Social Justice and the Poor According to the Church Fathers Part I

(Reuters) - The number of U.S. residents living in poverty
edged up to 46.5 million last year, the latest sign that an
economic recovery marked by a stock market boom has
not trickled down to ordinary Americans. Source

"Anyone who will not work, shall not eat" 2 Thess. 3:10

This much quoted verse by St Paul is commonly used to

justify neglect and indifference, a cold, merciless and proud 

contempt towards those living in disadvantaged conditions.

I have to ask myself, how do the Church Fathers view the poor?

This question is important because we as Orthodox Christians

seek to live our lives according to the well-trodden path of holy

Tradition. Socio-political views are one thing but we Orthodox 

must live according to a much higher standard.

How do the doctors of the Church view the poor? What is the
attitude of our ascetics, elders, monastics and saints towards

those at the very bottom of society?

In this and subsequent posts I will be posting quotes from

many authoritative voices from within Orthodoxy;

"Anyone working, you should know, ought to work not so

much for the satisfaction of his own needs by his efforts, as to

fulfill the commandment of the Lord who said: 'I was hungry

and you gave me food' Matt. 25:35

Thinking of oneself only is absolutely forbidden in these words:

'Do not be anxious, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall

we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" The Gentiles seek all these

things.' Matt. 6:31. The aim which everyone ought to have in 

working is to help the needy, more than to provide for oneself.

In this way we shall avoid the accusation that we are attached to

our own personal advantage and we shall receive the blessing that

the Lord gives to those who love their brothers and sisters. The 

Lord said: 'As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren,

you did it to me.' Matt. 25:40

So anyone who works day and night to succor the destitute is 

nearing perfection." St. Basil the Great in The Greater Rules 42.

"But there are four kinds of people who put money aside. I have

just mentioned three (for pleasure, conceit and lack of faith). 

There are, however, also those who restrict themselves to the 

administration of goods. Only these last are justified in 

accumulating money, on the assumption that their aim is to be

always in the business of helping the needy." St Maximos the 

Confessor, Centuries of Charity, 3:16

I love the words of the Golden-Mouthed St. John (Chrysostom) 

commenting On the First Letter to the Corinthians when he

wrote;

" It is folly, it is madness, to fill our wardrobes full of

clothes and to regard with indifference a human being,

a being made in the image and likeness of God, who is

naked, trembling with cold and almost unable to stand.

You say: 'But that fellow there is pretending to tremble and not

to have any strength.' So what? If that poor fellow is putting it on,

he is doing it because he is trapped between his own wretchedness

and your cruelty. Yes, you are cruel and guilty of inhumanity. You

would not have opened your heart to his destitution without his 

play-acting. 

If it were not necessity compelling him, why should he behave in 

such a humiliating way just to get a bit of bread? 

The made-up tale of a beggar is evidence of your inhumanity. His

prayers, his begging, his complaints, his tears, his wandering all day

long round the city did not secure for him the smallest amount to

live on. That perhaps is the reason why he thought of acting a part.

But the shame and the blame for his made-up tale falls less on him

than on you. 

He has in fact a right to be pitied, finding himself in such an abyss

of destitution. You, on the other hand, deserve a thousand 

punishments for having brought him to such humiliation." 

St John Chrysostom's Commentary On the First Letter to the Corinthians

"Why do you complain of giving something to the poor? Why do you

display bad temper in the practice of almsgiving? If they see you in

that frame of mind, the poor would prefer to refuse your gift. If you

give with a brusque demeanor you are not being generous but 

lacking gentleness and courtesy. 

If you give gladly, even if you give only a little, it is a big gift. If you

give unwillingly, even if you give a big gift, you turn it into a small

one." St John Chrysostom, On the Letter of Romans.

"If you help a poor person in the name of the Lord, you are making

a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift

because you have no expectation to be reimbursed by that poor 

person. You are granting a loan because the Lord will settle the 

account. It is not much that the Lord receives by means

of the poor, but he will pay a great deal on their behalf.

'They who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord'. Prov. 19:17

St John Chrysostom Commentary On the Letter to the Romans,
21:1ff.

The profit that you gain from the poor surpasses all bounds of 

cruelty. You are profiting from misfortune, you are squeezing 

money out of tears, you are persecuting a defenseless being, you

are belaboring someone who is starving. You think the profit you

make out of the poor is just. But 'Woe to those who put bitter for

sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20. St Basil the Great, 

On Psalm 14  

"It is not enough to help the poor. We must help them with 

generosity and without grumbling. And it is not enough to help

them without grumbling. We must help them gladly and happily.

When the poor are helped there ought to be these two conditions:

generosity and joy." St John Chrysostom Commentary On the 

Letter to the Romans, 21:1ff.

On September 28th we celebrated the life and martyrdom of 

Good King Wenceslaus, also known as Martyr Vatslav, King of

the Czechs (929 A.D.) From the Prologue p.340 we read, "The
grandson of St Ludmilla, he lived as king in spiritual striving in
the Faith like the great ascetics, and strengthened the Orthodox
faith among his people. He took care when sitting in judgement
that no innocent man should suffer. In his zeal for the Christian
faith and his love for his neighbour, holy Vatslav bought pagan
children who had been sold as slaves and immediately baptised
them, bringing them up as Christians. He translated St John's
Gospel into Czech and brought the relics of St Vitus and his
grandmother, Ludmilla, to Prague. His brother Boleslav invited
him to stay and killed him at his court. Holy Vatslav suffered in
929. His relics are preserved in Prague." (Prologue) This is the
"Good King Wenceslaus" of the popular Christmas carol.

"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol that tells a
story of Good King Wenceslas braving harsh winter weather to
give alms to a poor peasant onthe Feast of Stephen (the second
day of Christmas, December 26). During the journey, his page is
about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is
enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for
step, through the deep snow. The legend is based on the life of
the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia or Svatý
Václav in Czech (907–935). Source

Please listen to a wonderful rendition of this beloved Christmas 
carol below;

Tomb of King Wenceslaus in the Cathedral of St Vitus, Prague