Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
The Christian ministry is not just teaching or tutoring, otherwise it becomes a mere intellectual work. The servant is not just a teacher, or a storage of information, transferring information to the minds of the children. So what is the ministry, then? The ministry is love This love fills the heart of the servant towards God and His Kingdom, towards people and especially the children. He loves God and wants everyone to love Him too. He loves people and wants them to reach God, and his service is an expression of this love. The Ministry is a natural outcome of something greater than the service itself, Divine Love. The service is an expression of love overflowing from the heart, it is a desire to serve. If it is without love, it becomes dry, routinely and without spirit or fruits. It will just be a transfer of knowledge. Then we love those whom we serve, as God loves us, and then we will be successful in our ministry. Let us fill our hearts with love, as much as we can. Love was the basis of our Lord Christ’s ministry “....having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1). The act of salvation is a clear expression of this love. St. John the Beloved also writes "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) As for you, you can never have a spiritual effect on a person unless there is love between you and that person. Through the child’s love for you, trust will develop and the child will accept your words. Eventually, they will tell you what is inside their hearts. In this event, you can know their spiritual needs and guide them to God and His Kingdom. So, the Sunday School servant is a loving and loved person. They love their children and their children love them. The servants love their ministry and this love will run into their hearts and their bodies. The servants who love their children will serve with feeling: If any one of their children are absent, they will miss them. Even if twenty eight out of thirty are present, the true servant will keep thinking about the other two. This feeling will be apparent when they go to visit them. The ministry (service) is not a formal work, it is an expression of love for God and the people! In all their activities and ministry, servants do not concentrate on themselves, in case they desire to appear as good and honest servants in their own eyes. This type does not fear God’s judgment. The true servants serve out of love towards their children. When preparing a lesson, the main objective should be to give the children all what they can offer, so they try to find interesting stories, collecting any beneficial ideas and useful information. The intention is not for the lesson to be perfect, but to make others happy, to work for their benefit, and to suffer for their sake. The ministry is giving to everyone The servant gives without obligation, naturally, without being pressured to do so. As the sun, by its natural law gives heat and light, and the tree gives shade, flowers and fruits, so the servant gives freely to all. Also, as the spring gives water and quenches everyone’s thirst, so the servants who freely give, refresh the souls of all they meet. By their nature, they love, teach, visit, help and support everyone, without partiality. They give to everybody in every occasion and everywhere: In their home, with their families, at work, at university or at Church, they are like their Master, Jesus “....who went about doing good ...” (Acts 10:38) . They try to draw people closer to God by all means. Service, then, means to do good deeds, lovingly towards people! This is planted by God, through a useful word, a blessing and giving help. It moves the heart of the servant towards the people he meets. They are constantly giving themselves to everybody. The servant gives spiritual nourishment Nourishment is offered by the servants to the souls of their children, to feed them with the good word of God. The Lord says "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?” (Luke 12:42). Servants give their children rich meals from spiritual books, the lives of the saints and hymns. They also include teachings related to the theological beliefs and doctrines of the Church in a simple and spiritual method. How can the servant offer a rich, spiritual meal to his children in just one hour per week? Spiritual influence does not depend on how many hours spent with the children, but on the power of the spiritual word coming from the spiritual servant. They should be led by the Holy Spirit of God “...the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12). St. Anthony heard just one word in Church, and his whole life was changed. This was the reason for the founding of the angelic (monastic) life in the Church! Ministry is holy zeal It is a flame of fire inside the heart which makes it full of love towards others and desire their salvation. David the Psalmist says “... zeal for Your house has eaten me up ...”(Psalm. 69:9). Similarly, St. Paul says “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22). The Good Shepherd says "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:11, 14). Also, “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick." ( Ezekiel 34:16). It is a great favor from God to give us the chance to share with Him in caring about His children. He can do this work alone, but because He is so humble, he allowed us to work with Him, Glory be to His Name. This is why St. Paul the Apostle says about himself and Apollos “For we are God's fellow workers;” (1 Corinthians 3:9) Service is Co-operation and communion with the Holy Spirit; The Holy Spirit is working for the establishment of the Kingdom, we are just His instruments. The Holy Spirit works in us, through us and with us. He gives words to those who evangelize and makes the word effective to the listeners. The Lord said "...for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matthew 10:20) How beautiful are the letters addressing each of the Bishops of the seven Churches in Asia “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."' ( Revelation 2:7 ) The ministry is a bridge between God and people You should be a strong bridge in your service, delivering what the Holy Spirit says. The spiritual servants are the ones who take from God and give to their children, they do not give from their own resources. Service is like Jacob’s ladder, reaching up to heaven from earth, where the angels of God were ascending and descending on it (Gen 28:12); they were ascending with the needs of the people to present them before God, and descending with their fulfillment from God. Didn’t the Lord say "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7). Servants, in their ministry, are like the angels of God in heaven. They raise their prayers up to heaven on behalf of their children that God might give them utterance, to open their mouths (Ephesians 6:19), and from the ladder of Jacob, the word shall descend, and they preach it to their children. Ministry is the work of angels and the apostles St. Paul said about the angels “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). He also said about himself and the rest of the Apostles, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor 5:20). ..... to be continued *Adapted from HH Pope Shenouda III's The Spiritual Ministry - Chapter 1
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