Today is the Feast of Saint John Chrysostom, the great 4-5th century Archbishop of Constantinople, who renowned as a "golden mouthed" preacher. So, what can today's preachers learn from Saint John Chrysostom? Here's the prayerful reflection of Father Steve Mattson, Pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Lansing. Father Mattson writes:
It’s obvious that most preachers cannot measure up to the lofty standards of Saint John Chrysostom. And, frankly, I don’t believe the Lord is asking that of me or other preachers.
I do know that what Saint Paul says in the proper readings of the memorial apply to me, as well as Saint Paul. I need to preach. I also, as Saint Paul says, need to "drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:27)
For those reasons, my approach to preaching is to prayerfully listen to the Lord’s conviction of my own heart. Then as I have often told parishioners, I preach to myself and they get to listen.
Preparing homilies that way ensures that my message is relevant to at least one person—myself. I’ve found that such an approach helps my homilies be relevant to others, without me "trying to be relevant".
Parishioners sometime say I’m preaching "right to them". My prayer is that the Lord would use my tongue, golden-mouthed or not, to encourage and challenge others. And myself as well.
Saint John Chrsysostom, pray for us!