Wealth and Mercy

Ἀκούσατε ὅσοι πρὸς τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ἐστὲ ὀκνηροί. Ἀκούσατε οἱ τὸν πλοῦτον ὑμῖν ἐλαττοῦντες τῇ φυλακῇ. Ἀκούσατε οἱ τῶν ὄναρ πλουτούτων οὐδὲν διακείμενοι ἄμεινον. Ὀνείρατος γὰρ οὐδὲν ἄμεινον τὰ παρόντα· ἀλλ' ὡσπερ οἱ καθ' ὕπνους φανταζόμενοι χρήματα ἔχειν, κᾶν τῶν ταμιείων γένωνται τῶν βασιλικῶν κύριοι, πάντων εἰσὶ πενέστεροι, γενομένης ἡμέρας· οὑτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ βίου τοῦ παρόντος, ὁ μεδὲν ἀγαγεῖν ἐκεῖ δυνηθεὶς, πάντων ᾗ κεκτημένος· ὅναρ γὰρ ἐπλούτησε μόνον. Εἰ τοίνυν βούλει μοι δεῖξαι τὸν εὔπορον, τότε μοι δεῖξον, ὅταν ἡμέρα γένται, ὅταν εἰς τὴν πατρὶδα ἀπέλθωμεν ἐκείνην· νῦν δὲ οὐκ ἀνέξομαι τὸν πλούσιον διαγενώσκειν καὶ τὸν πενητα. Οὐ γὰρ ἐστιν ἀλήθεια πραγμάτων, ἀλλ' ὀνομάτων χάρις καὶ εὐφημὶα μᾶλλον. Καθάπερ γὰρ τοὺς τυφλοὺς καλοῦσιν οἱ πολλοὶ πολυβλέποντες, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀκολουθεῖ τῷ ὀνόματι τὸ πράγμα, ἀλλ' οὕτοι μάλιστά εἰσιν οἱ μὴ ὅρώντες· οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸ τῶν πλουσίων ὄνομα περιφέρεσθαι ἐνταῠθά πλουτῇ, τότε μάλιστα οἰδα ὅτι πένης ἐστίν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ σφόδρα πένης ἥν, οὐκ ἄν σφόδρα ἐπλούτει. Ὥωπερ γὰρ τὸν πηρὸν, εἰ μὴ καθόλου τετύφλωται, οὐκ ἄν  αὐτὸν πολυβλέποντα εκάλεσαν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα λογιστέον. Ἀποθέμενοι οὖν τῶν ὀνομάτων τὴν ἀπάτην, ἀντιλάβωμεν τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐν ὀνόμασι τὰ πράγματα ἔστηκεν, ἀλλ' αἰ τῶν πραγμάτων φύσεις τὰ ὀνόματα κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ὑπόστατιν πλάττουσιν. Ὁ δεῖνα πλούσιος καλεῖται, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι. καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἔστιν, ὅταν πολὺς μὲν ἄργυρος, πολὺ δὲ χρυσίον, καὶ λίθοι τίμιοι, καὶ ἱμάτια χρυσᾶ, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα αὐτῷ περιῥῥὲῃ; Ὁτι οὐ χρυσίδον, οὐδὲ ἱμάτια, οὐδὲ χρήματα, ἀλλ' ἐλεημοσύνη ποιεῖ πλούσιον. Ταῦτα γὰρ χόρτος, ταῦτα ξύλα καὶ καλάμη. Ἐπεὶ ποῖον ἱμάτιον, εἰπέ μοι, τότε τὸν γυμνὸν ἑστῶτα ἐπὶ τοῦ φοβεροῦ βήματος ἐκείνου περιναλεῖν δυνήσεται; Ὁπερ καὶ Παῦλος δεδοικὼς ἔλεγεν· Εἴπερ καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι, οὐ γυμνοὶ εὐρεθησόμεθα. Ποῖα χρήματα τὸν κινδυνεύοντα ἐξελέσθαι δυνήσεται; ποῖοι οἰκέται μαστιζομενῳ παραστήσεσθαι τῳ δεσπότῃ; ποῖαι οἰκίαι; ποῖοι λίθοι πολύτιμοι; ποῖα βαλανεῖα τὸν ῥύπον ἀποσμῆξαι δυνήσεται τὸν ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων; Μέχρι τίνος ἑαυτοὺς ἀπατᾶτε; μέχρι τίνος οὐ διαβλέπετε τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὰ ὀνείρατα κεχήνατε, ἐγγὸς καὶ ἐπὶ θύραις τῆς κρίσεως οὔσης; Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΜΓ', Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

Listen you who are so slow to be merciful. Listen you who diminish your wealth by guarding it. Listen you who are no better than those who are rich in their dreams. For no better than a dream are your possessions, but rather it is as those who in a dream seem to have riches, and let the royal treasuries of a king be given them there, still they are the most poor of all when day comes, and so even in the present life, from which no one is able to take anything away, is he most poor who possesses everything, for his wealth was only in a dream. If you wish then to show me wealth, show it to me when the day comes, when we are summoned into that fatherland. Now I am not able to distinguish between rich and poor. For it is not the truth of things but rather foolish and specious words we face. As even many call the blind 'much seeing', so the thing does not accord with the name, since the blind are those who see nothing. And thus even the name of wealth here I say that those who bear it possess nothing. When indeed a man is rich here, then I know he is the poorest; unless he was extremely poor, he was not very wealthy. Just as a blind man if he is not totally blind is not called 'much seeing', so even the rich man here is to be thought. Ridding ourselves then of the deception of a name let us take up the truth. Things are not created by their names but the nature of things fashions names from its proper substance. He is called a rich man here, but he's not. And how is he not when he has plenty of silver and gold and precious stones and golden vestments and all such things? Because neither gold nor clothes nor coin but mercy makes wealth. The things he has are fodder and wood and reeds. Tell me how your clothes will cover you when you are naked before the fearsome tribunal ? The trembling Paul said, 'If indeed we are clothed we shall not be discovered naked.' 1 What money will be able to release you from peril? What servants shall stand with a master being whipped? What will your property do? How will your precious stones avail? What baths will be able to cleanse you of your sin? How long will you deceive yourselves? How long will you not see the truth of things but be lost in a dream, while near, even at your doors, is judgement?   Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 43, Saint John Chrysostom 1 2 Cor 5.3