21 st Sunday After Pentecost 2016 The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2016 I. Today, we celebrate the Feast of St John Chrysostom. It is rare that this feast falls on a Sunday, so a few words about him are apropos. St John was the Patriarch of Constantinople in the 4 th century. He was known for being a fiery preacher and was honored with the name after Chrysostom which means golden mouthed after his death. He authored many of the major prayers and revised the rubrics of the Liturgy we celebrate each Sunday and which bears his name. He wrote voluminous commentary on the Old and New Testament. One of the major themes of his writings and sermons was the encouragement and directives he gave to his flock to live a life worthy of God. He was unafraid to admonish his flock when they failed, but was a true shepherd to his flock when they repented. He was particularly concerned with 1
those in positions of power and authority, and the abuses of their power, especially in the civil government. He was a defender of the poor, and a vocal advocate of almsgiving. In fact, it is an historical fact that he melted down all the gold in his cathedral, including chalices, in order to provide food for the poor and homeless. On a regular basis, St John criticized Eudoxia, the Empress of Constantinople, even calling her a Jezebel, for her excesses and lavish lifestyle. And this, among other issues, eventually brought him condemnation by many in high places, including many of his fellow bishops. Those in power finally exiled him from his cathedral and from the city of Constantinople itself. The ordeal of his exile and the brutal treatment he received from his guards en-route to his destination finally brought him to his death in 407 AD. So, I thought it might be interesting to hear how St John interpreted today s Gospel of the Good Samaritan. 2
II. In St John s day, the favored way to interpret the Scripture was the use of allegory. You might be familiar with allegory. The story of the tortoise and the hare, for instance, from Aesop s Fables is an example of an allegory. From that story we learn the lesson that the strong and steady person wins the race. Dr Suess used allegory in his story, Yertle the Turtle, to denounce Adolph Hitler and his yearning for power and the evils of totalitarianism. So, an allegory uses a simple story or illustration to reveal a profound truth. An allegory is effective because it captures the imagination of the hearer. So, St John saw in the story of the Good Samaritan a message about the tragic condition of fallen man and the all-embracing love of God. III. When Jesus began his parable by stating that a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho Chrysostom interpreted this to mean that humans had fallen from a life of paradise (symbolized by Jerusalem) to a 3
life of darkness (symbolized by Jericho). Jericho, by the way, rests 825 feet below sea level, which made it the lowest city on the face of the earth. When Jesus said that robbers stripped and bloodied the man, St John interpreted that to mean that you and I had lost our original beauty. When Jesus said that a Jewish priest and the Levi passed by the beaten man, St John interpreted it to mean that the Law and the Prophets of Judaism had failed to help humans find their way to salvation. When Jesus said that a Samaritan came upon the man and bound his wounds, pouring in oil, and brought the man to an inn to recover, St John understood this to mean that Jesus (who was once called a Samaritan in derogatory way) was, in fact, the compassionate stranger who poured the Holy Spirit upon the man and gave him over to the care of the innkeeper who St John understood to be the Church so that he could fully recover his beauty. 4
IV. We could go on. But we get the gist of St John s teachings. Jesus loves all people, and His compassion is poured on all. Jesus provides the sick His Church where they will find healing from their bruises and diseases, both spiritual, psychological, and emotional. In other words, the church is not an institution but God s hospital. Let me allow Chrysostom to speak for himself: Let us not overlook such a tragedy as the one our Lord gives. Let us not hurry past so pitiful a sight without taking pity. Even if others do so, you must not. Don t say to yourself: I m not a priest or monk; I have a wife and children. This is a work for the priests; this is work for the monks. Let me remind you that the Samaritan didn t say: Where are the priests now? Where are the Pharisees now? Where are the teachers of the Jews? But the Samaritan is like a man who found some great store of booty and got the profit. Therefore, when you see someone in need of treatment for some ailment of the body or soul, 5
do not say to yourself: Why did this person or that person not take care of him? YOU free him from his sickness; don t demand an accounting from others for their negligence. Tell me this. If you find a gold coin lying on the ground, do you say to yourself: Why didn t so-and-so pick it up? Do you not rush to snatch it up before somebody else does? Think the same way about your fallen brother; consider that tending his wounds is like finding a treasure. If you pour the word of instruction on his wounds like oil, if you bind them up with your mildness, and cure them with your patience, your wounded brother has made you a richer man that any treasure could. No amount of fasting, no sleeping on the ground, no keeping all-night vigils, and continuous prayer, nor anything else can do as much for you as saving your brother can accomplish. St John s words encapsulate his core message about caring for those in need. V. But he would remind us also that love is blind. Love 6
doesn t distinguish between those we like and those we don t. The Samaritan and the Jew in today s parable were ancestral enemies but the Samaritan was willing to look past all of that in order to do good. This is a love that doesn t depend on emotions or feelings but rather on making a conscious decision to do the best for the other, even if the other is our enemy. This is the kind of love that depends on one s will. This is how God loves. Jesus ends his conversation with the lawyer with these words: Go and do likewise. There is nothing more that can be said, my friends. May God help us to accept this path of love with those we know and those we don t through the prayers of His beloved saint, John Chrysostom. Amen. 7