There is a special section in the book, Quotations from Chairman Jesus, by
David Kirk, called the Fathers of the Revolution. It provides ample
quotations from the Church Fathers on wealth and poverty and war and
non-violence. "Property is theft," says St. Basil, and "I attack the rich
because they constantly attack the poor," says St. John Chrysostom. I have
begun posting this section on my blog. I also have here in one document the
entire section, as well as a few more quotes in addition to those Fr. David
had in his book.
I am using Fr. David's section headings, but have split one section, Against
the Oppressors of the Poor, into two sections, the added section being
called Rebuke the Oppressor. I have added another quote from St. Cyrpian and
just a couple of more quotes from St. Ambrose to the mix.
Quotations from Chairman Jesus, by Father David Kirk
Don't start the revolution without me! More radical than Marx, this is where
Ghandi took much of inspiration- the teaching of Christ! Christ IS the Reign
of God- He represents a Reign of non-violence, community, discipleship,
sharing, and justice.
During the sixties, some radicals carried around Quotations from Chairman
Mao. But Fr. David Kirk compiled this little book of sayings and quotes from
Jesus, the Gospels and the New Testament, in order to show that Christ is
more radical in his call for justice than the Marxists. Daniel Berrigan
provided the forward.
Fr. David was a member of the Emmaus Community, an ecumenical Christian
community dedicated to radical discipleship in solidarity with the poor and
oppressed, and dedicated to living out the full implications of Christ's
teaching for peace and justice. Fr. David at the time this book was
published was a priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and later
became joined the Orthodox Church in America.
As far as I know, this book is out of print, but seems to be around online
and occasionally in used book stores. I picked my copy up for a buck in a
small book store in dinky town, Minneapolis.
Check this little radical book out! Christ will never leave you the same!
Part 1: Christian Communism
We who share one mind and soul obviously have no misgivings about community
in property. - Tertullian
All things belong to God, who is our Father and the father of all things. We
are all of the same family; all of us are brothers. And among brothers it is
best and most equal that all inherit equal portions. - St. Gregory of Nyssa
Share everything with your brother. Do not say "it is private property." If
you share what is everlasting, you should be willing to share that much more
the things that do not last. - The Didache
Give a loaf of bread yourself; someone else can give a cup of wine, and
another clothes. In this way one man's property is relieved by your joint
effort. - St. Gregory of Nyssa
The rich take what belongs to everyone, and claim that they have the right
to own it, to monopolize it. - St. Basil the Great
Part 2: Against the Oppressors of the Poor
I am criticized often for my continual attacks on the rich. Yes: because the
rich continually attack the poor.
St. John Chrysostom
You a have thousand excuse for robbing your brother. ³His house stands in my
light,² you say; or ³Only tramps go there.² You force them to moveŠ
St. John Chrysostom
It isn¹t because the affluent are unable to provide food easily that men go
hungry; it is because the affluent are cruel and inhumanŠEvery day the
Church here feeds 3,000 people. Besides this, the Church daily helps provide
food and clothes for prisoners, the hospitalized, pilgrims, cripples,
churchmen, and others. If only ten people were willing to do this, there
wouldn¹t be a single poor man left in town.
St. John Chrysostom
Those who oppress the poor must know that there sentence is heavier because
of those they try to hurt. The more they press their power over these
wretched lives, the more terrible their future condemnation and punishment
will be.
St. Isidore
Some think that the Old Testament is stricter than the New, but they judge
wrongly; they are fooling themselves. The Old Law did not punish the desire
to hold on to wealth; it punished theft. But now the rich man is not
condemned for taking the property of others; rather, he is condemned for not
giving his property away.
St. Gregory the Great
You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are
giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are
meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone,
not to the rich.
- St. Ambrose
God has ordered all things to be produced so that there should be food in
common for all, and that the earth should be the common possession of all.
Nature, therefore, has produced a common right for all, but greed has made
it a right for few.
- St. Ambrose
What keeps you from giving now? Isn¹t the poor man there? Aren¹t your own
warehouses full? Isn¹t the reward promised? The command is clear: the hungry
man is dying now, the naked man is freezing now, the man in debt is beaten
now- and you want him to wait until tomorrow? ³I am not doing any harm,² you
say. ³I just want to keep what I own, that¹s all.² Your own! ... You are
like someone who sits down in a theater and keeps every one else away,
saying what is there for everyone¹s use is his own. Š If everyone took only
what he needed and gave the rest to those in need, there would be no such
thing a rich and poor. After all, didn¹t you come into this life naked? And
won¹t you return to the earth naked?
St. Basil the Great
Who is the greedy man? One for whom plenty does not suffice. Who defrauds
others? One who keeps for himself what belongs to everyone. Aren¹t you
greedy, don¹t you defraud, when you keep for yourself what was given to give
away? When someone steals a man¹s clothes, we call him a thief. Shouldn¹t we
give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?
St. Basil the Great
The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry person; the coat hanging
unused in your closet belongs to the person who needs it; the shoes rotting
in your closet belong to the person with no shoes; the money which you put
in the bank belongs to the poor. You do wrong to everyone you could help,
but fail to help.
St. Basil the Great
Property is theft
- St. Basil the Great
Part 3: Rebuke the Oppressor (Isaiah 1:17, NKJV)
You may say "words are alright; but gold is better." Talking to you is like
talking to a lustful man about chastity: when one says something against him
keeping a mistress, the mention of her name only goes to heat up his lust.
How can I make you realize the misery of the poor? How can I make you
understand that your wealth comes from their weeping?
- St. Basil the Great
The bread which the rich eat belongs to others more than them. They live on
stolen goods. What they pay comes from what they have seized....You have
gold dug up from mines, only to re-bury it. And how many lives are buried
with it! And this wealth is kept for whom? For your heir, who waits idly to
receive it....it is not the poor who are cursed, but the rich. Scripture
says of the rich, not of the poor, that the man who increases the price of
corn will be cursed....who is the wise man? The one who shows compassion on
the poor, who sees the poor as natural members of his family.
- St. Ambrose
It is the poor who mine gold, though they are denied gold; they are forced
to work for what they cannot keep.
- St. Ambrose
You have the power to save so many from death, but you do not care to do so-
and the price of the ring on your hand could save the lives of a multitude!
- St. Ambrose
Wealth, which lead the men the wrong way so often, is seen less for its own
qualities than for the human misery it stands for. The large rooms of which
you are so proud are in fact your shame. They are big enough to hold crowds-
and also big enough to shut out the voice of the poor. True, even if the
voice were heard it would be ignored....the poor man cries before your
house, and you pay no attention. There is your brother naked and crying! And
you stand confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.
- St. Ambrose
Part 4: The Church is the Church of the Poor
The Lord ate from a common bowl, and asked his disciples to sit on the
grass. He washed their feet with a towel wrapped around his waist- He, who
is the Lord of the universe! He drank water from a jar of earthenware, with
the Samaritan woman. Christ made use his aim, not extravagance.
- St. Clement
When the Son of Man comes in majesty, when he sits on the throne of glory,
when all people are gathered and he divides the good from the bad, what
praise will he give those on his right hand? He will praise them only for
works of kindness and charity; he will hold them as done for himself. For
the One who made our nature his own did not hold himself back in any way
from the most simple human thing. And what curse will there be for those on
his left hand? Only that they neglected love; that they were inhumanly harsh
and denied mercy to the oppressed. It is though there were no other virtues
with the first group, and as though there were no other sins than those of
the other.
- Pope St. Leo the Great
Let us abandon luxury, we will not regret it.
- Tertullian
The price of the Kingdom is the food you give to those who need it.
- Pope St. Leo the Great
Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead.
- St. John Chrysostom
We are not to throw away things that can benefit our neighbor. Goods are
called good because they can be used for good. They are instruments of good
in the hands of those who use them properly.
- St. Clement
Houses of hospitality must be built for the poor in every city of every
diocese.
- The Council of Nicea
Every family should have a room where Christ is welcome in the person of the
hungry and thirsty stranger.
- St. John Chrysostom
The remedies for propitiating God are given in the words of God Himself; the
divine instructions have taught what sinners ought to do, that by works of
righteousness God is satisfied, that with the deserts of mercy sins are
cleansed. And in Solomon we read, "Shut up alms in the heart of the poor,
and these shall intercede for you from all evil." Sirach 22:12. And again:
"Whoever stops his ears that he may not hear the weak, he also shall call
upon God, and there will be none to hear him." Proverbs 21:13. For he shall
not be able to deserve the mercy of the Lord, who himself shall not have
been merciful; nor shall he obtain anything from the divine pity in his
prayers, who shall not have been humane towards the poor man's prayer. And
this also the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, and proves, saying,
Blessed is he that considers of the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver
him in the evil day. Remembering which precepts, Daniel, when king
Nebuchodonosor was in anxiety, being frightened by an adverse dream, gave
him, for the turning away of evils, a remedy to obtain the divine help,
saying, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you; and redeem
your sins by almsgivings, and your unrighteousness by mercies to the poor,
and God will be patient to your sins." Daniel 4:27 And as the king did not
obey him, he underwent the misfortunes and mischiefs which he had seen, and
which he might have escaped and avoided had he redeemed his sins by
almsgiving. Raphael the angel also witnesses the like, and exhorts that alms
should be freely and liberally bestowed, saying, "Prayer is good, with
fasting and alms; because alms does deliver from death, and it purges away
sins." Tobit 12:8-9. He shows that our prayers and fastings are of less
avail, unless they are aided by almsgiving; that entreaties alone are of
little force to obtain what they seek, unless they be made sufficient by the
addition of deeds and good works. The angel reveals, and manifests, and
certifies that our petitions become efficacious by almsgiving, that life is
redeemed from dangers by almsgiving, that souls are delivered from death by
almsgiving.
- St. Cyprian on Almsgiving
Part 5: Non-Violence and the State
If a murder is committed privately, it is considered a crime. But if it
happens with the authority of the state, they call it courage!
- St. Cyprian
If anyone studying to be a Christian, or any one of the faithful, wants to
become a soldier, let him be turned awayŠ.Christian soldiers are not to
kill, even if commanded toŠ.Christians are not to become soldiers
voluntarilyŠ.He who carries a sword must be sure that he does not shed
blood. If he does shed blood, he must not participate in the sacraments.
- From the canonical decrees compiled by St. Hyppolitus
We Christians do not bear arms against any country; we do not make war
anymore. We have become children of peace, and Jesus is our leader.
- Origen
In times past, heathens and barbarians made warŠ.but when they received
Christ¹s teaching (this is truly admirable) they were wise enough to end the
violent slaughter. Now they do not care for war. They have at heart only
constant peace and friendliness.
- St. Athanasius
He asks soldiers of the peaceful King of kings to renounce all armsŠ.He
insists: ³Those who seek peace must not use the sword or any weapons.²
- Clement of Alexandria
Why is there strife, anger, lack of unity, and war among you? Don¹t we have
one God, one Christ? Isn¹t one Holy Spirit given to all of us? We are called
to the unity of Christ. Why do members of Christ tear one another this way-
are we mad, rebelling against our own body? Have we forgotten that we are
all members of each one another?
- Pope St. Clement I
Even if others make war against us, it is right for us to remain in peace.
- St. John Chrysostom
It is certainly a greater and more wonderful work to change the minds of
enemies, bringing about a change in soul, than to kill them.
- St. John Chrysostom
Part 6: God and the Church
One can only have a simple knowledge of God, beyond all words, ideas,
colors, pictures, or names. This ignorance is greater than all knowledge.
- St. Isaac the Syrian
All the power of the evil one was torn away in the presence of the Spirit.
- St. Basil the Great
He is the Spirit of God...Christ's mind, the Spirit of truth and freedom. He
is the creative Spirit, Who makes all things new. He knows all and teaches;
He goes where He wishes...He reveals, illuminates, gives life its impulse,
and deifies man...He makes prophets, apostles and teachers.
- St. Basil the Great
The Holy Spirit is present completely in every human person. He is
everywhere whole, and shared without being divided. According to what He can
give us as human beings, we participate in the Spirit.
- St. Basil the Great
On the Lord's day, gather in community to break bread and offer thanks. But
confess your sins first, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one. No one
who has a quarrel with a brother may join your gathering; not until they are
reconciled. Your sacrifice must not be made unholy.
- The Didache
Christians love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save
orphans from those who would hurt them. If man has something, he gives
freely to the man who has nothing. If they see a stranger, they take him
home and are happy, as though he were a real brother. They don't consider
themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers instead through the
Spirit, in God. And if they hear that one of them is in jail, or persecuted
for professing the name of their redeemer, they give him all that he needs.
If it is possible, they bail him out. If one of them is poor, and there is
not enough food to go around, they fast several days to give him the food he
needs...This is really a new kind of person. There is something divine in
them.
- Aristides, a non-Christian, defending the Christians before the Roman
Emperor Hadrian
Wherever there are three persons, even though they are laymen, there is the
Church. Every man lives by his own faith; and God does not distinguish
between classes. If, in cases of necessity, you have the right to act as a
priest, then you must also accept priestly discipline...It is God's will
that all of us should be in the right state, at any time or place, to
administer His sacraments.
- Tertullian
God is not part of existence; men take part in God.
- Origen
Fellowship with God is light and life...to be separated from God is death.
- St. Irenaeus
Man must first come into being, and then progress; by progressing, he comes
to manhood; growing, he goes forward- he goes forward to his glory, and the
sight of God. God's will is that he should be seen; and to see God is to
have everlasting life, and it is everlasting life which brings man close to
God.
- St. Irenaeus
I have heard some say, "I will not believe it unless I can find the good
news in Scripture." And when I answered, "it IS in Scripture," they answer,
"You'll have to prove that." But for me Jesus IS Scripture. The scriptures
which cannot be overcome are his cross, death, and resurrection, and faith
through him.
- St. Irenaeus
"See," they say, "how Christians love on another." They themselves hate one
another. "See how willing they are to die for one another," they say;
because they will kill one another without qualms. They criticize us because
we call each other "Brother." The reason they do so is, I am sure, that the
name of any human relationship is simple affectation with them...
- Tertullian
I will show you several things; but I do not wish to do this as a teacher-
rather, as one of you, loving each one of you separately and all of you
together, more than my own life. I really want to write, not as a teacher,
but as your slave, who loves you.
- The Epistle of Barnabas
For your sake I am a bishop. Together with you, I am a Christian; and I am a
sinner, with you, and together with you I am a disciple and hear the good
news.
- St. Augustine
I do not decide things using my own judgment; not without the approval of
the people.
- St. Cyprian
We should not be set apart from others by our dress, but by our conversation
and the style of our life.
- Pope Celestine I
Even in the celebration of the liturgy the Bishop merely wore clean clothes.
A special dress for clergy was not introduced until the 5th century.
If a prophet stays too long he is a false prophet. When the apostle leaves,
let him only have enough bread to take him to his next stop. If he asks for
money, he is a false prophet...not everyone whose speech is ecstatic and
spiritual is a prophet; he is a true prophet only if his ways are the Lord's
ways. The false and the true prophets are known by the ways they live...If a
prophet tells you the truth but does not live up to his own teaching, he is
a false prophet.
- The Didache
Choose for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, humble men who
do not want wealth, men who are sincere and approved. They serve you as
prophets and teachers: do not look down on them.
- The Didache
Make sure your Eucharist is one. There is one flesh of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and one cup to make us one in His blood.
- St. Ignatius of Antioch
This is the first recorded use of the word "Eucharist"- that is,
"thanksgiving"- for the sacrament of unity. It refers to the Agape (a word
that signifies the love that descends from God), the common meal shared by
Christians in Apostolic times, in which the Eucharist was embedded.
Part 7: Christianity Transcends the Christian Church
When the world as we know it has passed away, and man, renewed, is ready for
immortality...then will be "the new heaven and the new earth." They will be
new, and man will live in them, always new, in fellowship with God.
- St Irenaeus
We are taught that Christ is God's firstborn; we have said that He is the
Word- that is, the Reason- in Whom the whole human race shares. Those who
have lived in Reason are Christians, even though they were called atheists.
This is true among the Greeks, for instance, of Socrates and Heracletus; and
among the non-Greeks, of Abraham.
- St. Justin Martyr
Where the Church is, the Spirit of God is. And where the Spirit of God is,
the Church is, with every grace. The Spirit of God is truth.
- St. Irenaeus
Part 8: Those Who Follow the Way of Christ are the Soul of the World.
Christians are, in the world, what the soul is to the body. The soul exists
in every part of the body, and there are Christians in every part of the
world...The soul loves the body, even though the body hates it; Christians
love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves
that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and
yet they are the preservers of the world.
- The Epistle to Diognetus
Fathers of the Revolution Part 9: The Willingness to Die for the Cause
I die for Christ because I choose to, unless you keep me back. Please, do
not show me the wrong sort of compassion. Let them give me to the wild
beasts- through them I can draw closer to God! I am God's wheat: I am ground
by the teeth of the wild beasts, to be manifest as pure bread!
- St. Ignatius of Antioch
Fathers of the Revolution Part 10: The Face of Jesus in Face of the
Suffering, the Oppressed, the Poor
Finally- and this is the beginning and the end- the face of the Lord, the
face of Jesus, is seen is the face of the suffering, the oppressed, the
poor. It is the face of all humanity. It is the face of any human person.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me
nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and
you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.²
44Then they also will answer, ³Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care
of you?² 45Then he will answer them, ³Truly I tell you, just as you did not
do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.²
- Matthew 25:42-45
EMMAUS
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called EmmausŠWhile
they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with
them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing himŠWhen he was at the table
with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then
their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their
sight. They said to each other, ŒWere not our hearts burning within us while
he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to
us?¹ ŠThey [spoke about] what had happened on the road, and how he had been
made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
- Luke 24
THE BREAD IS RISING!
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