It remains for you to say: And what do I do about my children? Listen to the advice of your Lord on this matter as well. If your Lord says to you, I who created think better than you who begot: you might not have something to say. But you will look upon that rich man who went away sad, and was rebuked in the Gospel; and you might say to yourself: That rich man did wrong by not selling everything and giving to the poor, because he had no children; but I have children; I have those for whom I must provide. And in this weakness your Lord will stand by you.
I dare to speak through His mercy: I dare to say something, not from my presumption, but from His compassion. For yourself and for your children: but listen to me. If, as human things are, each of you has lost a child: pay attention, brothers, pay attention, because greed has no excuse, neither here nor in the future age. Behold, even human things: for we do not desire it, but we see examples. A Christian has been lost, you have lost a Christian child: therefore you have not lost him, but you have sent him ahead. For he has not departed, but has proceeded. Ask your faith: certainly you too will go there, where he has gone before. I speak briefly, to which I think no one will respond. Is your son alive? Ask your faith. If therefore he lives, why is his part seized by his brothers? But you will say: Will he not return, and possess it? Then send it to him where he has gone ahead: he cannot come to his things, but his things can go to him. See with whom he is. If your son were serving in the palace, and became a friend of the Emperor, and said to you, Sell my part there, and send it to me: would you find anything to respond? Now, your son is with the Emperor of all emperors, and with the King of all kings, and with the Lord of all lords: send to him. I do not say, He himself has necessities: his Lord, with whom your son is, is needed on earth. Here He wants to receive what He gives in heaven. What some greedy people are accustomed to doing, make a passage: give to strangers, what you will receive in your homeland.
What was owed to the living is due to the dead.
Finally, now, nothing about you; I speak about your son. You hesitate to give your own, and hesitate to return what belongs to another: certainly, you are convicted because you were not keeping it for your own sons. Behold, you do not give to your sons because you would take away from your sons. You would certainly take away from him. Why is he unworthy to receive, because he lives with a more worthy one? Deservedly if he with whom he lives would not wish to receive, now he is rich not to your house but to the divine house. Therefore, let it be absent that I say to you, Give what you have: but I say to you, Return what you owe. But his brothers, you say, will have it. O bad doctrine, teaching your sons to wish for the death of their brothers! If they will be richer from the matter of their dead brother, see how they watch themselves in your house. What then will you do? You divide the inheritance, and teach fratricide?
In the division of inheritance, Christ must be counted among the sons.
But I do not want to speak of the one lost, lest I seem to threaten human misfortunes. Let us speak in a better and more prosperous way. I do not say, you will have one less, but count it as you have one more. Make room for Christ with your children; let your Lord join your family, let your Creator join your offspring, let your brother join the number of your children. For indeed, with such importance, he deigned to be a brother. And although he is the Only Begotten Son of the Father, he wished to have co-heirs. Behold how generously he is! Why are you so barren? You have two children, count him as the third; you have three, let him be the fourth; you have five, let him be the sixth; you have ten, let him be the eleventh. I do not wish to say more: reserve a place for your Lord among your children. For what you give to your Lord will benefit both you and your children; but what you poorly reserve for your children will harm both you and them. You will give one portion, which you accounted for one child. Consider yourself to have begotten one more.
The excuse for greed has been removed.
What is great, my brothers? I give advice, do I bind the throat? As the Apostle says: I say these things for your benefit, not to cast a snare upon you. I think, brothers, it is a small and easy thought to think that the father of children has one more child, and to acquire such estates which you may possess forever, both you and your children. Greed does not have what it says. You have shouted at these words. Speak against it, do not let it conquer you, do not let it be stronger in your hearts than your Redeemer. Let it not be stronger in your heart than he who advises us to lift up our hearts. So now let us dismiss it.
The counsel of luxury is refuted.
What does luxury say? What? Do well by your soul. Behold, even the Lord says: Do well by your soul. What luxury was telling you, justice tells you this. But see also here how it is said. If you want to do well by your soul, consider that rich man who, by the counsel of luxury and greed, wanted to do well by his soul. A region succeeded for him, and he did not have where to store his fruits, and he said: What shall I do? I do not have where to collect them. I found what I shall do: I will tear down the old storehouses, and I will build new ones, and I will fill them, and I will say to my soul: You have many goods, rejoice. Listen to the counsel against luxury: Fool, this night your soul will be taken from you: the things which you have prepared, whose will they be? And where is that soul going, which will be taken from him? This night it will be taken, and he does not know where it will go.
Another rich man luxurious.
Behold another rich man, luxurious and proud. He feasted sumptuously every day and was clothed in purple and fine linen. And a poor man covered with sores lay at his gate, longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers— so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'
God's counsel on giving alms.
Regarding the giving of alms and obtaining rest for the soul in the future, so we should do good for our soul, which has been perversely spoken by luxury, spoken also by Moses, and the Prophets. Let us listen while we live. Because there, it is in vain to desire to hear, who scorned these things when they listened. Or are we waiting for someone to rise from the dead and tell us to do good for our soul? This has already been done: not your father, but your Lord has risen. Listen to Him, take good advice. Do not spare your treasures, spend as much as you can. The voice of luxury pleads: the voice of the Lord has been made. Spend as much as you can, do good for your soul, so that your soul is not taken away this night. You have in the name of Christ, as I believe, a sermon about giving alms. This voice of yours praising, is acceptable to the Lord, if He sees also the hands working.