The Month of October
Day 6
37. Through Almsgiving One Can Acquire a House in the Heavenly Dwelling
(From the Life of the Holy Apostle Thomas)
Day 6
37. Through Almsgiving One Can Acquire a House in the Heavenly Dwelling
(From the Life of the Holy Apostle Thomas)
Blessed Augustine, in a treatise on greed and luxury, speaking about almsgiving, says, among other things, in the person of God: “The Lord said: ‘I have received, I will repay... I have received the earth, I will give heaven; ... I have received an inn, I will give a house’” (from the book Imperishable Food). What, then, is this last statement really true? Will the Lord truly give us a house in the heavenly dwelling in return for almsgiving? Yes, brethren, it is indeed true, and there is absolutely no reason to doubt what Blessed Augustine said in the person of God. Why? Because his words justify themselves in deed and demonstrate by their very fulfillment that they are truth, and immutable truth at that.
Once the Indian prince Gundaphor, wishing to build himself a house modeled after the palaces of the Roman emperors, sent one of his subjects, Avan, to Palestine to find the best architect. There Avan met the Apostle Thomas, and when Thomas learned from Avan why he had been sent, he told him that he was a most skilled builder, and the two of them went to India. Upon arriving there, Avan presented the Apostle to the king as a most accomplished architect, and the king, giving Thomas a large quantity of gold and silver and showing him the place where the house was to be built, ordered him to begin the construction and then departed on a journey to foreign lands. After the king’s departure, Thomas immediately distributed all the gold and silver he had received to the poor.
Two years passed, and the king sent to the Apostle to ask whether the house would soon be ready. Thomas replied that it would be ready soon and that only the roof remained to be completed. Delighted, the king gave Thomas still more gold and silver and ordered him to finish the construction quickly. The Apostle distributed this gold and silver as well to those in need.
Meanwhile, time passed, the house was not being built, and finally the king was informed that Thomas had deceived him and had not even begun to build any house. After this, Thomas was brought before the king, and the king asked: “Have you built me the house?” “Yes,” the Apostle replied, “I have built a great and beautiful one.” “Where is it?” the king asked. “Here, on earth,” said the Apostle, “you cannot see it, but when you pass from this life into the next, then you will see it and dwell in that house forever.” The king, considering himself deceived, ordered Thomas to be thrown into prison.
When the Apostle had been imprisoned, the king’s beloved brother died that very night. An Angel took the soul of the deceased, brought it into the heavenly dwellings, and showed it many bright and beautiful habitations, among them one that surpassed all the others in beauty. The Angel asked the deceased which of the houses he had seen he would like to have for himself. The king’s brother pointed to the last dwelling he had seen and said: “If only I were allowed to live in one corner of this house, I would be completely satisfied even with that.” The Angel said: “This cannot be done, for this house belongs to your brother, the king, who purchased it for himself with his gold and silver through the stranger Thomas.” Then the king’s brother exclaimed: “Lord, let me return to my brother so that I may buy this house from him for myself, and when I have bought it, then I will come back here.” The Angel returned the deceased man’s soul to his body, and immediately the dead man, to the horror of all who were present, came to life as though awakening from sleep and began calling for the king. The latter came without delay, and the man who had risen said: “I know that you love me and will refuse me nothing; therefore, I ask you to grant me only one gift, which is especially precious to me.” The king solemnly promised to fulfill his request. Then the man who had returned to life said: “Give me the house you have in heaven, and take all my wealth for it.” The king asked: “But what house do I have in heaven?” His brother replied: “I tell you truly, you have such a house in heaven, of which you do not yet know and the like of which does not exist under the whole heaven. And this house was purchased for you with your gold and silver by the stranger Thomas, whom you have imprisoned.” Then the king understood his brother’s words and said to him: “Everything I have on earth I promised to give you, but I never told you about the house I have in heaven. And what are you worried about? We now have the skilled architect Thomas, and he can build you a house like the one he built for me as well.” After this, the king immediately released the Apostle from prison, fell at his feet, and asked his forgiveness for the offense he had committed against him unwillingly. Then Thomas began to teach both brothers faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and soon baptized them and taught them the whole Christian law. “And they built for themselves,” the account concludes, “through many alms, eternal dwellings in the heavens.”
Thus, the words of Augustine spoken in the person of God, “I have received an inn, I will give a house,” are, as the story of the Apostle Thomas has shown, an unquestionable truth. But here is an interesting question: Where will this house be for those who give alms? For heaven is so great, so vast, so spacious! Where will this house be? The seer of the mysteries, Saint John the Theologian, reveals this to us. “And I, John, saw,” he says, “the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23). “The nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it” (Revelation 21:24). From these words it is clear that the house for those who give alms will be in the new city, coming down from heaven like a bride adorned for her husband. And it must be added that “there shall be no more death there..., nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain... [there] shall be no more, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). If this is so, then will we still not concern ourselves with acquiring this house? Will we continue to be stingy in giving alms? Even after hearing this, will we not wipe away the tears of those who weep, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those who are in prison? God forbid that we should do so! No, let our mercy also be praised at the Judgment, and let us too hear that desired voice: “Inasmuch as you did this to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). Amen.
Questions for Discussion 37:
1. What did the Apostle Thomas do with the gold and silver he received from the king for the construction of the house?
2. When, according to the words of the Apostle Thomas, would the king see the house that had been built and dwell in it forever?
3. By whom, according to the Angel’s words to the king’s brother, had the house that surpassed all the others in beauty been purchased?
4. What did the king call the Apostle Thomas when he told his brother that Thomas could build him such a house as well?
5. Through what did both brothers build eternal dwellings for themselves in the heavens?
Thus, the words of Augustine spoken in the person of God, “I have received an inn, I will give a house,” are, as the story of the Apostle Thomas has shown, an unquestionable truth. But here is an interesting question: Where will this house be for those who give alms? For heaven is so great, so vast, so spacious! Where will this house be? The seer of the mysteries, Saint John the Theologian, reveals this to us. “And I, John, saw,” he says, “the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23). “The nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it” (Revelation 21:24). From these words it is clear that the house for those who give alms will be in the new city, coming down from heaven like a bride adorned for her husband. And it must be added that “there shall be no more death there..., nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain... [there] shall be no more, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). If this is so, then will we still not concern ourselves with acquiring this house? Will we continue to be stingy in giving alms? Even after hearing this, will we not wipe away the tears of those who weep, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those who are in prison? God forbid that we should do so! No, let our mercy also be praised at the Judgment, and let us too hear that desired voice: “Inasmuch as you did this to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). Amen.
Questions for Discussion 37:
1. What did the Apostle Thomas do with the gold and silver he received from the king for the construction of the house?
2. When, according to the words of the Apostle Thomas, would the king see the house that had been built and dwell in it forever?
3. By whom, according to the Angel’s words to the king’s brother, had the house that surpassed all the others in beauty been purchased?
4. What did the king call the Apostle Thomas when he told his brother that Thomas could build him such a house as well?
5. Through what did both brothers build eternal dwellings for themselves in the heavens?
Source: The Cheti-Minei: Homilies for Every Day of the Year (Book 1: September, October, November) by Archpriest Viktor Guryev. Publication of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, 1896. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
