Seda S.
11-11-2008, 12:49 PM
There is a story in the Classical Armenian Paterik about certain Abba Joseph. I can't find this story in those similar collections in Russian and English that I have and don't have access to those in other languages. This story is an excerpt from a book or a longer story. Maybe you could recognize it and know the source of it. Here it is in my translation (though someone with better knowledge of English has made some minor editing corrections in it, I'll appreciate any other correction, since my knowledge of English is poor).
[ON TRUE CHARITY]
Once Sophronius and I went and entered [the cell of] Abba Joseph. He received us with joy and heartily talked to us. He was adorned with all kinds of virtues, and also knew external sciences. While we were sitting and talking about the profits of soul with each other, lo, a Christ-loving layman came from Ilaia, brought 3 denarii, and said, “Take this, honourable father, and pray for my ship for I have loaded it and it is now sailing to Ethiopia”. But the old man did not even look at him. Sophronius said to the old man, “Father, take and give it to those brothers who need it!” The old man answered, “It will be a double shame if I take it, [my] son! Firstly, because I do not need it, and secondly, because if I am to root out others’ thorns, it would be better to root out my own if I could. For it is written, ‘If you sow, sow your own, since that of the stranger is more bitter than weed’. Especially for a ship, son, , since he [I](this man) is not asking for his soul.”
Sophronius asked, ‘Will it not be counted as charity, whatever is done by man for the sake of God?’ The old man answered,
‘There are many kinds of charity: one does charity so that one’s house may be blessed. The other does it for the protection of his ship, and God protects it. Another one does charity for the peace of one’s sons, and God grants it to him. Still another does charity to become rich, and God makes him rich. God does not forget anyone but grants everybody their requests according to the will of those who ask, if their souls are not harmed by it. All these soon took the wages of their charity, giving nothing to God for the life to come, so there they will not ask anything from Him and for this reason will not take anything, since the charity they gave, was not for the soul and the life to come but for the body and the present life.
Therefore, examine in wisdom. One did charity that God would bless one’s house, and He blessed and filled it with good; or for the ship, and the ship arrived in peace; or for the sons, and God gave them healthy life; or for glory, and God glorified him. Then for what else is God indebted to him? But if you wish to live, do charity for the salvation of your soul and God will save you, for it is written, ‘May God grant you according to your heart’ (Ps 19 (20):4). There are many rich people who think they do charity but they make God angrier, for they give as charity what was robbed and put out at usury. And again, it is written in the Law of God that one must give the first fruit and the best to God as charity - the best of wheat, wine and oil, as well as of all the seeds and the fruit, and the firstborn of men. In this way also, the spotless and the good of the sheep and of the animals which do not have a cut ear, or a broken foot, or a smashed horn. But it is demanded to offer to God that which is thoroughly perfect. Yet the rich do not do so, but the contrary to this. For they themselves eat the best and give the worst and the nasty to the poor. They themselves drink choice wines and wines with a floral aroma, but distribute the ones like vinegar to the poor. In this way they give old and torn clothes to the poor but they themselves are adorned in garments of many colours. They distribute the spoiled and rotten fruit to the poor, but they themselves eat the best. Thus all their offerings become unacceptable to God, like that of Cain. Also, they prepare their handsome sons and beautiful daughters for wedding, counting the expenses, and they care to give them to rich and handsome bridegrooms, or bring such brides. But if it happens that [one of the children] becomes one-eyed, or loses any member of the body, or is thin, ugly and unpleasant, they give that portion to God; if he is a male, they send him to a monastery for men, and if she is a female, to a convent.
But they should have understood this: that if one wants to honour mortal men, one gives them of the best things that one has; but why don’t you do this for God, the Creator of everybody, to offer Him the best from everything which He Himself gave us?
It is evident, that in the same way the Lord will require from us our rational service- our prayers. This is not because He needs our praises, but in order to teach us to be thankful for our salvation and to love God with all our hearts. And let us not lie in whatever we promise to God, but offer it in fear, and without delay. As the offerings of Noah, in spite of the existence of vapour and smoke in them, were accepted by God as sweet aroma for his good mind and pure heart, so the offerings of an evil man, whose mind is evil, are abominable before God, even if they are of the best. Listen to what the prophet says to the Jews, ‘Your incense is an abomination to Me’ (Isa 1:13). Do you see that everything depends on the mind of the one who offers? For there, the mind of the one who brought the offering made the smoke fragrant, and here, the badness and impurity of the mind of the Jews made the fragrant incense abominable before God.
Any man who likes his life must perform his charity and asceticism not only without delay, but whatever he offers to God, must also be excellent and the best, lest our prayers and deeds of charity return to us in shame and lest our sacrifice be profane and with blemish, and be considered abominable like that of Cain.’
After these words, we asked him again, ‘Will a person be harmed, if he follows his [evil] thoughts?’ He answered,
‘If a man is not harmed by evil and dissolute thoughts, then he will not be profited also by holy and divine thoughts. For as a good thought is profitable, so an evil thought is harmful. For if we have external peace, but our internal peace is confused by filthy thoughts, there is no profit from the external peace and calmness, just as there is no profit for a town from its strong ramparts, if it is surrendered to the enemy by its inhabitants. If we keep our hearts from following evil thoughts, the Lord promised us very great gifts, which surpass our mind. I mean the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the ineffable good things which the chosen ones will take at the right hand of the Most-high, and the nature of blessed angelic orders, as well as deliverance from bitter sufferings and terrible fire. There will be no end, no change or decrease to these comforts, pleasures and many other good things, but everything is perfect, firm and made stronger in those infinite ages.’
He looked at us and saw us hesitating concerning his teaching. So he stood up before all of us, raised his eyes and hands towards heaven, and said being heard by all, “O Jesus Christ, the Word and the Son of the living God, You Who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and everything in them, the Saviour and deliverer of our souls, if my words that I said to these brothers are vain and untrue, let this stone standing before us remain without damage, but if they are just, trustworthy and true, let this stone be broken.”
And immediately, as the old man said, the stone was broken into five pieces, and one of them, a marble pillar of a man’s height, is still there. We became frightened and amazed at this miraculous sign, we thanked God, and were much profited.
When the old man was sending us off, he told us, ‘Come to me once more next week’. On Monday, at the third hour, we came to him and found that the holy old man, Abba Joseph had departed. We buried him with honour, and glorified God for making us worthy to see such a father and talk to him, and then to bury and serve him.
(Translated from Classical Armenian ‘The Lives of the Fathers’)
[ON TRUE CHARITY]
Once Sophronius and I went and entered [the cell of] Abba Joseph. He received us with joy and heartily talked to us. He was adorned with all kinds of virtues, and also knew external sciences. While we were sitting and talking about the profits of soul with each other, lo, a Christ-loving layman came from Ilaia, brought 3 denarii, and said, “Take this, honourable father, and pray for my ship for I have loaded it and it is now sailing to Ethiopia”. But the old man did not even look at him. Sophronius said to the old man, “Father, take and give it to those brothers who need it!” The old man answered, “It will be a double shame if I take it, [my] son! Firstly, because I do not need it, and secondly, because if I am to root out others’ thorns, it would be better to root out my own if I could. For it is written, ‘If you sow, sow your own, since that of the stranger is more bitter than weed’. Especially for a ship, son, , since he [I](this man) is not asking for his soul.”
Sophronius asked, ‘Will it not be counted as charity, whatever is done by man for the sake of God?’ The old man answered,
‘There are many kinds of charity: one does charity so that one’s house may be blessed. The other does it for the protection of his ship, and God protects it. Another one does charity for the peace of one’s sons, and God grants it to him. Still another does charity to become rich, and God makes him rich. God does not forget anyone but grants everybody their requests according to the will of those who ask, if their souls are not harmed by it. All these soon took the wages of their charity, giving nothing to God for the life to come, so there they will not ask anything from Him and for this reason will not take anything, since the charity they gave, was not for the soul and the life to come but for the body and the present life.
Therefore, examine in wisdom. One did charity that God would bless one’s house, and He blessed and filled it with good; or for the ship, and the ship arrived in peace; or for the sons, and God gave them healthy life; or for glory, and God glorified him. Then for what else is God indebted to him? But if you wish to live, do charity for the salvation of your soul and God will save you, for it is written, ‘May God grant you according to your heart’ (Ps 19 (20):4). There are many rich people who think they do charity but they make God angrier, for they give as charity what was robbed and put out at usury. And again, it is written in the Law of God that one must give the first fruit and the best to God as charity - the best of wheat, wine and oil, as well as of all the seeds and the fruit, and the firstborn of men. In this way also, the spotless and the good of the sheep and of the animals which do not have a cut ear, or a broken foot, or a smashed horn. But it is demanded to offer to God that which is thoroughly perfect. Yet the rich do not do so, but the contrary to this. For they themselves eat the best and give the worst and the nasty to the poor. They themselves drink choice wines and wines with a floral aroma, but distribute the ones like vinegar to the poor. In this way they give old and torn clothes to the poor but they themselves are adorned in garments of many colours. They distribute the spoiled and rotten fruit to the poor, but they themselves eat the best. Thus all their offerings become unacceptable to God, like that of Cain. Also, they prepare their handsome sons and beautiful daughters for wedding, counting the expenses, and they care to give them to rich and handsome bridegrooms, or bring such brides. But if it happens that [one of the children] becomes one-eyed, or loses any member of the body, or is thin, ugly and unpleasant, they give that portion to God; if he is a male, they send him to a monastery for men, and if she is a female, to a convent.
But they should have understood this: that if one wants to honour mortal men, one gives them of the best things that one has; but why don’t you do this for God, the Creator of everybody, to offer Him the best from everything which He Himself gave us?
It is evident, that in the same way the Lord will require from us our rational service- our prayers. This is not because He needs our praises, but in order to teach us to be thankful for our salvation and to love God with all our hearts. And let us not lie in whatever we promise to God, but offer it in fear, and without delay. As the offerings of Noah, in spite of the existence of vapour and smoke in them, were accepted by God as sweet aroma for his good mind and pure heart, so the offerings of an evil man, whose mind is evil, are abominable before God, even if they are of the best. Listen to what the prophet says to the Jews, ‘Your incense is an abomination to Me’ (Isa 1:13). Do you see that everything depends on the mind of the one who offers? For there, the mind of the one who brought the offering made the smoke fragrant, and here, the badness and impurity of the mind of the Jews made the fragrant incense abominable before God.
Any man who likes his life must perform his charity and asceticism not only without delay, but whatever he offers to God, must also be excellent and the best, lest our prayers and deeds of charity return to us in shame and lest our sacrifice be profane and with blemish, and be considered abominable like that of Cain.’
After these words, we asked him again, ‘Will a person be harmed, if he follows his [evil] thoughts?’ He answered,
‘If a man is not harmed by evil and dissolute thoughts, then he will not be profited also by holy and divine thoughts. For as a good thought is profitable, so an evil thought is harmful. For if we have external peace, but our internal peace is confused by filthy thoughts, there is no profit from the external peace and calmness, just as there is no profit for a town from its strong ramparts, if it is surrendered to the enemy by its inhabitants. If we keep our hearts from following evil thoughts, the Lord promised us very great gifts, which surpass our mind. I mean the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the ineffable good things which the chosen ones will take at the right hand of the Most-high, and the nature of blessed angelic orders, as well as deliverance from bitter sufferings and terrible fire. There will be no end, no change or decrease to these comforts, pleasures and many other good things, but everything is perfect, firm and made stronger in those infinite ages.’
He looked at us and saw us hesitating concerning his teaching. So he stood up before all of us, raised his eyes and hands towards heaven, and said being heard by all, “O Jesus Christ, the Word and the Son of the living God, You Who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and everything in them, the Saviour and deliverer of our souls, if my words that I said to these brothers are vain and untrue, let this stone standing before us remain without damage, but if they are just, trustworthy and true, let this stone be broken.”
And immediately, as the old man said, the stone was broken into five pieces, and one of them, a marble pillar of a man’s height, is still there. We became frightened and amazed at this miraculous sign, we thanked God, and were much profited.
When the old man was sending us off, he told us, ‘Come to me once more next week’. On Monday, at the third hour, we came to him and found that the holy old man, Abba Joseph had departed. We buried him with honour, and glorified God for making us worthy to see such a father and talk to him, and then to bury and serve him.
(Translated from Classical Armenian ‘The Lives of the Fathers’)