Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.

Everyone has parts of us that are earthly and that need to be put to death in order for us to live more fully as Christians. Some of us have immoralities and impurities, which have crept into and darkened our lives. Others have passions, evil desires, and greedy inclinations that lead us away from God’s Way, Truth, and Life. We have sins such as anger, fury, malice, slander, obscenity, and lying which harm ourselves and others in body, mind, and spirit. If we do not root out these evils from our souls, they will grow, choking our virtues and strangling our faith. This is why we must be constantly vigilant against the temptations of this world and instead focus our energies upon putting to death our sins so that we might put on our new selves. It is only when we do this that we are renewed and become more faithful images of our Creator.

What parts of us need to be put to death so that we might live in Christ? How can we cleanse ourselves of all those things that keep us from being remade in the image of God? How can we become more obedient to our Heavenly Father?

O Lord, help us to take off our old selves and put on you.

Amen.