September 13 is the Memorial Feast of St. John Chrysostom. He was a monk, known for his extreme ascetic life style and stoicism, but was installed as the bishop of Antioch in 381 and later as the bishop of Constantinople in 391. Like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom was highly trained in rhetoric and, therefore, known for his excellent preaching. Through his powerful preaching, John fiercely fought against paganism, heresies, and against both clerical and political corruptions. He was, indeed, a champion to defend the Church for her unity and purity as he tirelessly fought for justice and mercy, especially for the poor and disadvantaged. He is venerated as one of the Doctors of the Church for his excellence in theological acumen and teaching. While he was attacking with his sharp rhetoric of psogos against those who live for materialistic wealth but remain indifferent to the needs of the poor, St. John Chrysostom was active in his charity works of mercy. He has built care facilities for the poor and the sick.
Nothing could restrain the extraordinary enthusiasm
of St. John Chrysostom for Christ and his Church and his Word. Because of this,
he had made many enemies, especially among those who lived in a rubbish life
style and those who were in greed for money and political hegemony, even though
he was attacked and even put on exile.
During the time of St. John Chrysostom, there were
divisions and schisms. And as bishop, he worked tirelessly to overcome the
fragmentation within the Church. His fight against heretics and paganism was
part of this effort. In fact, his preaching has been believed to have prompted
the destruction of the temple of Artemis (Diana) in Ephesus.
However, because of his zeal in teaching for the
purity of the Church, St. John Chrysostom has been also criticized as “anti-Semitic”
for his eight homilies in Antioch as “Adversus
Judaeos”(against Jews). Actually, this has been disputed as scholars see that
his original homilies were inaccurately interpreted and edited, resulting from
St. John Chrysostom’s original intention for speaking in regard to his concerns
on Christians’ “Judaization”. During his
tenure as bishop, Antioch was booming with Judaism, and many Christians there
were joining in Jewish rituals and feasts in synagogues. And, as bishop, he
cautioned these Christians not to be “Judaized”. Trying to keep his flock as
their pastor (bishop) from being “Judaized” is not anti-Semitism.
Judaism has been very important to Christianity, and
as Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom well understood this. We read and
study the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) as the Old Testament. We see many quotations
from the Old Testament. Jesus himself often quoted from the Tanakh. So did St. Paul. However, the climate during the
time of St. John Chrysostom was different from today.
We enjoy ecumenical and inter-religious dialogues
and exchanges today, especially as St. John Paul II initiated annual
inter-religious convocation in Assisi in 1986. In Chicago, Cardinal Joseph
Bernadine initiated the Catholic-Jewish dialogue. And his successor, Cardinal
Francis George continued to support this important inter-religious dialogue.
Thanks to this climate today, I felt comfortable
posting my September 10 article, “Ephphatha”and
“Shanah Tovah Umetukah" - Openness and Rosh Hashanah Renewal with Divine
Sweetness”, my reflection on Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah with
some Christian insights.
In honoring St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, these are the Scripture texts:
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Psalm 40:2 and 4, 7-8a,
8b-9, 10, 11; Mark 4:1-10, 13-20
The Gospel Reading (Mark 4:1-10, 13-20) is to honor
the life of St. John Chrysostom for his excellence in preaching that
incorporate the Word given by Jesus. The Gospel text is Jesus’ parable of the
Sower and the Seeds.
When a sower scattered seeds, some fell along the
path, some on rocky places, some among thorns, and others on the fertile
ground. The sower is Christ, and the seeds are his Word in his kerygma
teaching. Various places where the seeds scattered reflect us with various
maturity levels of faith.
The kind of people represented with the path are
those who have no faith or those whose ears, eyes, and hearts are closed and,
therefore, unable to take Christ’s Word in. So, as the birds snatched away the
seeds fell on the path, not giving a chance to sprout, Satan take away the Word
from these people.
Those who are paralleled to the rocky places, on
which the seeds sprout quickly but the sprouts wither fast, because they may
get easily excited about the Word but they easily lose their interest in it or
distracted. So, their “attention deficit” did not let the Word take its root in
them to grow even facing challenging situations.
People compared to the place of thorns do not have
strong hearts and minds but plagued with anxieties, as they are easily lured by
temptations for worldly wealth and carnal desires, often leading to idolatries.
They were like the Israelites, who grew tired of waiting for Moses to return
from the mountain top of Mt. Sinai, and fell to make idols of golden cow
(Exodus 32:1-35). When we do not know when a person we wait for would actually
come, don’t we all have the tendency to grow anxious and act inappropriately?
Finally, those who are worthy to be compared to the
fertile ground, listen to and accept the Word and let it grow in them, to
abundant fruitful. This growth is facilitated by the work of our faith (James 2:14-18;
cf. John 14:12). And we can be so fruitful because we are attached to Christ as
one (John 15:1-17).
To be fruitful with the Word, we must strive for the
one who sows the Word. And the importance of this oneness is reflected in the
First Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians.
The First Reading (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13) reflects
how St. John Chrysostom, as bishop to build up the Church, preached on
important Christian virtues of humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with
one another in love, for the unity of the Holy Spirit through the bond of peace
(Ephesians 4:2-3), as this unity of the Holy Spirit is about one body of Christ
(Ephesians 4:4; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27), as Paul preached so to the Ephesians.
This reflects our one hope in one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, as God’s grace is given
to each of us, thanks to Christ, who is appointed by the Father (Ephesians
4:5-7). And, this is, after all, to build one body of Christ up toward our
unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, the Christ, as we attain
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ with mature faith (Ephesians
4:11-13).
Basically, the First Reading (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13)
text in honoring St. John Chrysostom points to building up the Church in light
of Jesus’ expressed desire for oneness, addressed in John 17:20-23. And I
believe that St. John Chrysostom, all of his homilies and works for humility,
gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love, were to build the Church
toward the full communion with Christ (John 17:20-23), who is one with the
Father (John 10:30. 38). And, as reflected in Jesus’ parable of the sower and
the seeds from the Gospel Reading (Mark 4:1-10, 13-20), St. John Chrysostom
sowed the Word on Christians whom he was called to shepherd as their bishop.
And, he certainly wanted all of them to receive the Word as the rich soil
receives the seeds and to let the Word grow in them and further through their
works of faith for abundant fruitfulness.
The Greek name, “Chrysostom”, which means “golden-mouthed”,
reflects distinct excellence in his preaching. And, his preaching with the
Word, on behalf of Christ, as “in persona
Christi”, out of his “golden mouth” was to build up the Church of purity
and unity.
St. John Chrysostom, pray for us and inspire us to
strive in evangelization for the purity and unity. Amen.
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