In Heliam et viduam

On Helias and the Widow, and on Almsgiving. 1. In the days when we all were fasting, having often chosen to set in motion discourses concerning almsgiving, I was prevented, as evening overtook us and cut short the course of our discourse. This happened, perhaps, because God was arranging things advantageously, postponing the exhortation on these matters until the present day, so that, with you gathered together in the church, the table of almsgiving might be set before you today—not because we have anything great or noble to say, but because the power of almsgiving is great and noble. For the matter has great freedom of speech before God; and, like a queen over our commonwealth, it is accustomed to ascend the heavenly vaults with great confidence. And the powers entrusted with the gates of heaven, if they see almsgiving approaching, open those gates with great honor also to the other virtues on its account; but if they see them arriving without almsgiving, they close the doors to them. This is clear from those virgins who were shut out of the sacred bridal chamber because they did not have a constant supply of oil in their lamps. And consider the difference: almsgiving without virginity led its devotees into heaven; but virginity without almsgiving had no power. Since, then, the power of the matter is so great, let us receive the discourses concerning it with all zeal.

The best and most concise exhortation to this matter would be if we were to lead you to the widow in Sarepta of Sidon. For among those who advise with words, those who teach through deeds become more trustworthy teachers; therefore, the widow would be for us the best teacher of this matter. For we exhort with words, but she will be able to teach you through deeds, having her companion of like character joined with her. For there are two widows: one in the New [Testament], who cast down the two lepta, and one in the Old [Testament], who was deemed worthy to receive the prophet; and both attained to the same virtue of philosophy and displayed the same generosity, showing us the kinship of the Testaments through the similarity of their achievements. For just as certain high rocks, which are called lighthouses, enclosing harbors, keep an unquenchable fire throughout the whole night, guiding those who have gone astray on the sea by the radiance of the light to the safety of the harbor, so also these women, having generosity as a kind of harbor, by the light of their own magnanimity call those who wander in the deepest night—for our life is in no better state than night, as Paul also says, "The night advanced, but the day has drawn near"—those who wander on the sea of avarice and are about to become submerged, to the safety offered by them, keeping the fire of philanthropy ever burning and preserving the unquenchable light of almsgiving.

2. But concerning that woman, on another occasion; today we shall speak to you about the one in the Old Testament. For even as this one is praised, the crowns of encomia are woven for that one; for where the achievements are equal, the words of praise are common. Now it happened in her times that there was a severe famine; not that the earth, having grown weary, refused its produce, but the sins of men repelled the gift of God. So there was a severe famine, the bitterest of all famines; and this famine the great Elijah brought, as if summoning a fearsome servant, in order to discipline the fellow-servants who were insulting the Master; or rather, the sins of the Jews summoned it, and the mouth of the prophet conveyed it, for he says, "As the Lord God lives, if there will be rain, it will be through my mouth." So it was an unbearable evil; for the terrible voice of the prophet not only made the womb of the earth barren, but also checked the very streams of the rivers, and all the winter torrents then dried up. And just as a violent and burning fever, falling upon the nature of a body, dries not only the surface, but penetrating to the very depth, parches the very substance of the bones, so the drought that then occurred not only burned the face of the earth, but going to its very flanks, drew up all the moisture from below. What then does God say to the prophet? "Arise," he says, "and go to Sarepta of Sidon; there I will command a widow woman to nourish you." What is this?

of her own she enjoyed no kindness, and you send him to another’s, and to a widow woman? For if she were well-off, if she were very wealthy, if she were the wife of the king himself, if she had storehouses filled with many provisions, would not the fear of famine have blighted her intention more than the land itself? So that the prophet might not say these things, nor reason about them, for this very reason, first through the ravens he fed him, all but saying to him through what happened, “If I have prepared the irrational nature to receive you as a guest, much more will the rational be persuaded to do this.” 3. Therefore after the ravens came the widow. And one could see the prophet become a suppliant to a woman—that heaven-high and divine soul, that noble and lofty Elijah, coming like some vagabond and beggar to the widow’s door, and his mouth, which closed the heaven, uttering the voices of beggars: “Give me bread, give me water”—so that you might learn that nothing is so suitable as a widow woman’s house, a tent full of poverty, and free from wealth and the evils that come from wealth. For the place was pure of disturbances, and full of all philosophy, and calmer than any harbor. Such are the dwellings that the souls of the saints especially seek. So the prophet went to the widow, who was to become a reproach to Jewish inhospitality; he went to the widow, teaching all that the Jews justly suffer that punishment.

For when God is about to punish some, he does not simply inflict the penalty, nor is he satisfied with the verdict of his own judgment, but he also defends himself to men through the facts, as if being judged in a public court by the suspicions of the many. And just as judges, when they are about to lead someone on the road to death, after sitting in front on a high tribunal, and ordering the curtains to be drawn together, and surrounding the entire city around them, thus judging as in a public theater against the condemned man, making inquiries under the eyes and ears of all, and ordering the records of the deeds dared by those men to be read out, and preparing the accused himself to become the accuser of the deeds dared by him, then they impose the verdict; so also God, after sitting in front as on a high tribunal, that of the proclamation of the Scriptures, and surrounding the whole world, makes the examination of sins under the eyes and ears of all, not ordering records to be read out, nor

bringing letters into the midst, but by setting us before the very sins of the condemned. 4. When, therefore, he was about to hurl the terrible thunderbolts against the Sodomites and to sweep away peoples and cities from the midst of the land through that fearful fire, when he was sending down upon the earth the strange and paradoxical rain, more dreadful than the former, which the sun first and alone beheld—since before bringing this punishment, he showed us the wickedness of those about to be punished, not by reading letters, as I said, but by bringing the sins themselves into the midst. For this reason, then, he sent the angels, not only to lead Lot out, but also to show you the lawlessness of those men; which indeed happened. For when Lot received them, all besieged the house of their host, standing around in a circle. The strategy of the siege was a monstrous lust and a desire for unlawful intercourse, exceeding the bounds of age and nature. For not only young men stood around, but also old men; and neither did gray hair stop the frenzy, nor did old age quench the madness, but one could see a shipwreck in harbor, an unlawful desire in old age. And not even there did they stop their lawlessness, but when Lot promised to give up his own daughters, not even then did they desist, but pressed on, saying they would not withdraw until they got the men; and they threatened great harm to the one who promised to give his own daughters because of the honor he showed to the strangers. Do you see how from all sides he showed the wickedness of the Sodomites, and then brought the punishment?

Lest after this, seeing them being punished, you be broken by the magnitude of the calamity, and lest you accuse God along with them, but rather condemn them along with God, he anticipated by the demonstration of their wickedness, and completely forestalled all pity for them, leading us away from sympathy towards them. This is precisely what he has now done in the case of the prophet. Lest, seeing the Jews being destroyed by famine, you grieve, he shows you their inhumanity and their cruelty, and their lack of hospitality. For not only did they not receive the prophet, but they even threatened to kill him; and this is clear from God's words. For he did not say only, "Withdraw," but also, "Hide yourself." For flight is not sufficient for your safety, but you must also escape notice with great care; for it is a Jewish mob, a mob thirsting for prophetic blood, and practiced in the slaughter of saints; they have always stained their right hands with the blood of prophets. And when he sent him out of Judea, he says, "Go and hide yourself"; but when he sent him to the widow, he says, "I myself will give her orders." Do you see how from there he commands him to do this while fleeing with great caution; but here he bids him go with great confidence and boldness? 5. And not only this, but something else has also been arranged through the prophet's presence with the widow.

For lest after this, some, seeing Christ after the many and ineffable benefactions in Judea, after the countless dead whom he raised, after the blind whom he made to see, after the lepers whom he cleansed, after the demons whom he drove out, after the marvelous and saving teaching, driven away by those he had benefited, yet honored by those among the nations who knew and had heard nothing of the sort, should marvel, be perplexed, and consider the matter incredible, he teaches from above and long beforehand, through the servants, the ingratitude of the Jews and instructs us in the goodwill of the nations. Thus, for example, Joseph, whom those he had come to nourish attempted to kill, while a barbarian man brought him to the greatest honor. Thus, Moses, whom the Jews he had benefited drove away, was received by the barbarian man Jethro, who deemed him worthy of much kindness. Thus, David, whom Saul drove away after the head of Goliath, after the countless dangers which he often resolved for both him and the city, was received by Achish, the king of the barbarians, and brought to great honor. Thus, now, Elijah was driven away by the Jews, but received by the widow. Therefore, when you see Christ driven away by them, but received by the nations, having learned the types from above, do not marvel at the truth of the matter. For you have heard even today Christ speaking, and hinting at this very thing.

For when he was discoursing to the Jews who were indignant, he said that there were many widows in the days of Elijah, and Elijah was sent to none except the widow in Sarepta of Sidon. But perhaps someone might be perplexed as to why God allowed Elijah, who was so zealous for the glory of God, to be distressed and constrained, now sending him to the winter torrent, now to the widow, now to another place, as if preparing him, like some wanderer, to change places from one to another. For that he was distressed and constrained, hear also Paul saying, "We went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, lacking, distressed, ill-treated." For what reason, then, did he permit him to be distressed? For if he was exacting this penalty from the Jews for sins against himself, one might reasonably say that he was experiencing the constraint of distress so as to become more gentle and to abate his harshness. But if it was not because he bore a grudge against them for what was done to him, but because he was consumed by indignation over their impiety and insolence toward the Master, and brought this calamity upon them, why then does he himself share in the hardships, and not enjoy much ease and freedom? For if, while others were ill-treated and perishing from famine, he himself enjoyed ease and a rich table, perhaps someone would have thought the event to be a matter of cruelty. For it seemed nothing wonderful to revel in the misfortunes of others while enjoying prosperity.

For this reason God allowed him to share in the calamity, to experience the evils that had befallen, and to partake of the famine, so that you might learn that it was not famine, but divine zeal that was in him. For he would not have chosen, being so constrained, and lacking, and oppressed, and ill-treated, to refrain from lifting the threat, unless from great zeal he had uttered that blessed cry. Therefore it was more pleasing to him to be constrained and to see them being chastened, than to see them, freed from the pressing necessity, returning to their former impiety. 6. For such are the souls of the saints everywhere: for the correction of others they betray their own security. So that no one might say that he intensified the famine out of cruelty, he allowed him to share in the famine, so that you might learn the prophet's philosophy. And apart from this, since the nature of miracles somehow tends to exalt those who work them, and persuades those who see miracles to conceive of them as greater than human nature, he corrected both these things, altering the weakness of nature. And that this is so, it is easy to learn from Paul's voice. For that miracles exalt, listen to what he says: "And by the excess of revelations, lest I be lifted up, a thorn was given to my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me." And that it persuades those who see and hear the miracles to conceive of the miracle-workers as greater, this too is clear from that source. For after speaking about his own revelations, he says: "For even if I wish to boast,

I will not be foolish, for I will speak the truth. Why then do you not boast? I refrain, lest someone reckon to me more than what they see in me, or hear something from me. So that such a thing might not happen also in the case of the prophet (for even if he was Elijah, he was still a man), he mixed the weakness of nature with the miracle. For this reason, the one who held the heavens did not hold back the famine; the one who restrained the pangs of the earth was not able to restrain the necessity of the belly, but he begged a widow woman, so that you might learn both the divine grace and the human weakness. This event was beneficial not only for this, but also for another purpose no less than this. What is this? So that when someone exhorts you to the zeal of the prophet, you may not fall down nor despair, thinking that the man was of a different nature, and because of this had such boldness toward God. This is what someone hinted at, saying: Elijah was a man subject to the same passions as us, almost saying: Do not think it impossible to reach the same summit of philosophy as he; for he too shared the same nature. But nevertheless, his wondrous and divine choice showed him much higher than others. 7. But it is time now to return to the widow. He came, it says, to Sarepta of Sidon, and found a widow woman gathering sticks. The portals were worthy of the poverty within. What then? Was he turned away seeing such preludes of hospitality? Not at all; for he had heard a divine pronouncement; but he called out after her and said, Bring me some water, and she went to get it.

Truly the woman is noble and philosophical, and if it is not rash to say, even worthy of the prophet’s own magnanimity—or rather, it is not rash to say so; for if she were not worthy, she would not have been deemed worthy to receive that holy man. Just as Christ says to the disciples, “Into whatever city or village you enter, ask who is worthy in it, and stay there,” so also here God, since he knew that this woman was most worthy of all to receive the prophet, for this reason left all the others aside and sent him there. But let us also see her nobility from the events themselves. “Take water for me,” he says, “into a vessel.” Great is the woman’s kindness. For that she answered, that she shared speech, that she did not detain him and call the whole city to punish that divine head—is it not worthy of astonishment and admiration? For that the necessity of the famine might naturally have driven the woman to such anger, learn from a Jewish example. Elisha, the disciple of Elijah, the double Elijah (for in the disciple one could see the teacher doubled), later prophesied a famine; he did not bring it on himself, as Elijah did, but foretold that it would come. What then did the king who reigned in those times do? He put on sackcloth, it says; for the calamity humbled him. But nevertheless, even thus humbled, when he heard a certain woman lamenting over what had happened because of the famine, he was then carried away into such anger that he immediately cried out and said, “May God do such and such to me, and may he add such and such, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stands upon him today.

You have seen the king’s anger; learn the woman’s philosophy. For she, having found not the one who predicted the famine but the one who brought it about, and being near the city, did not become indignant, did not grow wild, did not call others to vengeance, but obeyed with great gentleness. 8. You know that when we are occupied with some need, we often do not even look kindly upon those who are suitable, but are annoyed even with them. But when such great distress is present, even the light itself seems to trouble us. And this again can be learned from a Jewish example. For when Moses came announcing countless good things to the Jews—deliverance from tyranny, freedom, and return to their ancient homeland—it says that when they saw him, they did not listen to him because of their faint-heartedness and the harshness of their labors. Those people, upon seeing the one bringing such good news, turned away. But she, upon seeing the prophet come—not to end the famine, but to become a burden even to her—suffered nothing of the sort. And those people were so difficult because of the toil of their labors; but she, with famine pressing severely (and there is a great difference between toil and famine), not only did not turn away from the man, but emptied all her poverty to receive the one who brought the famine upon them. And it says, she went to fetch water, and the prophet cried out and said, “Take also bread for me, and I will eat.” What then does the woman do? Not even here does she become indignant, but what does she say? “As the Lord your God lives, if I have a hearth-cake, or even a handful of meal.” Why does she swear?

The prophet asked for bread, but she had no bread. She feared, therefore, that while she was baking, roasting, and preparing, and then delaying, the prophet, not waiting for the delay, might leap away and flee the prize of hospitality. For this reason she forestalled him with an oath, saying, not that "I have no flour," but that "I have no hearth-baked bread, but I do have flour." And she secures his trust not only through the oath, but also through the demonstration of the facts themselves. For behold, she says, I gather two sticks, and I will go in, and I will make them for my children, and we will eat, and we will die. Let those who build splendid houses, and buy costly fields, and lead herds of servants around the marketplace, listen; rather, let both the wealthy and the poor all listen, for no one after this widow will have an excuse. So many were the obstacles for her, but nevertheless she cut through and overcame all of them. Now listen. She was a foreigner—this was one obstacle. A Sidonian—a second obstacle. For it is not the same to be a foreigner simply, and to be a Sidonian from that most wicked city; for as an ultimate example of evil, Christ brought that city forward in the Gospels. She was, therefore, both a foreigner and a Sidonian, and a woman—the weak sex, needing support from every side. There was also widowhood, a fourth obstacle; a fifth, greater than all of these, the care of raising children. Let widows who also raise children hear that this pretext was not sufficient to prevent them from doing almsgiving or receiving strangers.

and only a handful of flour was left, and after that death was expected. For you, even if you empty out all your wealth, even if you strip yourself of your possessions, you can go to the doors of others and obtain comfort; but at that time it was not even possible to beg, so completely had famine choked all the harbors. But none of these things prevented her. Let me mention a seventh obstacle: the very man who was about to be hosted by the woman. For he was neither a relative nor an acquaintance, but a stranger and an outsider, and even in terms of piety itself he was separated from her. And not only was he a stranger and an outsider, but he himself was the one who had brought on the famine. 9. But none of these things turned the woman away; rather, she gave food to the mouth that had consumed all her food, and she fed the cause of the famine with the remnants of the famine. "Because of you," she says, "all my wealth has been reduced to this handful; but I do not spare even this handful because of you, but I will give both myself and my children over to death, so that you," she says, "the cause of the scarcity, may not experience even a small perception of the scarcity." What other excess of hospitality could one conceive? It is not possible to find any. She saw a stranger, and immediately forgot her nature, and ignored her birth pangs, and looking at the chorus of her children, she was not broken. And I know, having often heard many say, "So-and-so, seeing a beggar, took off the only tunic he was wearing, clothed the naked man, and then, borrowing a garment from another, went away thus; and great

She thought this was something wonderful. And indeed it is great; but the deed of this widow is far greater than that. For he, having stripped himself and clothed the naked man, was able to receive a garment from another; but she, having let go of the handful of flour, was not able to take another handful; nor was the danger to her limited to nakedness, but after that death was expected for herself and her children. When, then, neither concern for poverty nor for raising children prevented her, nor severe famine, nor such great destitution, nor expected death, what excuse shall we have, the wealthy? what excuse, the poor? "The Lord your God lives, if I have a loaf of bread, or even only a handful of flour in the jar, and a little oil in the flask; and behold, I gather two small sticks, and I will go in, and I will make them for my children, and we shall eat, and we shall die." Let each one inscribe this pitiable—or rather, this blessed and heaven-worthy—voice on the walls of his own house, in the bedchamber where we sleep, in the room where we dine. Let each one practice this voice at home, in the marketplace, in gatherings of friends, going to court, entering, leaving; and I would strongly insist that even if someone were made of stone, or iron, or adamant, he would not bear to send away a poor person who approaches with empty hands, if he inscribes this voice, if he keeps the widow before his eyes. But perhaps someone will say: "Bring me a prophet too, and I will receive him with the same goodwill." Promise this, and I will bring you the prophet.

And why do I speak of the prophet? I bring you the master of the prophet himself, our common God and Lord, Christ. For he himself says, "You saw me hungry and fed me." But if some disbelieve this saying and neglect kindness, they will learn this then through punishment and retribution. For just as they have neglected Christ himself, so they will go to unbearable punishment. Thus those who feed the poor, as if they have served Christ himself, are led into the kingdom of heaven. 10. Perhaps I have said more than necessary. Would that it were possible to spend all my days on discourses about almsgiving. But if these things seem sufficient to you, let me summarize them all. I said why the prophet was sent to the widow: so that you may not bless poverty, so that you may not admire wealth, so that you may not think the prosperous man is enviable, so that you may not consider the man living in poverty wretched and pitiable, so that you may learn Jewish wickedness. For it is God's custom, when he is about to punish, to defend himself to us through the very facts: so that later, when you see the common Savior of all driven away by them and received by the Gentiles, you may not be amazed and perplexed, having learned from above their ingratitude, and that it is their custom to drive away benefactors; so that you may not think the prophet's prayer and the prolongation of punishment are due to cruelty, but to divine zeal and care; so that you may learn that even in the greatest achievements, our nature needs correction.

so that you may not think, when called to the same zeal as the prophet, that imitation is impossible. I spoke about the widow, how, being in such great straits, with famine pressing hard, she did not utter a single bitter word against the prophet, though it would have been natural; and I showed this too from Jewish sensibilities. But she suffered nothing of the kind; rather, she received him with all kindness, and emptied her entire poverty in his honor, though she was a Sidonian and a foreigner, and had neither heard the prophets philosophizing about almsgiving, nor Christ saying, "You saw me hungry and fed me." What excuse then will we have, if after such exhortations, after the promise of such rewards, after the promise of the kingdom of heaven, we do not attain the same measure of kindness as the widow? For she was a Sidonian and a foreigner, and a woman, a widow, and she was caring for many children, and she saw a dangerous famine and expected death, and she was about to receive an unknown man, the very one who brought the famine, and yet not even then did she spare her handful. But we, who have partaken of prophecies, who enjoy divine teachings, who have much to philosophize about the future, who see no famine pressing upon us, and who possess far more than the woman, what defense will we be able to put forward if we spare our possessions and are careless of our own salvation?

Therefore, in order that we may escape those terrible punishments, let us show every compassion to the poor, so that we too may be deemed worthy of the future blessings, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom glory is to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.