St. Sampson the Hospitable

(Matthew 6:22-33) (3rd Sunday after Pentecost)

Most of us know, when our Lord says, “You cannot serve God and mammon,” that “mammon” means “money” – or “riches” or “wealth”; especially as a negative influence upon our spiritual life and development. The fathers warn us that wealth tends to drive us away from God. This concept really isn’t that hard to understand: for wealth makes it possible for us to enjoy the material pleasures of this world, tying us to the things and ways of thinking of this world – and making us neglect the ways of the kingdom of heaven, and our pursuit of these ways in our own lives. Of course, having some makes us want more – and we can become greedy, which makes a bad situation even worse.

Wealth, the fathers tell us, is a curse. Of course, most of us would respond as does the main character of the story, “Fiddler on the Roof,” who says of such a curse, “May God smite me with it – and may I never recover!” It takes a special person – a saint, actually – to correctly understand the purpose of God’s giving wealth, and to respond properly, in a God-pleasing manner. One such saint is commemorated today: St. Sampson the Hospitable.

He was born into wealth in Rome, and raised with the best that money could buy. As he completed his education, he studied medicine, and became a doctor. As a physician, he treated the bodily ailments of those who came to him; and, as a Christian, he treated their spiritual illnesses, encouraging everyone to do everything in their power to live according to the requirements of the Christian faith. When he moved to Constantinople, he lived in a small house, using his wealth to give alms and medical attention, including medicine, to all who suffered in body, mind, or spirit. When the Patriarch heard of his virtue, he ordained St. Sampson to the priesthood.

When the Emperor Justinian became ill with what his doctors thought was an incurable disease, he sent for St. Sampson after having prayed to God, and having seen the saint in a dream, revealed as someone who could heal the Emperor. St. Sampson did nothing more than place his hand on the diseased place, and the Emperor was healed. When he was offered an immense sum of money, St. Sampson refused, replying that he had left silver and gold for the sake of Christ. The Emperor insisted on doing something to thank St. Sampson; and so the saint asked that a home be built for the poor. There, St. Sampson took care of the poor and needy until the day of his repose (which we mark today) in the year 530 A.D.

How do we fulfill the requirements of our Christian faith, as St. Sampson urged everyone to do? We do so by “putting on Christ,” into Whom we have been baptized. We are faithful servants of the Lord when we make Him known, in word and in deed, through our testimony to Him in the way we live our lives: showing forth mercy and patience and forgiveness, and virtue, and love – and confessing our sins, and repenting, when we have fallen short of the mark. We use the tools given to us to achieve the goal of showing forth Christ in our lives: prayer, and fasting, and the struggle to acquire spiritual virtues in place of our passions – and by giving alms. We remember the needs of the Church, and give to help satisfy these needs; and we remember those in need around us, and we give to help satisfy their needs. We give as St. Sampson gave – without thought of reward, except for the treasure laid up for us in heaven. This is how we fulfill the requirements of the Christian faith.

Brothers and sisters, called to be saints: Let us always remember that the material blessing of this life we enjoy are gifts of love from God to us. We are meant to use these gifts wisely, to benefit not only ourselves, but others as well. Let us pray, and fast, and give alms, and struggle, that we may show forth Christ in our lives, to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.

Venerable father Sampson, pray to God for us!