The Three Holy and Great Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom; and the Holy Priest-Martyr Hippolytus (235)
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Hebrews 13:7-16; Matthew 5:14-19
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Today’s gospel honours today’s saints, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, three exemplary bishops who defended both the theological teachings of Christianity and the moral behaviour that is a natural outcome of the gospel. In their own lives, they were true “lights for the world.” All three men lived ascetic lives but kept close contact with the political and cultural elites of their day. They weren’t afraid to preach the gospel to anyone who would listen, and to suffer for it: Gregory the Theologian was driven from his episcopal see during the Second Ecumenical Council, and John Chrysostom died what was essentially a martyr’s death after he had been exiled from Constantinople for his criticism of the luxury and excesses of the royal palace.
When we honour these men, we praise God who worked wonders through them. They were committed to the gospel because they knew it was the light of Christ, not their own light, that the world needs so badly. They refused to let either heresy or moral degradation obscure the good news of Jesus Christ. Our own faithfulness to Christ is similar – we’re called to be steadfast and to preach the gospel by our words and deeds whether it makes us unpopular or widely acclaimed. These men experienced both reactions, and we likely will have the same experience. What matters is not whether we are well received, or even whether we are successful, but whether we are faithful lampstands for the light of Christ.