20161002 DISCOURAGEMENT IN THE MINISTRY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Habakkuk
1:2-3,2:2-4 ©
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How long, O Lord, am
I to cry for help
while you will not
listen;
to cry ‘Oppression!’
in your ear
and you will not
save?
Why do you set
injustice before me,
why do you look on
where there is tyranny?
Outrage and violence,
this is all I see,
all is contention,
and discord flourishes.
Then the Lord
answered and said,
‘Write the vision
down,
inscribe it on
tablets
to be easily read,
since this vision is
for its own time only:
eager for its own
fulfilment, it does not deceive;
if it comes slowly,
wait,
for come it will,
without fail.
See how he flags, he
whose soul is not at rights,
but the upright man
will live by his faithfulness.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 94:1-2,6-9
©
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O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our
joy to the Lord;
hail the
rock who saves us.
Let us come before
him, giving thanks,
with
songs let us hail the Lord.
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow
and bend low;
let us
kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and
we
the
people who belong to his pasture,
the flock
that is led by his hand.
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you
would listen to his voice!
‘Harden
not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on
that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put
me to the test;
when they
tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
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Second reading
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2 Timothy
1:6-8,13-14 ©
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I am reminding you to
fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s
gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and
self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or
ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the
sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.
Keep as
your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love
that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something
precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1S3:9,Jn6:68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your
servant is listening:
you have the message
of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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1P1:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord
remains for ever.
What is this word?
It is the Good News
that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 17:5-10 ©
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The apostles said to
the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of
a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in
the sea,” and it would obey you.
‘Which
of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he
returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not
be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me
while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be
grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have
done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done
no more than our duty.”’
DISCOURAGEMENT
IN THE MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Ps 94:1-2,6-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8.13-14;
Luke 17:5-10 ]
Every Christian who is
baptized is called to be a servant of the gospel. This is what St Paul
wrote, “You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with
the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” To enable the baptized to
be an effective servant, the Church bestows upon the Christian, the Sacrament
of confirmation. This is further reinforced when he or she takes up a specific
vocation in the Church and for the Church in the sacrament of matrimony or that
of ordination. It is important to bear in mind that these sacraments are
all associated and for the purpose of the proclamation of the gospel through
the witnessing of the gospel.
Yet, the truth is that many
of us have lost the zeal to spread the gospel we have received and to share the
gift we have been given. This is true for all of us. What could be
the reason? Even the young Bishop, St Timothy, was losing zeal in his
ministry; and hence the letter of St Paul was written to offer him some
encouragement. There are many reasons.
It could be due to
persecution and opposition. Reading between the lines, we know that
Timothy was perhaps not respected by his flock because of his youth. We
can be sure that there was competition, jealousy, backbiting, rumor mongering,
politicking, etc, like in any community. It must have been tiring for
him. Thus, St Paul wrote, “So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing
to the Lord or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the
hardships for the sake of the Good News.” Serving the Lord, whether as
volunteers or as full time workers, we surely will face suffering.
Secondly, this could lead
to discouragement. This is one of the principal weapons of the Devil,
which is to send his angels to discourage us from doing good, especially in the
face of opposition and failure. When we have some beautiful plans or
vision for our organization and the Church, we can be sure that there will
people who oppose us simply because these are not their ideas and they did not
propose them. They will seek to put us down, discourage us and influence
others to go against us. At the same time, they have no better ideas to
improve the situation. Indeed, many good-will people with great ideas for
the Church and for the work of evangelization feel disappointed and rejected
because even before they are heard, they are put down. This is one of the
reasons many professionals have given up offering their services to the Church
because their expertise are not only not valued but are put in question.
The third common reason why
many give up serving in the ministry is because of the lack of appreciation and
recognition. The truth is that even when serving in the Church, we are
still imperfect human beings. We are insecure in many ways. We look
for affirmation, encouragement and appreciation. This is quite natural.
When that is not forthcoming, we begin to wonder whether it is worth our
efforts and whether we should be doing what we are doing. Of course,
there are some who are so insecure that they want to be honoured even, and
given positions of power and influence. They like to be seen and praised
all the time. Such exaggerated needs for recognition and honour have gone
beyond the confines of the human need and entered into the sin of pride and
envy. Indeed, for such people, when they are not given power and honour,
they give up the ministry.
There is still the fourth
reason why people get discouraged in ministry when they fail to see
results. This group of people brings with them the corporate
mindset. They depend on numbers and productivity. They measure
everything in terms of KPIs. Of course, there must be accountability and
good results for what we do so that we can ascertain and appraise the
effectiveness of our works. This was what happened to the prophet in the
first reading. He was getting impatient with the Lord for not acting for
the people of Israel in exile. He cried to the Lord, “How long, Lord, am
I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry Oppression! in your ear and
you will not save?” This, too, is the prayer that we pray when the
efforts and sacrifices we put in do not seem to bring any positive benefits to
all.
Thus, many give up because
they do not have the patience to wait for the Lord to act. This is what
God told the prophet, “Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be
easily read, since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own
fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will,
without fail.” But many of us want things our way and in our own time. It
is not so much the Lord working in them, or rather, the Lord working through
them. They want to be in control of the situation. In truth, they think
that success is due to the work of their hands. They trust more in their
hard work, ingenuity, planning, strategizing rather than the power of God to
work in ways beyond their imagination. This is not to say that we need
not do anything but we must trust in the ways of the Lord and His grace rather
than ourselves. Otherwise, when things are successful, we cannot claim
credit for the Lord but for ourselves.
So what must we do to
regain the zeal for the spreading of the gospel? St Paul instructs
Timothy to “fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on
you.” We are called to renew our zeal and love for the Lord which
has been given to us at our baptism, marriage and ordination. Together
with His love, He has also given us His Spirit with the accompanying gifts to
do His work. We are never asked to do His work without Him first
qualifying us and giving us the gifts for our vocation. Whenever the Lord
calls, He qualifies us and empowers us with His grace and gifts. So all
we need to do is to go back to the source and the promise of God’s grace for
us. We need to make use of the gifts we have received for our work.
St Paul urges us that “God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit
of power, and love, and self-control.” This requires that we exercise the
gifts given to us and not to keep them for ourselves. What is not used
will be taken away. The best way to develop our gifts is to use them for the service
of all.
What does this
entail? Firstly, it means falling in love with Jesus over and over
again. There can be no ministry if we have lost our love for the Lord and
His love for us. Jesus in the gospel warns us, “You are the salt of the
earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is
no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Mt 5:13) We must
return to the master to seek His love and His strength. In our weakness,
we need to remember how much our Lord has suffered for us. Renewal
of our love for the Lord is the beginning and the foundation of any form of
ministry. When our hearts have grown cold, we cannot do much. The Lord
would have this to say to us, “But I have this against you, that you have
abandoned the love you had at first.” (Rev 2:4)
Secondly, we need to build
ourselves up in the Word of the Lord. This calls for ongoing formation
and discipleship. This was what St Paul told Timothy when he said, “Keep
as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and
love that are in Christ Jesus.” So as ministry members, we need to be formed
in faith and love for Christ through the reading of the Word of God, through
the teachings of our authoritative leaders, through the doctrines of the
Church.
Thirdly, we need to keep
ourselves humble before the Lord and His appointed leaders. Frustration in the
ministry comes about because of pride and wanting things our way. Pride
is the downfall of every human person and the cause of all division. This
explains why the Church always requires her clergy and religious to observe the
promise or vow of obedience. Without this pledge of obedience, the
Catholic Church would have been divided long ago and could not have withstood
for 2000 years. Obedience is the tool to prevent the devil from allowing
our pride to destroy us. Thus in the responsorial psalm, the psalmist
urges us to listen to the voice of the Lord. “O that today you would
listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts’” Listening to His voice is not to
be understood in an individualistic way or a subjective manner. Most of
the time, the external voice of God comes through the established and
legitimate authorities appointed by Him.
Above all, we must have
faith in the Lord, not on ourselves. This is the fundamental attitude we
should have. “Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to
this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey
you.’” Faith in the power of the Lord, reliance on the power of the Holy
Spirit presupposes humility and trust in Him. Twice St Paul told Timothy that
faith entails “relying on the power of God” and “the help of the Holy Spirit
who lives in us.” This was also what God told the prophet, “See how he
flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his
faithfulness.” So with faith, we surrender all our projects and
undertakings to the Lord.
In the final analysis, we
must remember that we are only servants of God. He is our master. We
should not expect reward and gratitude. As servants and slaves of God,
our task is to give glory to God and not be self-reverential in what we
do. We want God to be glorified and His kingdom established. As
servants, we should be grateful that He counts us worthy to serve Him.
This is our greatest reward, to be counted worthy to be at His service and to
be blessed with good health, gifts and resources. What other rewards do
we need? For by serving the Lord with total dedication, faith and love
and humility, we come to realize ourselves. We find fulfillment, meaning,
joy and love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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