Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
God's measurement is different from this of people. He looks at the hearts and He knows everything. When he evaluates the service, for sure, we will discover very strange facts on judgment day. Maybe we will see servants of whom we never heard about before! Maybe we won’t see the servants that we served with! Incorrect Evaluation Of The Ministry 1-Evaluating The Service According To Responsibilities People evaluate the service according to the responsibilities of that servant. God, however, has different measurements. Let us turn to St. Stephen the first deacon, as an example. He was just a deacon, without any high rank. If the Church measured the strength of his ministry according to his rank in the Church, he would not be considered very highly, but, as it stands, he is mentioned even before all the Patriarchs. His ministry is measured according to its depth, for he was full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom and faith (Acts 6:3,5). Acts 6:8 mentions “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” He faced three synagogues of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia), they were disputing with Stephen, but “they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (Acts 6:10). This is why, after the laying on of hands (after he became a deacon), “....the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7). This was the powerful ministry of a deacon, which the Jews couldn’t bear, so they stoned him. During this, he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" (Acts 7:56), and “and they saw his face as the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Let us also look at St. Ephrem the Syrian. He strongly resisted the Arians, and fought for the sake of the true faith, although he was just a reader in the Church, a rank given to thousands and thousands of Sunday School servants. He was called the “violin of the Holy Spirit” and “The Teacher” because of his poems and spiritual writings which influenced so many people. Can we then measure his ministry according to his rank as a reader? Another example is St. Athanasius at the council of Nicea. At that time, he was just a deacon among 318 of the well known fathers, bishops and priests representing the Churches of the whole world. His work is measured according to his attitude against the Arians, and his zeal in defending the Orthodox faith. He also fomulated the Creed to refute this heresy, the creed in which all the Churches of the world believe. The ministry is not measured according to its rank, but according to its power and influence. Also, St. Simon the Tanner was a man without any rank in the Church - he was merely a layman. But the strength of his service was in the depth of his prayers. He saved the whole Church through the miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain. This was done during the rule of Pope Abraam Ibn Zaraa. St Reweis was not a bishop, priest or even a deacon, he was without any job or service in the Church, but in spite of that, the Church ranks him as one of its fathers. We can also remember, Ibrahim El Gohary, who was a layman occupying a job in the Government, but, he had a deep love for the church. Nobody can forget his services in building monasteries, Churches and helping the poor in a way which puts him above many servants. An example outside of the Coptic Church is Michael Angelo. He was an artist, but his services in painting the Church’s icons, made him famous in history, especially St. Peter’s Cathedral. We don’t ask about his rank, but about his deep and sincere service. 2-The Place Of Ministry Some people relate the importance of the servant to the place where they serve, but this is wrong. An example is St. Gregory Nizianzen. He was a Bishop of the city of Niazinza which is a small, unknown city. Yet, because of his deep, precious sermons and theological understanding he was called St. Gregory the Theologian. He made this city famous, it wasn’t the city who made him famous. The same applies to St. Gregory the Bishop of Nyssa. He was the brother of St. Basil the great, and wrote many articles against the followers of Arius. He also had many holy contemplation, and wrote books about the blessings of God. Nobody can say that his service was useless because it was shepherd a small town. The Lord Jesus Himself was born in a village, Bethlehem, the least of cities in Judea (Matt 2:6). He was related to Nazareth and some were wondering “can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46), but He made Nazareth famous and was called “Jesus of Nazareth” (Matt 26:71). He also made Bethlehem famous, and it became a holy place. 3-The Length Of Time In The Ministry Many servants measure their greatness according to the long time they have been in the ministry. There are however, servants with shorter periods of service who are more effective and productive. John the Baptist served only one or two years, and during this short period, he prepared the way for the Lord, “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). The period of Christ’s incarnation was very short. He served for just over three years. After which, He said to the Father, “I have finished the work which you have given me to do” (John 17:4). He also said “I have glorified you on earth...” He completed the salvation, teaching and being a perfect example. Pope Kyrillos IV served as Pope for around 8 years, but the Church called him “The Father of Reform” because of his deep services to the Church! Many priests have proven to be successful over their short ministry, one such man was Father Manassa Yohanna of the city of Mallawi (Upper Egypt). He departed when he was 30 years old. During this short time, he delivered thousands of sermons, wrote many books, and had great spiritual influence on his congregation. One day of St. Paul’s service is greater and deeper than many years of another’s service. 4-The Number Of People You Are Serving This criteria cannot be used as a tool for measuring the effectiveness of one’s ministry. What counts is the number of those who are influenced by your service and those who reached God as a result of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself preached to thousands, He also ministered to the twelve disciples. These were more important than the thousands since they attracted cities and countries to the faith after Christ’s ascension. The number of listeners is not important, but the number of those accepting the word with joy, in whom the word bears fruit and leads them to the life of repentance, holiness and perfection. 5-The Quantity Of Service Maybe you are doing so many services at one time. Maybe you will be so busy doing all these things, you will lose control of everything, as a result the ministry loses its spirituality! So, how can a spiritual ministry be measured? ............ to be continued * Adapted from HH Pope Shenouda III's The Spiritual Ministry - Chapter 4
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