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Evergetinos, Vol. 3, Hypothesis 21: Trusting God When Life's Necessities Run Out
What the video says
The video presents Hypothesis 21: the Christian, even when deprived of life's necessities, should not become fainthearted but give thanks to the Lord and hope that God will unfailingly provide for him, and it is shameful for an ascetic to associate with worldly people and ask for what he needs. It illustrates this with lives of saints and sayings of the fathers.
St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch's disciples, lacking bread for Pascha, receive provisions brought by a stranger, and on another occasion an animal laden with goods stops against its driver's will at the monastery. St. Savas receives supplies through a vision to Marcian, 170 gold solidi from an anonymous stranger, and a convoy of 30 pack animals before a Sunday liturgy.
Sayings from St. Ephraim, Abba Isaiah, Abba Isaac, Maximos and the Evergetinos teach trust in God's providence, including stories of a gardener and a monk healed after repenting of hoarding money.
Key moments
- Hypothesis 21 states that the Christian deprived of necessities should give thanks to the Lord, wait on him, and hope without hesitation that God will unfailingly provide, and that it is shameful for an ascetic to ask worldly people for what he needs even in extreme poverty.
- On the eve of Pascha, the 12 disciples of St. Theodosius had no bread or oil, not even bread for the divine liturgy. Theodosius told them to prepare only the holy table, for the one who fed Israel in the wilderness would provide for them.
- Just as a ram appeared to Abraham, a man arrived at sunset leading mules laden with foods suitable for ascetics, including bread for the holy table; the provisions lasted until Pentecost.
- The disciples pestered Theodosius to make themselves known to a wealthy almsgiver who never gave to them, while they ate carob pods and roasted date pits. He replied, 'Who among those who have placed their confidence in God has ever been completely abandoned?' citing Jeremiah, Job and David.
- A man leading a laden animal intended to pass the monastery, but the beast halted against his will and went straight to the monastery as if invisibly pulled. Seeing God's providence, he gave twice what the other benefactor was accustomed to giving, and the disciples ceased to pester the saint.
- While St. Savas built cells at the Castellion, God sent a vision to Marcian in Bethlehem, telling him that Savas and his brothers were destitute and commanding him to send provisions. Savas received the goods and regarded them as a token of God's approval of the settlement.
- Lacking money to buy cells, Savas gave the owners his half solidus as a deposit, trusting God. A stranger unaware of his situation gave the fathers 170 gold solidi and departed without giving his name; Savas paid for the cells and built a hospice.
- When the lavra lacked even the prosphoron for the Sunday liturgy, Savas refused to despair, citing Matthew 6:34. Before Sunday, men came with 30 pack animals loaded with wheat, wine, oil and other food, so much that there was almost no room for it in the lavra.
This narration presents Hypothesis 21 from the third book of the Evergetinos: the Christian, even when deprived of life's necessities, should not become fainthearted but should give thanks to the Lord, wait on Him, and hope without hesitation that God in His goodness will unfailingly provide. The hypothesis also holds that it is shameful for an ascetic, a servant of God, to associate with worldly people and ask for what he needs, even if he is burdened by poverty.
The text draws on the lives of St. Theodosios the Coenobiarch and St. Savvas, and on sayings from St. Ephraim, Abba Isaiah, Abba Isaac, St. Maximos, and the Gerontikon. In the life of St. Theodosios, his twelve disciples had no bread or oil on the eve of Pascha, not even bread for the divine liturgy. Theodosios told them to prepare only the holy table, for the one who fed Israel in the wilderness would provide.
At sunset a man arrived leading mules laden with foods suitable for ascetics, including bread for the holy table, and the provisions lasted until Pentecost. When the disciples pestered him to approach a wealthy almsgiver while they ate carob pods and roasted date pits, he answered, 'Who among those who have placed their confidence in God has ever been completely abandoned?' citing Jeremiah, Job and David.
On another occasion a laden animal halted against its driver's will and went to the monastery as if invisibly pulled; the driver gave twice what the other benefactor was accustomed to giving. In the life of St. Savvas, God sent a vision to Marcian in Bethlehem commanding him to send provisions to the destitute brothers at the Castellion.
Lacking money for cells, Savvas gave a half solidus as a deposit; a stranger gave the fathers 170 gold solidi and left without his name, and Savvas paid for the cells and built a hospice. When the lavra lacked even the prosphoron for Sunday liturgy, Savvas cited Matthew 6:34, and before Sunday men arrived with 30 pack animals loaded with wheat, wine, oil and other food.
Main points
- Hypothesis 21 teaches that the Christian deprived of necessities should give thanks and hope that God will unfailingly provide, and that an ascetic should not ask worldly people for what he needs.
- On the eve of Pascha, St. Theodosios' twelve disciples had no bread for the liturgy; he told them to prepare only the holy table, and a stranger arrived with mules laden with food that lasted until Pentecost.
- When disciples wanted to appeal to a wealthy almsgiver, Theodosios asked, 'Who among those who have placed their confidence in God has ever been completely abandoned?' citing Jeremiah, Job and David.
- A laden animal stopped against its driver's will at the monastery, and he gave twice the usual amount; the disciples ceased to pester the saint.
- St. Savvas received provisions through a vision to Marcian, 170 anonymous gold solidi for cells and a hospice, and 30 pack animals of food before a Sunday liturgy when the lavra lacked even a prosphoron.