Doctor Chrysostom

1 Timothy 3:1-13; Ps 101 I will walk with blameless heart; Luke 7:11-17

Today we look to the past to find wisdom and guidance from one of the Church's most eloquent preachers and stout defenders: St. John Chrysostom.

Here is a bit of the doctor's prescription
"I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbor. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world! If Christ is with me, whom should I fear? Though the sea ad the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider's web....For I always say: Lord, your will be done; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done."


The first reading today is Paul speaking about the requirements to be a bishop, a leader in the church. Also, it highlights the requirements for Deacons, and women in the church.

It is worth reading Timothy chapter 3 and use it as a guide for ourselves. Are we irreproachable, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not aggressive, gentle?

Do we manage our household well?
What is our reputation like to outsiders?

Are we addicted to drink?
Are we greedy for sordid gain?
Do we hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience?

Are we dignified?
Are we slanderers?
Are we faithful in everything?

Look for a moment at the invitation to have a clear conscience.

This one is particularly neglected in our society. One who says they have a clear conscience doesn't necessarily have a clear conscience according to St. Paul. The greek word Katharos for clear means pure, as in pure of heart. Blessed are the pure of heart they shall see God. Or in the words of Revelation, nothing unclean, unpure, shall enter heaven.

The issue of a clear conscience, doesn't mean you don't feel guilty; it has little to do with the feeling of guilt being present or absent, but rather it refers to truly adhering to the teachings of God in Christ passed on through the church.

Inward purity is about having our heart and mind fixed on God's way for us. IT is about dedication to the godly life of holiness. St. Peter points out that we purify our souls in obedience to faith and sincere love. Notice, obedience is what makes sincere love possible. The proper order is so essential.

There are many who claim a "clear conscience" but yet they are as far from God as one can imagine. Clarity of conscience doesn't not mean we set our own standard of living, choosing to live any way we know how (we are not the Duke's of hazard, making their way anyway they know how), rather it is a conscience that clings to the word of God and seeks to be conformed to that word God has spoken, allowing one's life to be shaped and molded by the word of God passed on through his Church.

Our conscience is made to hear and heed the word of God. In our society, many of us have mistaken our own thoughts and words for God's words and we do our own thing. This is not a clear conscience but a perverse one.

How many people are walking around fooling themselves. They think their conscience is clear but in reality it is soiled.
Our conscience is made for truth and truth comes from outside of us. It is truth that purifies.

As Jesus makes the dead man rise in today's gospel, so to does he desire to awaken our dead consciences to the fullness of life that comes through him.

Think about your life to day. When have you failed to heed the word of God? When have you deadened your conscience to the truth of God's word? How have you chosen to make your own way, to do your own thing rather than enter through the narrow gate?