, and this was to their advantage.

For this reason he does not affirm it simply, so that, even if it should not come to pass, he might have a refuge, having then spoken indefinitely, and the authority of the Spirit leading him wherever It willed, not where he himself desired;

which also he sets down in his Second Epistle, apologizing for the delay, and saying:

'Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?'

'That you may set me forward on my journey, wherever I go.'

And this too is a mark of much love and tender affection.

'For I do not wish to see you now merely in passing;

for I hope to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.'

And he said these things, at once showing his love, and at once striking fear into those who were sinning—yet not openly, but under the guise of friendship.

'And I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.'

With good reason he tells them everything precisely, making it plain as to friends.

For this too belongs to friendship: to tell the reason why he did not come, why he intends to come, and where he is spending his time.

'For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.'

And if it is great, how are there adversaries? For this very reason the adversaries are many, because the faith is great, because the entrance is great and wide.

But what is 'a great door'? Many are they who are prepared to receive the faith, many are ready to draw near and to be converted;

the entrance is spacious for me, since the mind of those coming forward is now at its height for the obedience of the faith.

For this reason the devil raged furiously, since he saw many departing from him.

Wherefore indeed it was necessary to remain on both accounts: both because the gain was great, and because the contest was great.

And by this too he encouraged them, by saying that everywhere now the word is at work and springs up readily.

But if the plotters are many, this too is a sign of the progress of the Gospel.

For never does that wicked demon grow savage, except when he sees many of his vessels being snatched away.

Let us therefore also, when we wish to accomplish something great and noble, not look at this—that it involves much toil—but let us look to the gain.

See, at any rate, that Paul too did not shrink back for this reason, did not draw back on this account—because the adversaries were many—but, because the door was great, pressed on and remained.

For indeed, as I said, this was a sign of the devil being stripped bare.

For it is not possible, by doing small and trifling things, to provoke that wicked beast.

So that when you see a righteous man accomplishing great things and suffering countless dreadful things, do not marvel.

For on the contrary one ought to marvel if the devil, receiving many blows, were going to keep quiet and bear his wounds meekly.

For neither, if a serpent continually pricked should grow savage and spring upon him who pricks it, ought one to marvel.

For indeed the devil creeps more grievously than any serpent, leaping upon all, and, like a scorpion, raising up his sting.

Let not this then trouble you;

for he too who returns from war and victory and slaughter must needs be bloodstained, and often bear wounds as well.

You too therefore, when you see someone doing deeds of mercy, and working countless other good things, and thereby cutting down the power of the devil, then falling into trials and dangers, be not troubled on this account;

for it was for this very reason that he fell into trials, because he sorely smote the devil.

'And how did God permit it?' one asks. In order that he might be the more crowned, in order that

that other one might receive a greater blow.

For when, after doing good and suffering dreadful things, one gives thanks continually, the devil is smitten.

For it is a great thing, even when affairs are borne along on a fair wind, both to show mercy and to hold fast to virtue;

but far greater is it, while suffering dreadful things, not to fall away from this good work.

This is the man who does these things especially for God's sake.

So that even if we be in danger, beloved, even if we suffer anything whatsoever, let us hold fast to the labors on behalf of virtue with the greater eagerness.

For neither is this the season of recompense.

Let us not then demand the crowns here, lest in the season of the crowns we diminish our reward.

For just as in the case of craftsmen, those who feed themselves and work receive a greater wage, while those who are fed at the expense of their employers have no small part of their wage cut off;

so also in the case of the saints, he who does countless good things and suffers countless evils has his reward intact, and a recompense far greater, not only for the good things he did, but also for the evils he suffered;

but he who enjoys ease and luxury here does not have so bright crowns there.

Let us not then seek our recompense here, but let us rejoice most of all when, while doing right, we suffer evil.

For not only the reward that comes from good deeds, but also that of the trials, God stores up for us there.

But that what I say may become clearer, let there be two rich and merciful men, and let them give to the poor;

then let the one remain in his wealth, and enjoy all prosperity;

but let the other fall into poverty and sicknesses and calamities, and let him give thanks to God.

When these two therefore have departed thither, which will receive the greater reward? Is it not quite evident that it is he who was sick and afflicted, seeing that, while doing good and suffering evil, he endured nothing beyond what is human? To everyone, surely, it is plain.

For this man is that statue of adamant, this the grateful and loyal servant.

But if one ought to do some good deed not for the hope of the kingdom, but because it is pleasing to God—which is greater than any kingdom—

of what is he worthy who, because he receives no recompense here, grows more sluggish in the pursuit of virtue? Let us not, then, be troubled when we see that a certain man who welcomes widows and holds continual banquets loses his house by fire, or endures some other such calamity;

for on this very account he shall receive his reward.

Since Job too was admired not so much for his acts of mercy as for what he afterward suffered.

For this reason his friends too are held in contempt and are thought worthy of no account, because they sought the present recompenses and, on the strength of these, condemned the righteous man.

Let us not, then, seek our reward here, becoming poor and destitute.

For this is the utmost meanness—when heaven, and the things above heaven, are set before us—to fix our gaze on the things here below.

But whatever unforeseen commands may befall us, let us cling to God unceasingly, and be persuaded by the blessed Paul, and make a little chest for the poor in our house; and let it lie there beside the place where you stand to pray. As often as you enter to pray, first lay down your alms, and then send up your prayer.

And just as you would not choose to pray with unwashed hands, so neither pray without almsgiving;

for the lying of the alms beside you is no less a thing than the hanging of the Gospel beside your bed.

For if you hang up a Gospel and do nothing, you will gain no such benefit;

but if you have this chest, you have a weapon against the devil, you give wings to your prayer, you make your house holy, having within it stores laid up for the King.

Beside the bed, too, let the chest be placed, and the night shall be free of phantoms;

only let nothing gotten by injustice be cast in there.

For the thing is almsgiving;

and almsgiving can never sprout from cruelty.

Would you have me tell you the sources also from which you ought to lay it in, so as to make such a contribution easy in this way too? Let the craftsman—the shoemaker, say, or the tanner, or the coppersmith, or any other artisan whatsoever—

whenever he sells anything from his craft, let him offer to God the firstfruits of the price, let him lay down a small portion there, and share with God out of the lesser part.

For I ask nothing great, but only as much as the infants among the Jews, laden as they were with countless evils, used to give—so much let us, who look for heaven, cast in.

And I say this not as laying down a law, nor as forbidding the greater amount, but as asking that you lay down not less than a tenth part.

And do this not only when you sell, but also when you buy.

Let those too who possess fields keep this law in their revenues;

this law let all who gather in righteous incomes keep.

For with those who exact usury I have no discourse, nor with soldiers who extort from others and traffic in the misfortunes of their neighbors;

for God does not wish to receive anything from that source;

but it is to those who gather their goods by righteous toils that I say these things.

For if we establish ourselves in such a habit, we shall thereafter be pricked by conscience whenever we ever forsake this law; and thereafter we shall no longer count the matter burdensome, and little by little we shall advance to greater things, and having practiced to despise money, and having plucked up the root of evils, we shall both live our life here in security, and shall attain the life to come;

which may it be granted us all to attain, and so forth.