Stewards of the Poor

The Man of God lacks the prodigious Miracles and extravagant feats of asceticism typical of Syrian saints. He does nothing extraordinary, except live as a poor person, begging for his daily bread and praying constantly in the church. What is most powerful in the Syriac version is its description of the effect his story has on Rabbula, who, from the moment he hears it, devotes himself exclusively to the poor and strangers. The story's focus then becomes, not so much the Man of God, but how one reacts to the presence of the holy in one's midst.