23rd Week, Wednesday, Sept 13
Col 3:1-11 / Luke 6:20-26
You are in Christ's company; Seek what is above.
Hugh Martin tells this story in The Parables of the Gospels.
A working man admired a lovely vase in a shop window. He bought it and placed
it in his room. The lovely vase made him see how ugly his room really was. So,
he cleaned his room and painted it. Next, he bought curtains for the windows.
Then he repaired the broken furniture. Gradually, he transformed what was once
an ugly room into something worthy of the lovely vase.
***
In a similar way, Paul exhorts the Colossians to transform
their lives into something worthy of the lovely Christ, who dwells in their
hearts.
***
What are some ugly things in our lives that need
transforming to be worthy of Jesus? "Christ came when all things were
growing old. He made them new." Augustine of Hippo
***
Saint John Chrysostom
People who are willing to stand up for what is right and
condemn what is evil leave their mark on the world. But they also may find
themselves with enemies. John Chrysostom, an eloquent bishop-preacher of the
fourth century, understood this.
John was born around 347 in Antioch, Syria. His father died
when he was a child, so his mother guided his education. John was a gifted
student. At 18, he experienced a religious conversion and began to study the
Bible. Three years later, John joined a group of monks in the mountains. He
left them to live as a hermit in a cave. But his health suffered, and he returned
to Antioch. There others quickly noticed his gifts as a monk, a biblical
scholar, and an eloquent speaker. Soon he was ordained to the diaconate and was
ordained a priest at 39.
In 397, John was made the bishop-patriarch of
Constantinople. He lived a simple life, giving his wealth over for the building
of hospitals, and he set about reforming the clergy and the city. He deposed
bishops for buying their way into office. John sold much of the expensive
furniture in the bishop’s residence and gave the money to those who were poor.
He attacked wealthy people for misuse of their riches. John sought to reform
the lax clergy, to straighten out the badly managed budget, and to rid the land
of violence. His zeal for charity and justice angered the empress, Eudoxia, and
provoked the jealousy of Theophilus, the patriarch of Alexandria. John was
impeached and exiled. Even though he had the support of Pope Innocent I, John
was exiled even farther away and died en route in 407.
The role of a true prophet is to comfort the disturbed and
to disturb the comfortable. John Chrysostom did just that.
***
St. John (344/49-407), monk and bishop of Constantinople,
was called “Chrysostom,” that is “mouth of gold,” on account of his great
eloquence. Though often in poor health, he deserved this name also for being
outspoken against corruption at the court and neglect and exploitation of the
poor by the mighty. For this reason, he was banned twice from his city and died
in exile. We owe him much of the Orthodox liturgy.
***
Opening Prayer
God our Father, you entrusted your Good News to St. John Chrysostom. Loyally and without fear, he sowed your word as a seed that it might bear fruit also when it was accepted reluctantly. Give us trust in your word, make it grow in us that it may become in all of us really good news to live by. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen
