A Great Reward Awaits the Person Who Saves his Neighbor from Bodily and Spiritual Death
April 8
(A story about a maiden who showed mercy to a debtor who was about to hang himself.)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
April 8
(A story about a maiden who showed mercy to a debtor who was about to hang himself.)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
You will certainly agree with me, brothers, that a great reward awaits the person who saves his neighbor from bodily death. But do you know that a double reward awaits the one who saves his neighbor from a double death — that is, from both bodily and spiritual death? If you do not know, we will now explain this to you.
In Alexandria of Egypt, after the death of her parents, a young maiden was left alone with great wealth. One day, while walking in her garden, she saw a man who had prepared a noose and was about to hang himself.
“What are you doing?” the maiden asked in horror.
The unfortunate man replied: “Leave me, maiden, for I am in great distress!”
The maiden said: “Tell me the cause of your distress, and I will help you as much as I can.”
He answered: “I am overwhelmed with debts, and my creditors give me no rest, demanding that I repay what I owe. No, better for me to die than to live such a miserable life!”
The maiden said: “Come with me, and take whatever I have, and repay your debt. Only I beg you, do not destroy yourself!”
He took the money from her, paid off his debts, and became free.
But things did not go the same for the maiden. Having become poor and seeing no help or moral support from anyone, she fell into sin. After a year, she became seriously ill, came to her senses, humbled herself, and said to her neighbors:
“For God’s sake, care for my soul! Ask the patriarch to have me baptized and make me a Christian.”
But no one had compassion on her, and all said: “This harlot is not worthy of help!”
And so, when she was left alone, grieving and praying for herself, the Lord showed her His mercy.
An angel of the Lord appeared to her in the form of the man whom she had saved from death and said:
“Why are you sorrowful, my lady?”
She replied: “I wish to become a Christian and be baptized, but no one is willing to inform the patriarch about me.”
The angel said: “Do you truly desire this?”
“Yes, truly, with all my heart,” the maiden answered.
The angel said: “Do not despair. I will bring some men to you, and they will carry you to the church.”
Then two more angels appeared, and they carried her to the church. There she saw the patriarch, the priests, and the deacons, and she was baptized by them in the name of the Holy Trinity.
And - O the wonder of God’s mercy! — they were all angels of God. They did everything. And they also brought her back to her home.
When everything became known and all learned of this miracle of God’s mercy, the bishop summoned the maiden and said to her:
“Do not hide anything from me, but tell me openly, what good deed have you done before God?”
She replied: “What good deed could there be from a sinner like me? Only this I can say: once God allowed me to save a man from death, who was tormented by creditors and wanted to take his own life. I gave him all my possessions, and he used them to pay all his debts and was thus saved.”
And, to the amazement of everyone, the maiden immediately died after saying these words.
Then all glorified God, and the patriarch exclaimed:
“Righteous are You, O Lord, and Your judgments are just! Glory to You in all things, for You work great wonders!”
And indeed, the Lord performs great and unfathomable wonders! He gathered a host of angels to save a sinful woman and to add her to His chosen flock! Truly, He does not desire the death of a sinner.
But certainly, the deed of the former sinner was great in the eyes of God, for she performed two works of spiritual mercy. First, she comforted the distressed debtor and wiped away his tears by giving him all her wealth to repay his debts. And then she performed another great act of mercy, she turned a sinner away from sin and saved him from the terrible act of suicide.
O truly, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy!
And truly the Holy Apostle James speaks rightly: “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19–20). Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
