St Margaret's Church Prestwich

Rev Helen gave this sermon on Wednesday 13 September. Here it is for you again.

Today the Church of England commemorates Saint John Chrysostom and he is the patron Saint of Preachers, he was described as golden mouth or golden tongue so no pressure… I’ve even put my ordination stole on today with my colleges from the Methodist church have prayed over and if you don’t know anything about the Methodist church, know this they are generally good preachers, I’m hoping that will rub off on me. There are collections of his sermons and I can’t profess to have read them all but I have read some and there’s some good stuff.

So who was John Chrysostom, he was born in Antioch in 347 CE and his preaching, teaching and skills as a theologian marked him out. He was sent to Constantinople in 398. While he was there he set about the reforming of the church and exposing the corruption of the clergy there. He’s believed to have shouted to the rich clergy in the area ‘Mules bear fruit and Christ dies of hunger at your gates’ how we wish we had more people like John Chrysostom now, generally interested in the poor and their plight. He was ready to call out those who are in power and demand that they do better, and he could talk the talk being a good preacher.

So could we do as John Chrysostom did, be that person who stands up for the voiceless and speaks for those who are in need, calling out the people who are in power and demanding that they do better, or do you just feel, as I do at times, completely ill-equipped and unprepared for anything like that. John Chrysostom was a golden mouthed preacher, he had the gift of the gab but not everyone is blessed as he is. There is some advise in the readings today.

In the reading from Jeremiah it shows how God knows us all and how God has prepared us for being members and ministers in the church. We are all members of the Church of God as we are witnesses to the resurrection, not eye witnesses but we pass on the words of Jesus and his story, the same as the first disciples did. In Jeremiah  it says You shall speak what I commanded but do not be afraid I am with you. I appoint you to pluck up and pull down, destroy and overthrow, build and plant. That’s all starting to sound a bit rebellious and overthrowing isn’t it? Is that what we are being called to do by God as God’s witnesses? Is there a limit to that or is God demanding action?

When looking at John Chrysostom he was calling out the authorities but by preaching with words not with a sword, as Jesus did when he shows up in Revelation 19, his weapon is words not the sword and that’s what Jesus says in todays gospel he hasn’t come to abolish the law and overthrow governments but he has come to teach. Jesus has come to teach about God and to speak about the promise God was going to forfil through him, that of the royal priesthood. Jesus was the teacher who would fulfil the promise the other prophets had spoken about. That’s what Jesus wanted from his followers, to continue to speak and preach his word to future generations and share the message that he brought! Jesus speaks of how we need great teachers of the faith, teachers will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven no matter what the consequences might be on Earth.

John Chrysostom got on the wrong side of authorities in Constantinople, even words from the Pope couldn’t save him. He was exiled and eventually died in 407 CE of starvation and exhaustion. His last sermon before he went into exile was quite pragmatic. He said ‘I am not afraid of death and I do not seek to live except to be of help to you…Christ will be with me, whom shall I fear…I will be whoever the Lord calls me to be’ He reminds us that when two or more gather in Jesus name Jesus is present, he is always with us. To carry on his work, to speak his message and continue what he started be his word and love in action.

So John Chrysostom preached the word of Jesus and called out those who didn’t follow Jesus message, to love each other, to care for those less fortunate, giving a voice to those who don’t have one, the preferential option for the poor and by putting that message at the front of our words, actions and the way we live our life is so important. That is what Jesus did and that’s what he instructed his followers to continue to do and nothing else matters. John Chrysostom said ‘We brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can take nothing from it’. Nothing matters for us except sharing and living out the words of Jesus whether we be preachers like John Chrysostom, or it’s the way we behave, act, treat other people, the way we love each other as Jesus told us to. Amen

Resources for this sermon:

Celebrating the Saints (paperback): Daily spiritual readings for the calendars of the Church of England, the Church of Ireland, the Scottish Episcopal Church & the Church in Wales