John Chrysostom was ascetic, unimposing but dignified, and
troubled by stomach ailments from his desert days as a monk. He became a bishop
under the cloud of imperial politics. Yet,
if his body was weak, his tongue was powerful. The content of his sermons, his
exegesis of Scripture, were never without a point. Sometimes the point stung
the high and mighty.
St. John Chrysostom’s preaching, by word and example,
exemplifies the role of the prophet to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the
comfortable. For his honesty and courage, he paid the price of a turbulent
ministry as bishop, personal vilification, and exile.
St. Paul too, in today’s reading, is sharing a turbulent
journey in ministry. After being knocked of his horse and years of being formed
by the Christian community and in a special Jesus himself, he came to realize who
he became in his original zeal to uphold and defend the Law, and how it blurred
his vision of his true identity in God’s eyes and plan.
I’ve often emphasized entering into the paschal mystery we
approach, on a weekly or daily basis. What I mean is, it’s more than just
approaching the altar and receiving, we must become who we worship. This means making a daily inward trek to
discover our authentic self, the identity God created us to be. It’s about recognizing and reflecting upon “the wooden beam in our
own eye.” To
know this beam, its texture, size, and weight so well so that when we approach
our brother or sister, we can set our self aside to be fully present to
them. Over the years as a human
relations trainer one of the common road block to self-knowledge (freedom) is
complacency. We become comfortable with
who we’ve become, without reflecting on the external forces that shape our
identity: our parents who were our first teachers of the faith and appropriate community
engagement. Our race, ethnicity,
national origin, and geographical location, how others see and respond to us
forms our identity. The schools, jobs,
and military service influence our conforming to social and organizational
norms impact the formation of our identity.
Our political affiliation, religion and even our ministerial duties influence
who we believe we are and how we view and sometimes judge others.
From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis has urged priests,
bishops, and seminarians to imitate what they celebrate, to follow the example
of the Good Shepherd, to become Christ for others. He puts it bluntly: “Words without example
are empty words.” Such hypocrisy would be
a perfect example of the blind leading the blind.
How do we become who we worship? Those
influenced by Ignatian spirituality are often called “contemplatives in action.” They cultivate a habit of
regular reflection in order to detect the presence of God in their lives. They employ
the tools of Ignatian discernment to make sound decisions. The fruit of this
contemplative effort is action. Take some regular time to
reflect on who you really are in God’s eyes, knowing he created us in His image
and likeness to be full of compassion, hopeful, and joyful. Then become like Jesus, whom we worship, throughout
the day, even in your most ordinary tasks.
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