FOCUS Staff Reflects on the Words of St John Chrysostom

FOCUS North America staff from across the country gather monthly to strengthen their commitment to the FOCUS ministry and develop their shared vision as a team. In late September, they met to begin reflecting on the profound writings of St John Chrysostom, collected in On Wealth and Poverty. They came away with a few key points, including a curiosity about the ways we become numb to the poverty that exists right under our noses.

This month, the staff focused on the “First Sermon on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus,” where Saint John reflects on the rich man’s indifference towards Lazarus, who lay at his gate every day in need. He condemns the rich man and calls us all to pursue righteousness: 

But with God we cannot say this; for no one will escape his judgment, but all who live by fraud and theft will certainly draw upon themselves that immortal and endless penalty, just like this rich man. Collecting all these thoughts in your minds, therefore, my beloved, let us call fortunate not the wealthy but the virtuous; let us call miserable not the poor but the wicked. Let us not regard what is present, but consider what is to come. Let us examine not the outer garments but the conscience of each person. Let us pursue the virtue and joy that come from righteous actions; and let us, both rich and poor, emulate Lazarus.

As part of their reflection, FOCUS staff considered thought-provoking questions such as:

•  Do we ever come across people who have a contempt for the poor? How can we help them see people like Lazarus differently?
• Are there any ways that our own hearts have become indifferent to the suffering we see at our gate?

The next reading, which will be discussed at the next monthly staff meeting in late October, will focus on Saint John Chrysostom’s “Second Sermon” in On Wealth and Poverty. FOCUS invites supporters to join them in this ongoing reflection. 

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