Glory be to God for all things!

St. John was given an epithet Golden-mouth for his eloquence in preaching the word of God. He is regarded as the greatest orator of Christianity.

This month, we Orthodox come to the end of the commemoration of sixteen hundred years since St. John’s blessed death. Considering the greatness of this holy hierarch and golden-mouthed preacher, it is important to outline some of the aspects of his life and ministry and make them relevant to our ministry today.

The most frequently served Divine Liturgy in our Liturgical practice is the Liturgy that carries the name of St. John Chrysostom.

He has left us many homilies and writings. For us in the ordained ministry, the text that is a must-read is his writing on the Priesthood. This text however, is not limited to the clergy only; it is suggested that all of us “ordained to the royal priesthood” by the virtue of our baptism (this means every baptized Orthodox Christian) could benefit a great deal from reading it.

Here is what St. John tells us today about the urge to quickly correct and reprimand those around us: “For Christians above all men are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force. When secular judges convict wrong-doers under the law, they show that their authority is complete and compel men, whether they will or not, to submit to their methods. But in the case we are considering it is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion” (On the Priesthood, II. 2).

Soon our clergy and those who regularly attend the services will again see the phenomenon known under a witty name as “christers”. “Christers”, I was told, are those folks who only attend services on Christmas and Easter. A wit is good and provides a venue for reduction of stress, but really, how will we welcome our estranged brothers and sisters who found a little strength to come on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to share the good news of God’s love? What kept them away? - one might ask. Could it be that they don’t know about God’s great love for them. Here, each one of us has an opportunity to show them and tell them. It could be that they are suffering from a certain spiritual illness and are in need of healing. The most important thing is that they will be in church, standing, and praying next to us.

St. John Chrysostom tells us to see in them, the person of Christ himself. Furthermore, he tells us to speak to them with persuasion. Here are St. John’s words for us to consider: “…let us take pains about the care of our souls and about showing love for one another. Let us not tear our members to pieces but, in proportion, as we see that they have evil dispositions, let us give them greater care. I say this, for it often happens that we see many people with difficult or incurable diseases in their bodies, and we apply remedies unceasingly. What, to be sure, is worse than feet afflicted with gout and what worse than gouty hands? Shall we, therefore, amputate the limbs? By no means! On the contrary, we make every effort to afford them some relief, since we cannot cure the affliction.”

“Let us do this also in the case of our brethren; even if they are incurably ill, let us continue applying remedies. And let us bear one another’s burdens. In this way we shall both observe the precepts laid down by Christ and attain to the blessing promised, by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory be to Him and to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen!”

Protopresbyter Bratso Krsic