Inspiration

St. John Chrysostom

1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, proclaimed toward application in our Life together

2. Select exhortations by St. John Chrysostom

3. The Akathist of Thanksgiving

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height- to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

“Now charity is not bare words, but a taking care of people.” – St. John Chrysostom (Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 11, p. 380, Homily 7 on St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans)

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy. (Isaiah 35:5-6a, RSV)

“Behold at that time I will deal with your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.” (Zephaniah 3:19, RSV)

“Let us learn to feel for the ills our neighbors suffer, and we shall learn to endure the ills they inflict.” – St. John Chrysostom (Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 11, page 92, Homily 14 on the Acts of the Apostles)

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:13-14, RSV)

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘”Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry andyou gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ . . . . ‘Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'” (Matthew 25:34-36, 40)

“If you ever wish to associate with someone, make sure that you do not give your attention to those who enjoy health and wealth and fame as the world sees it, but take care of those in affliction, . . . in critical circumstances, . . . who are utterly deserted and enjoy no consolation. Put a high value on associating with these, for from them you shall receive much profit, . . . and you will do all to the glory of God. God Himself has said, ‘I am the Father of orphans and the protector of widows. (Psalms 67:6)'” (Paul Harkin, ed. Ancient Christian Writers: St. John Chrysostom’s Baptismal Instructions, 6.12, pp. 97-98 )

“[. . .] but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

“Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field, he will pass away.” . . . . if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say ‘Have a seat here, please,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘Stand there,’ or ‘Sit at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? . . . you have dishonored the poor man. . . . fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” (James 1:9-10, 2:2-3, 6a, 8b)

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, [. . .] God has so composed the body [. . .] that there be no discord in the body, but that the members have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-22, 24-26, RSV)

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them,and they shall be His people,. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be nor more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’” (Revelations 21:3-5a)

For St. John Chrysostom, the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins in St. Matthew 25:1-13 is almsgiving; oil is alms, and carries more weight than ascetic chastity. Before the Judgement Seat of Christ, St. John writes, “. . .Thou wilt have need of much oil. . . . Let us contribute alike wealth, and diligence, and protection, and all things for our neighbor’s advantage. . . . For nothing so pleases God, as to live for the common advantage.” (Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 10, pp. 471-72, Homily 78 on St. Matthew)

Troparion for Saint John Chrysostom:

“Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon has enlightened the universe. It has shown to the world the riches of poverty, and revealed to us the heights of humility. Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom, intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls.”

For more on and from St. John Chrysostom, go here: http://orthodoxwiki.org/John_Chrysostom and here http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=103292 and here http://www.ccel.org/c/chrysostom/ and here, his Paschal sermon: http://www.oca.org/FSsermons-details.asp?SID=4&ID=10 

The Akathist of Thanksgiving http://www.angelfire.com/ga/riggs/Akathist-GloryToGod.html 

Inspiration for my becoming an Orthodox Christian: http://scripturallyorthodox.wordpress.com/