Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message
The Lord’s Service
July 14, 2021
“For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me” (Mark 14:7).
“And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26)
“James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to {Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:35-45)
As I prepare for a three month sabbatical and we all prepare for a mutual ministry review, I have been giving a lot of thought (and prayer and dream work) to ministry and its joys and sorrows. Ministry can be at times an odd mix of ecstasy and agony. In recent months I have been doing a lot of pastoral care visits and spiritual direction meetings. In a great variety of settings, I have seen joy and pain mixed, whether it was counseling and giving blessing to a newcomer to Trinity fleeing from pain in another congregation; hearing confession of deepest shames and regrets and then giving counsel, absolution, and blessing; listening to and empathizing with heartfelt terrors about growing old, losing one’s memory or balance, and perhaps not being able to continue to manage independent day-to-day life, then trying to give gentle encouragement and counsel that might help; and reading the complaint of a parishioner bitterly unhappy with how the vestry and I had managed an issue in parish administration, in not having given what they considered due attention to a parish committee. I was happy for this input and investment the person had in the issue, yet pained that they had not talked to me directly about it. “What are the committees for?” they asked, not really wanting an answer.
What strikes me is this: ministry is sharing, and we share both joy and pain. We are all imperfect creatures, and imperfect Christians. We all do the best we can, and are well advised to not beat up on ourselves or others when we do not meet expectations. Sometimes, expectations are unreal: for our own serenity, we have to be willing to accept imperfect outcomes. “The poor are always with you” is on Jesus’ lips even as he tells us to keep on in compassionate giving and service. We need to listen to each other as we give helpful suggestions. We also need to phrase our suggestions in ways that are helpful and encourage better ministry rather than present time and energy drags on precious time and affect that otherwise could be used to accomplish the very ministry we seek to enhance. A key in such helpfulness is remaining open when it comes to outcomes: not to “lord it over” others or expect our will be done, but rather, accept whatever it is that God and our fellows have in store for us. This does not mean we shouldn’t stand up for what we consider the right path. But it does mean we should lose resentment and affect at the door when we do not have things our way.
Trinity is a loving, kind, place. Our people have taken to heart the admonition “Life is short and we have little time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us. So be swift to be love, make haste to be kind.” But on occasion we—like all human beings—can, for all our niceness, work in ways that undermine, intentionally or not, others in their ministry. I include myself here—this is part of being human and one goal of all our various spiritual exercises is to remedy this tendency, Again, we are all imperfect creatures, and Christians just beginning to learn to follow Jesus. We cannot ground ourselves in a hope of achieving outcomes, only in hope of doing our best. But just as our church service can perhaps never really solve the real problems that face us, our following Jesus in ministry will always entail accepting part of his suffering and cross: “The cup that I drink you will also drink.”
What is ministry all about? Not to achieve our own will, that’s for sure. And not to fix all the problems, either. In ministry we are given opportunity to serve, and to give the grace and blessing of Jesus to others, especially when this means sharing in their pain. What are parish committees for? To give us a chance for work in ministry directly, and the responsibility of providing advice and counsel based on our ministry to those directly charged with oversight and leadership, the Vestry and the Rector. Again, turning over outcomes to God is key in maintaining our own groundedness and serene following in the way of Jesus.
I intend to continue prayerfully reflecting on these issues as we go forward into my sabbatical and our mutual ministry review. I hope and pray that we all can follow God’s voice in our heart, pass on the grace of Jesus to others, and do better in all ways.
Grace and Peace.
Fr. Tony+
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