Have a Blessed
Day
Pray for my weakness
Fr. Antonious Abba Moses
The Wealthiest Man in the Valley Dies
Today
Filled with self-pride and confidence, a wealthy man was
standing in the balcony of his
palace looking at his vast properties, for he owned the
whole valley. He was saying to himself,
"These are my plots of land . . . I am the wealthiest
man in the valley."
He started saying what the foolish wealthy man said in the
proverb that the Lord Jesus Christ
mentioned: "What shall I do for I have nowhere to
store my crops." And he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my
barns, and build larger ones and there I will store all my grains and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
take your ease, eat, drink and be merry’ (Luke 12: 17-19). He said this in a
very loud and arrogant voice. As he was looking, he saw one smiling old worker
sitting beneath a tree. He had some dry bread and a small piece of cheese and
was starting to eat after a long day of work in the garden of the wealthy man.
The wealthy man always felt comfortable when he spoke to the old worker from
the balcony. He shouted, "Did you hear me, Sam?"
“No, Sir, I did not notice you in the balcony, for my eyes
have become weak and I have
difficulty hearing because of my old age.” "I see
that you are happy tonight, Sam."
"I always thank God for His continual gifts to me,
Sir.” "What do you thank Him for, only some dry bread and a piece of
cheese!" "Yes, Sir. God my Father granted me food to fill my stomach
and helps me in my work; He also gave me clothes to wear, a bed to sleep on,
and a ceiling above my head. All these things are much more than what Jesus my
Savior had when He was on earth.” "But I am surprised that you are happy
with simple food like that!" said the wealthy man. "My God gives me
sweetness in my mouth that I enjoy when using His gifts towards me. This
sweetness is a divine gift.” Suddenly, Sam changed the conversation and told
the wealthy man of a dream he saw the previous night.
"I want to tell you, Sir, of a dream I had yesterday.
I dreamt that I went to heaven and found its gates open. I saw the great city,
the heavenly Jerusalem
unable to describe the beauty I saw. I decided to stay
there. "To my surprise, I heard a voice from inside saying, 'The
wealthiest man in the valley died today.” Then I heard heavenly trumpet sounds
accompanied by singing and praising. I woke up from my sleep although I did not
want to.” "Sir, I heard those words very clearly. I was thinking of how I
could meet you to tell about what I saw and heard." The wealthy man became
pale. He tried to hide his emotions and fear. He went to his room and sat on a
nearby chair and repeated, "The wealthiest man in the valley will die
tonight! Is this just the dream of an old worker? Is this a prophesy or divine
dream?! Is this how a worker feels towards the wealthiest man in the valley? He
is a righteous and respectful old man." After a few hours, Sam came down
with a fever. He tried to hide it because he did not want to trouble anyone.
While he was sick, he was praying the psalms and speaking to his God. He was
full of joy.
When Sam's condition began to deteriorate, his friends
called the doctor. While the doctor was taking care of him, Sam told him about
the dream he saw. The doctor laughed and said to him, "Do not worry, for
the wealthiest man in the valley is in very good health and will not die
tonight." Late in the evening, the wealthy man heard someone knocking at
his door. When he opened, he found a worker who told him, "I am sorry,
Sir, but Sam died and we know how much you love him. We came to ask you what to
do." The wealthy man was astonished and said to himself, "The
wealthiest man in the valley died tonight?” Yes, he was very poor in my eyes,
but in the eyes of God he was the wealthiest man in the world. He was wealthy
in faith. He owned the wealth of the heavens and he enjoyed a supreme life.”
"I thought that I was the wealthiest man in the
valley. But I discovered who was wealthy in
actuality. Now go, my soul, to your God and own Him in
order to own yourself.”
Today’s Synaxarium: 2 Misra1728
v Departure
of St.Titus, the Apostle
Today we will read chapter 16 from
the book of Job at 10:00
PM, May God bless.
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