St. John Chrysostom–My Favorite “Anti-Semite”
It is considered an article of
faith that as Christians Gentiles, it is our sacred duty (and
privelidge) to support and protect the Jews by forking over every
collective drop of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness we possess for
them and their interests, the assertion was made that Christians have
no business entertaining any ideas contrary to the Jews.
Let us ponder then the writings
of one man considered to be one of the greatest minds of the Christian
Church, St. John Chrysostom, and what he had to say about the very same
Chosenites who today are working feverishly to douse the world in
violence, bloodshed and suffering.
“The Jews are more savage
than any highwaymen and do greater harm to those who have fallen among
them. They do not simply strip off their victim’s clothes nor inflict
wounds on his body as did those robbers on the road to Jericho. Rather,
the Jews mortally hurt their victim’s soul, inflicting ten thousand
wounds, and leave it lying in a pit of ungodliness…
Do you not hear what God
said to Jeremiah about the Jews? ‘Do not intercede for these people,
because even if Moses and Samuel shall stand before my face I will not
listen to them.’ That is how far some sins go beyond forgiveness and how
incapable of defense they are…
Tell me this. When you stand
indicted before God’s tribunal, what reason will you give for
considering the Jews’ witchcraft more worthy than what Jesus Christ has
said? If the devil is a murderer, as Our Lord said over and over, it is
clear that the demons who serve him are murderers, too. What need is
there for me to say this? Are you not afraid of God? Then, at least
stand in some awe and fear of the Jews. Do
you not realize how they laugh at you, scoff at you, jeer at you,
dishonor you, and reproach you? Even if they do not do it openly, do you
not understand that they are doing this deep down in their hearts?”
Tell me this. Do you stray
outside the flock and have you no fear of the lion that prowls about
outside the fold? “For your enemy, like a lion, goes about seeking whom
he may seize.” Here you see a shepherd’s wisdom. He does not let the
lion in among the sheep for fear the lion may terrify the flock. Nor
does he drive the lion away from outside the fold. Why? So that he may
gather all the sheep together inside the fold, because they are afraid
of the wild beast outside. Do you have no reverence and respect for your
father? Then fear your foe. If you separate yourself from the flock,
your enemy will surely catch you.
Do you think the Jews are wiser than the Fathers who came from everywhere in the world?
The Jews are the most
miserable and wretched of all men, and therefore we must make secure the
flock of Christ. As long as no wild beast disturbs the flock,
shepherds, as they stretch out under an oak or pine tree and play their
flutes, let their sheep go off to graze with full freedom. But when the
shepherds feel that the wolves will raid, they are quick to throw down
the flute and pick up their slingshots; they cast aside the pipe of
reeds and arm themselves with clubs and stones. They take their stand in
front of the flock, raise a loud and piercing shout, and oftentimes the
sound of their shout drives the wolf away before he strikes. I too in
the past frolicked about in explicating the Scriptures, as if I were
sporting in some meadow; I took no part in polemics because there was no
one causing me concern. But today the Jews, who are more dangerous than
any wolves, are bent on surrounding my sheep; so I must spar with them
and fight with them so that no sheep of mine may fall victim to those
wolves.
The difference between the
Jews and us is not a small one, is it? Is the dispute between us over
ordinary, everyday matters? Why are you mixing what cannot be mixed?
They crucified the Christ whom you adore as God. Do you see how great
the difference is? How is it, then, that you keep running to those who
slew Christ when you say that you worship him whom they crucified? You
do not think that I am the one who brings up the law on which these
charges are based, nor that I make up the form which the accusation
takes? Does not Scripture treat the Jews in this way?
Isaiah called the Jews dogs
and Jeremiah called them mare-mad horses. This was not because they
suddenly changed natures with those beasts but because they pursued the
lustful habits of those animals…The martyrs–having poured out their own
blood for him whom the Jews had slain–have a special hatred for the Jews
since the Jews crucified Him for whom they have a special love. It was
the Jews who said: “His blood be on us and on our children”, so the
martyrs would be glad to hear this discourse.
Meanwhile, I ask you to
rescue your brothers, to set them free from their error and bring them
back to the truth. What I said was not for your sakes but for the sake
of those who are sick. I want them to free themselves from their wicked
association with the Jews. I want them to show themselves sincere and
genuine Christians. I want them to shun the evil gatherings of the Jews
and their synagogues, both in the city and in the suburbs, because these
are robbers’ dens and dwellings of demons…
So, then, do not neglect the
salvation of those lost brothers. Be meddlesome, be busybodies, but
bring the sick ones to Christ. In this way, we shall receive a far
greater reward for our good deeds both in the present life and in the
life to come. And we shall receive it by the grace and loving-kindness
of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the
Father together with the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, now and
forever, world without end. Amen.
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