Readings

January 27: John Chrysostom, Bishop and Theologian, 407

The Collect of the Day

John Chrysostom

O God, who gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all who proclaim your word such excellence in preaching, that all your people may be made partakers of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

John Chrysostom

O God, who didst give thy servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim thy righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of thy Name: Mercifully grant to all who proclaim thy word such excellence in preaching that all thy people may be made partakers of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

John Chrysostom was born around 354 in Antioch, Syria. As a young man, he first responded to the call of desert monasticism until his health was impaired. He then returned to Antioch after six years as a monk and was ordained a priest. In 397, he became Bishop of Constantinople.

John, called “Chrysostom,” which means “the golden-mouthed,”is regarded as one of the greatest preachers in Christian history. People flocked to hear him. His eloquence was accompanied by an acute sensitivity to the needs of people. He saw preaching as an integral part of pastoral care, and as a medium of teaching. He warned that if a priest had no talent for preaching the Word of God, the souls of those in his charge “will fare no better than ships tossed in the storm.”

Chrysostom is renowned to this day for his Easter sermon, which continues to be read from pulpits around the world. It reads in part: “Hell is angry because it has been thwarted! Hell is angry because it has been mocked! Hell is angry because it has been destroyed! It is angry because it has been abolished! It is angry because it has been taken captive! Hell seized a body but it discovered God. It seized earth and it encountered heaven. It seized what it saw and was vanquished by what it did not see. O death, where is thy sting? O hell, where is thy victory“

Chrysostom describes the Christian eucharistic liturgy as a glorious experience, in which all of heaven and earth join together in the worship of God. His treatise On the Priesthood remains a classic manual on the priestly vocation and its demands. The priest, he wrote, mustbe “dignified, but not haughty; awe-inspiring, but kind; affable in his authority; impartial, but courteous; humble, but not servile, strong but gentle ...”

Chrysostom was particularly eloquent concerning the Christian obligation to care for the poor, saying: “If you cannot remember everything, instead of everything, I beg you, remember this without fail, that not to share our own wealth with the poor is stealing from the poor and deprivation of their means of life, for we do not possess our own wealth but theirs. If we have this attitude, we will certainly offer our money; and by nourishing Christ in poverty here and laying up great profit hereafter, we will be able to attain to the good things that are to come.”

While he was extolled as a preacher and pastor, his fiery temperament was poorly suited to the subtle politics demanded by his ministry as a bishop, and his episcopate was short but tumultuous. He was twice exiled, and he died during the second period of banishment, on September 14th, 407. Thirty-one years later, his remains were brought back to Constantinople, and were buried on January 27th, which thus became the traditional date of his commemoration.

Lessons and Psalm

First Lesson

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Psalm

1Hear this, all you peoples; hearken, all you who dwell in the world, *you of high degree and low, rich and poor together.

2My mouth shall speak of wisdom, *and my heart shall meditate on understanding.

3I will incline my ear to a proverb *and set forth my riddle upon the harp.

4Why should I be afraid in evil days, *when the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,

5The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, *and boast of their great riches?

6We can never ransom ourselves, *or deliver to God the price of our life;

7For the ransom of our life is so great, *that we should never have enough to pay it,

8In order to live for ever and ever, *and never see the grave.

Gospel

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Jeremiah 1:4–10

4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Luke 21:12–15

12 “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.