20210906 INVOLVEMENT IN CHURCH MINISTRY
06 September, 2021, Monday, 23rd Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Colossians 1:24-2:3 © |
God's message was a mystery hidden for generations
It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ. It is for this I struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me irresistibly.
Yes, I want you to know that I do have to struggle hard for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for so many others who have never seen me face to face. It is all to bind you together in love and to stir your minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you really know God’s secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 61(62):6-7,9 © |
In God is my safety and glory.
In God alone be at rest, my soul;
for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress: I stand firm.
In God is my safety and glory.
Take refuge in God, all you people.
Trust him at all times.
Pour out your hearts before him
for God is our refuge.
In God is my safety and glory.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:105 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps
and a light for my path.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:6-11 © |
Is it against the law on the sabbath to save life?
On the sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a man on the sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ And he came out and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I put it to you: is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?’ Then he looked round at them all and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.
INVOLVEMENT IN CHURCH MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Col 1:24 – 2:3; Ps 62:6-7,9; Lk 6:6-11]
What does it mean to be involved in Church’s ministry? Right from the outset, it might be good to know that in Catholic understanding, ministry strictly speaking refers to the Ordained Ministry and those instituted by the Church, which includes lay persons, such as lectors and acolytes. This is because the word “ministry” is closely linked to the world “minister.” In Catholic understanding, ministers refer to the Ordained Ministry of the Church or are closely linked to it. In the past, we referred to our lay Catholic participation in the activities of the Church as apostolate. They are members of some organizations. But today, influenced by the Protestants’ wide use of the term ministry to include anyone who is “serving” the Church is considered a “minister” and therefore assuming a ministry. Hence, we call those involved in Church activities and organizations as “ministry members.”
What then could be considered a ministry? Firstly, to be a minister is to be a servant. This is a very important reminder. Being an ordained minister or even a lay minister does not make us greater than the other members but make us servants. This is what the Lord told His disciples, “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:26-28) Authority and office is not given to boost our ego but for the purpose of delegated service to the community.
What kind of servants are we called to be? Regardless of which ministry or organization we are involved in, the church or in charitable organizations run by the church, we are servants of the gospel and servants of the Church. St Paul wrote, “I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints.” This twofold servanthood is distinguished but not separate. We do not have two different or complementary ministries. There is only one ministry which is to build up the Church of Christ through the proclamation of the gospel.
Through the proclamation of the gospel in word and in deed, we bring the gospel to all peoples in the world. As Catholics, our primary calling, as St Paul says, “is to be responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans.” But the gospel is not only directed at those who do not yet know Christ but it is also directed to the Church herself because without the ministry of the Word, the other ministries of the Church cannot be sustained. Only when the Word of God is preached, listened and believed, could the members remain focused, inspired, equipped and strengthened by the Word of God to do what they are called to do. Otherwise, our ministry will become mere ambition, an ideology, fruitless and meaningless.
Only through the ministry of the Word can we strengthen the power and significance of the Sacraments and the ministries and all forms of Catholic apostolates. This is why, reading and preaching of the Word of God precedes the celebration of the Sacraments. The early apostles were very much aware of the importance of the ministry of the Word that they told the early Christians, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” (Acts 6:2-4)
Secondly, the proclamation of the Word boils down to a twofold proclamation of “the mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory.” Evangelization does not always necessarily mean revealing something to people that they do not know. Very often they know intuitively but they need someone to label the mystery that they perceived in their hearts. Evangelization is, as St Paul says, to be the Christ among you or in some translation, the “Christ in you.” Indeed, this is what the Church says of non-Christian religions. “Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?” (Nostra Aetate, 1)
The work of proclamation is to announce that Christ is in their midst and in them. St John wrote, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 Jn 3:1) Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Lk 17:20f) Indeed, the answer is found in their hearts. St Paul wrote, “the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17)
But most of all, to proclaim that Christ is their “hope of glory.” The reason why the world is on the brink of despair in spite of growing affluence is because they do not know their ultimate calling and destiny in life. The gospel is therefore good news and truly gives us consolation and joy that we are called to share in the inheritance of Christ. We are not going to disappear into molecules when we die. The gospel therefore gives us a clear future in store for us. We therefore no longer live for this life only but in view of life hereafter. This hope is more than mere wishful thinking but a reality experienced already in our life because of His love in our hearts and the Spirit of God dwelling in us. (Rom 5:5)
Hence, those involved in the ministry must possess a twofold criterion for them to be effective in the proclamation of the gospel. Firstly, they must have a fellowship in Christ’s suffering. This is what St Paul wrote, “It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church.” Unless we feel with the Church, the Body of Christ, we will not be able to empathize with them. Being identified with the sufferings of humanity as Jesus did in the gospel, with the sick and the man with the withered hand, is where the calling to serve the Church comes from. The religious leaders were not in touch with the sufferings of their people, which made them legalistic in applying the laws of Moses. When we feel with the suffering Church in persecution, in famine, in oppression, then we will respond generously. What we do not see and feel, we will not be moved.
Secondly, we must have fellowship in Christ’s resurrection. When St Paul spoke of Christ as the hope of glory, he was speaking about His resurrection. Unless we encounter the power of God in the resurrection of Christ, our suffering or our identification with the suffering of others will only lead us to despair because we will become resentful of our fellowmen and of God for not alleviating the sufferings of humanity. We can become self-righteous and bitter with the world and with God when we experience helplessness in meeting the needs of our fellowmen. But if we have experience of the power of Christ’s resurrection at work in our lives, then we will have confidence that our work and ministry is not done in vain. When we see our own lives transformed from what we were, when we see the lives of those whom we touched transformed in faith and hope, when we see how God helped us in our ministry, especially in those moments when we feel helpless, then we know the power of Christ’s resurrection. Only then can we share in His death by giving ourselves completely.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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