The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: the Second Epistle to the Corinthians
Sophronius has a still more beautiful example (c. 195) in the philosopher Evagrius, who, having heard in church that almsgiving was rewarded a hundredfold in heaven, gave £60 to the Bishop, Synesius, to be distributed among the poor, and received from him a written promise that for each he should receive a hundred in heaven. When he was dying, he ordered his sons to place this writing in his hand when he was buried. This having been done, Evagrius, on the third day after death, appeared to the Bishop in a dream, and said ; “ Go to my tomb and take back your handwriting, for I have received a hundredfold what I gave, according to Christ’s promise and yours.” In the morning the Bishop went with his clergy to the tomb, and took from the hand of Evagrius a letter, of which this was the tenor : “ Evagrius the philosopher to his Bishop. I am unwilling for you, my father, to be ignorant that I have received according to your promise the money that I gave you in my lifetime , and received for it a hundredfold ; therefore you are not bound to me by any debt”
Similar examples are found in the life of S. Liduina and other Saints. Hence Chrysostom says that “alms have the name of seed, because they are not so much expended as returned.” S. Deusdedit well understood this, for, as the Roman Martyrology records (Aug. 10th), although he was a poor man yet he gave to the poor every Saturday all that he had earned during the week, looking only to obtain the heavenly reward.
“ If you have any care for your children, leave them a written deed in which you have God as your debtor,” says S. Chrysostom, referring to money left for the poor by will. A famous example of this occurs in Sophronius (c. 201), in the case of a nobleman of Constantinople , who, when dying, left all his goods to the poor and his son to the care of Christ. Nor was he disappointed of his hope ; for Christ gave his son a wife, who was at once noble, rich, and pious. S. Chrysostom wrote at the head of his Thirty-third Homily to the people, “ that almsgiving is the most profitable of all occupa-
And increase the fruits of your righteousness. God will increase the outgoings of your righteousness and charity, i.e., He will give an increase of grace here and of glory hereafter (Theophylact). “ By fruits ,” says Anselm, “he means God’s eternal reward.” The Apostle seems here to speak of three fruits of almsgiving: (1.) when he says, “Shall minister seed to the sower;” (2.) when he says, “And multiply your seed sown;” (3.) when he says, “And increase the fruits of your righteousness.” In this sense S. Anselm, as related by Eadmerus in his Life, when he entered Canterbury on a visit to Archbishop Lanfranc and was honourably and lovingly received by the citizens, said, when he was explaining to them the glory and merit of charity, that “ those who do works of charity have something greater than those who are the recipients of charity. For the one receives a temporal benefit only , but the other spiritual ; and they look besides for eternal thanks from God.” Christ said the same thing in His paradox on the rich of this world : “ It is more blessed to give than to receive ” (Acts xx. 35).
Anselm again understands this passage to refer simply to the fruits of temporal goods. God will make your fruits and riches to increase, that you may have ever more and more to give in alms, and He will increase the fruits of your righteousness. In other words, He will give much more abundant increase to those fruits of yours which your righteousness gains for you ; for it is only just that, since God gives to man all that he has, man should from it give to him who is in need. If we do this, our fruits will be increased by God. Hence almsgiving is rightly called seed , because he who sows once will reap twice, once in earth and once in heaven. This is Anselm’s comment, and he seems to be right; for the Apostle is explaining the words, “shall multiply your seed,” and is impressing on the Corinthians that alms do not impoverish but enrich the giver, that so he may remove from their minds and from the minds of all Christians all fear of poverty, which so frequently deters men from almsgiving, and which is given as an objection so often to the admonitions of those who urge the duty.
Nevertheless, it is simpler to understand fruits of your righteousness of the wealth which God gives to the beneficent as a harvest for what they have sown. The increase of these fruits is nothing else but the harvest that follows on the seed. Since, therefore, it is evident that when the Apostle said, “shall multiply your seed sown,” he meant by seed the money spent on the poor, it is also evident that here he means the same thing. As is the seed, so is the harvest. The one is correlative with the other, as are merit and reward. This, then, seems to be the drift of the Apostle’s words.
Lastly, we should observe that he alludes to the fields and estates of the rich. Beneficence, he says, is like a field, or a very fertile farm, which brings forth to the almsgiver plentiful and never-failing fruits from the seed of his alms. (1.) It gives bread or food. (2.) It multiplies his seed, or money to be dispersed again among the poor. (3.) It also increases his fruits, and enriches his family. These three things a temporal lord gives to his husbandman if he is faithful and diligent ; much more will God do the same.
Ver. 11. — To all bountifulness . Or simplicity, or liberality. This simplicity or liberality of yours brings it to pass that I and all my companions, nay, all Christians amongst whom I speak of it, give thanks to God for having instilled into you such feelings of piety and mercy.
Ver. 12. — For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints. Ἡ διακονία τῆς λειτουργίας, literally, “ the ministry of this liturgy.” In this collection of alms there is, as it were, a liturgy, a mystic sacrifice of the Mass, in which the Corinthians, as offering the victim of alms, are the priests ; the poor make the altar ; the sacrifice is the alms. Paul may be the deacon, the minister exhorting, collecting, and distributing the alms, through whom the poor who receive and the rich who give, seeing and rejoicing at the grace of Christ, are stirred up to give thanks unto the Lord. S. Cyprian says ( Tract . de Opere et Eleemos.): “Since thanksgiving is directed to God in the prayers of the poor for our alms and good deeds , the total is increased by the reward given by God, who works in us.” S. Chrysostom (Hom. 20) says : “ When you see a poor man , think that you see the body of Christ, the altar of Christ, and do reverence, and offer the sacrifice of alms, that from it there may ascend, like incense, to God glory and thanksgiving.” Thus almsgiving is an Eucharist or thanksgiving, and an Eucharistic sacrifice, not properly, but metaphorically speaking. So, too, in Rom. xv. 16, the preaching of the Gospel and the conversion of the Gentiles are called a sacrifice. Nazianzen says beautifully ( Orat . de Cura Paup.) : “ Out of all things none so honours God as mercy ; for nothing is so peculiar to God as this is, before whose Face go mercy and truth. . . . Nothing is so Divine in a man as to do good. Learn, then, to open your heart to the needy . If you have nothing else to give, give your tears readily. Pity is a great solace to the afflicted.”
Ver. 13. — By the experiment of this ministration . This almsgiving of yours will induce men to glorify God in Christ, and to give thanks to Him for the law of grace which has stirred you up to this liberality. They will glorify Him first for your obedience to the Gospel, and then that you so obey its precepts as to show such charity and mercy.
Ver. 14 . — And by their prayer for you . The poor Saints of Jerusalem who receive your alms, while praying for you, will also glorify God. This clause is to be connected with “they glorify God.”
Ver. 15 . — Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. For the gift of your charity and almsgiving, from which flow so many good things and so many praises of God, that it may be well called unspeakable.