On one night, as he crouched at the edge of an atrium, he could overhear a man complaining he had no money to pay his rent. Nicholas recalled his father’s words, When you listen, you become responsible for what you hear. He smiled. He tossed a bag of gold down and sprung off across the rooftops. As he left, he could hear the man laugh and tell his wife of the gift from Christus.
In the forum, Nicholas began to hear talk of “the enemy of the gods” who was giving gifts in the name of Christus. One merchant quietly joked to his customer, “I, for one, would resist this enemy of the gods... but I would not resist his gifts.”
In the Christiani assembly Nicholas also heard talk of this mysterious benefactor. One man said, “If only he could replace my donkey that was stolen.”
The others told the man, “You do not need him. We will help you,” and they all pitched in to buy him a new donkey. Nicholas joined in the collection, but gave only a small amount so as not to call attention to himself.
His uncle mentioned the mysterious benefactor as an example of giving in secret, “as our Lord told us, so as not to gain the praise of men, but the praise of our heavenly Father.” Afterward his uncle pulled Nicholas aside and suggested, “You too could be like this man.”
“Yes, uncle. I give what I can.”
One day, on his way in from the harbor, Nicholas came upon a large house where men were moving all the furnishings out into the street. A sign showed they were for sale. There were lamp stands of bronze, bed couches, chairs and cabinets of fine wood inlaid with gold. Already, a few interested customers were browsing through the furnishings. A tall, thin man stood by the door and seemed to be in charge. A shorter man with raven hair and a pronounced Latin nose stood by him watching sadly.
Nicholas drifted in, looking at the furniture. He could hear the shorter man plead, “If you sell it all, I will have nothing left.”
The tall man said, “You have your house. You can sell it for a good price.”
The short man asked, “Then where would I live?”
“With all the other drifters outside the city.”
“Rusticus, please. We are friends. I even lent you money when times were hard on you,” said the short man.
“I have bills to pay,” said Rusticus, and he turned away toward the customers. The short man hung his head and slunk into the house.
In the forum, Nicholas began to hear talk of “the enemy of the gods” who was giving gifts in the name of Christus. One merchant quietly joked to his customer, “I, for one, would resist this enemy of the gods... but I would not resist his gifts.”
In the Christiani assembly Nicholas also heard talk of this mysterious benefactor. One man said, “If only he could replace my donkey that was stolen.”
The others told the man, “You do not need him. We will help you,” and they all pitched in to buy him a new donkey. Nicholas joined in the collection, but gave only a small amount so as not to call attention to himself.
His uncle mentioned the mysterious benefactor as an example of giving in secret, “as our Lord told us, so as not to gain the praise of men, but the praise of our heavenly Father.” Afterward his uncle pulled Nicholas aside and suggested, “You too could be like this man.”
“Yes, uncle. I give what I can.”
One day, on his way in from the harbor, Nicholas came upon a large house where men were moving all the furnishings out into the street. A sign showed they were for sale. There were lamp stands of bronze, bed couches, chairs and cabinets of fine wood inlaid with gold. Already, a few interested customers were browsing through the furnishings. A tall, thin man stood by the door and seemed to be in charge. A shorter man with raven hair and a pronounced Latin nose stood by him watching sadly.
Nicholas drifted in, looking at the furniture. He could hear the shorter man plead, “If you sell it all, I will have nothing left.”
The tall man said, “You have your house. You can sell it for a good price.”
The short man asked, “Then where would I live?”
“With all the other drifters outside the city.”
“Rusticus, please. We are friends. I even lent you money when times were hard on you,” said the short man.
“I have bills to pay,” said Rusticus, and he turned away toward the customers. The short man hung his head and slunk into the house.
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