Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
The importance of the ministry comes from its strength, depth, love and giving. The way it affects and changes people! The Effective Word This was clear in the Lord Christ’s service, Glory be to Him. We should take notice of the Lord Christ’s invitation to St. Matthew, “And as He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s post and said to him, “Follow me”. And he arose and followed Him” (Mark 2:14), (Mattew 9:9). It was just a word said to a person responsible for tax collecting. As a result, he left his job, arose and followed Him without even asking where to? The same powerful invitation was used when calling the four fishermen disciples. As it is written, “And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, "Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.” (Mark 1:16-20). Through the power of the Word, they left everything and followed Him immediately, without any hesitation, delay or argument. They left their father, their nets, and everything. St. Peter summarized it all by saying ..."See, we have left all and followed You." (Matt 19:27).
His words had the power of convincing even those who argued with Him. When He explained to the scribes and Pharisees how a person is allowed to do good deeds on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-12) and about the Resurrection, it was written “......He forty had silenced the Sadducees” (Matthew 22:34). Also, “...no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.” (Matthew 22:46). His words also influenced others because of their warmth and love. When he said to Zacchaeus, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." (Luke 19:5). A word, so deep and warm, led this person to repentance, so that he said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house” ( Luke 19:8, 9). All this because of one strong, warm word spoken by the Lord. The same powerful words characterized the ministry of our Fathers, the Apostles. A sermon said by St. Peter the Apostle on Pentecost, attracted three thousand people who were baptized that same day (Acts 2:37-41). The strength of the word also appears in St. Paul’s ministry, even when he was captured and judged before Felix the governor “Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid...” . (Acts 24:25). Also, King Agrippa said to St. Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian." (Acts 26:28). The Power Of Giving Some servants like the easy service, with no troubles or effort, but the power of the ministry appears in bearing its hardships, in love, giving and rejoicing. An example of this is St. Paul the Apostle’s ministry “...in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness (2 Cor 11:26, 27). * Adapted from HH Pope Shenouda III's The Spiritual Ministry - Chapter 4
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