Reflection On the feast of St. John Chrysostom and On the eve of Yom Kippur

September 13 is the solemn feast day of St. John Chrysostom. He was born in Antioch, Syria, in 347 AD. St. Chrysostom was the Archbishop of Constantinople of the Roman Empire.

He is a Syrian Saint.

Given the ongoing crisis in Syria today, it gives deeper meaning to pray with and reflect on St. Chrysostom today for peace and justice in his nation, Syria. 

Though we often put peace and justice together, a path to justice many not always be peaceful. It is rather turbulent and may become violent. In other words, we cannot be naively dovish in our pursuit of justice, which is eventually found in peace. In order to truly be committed to our pursuit of justice, we must be ready to struggles, to endure sufferings, and to fight with valor, as necessary. 

Life of St. Chrysostom, like life of St. Paul, gives us a fresh inspiring perspective for our needs to stand strong and to keep fighting for justice with courage and strengths. 

St. Chrysostom started his career as a monk, living in a very ascetic nature. This contributed to his strong discipline, which enabled him to stick to the truth that he preached – even though he was persecuted.  

While St. Chrysostom was a great preacher, known for his eloquent homilies, he was also a staunch fighter for justice, fighting against moral corruption plagued in the Empire. 

His zest for justice got him in trouble with Empress Aelia Eudoxia of the Byzantine Empire (a.k.a. East Roman Empire), as St. Chrysostom confronted the moral corruption of the empress. Not only his fight for justice put him against the Empress Eudoxia but also against Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria.  Putting his own boss against him – rather than sinking into comfortable cronyism to keep his relationship with the empress and patriarch peaceful.  

No, St. Chrysostom did not choose superficial “peace”. Instead, he chose a “battle” in his relentless pursuit of justice. 

Such an aspect of St. Chrysostom reflects Jesus’ conflict-ridden relation to the religious authority of his time in Jerusalem. The way he confronted the religious leaders of the Temple in Jerusalem was extremely confrontational, far from a peaceful settlement.  Not only Jesus’ such a confrontational character for justice but also these hyperbolic powerful words of Jesus that St. Chrysostom embodied:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). 

St. Chrysostom’s fight against corruption, battle in pursuing justice, eventually cost his career as an archbishop, as he was put to exile more than once.  And, we was willing to pay this heavy cost as he did not become bishop to be chummy with the empress and the emperor…not even with the patriarch of Alexandra, his boss, but to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was not a moral coward with a lukewarm faith, at all.  

He was persecuted. Yet, he never gave up on his pursuit of justice as he kept fighting for this cause all the way to his death in exile. 

In reflecting upon this aspect of St. Chrysostom, what comes to my mind is these words of Jesus:

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10).

In fact, St. Chrysostom is well-known for his eloquent homily on the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10), his homily No. 15. 

This homily reminds that our uncompromising pursuit and fight for justice, though it may not always peaceful, is ultimately our pursuit of the Kingdom of God. It also assures that we can bear all the costs on us for this battle for justice because of the abundant blessings from God. It also reminds us that humility, which St. Chrysostom explains with Jesus’ words of “poor in spirit”(Matthew 5:3),  is an indispensable condition in order for us to succeed in our battle for justice – the battle for the Kingdom. 

This year, the solemn feast day of St. Chrysostom falls on the beginning of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, marking the importance of atonement. Because St. Chrysostom is also known for making homilies with anti-Semitic tones, I am hoping that this day is a day to reconcile his past anti-Semitic attitude with those how have been offended, certainly including God.  Though he is a Saint today, he was once a sinner, like us all. That is why we must seek atonement as the Jews observe Yom Kippur every year. That is why the Catholics seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation anytime necessary. 

Justice is found in the context of peace – though a path to justice may demand uncompromising fight. And, this peace, which upholds justice, is only attained through atonement and reconciliation – with each other and with God.  

May peace be found in Syria and elsewhere as we all continue to fight for justice with moral courage.


                    Prayer of Saint John Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting.  Amen.