The Eyes and Heart of Agathon

On stewardship

One day, when Father Agathon was on his way to town to sell small utensils, he saw a leper sitting on the roadside who asked, "Where are you going?" Father Agathon replied, "To town to sell these things." Then he said, "Do me a favor, and take me there." So he carried him to the town. Then he said, "Put me down wherever you sell those things." So he did. And when he sold one item, the leper asked, "How much did you sell it for?" So he told him how much it was. Then he said, "Buy me some sandals for my feet." So he bought them. He sold another item. Then the leper asked, "And how much was it?" So he told him the price. Then he said, "Buy me a covering for my head." So he bought it. After selling everything, he wanted to go. Then the leper asked, "Are you going back?" He replied, "Sure." Then he said, "Do me a favor again and take me to the place where you found me." So he carried him back to the place where he was. Then he said, "You are blessed, Agathon, by the Lord in heaven and on earth!" As the Father lifted up his eyes, he saw nobody, for it was an angel of the Lord who had come to test him.

Fr. Agathon was a man without barriers between himself and others. The leper was an outcast and that did not stop Agathon from listening to his request. As Agathon sold his small utensils, the leper asked that the profits be used for him. Agathon did not think of himself and what might befall him for not taking any wages that day, he did whatever the leper asked. Fr. Agathon acted as if his daily business did not matter; the plight of the leper was his only concern.

The condition of the leper is very much like that of the recent victims of Hurricane Katrina, abandoned, stripped of identity and without possessions. The name "Agathon" means love. Agathon's actions speak of a love that was free to act without presumptions and judgment. The leper was in need and Agathon spent his day meeting those needs. Agathon was "blessed" by the angel because when he was put to the test, love was found in his heart.

Love is the key to understanding one's personal stewardship in the Church. In order to be free from possessions one's life must first become the possession of God. This divine "attachment" frees the soul from all earth-bound, self-centered attachments. "First we learn from this parable (Luke 16) that we are not masters of our own money, for we have nothing that is our own, but we are stewards of what belongs to another, the Master, Who entrusted these things to us that we might use them well and as that One directs (Blessed Theophylact)." The gate that surrounds one's wealth is opened the moment a person acknowledges that the heart and soul cannot exist without God.

Trustworthiness and faithfulness are measuring points of authentic Christian life; without them, nothing of God's kingdom will be inherited. The dishonest steward (Luke 16) understood wealth in terms of what it might bring a person in this life, consequently he lost the only true wealth found in serving Christ.

On one level, love for God is expressed through offerings made to support the ministries of the Church. The act of making an annual Stewardship pledge is an act of faithfulness to Christ. The Church exists in the world as an extension of God's love. In the early Church, the deacons who brought aid to families in need expressed the Church as a mission of love. The charity was made possible because all shared their possessions for the greater benefit of those who were suffering and in need. The word "Philoptochos" means, "love for the poor." One mission of the Church is to take this love and turn it into action by helping those in need.

In making offerings to the Church, the Good Samaritan Fund, the Missions Fund, St. Innocent Orphanage, the SAMP Fund (supports two priests in Africa), and the Seminarian Fund combine to aid the "poor" for a total of $11,700.00

"Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength, which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever (I Peter 4:8-11)".

Is one successful in making money? This success is given by God in order to do good works for others. Is one blessed with compassion and concern for others? God fills the heart with this love so that it perceives the needs of others and can do something about it. Is one gifted with being personable? God creates open hearts so that the stranger who visits the Church will feel welcomed. Whatever God has given us, it is given for the benefit of someone else. As we give back what belongs to God, the soul is free to put love into action.

"And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions'" (Luke 12:42-44).

Christians retire in God's kingdom. Just as money is invested to be made available for retirement, Christians invest in the practice of virtues for their rewards in heaven. When the faithful and wise steward is asked a favor, it is not perceived as an inconvenience but as a privilege and an honor. When asked if they have time to help, "personal time" is employed working for God. When a steward is invited to give, a loss is not perceived but only a gain in doing what is pleasing to God!

Fr. Agathon was a faithful and wise steward who passed the test when God sent an angel to expose the treasure hidden in his heart. May we be granted the same eyes and the same heart as Fr. Agathon.

In Christ,

Fr. Andrew