![]() ![]() Do no say, this one is lucky because he is rich, he strips orphans of their property, and he oppresses widows. We are not to judge someone as fortunate based only on their external condition: “In the same way, imagine two sinners, one being punished, the other not being punished. Chrysostom reiterates a theme from the previous sermons. ![]() ![]() Never fear punishment, but fear sin, the mother of punishment” (101). Chrysostom searches out the source and cause of the disaster: “So I was not afraid because of the earthquake, but because of the cause of the earthquake for the cause of the earthquake was the anger of God, and the cause of His anger was our sins.The sermon comes after an earthquake has hit the community: “Have you seen the mortality of the human race? When the earthquake came, I reflected with myself and said, where is theft? Where is greed? Where is tyranny? Where is arrogance? Where is domination? Where is oppression? Where is the plundering of the poor? Where is the arrogance of the rich? Where is the domination of the powerful? Where is intimidation? Where is fear?” (97).These latter two sermons were given on different occasions. The first four sermons dealt directly with Chrysostom’s exegesis of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. This post deals with the third and final pair. There are six sermons in this text, based on the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Readings in Social Ethics: John Chrysostom, On Wealth and Poverty, part 3 of 3. ![]()
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