Saturday, November 2 : Saint John Chrysostom

“Christ has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5:18) Saint Paul thus brings out the greatness of the apostles by showing us the ministry that was entrusted to them, and at the same time he shows us the love with which God loved us. After humankind refused to listen to him who had been sent to them, God did not let his anger burst forth; he did not reject them. He persisted in calling them himself and through the apostles. Who would not marvel at so much solicitude? They killed the Son who had come to reconcile them, who was the only Son and of the same nature as the Father. The Father did not turn away from the murderers, he did not say: I sent them my Son, and they, not satisfied with not having listened to him, put him to death and crucified him. So now it is only just that I abandon them. He did the opposite, and after Christ had left the earth, it is we, his ministers, who have the responsibility to replace him. “He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. I mean that God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s transgressions against them.” What love that goes beyond all words and all intelligence! Who had been insulted? He himself, God. And who takes the first step towards reconciliation? He himself… If God had wanted to make us give an account, we would truly be lost, since “all died” (2 Cor 5:14). In spite of our many sins, he did not strike with his vengeance, but he even reconciled us to himself. Not satisfied with taking away our debt, he even considered it to be nothing. In the same way, we have to forgive our enemies if we ourselves want to obtain this generous forgiveness: “He has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”
maronite readings – rosary,team