Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church
(I Timothy
2:1-8; Luke 7:1-10)
The
eloquent John Chrysostom (John, the golden mouth”) was a social reformer. As archbishop of Constantinople, he refused
to host expensive social gatherings and built hospitals with the money at his
disposal. These measures made him popular
with the people but repugnant to the emperor and some church officials. John died in exile after criticizing the
empress for extravagance.
Jesus’
relations with the civil authority in today’s fares much better. The centurion or head of Roman garrison in Capernaum
asks Jesus to heal his house slave.
Jesus is willing to go, but the centurion sends a message that he did
not mean to bother Jesus so. He only
asks that Jesus “to say the word,” which probably means offer a prayer for his slave. In many places in Luke’s gospel the people
are “amazed” with Jesus. In this case,
however, Jesus is “amazed” with the faith of this centurion.
Reform is
always difficult. We get used to comforts
and don’t want to give them up. Nevertheless,
we should be ready to embrace genuine reform, like John Chrysostom promotes, that
takes us back to Jesus. Like the
centurion, we want to ask his intercession before the Father for moral and
spiritual as well as physical strength.
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