My Beloved the Benevolent                        October 2024

Grace and peace, wishing you all goodness and blessings

Doing good deeds is a way in which we imitate our good Lord who went around doing good deeds. Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount called us to do good deeds by giving alms, and taught us how to do it by saying, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” Matt. 6:1-4

+ Doing good has a reward: JesusChrist distinguished between the reward that the benefactor receives from people and the reward he receives from God. Whoever does good so that people can see it will receive reward from people. He who does good in secret, when only God sees it, will receive his reward from God.

What is the intention of the good deed? Is the goal for people to see it? “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.” Matthew 6: 1 Jesus Christ’s warning to us is not that charity is not seen by others, but rather that we do charity in front of others so that they will see us. Therefore, He presented the parable of the hypocrites who sound the trumpet before them in the synagogues and alleys so that people may see them.

Many good deeds must be conducted in front of people; for example, visiting a sick person, visiting prisoners, helping with a project, or distributing gifts to the needy on occasions, etc.; these are all good deeds that people see because they cannot be done secretly. But what is the goal of the benevolent, is it to serve these needy people or pretend in front of people to do good? There is a difference between a person who visits a patient quietly and another who visits a patient accompanied by satellite cameras to record the event and publish it so that the person receives the people’s praise.

The most dangerous thing facing the act of doing good today is publicity for doing good. We may find a campaign to donate to a charity that turns into an auction for those who pay the most and whose names are announced as well as how much each of them paid. Indeed, this way may bring more money, but these donors received their reward from the people. Or a charitable organization that spreads its charitable work and exploits the images of poor children to bring in more money. There are many other examples that represent the methods of what the hypocrites used to do, from blowing the trumpet by using media, cameras, etc. The means differed, but the essence is the same, which is to do good deeds so that people will see them. The truth is that they have received their reward from people, so they have no reward with God. People reward these donors and organizations in the form of praise and more donations. As for the heavenly reward, Jesus Christ says, “Then the king will say to those in His right hand,  ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” Matt. 25:34-36

+ He who gives receives: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 We notice that Jesus Christ affirms that he who gives will receive whether he receives from people or from God, and that what the giver receives is more than what he gives. Therefore, he said, “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” Truly, with the measure with which you measure, it will be measured back to you, pressed down, and running over. For he who gives will receive a hundredfold. He who gives actually receives but may not receive immediately.

+ Doing good deeds requires patience and perseverance: asSt. Paul says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9 If we do good in order to receive the reward from God, God will reward us with the greatest reward on the Day of Judgment by being among those at His right hand to inherit the kingdom prepared for us since the foundation of the world. Doing good requires patience and perseverance; because doing good is faced with difficulties and obstacles, so St. Paul said, “For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” Galatians 6:9.

+ Doing good needs faith and trust: God looks at our works that we do in secret and rewards us in eternity, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Heb 11: 6

+ Doing good must be done with joy and without sadness or compulsion: If a person does good deeds for God sake, he must do it of his own free will and not be compelled or to please any of the people, as Saint Paul says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor. 9:7 Some may resort to some means to pressure or embarrass some personalities in order to donate to charitable work; this method may produce results, but it is a human result because it contradicts God’s way of encouraging people to do good. God wants people to do good with joy and inner conviction. There is a difference between encouraging people to do good and pressuring and embarrassing people to do good.

+ Charity work has multiple fields, and a wise person is the one who seeks to do good in secret, while remembering, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4: 17

+ May God give us the holy zeal to do good so that we may have the heavenly reward.

May the Lord bless your gifts to support Santa Verena’s charitable programs.

Metropolitan Serapion