Prologue in Sermons: March 7

To Those Who Ask for Alms and Live at the Expense of Their Benefactors

March 7

(From the Discourse on the Recluse, in which God revealed to him concerning those who receive gifts.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Brethren, enough people among us who are idle, accustomed to living at the expense of others. A person finds some kind benefactor, approaches him, and begins to make use of his generosity, without giving any thought either to his own duty toward his benefactor or to the fact that, being capable and healthy, to live in idleness and at another’s expense is very sinful. But we will defer judgment on the latter; for now, let us ask those idle lovers of leisure the following: for living at the expense of others, should they bear some responsibility toward them or not? Should they remember any accountability before God, or not? Since it is hard to expect a satisfactory answer to these questions from the people in question, we will attempt to resolve these matters ourselves and give a lesson to the idle and the lazy for the future.

In one monastery there lived a recluse, who served in the spiritual life as a model for others, and among other rules he had set for himself the principle of never accepting anything from anyone. But one day an elder from the city came to the monastery with alms and, distributing a silver coin to each monk, began to entreat the recluse to accept a gold coin from him. The elder feared to insult such a distinguished guest and accepted the gift. The elder then departed, and the recluse, having chanted the canons and said the prescribed prayers, lay down on his mat as usual for a brief rest. What happened? He felt as if in ecstasy and saw himself standing in a field entirely covered with bad weeds. Then appeared the monks of the monastery in which he lived, and with them a formidable youth, who commanded them all to reap the thorns. Then he turned to the recluse himself and said: “Gird yourself and reap the bad weeds.” The recluse began to make excuses. Then the youth continued: “You have no right to shirk, for you engaged yourself with your monks, having taken money from yesterday’s elder who visited you. Therefore, proceed and reap.” At that moment, the recluse awoke and immediately understood the meaning of the vision. He invited the one who had given him alms and began to entreat him to take back his gift. When the man excused himself, the elder said: “I do not wish to take on the sins of others, for I have many of my own!” With these words, he threw away the alms and closed the window of his cell.

The recluse acted strictly, refusing the alms from the city elder. And this was because he feared accountability for the man’s sins, although it is clear that he did not fail to pray for him. What then can be said of you, who ask for alms or live at another’s expense but forget that you are far from free from responsibility, both before God and before your benefactors? Do you at least think of offering some gratitude to your benefactors? Have you prayed for them? Have you repaid them in any way for their generosity? If you have neither thought, nor prayed, nor repaid, then consider, pray, and give back. Otherwise, remember that sooner or later, you will inevitably have to answer before God, and woe to you if, in the life to come, you are required to reap thorns according to His judgment. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.