Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 1, 2006 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Numbers 11:25-29; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48]"Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!" "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us!"
It would appear that Moses and Jesus had to both confront a problem that is both ancient and modern: Who is "in" and who is "out" when it comes to ministry? Prophesying and casting out demons shows up in the job description of the seventy elders and in that of the disciples as well. But does that mean that someone else is forbidden to do it? Thereby hangs the problem. The question remains with us today. At one time, the official definition of "ministry" was quite restricted to what is done by an "ordained" person. There were efforts on an official level to keep this restrictive definition in place, but they were to no avail and now official documents of the church speak of individuals who are "commissioned" but not ordained to certain ministry such as Special Ministers of the Eucharist, etc.. Even so, is that the end of it? No, the definition is really out of the control of the hierarchy, even if there are efforts to at least assure some "quality control." After all, a person who claims to represent the church community should have some credentials to do that. Yet, even then, the subject is not exhausted because we all are called by virtue of baptism to participate in the ministry of Jesus, which he expands to just giving a cup of water to drink for his sake! How does one put controls on that? With the multiplication of roles and ministries in today's church, there are some challenges that face us. There ARE folks who take on things that they lack the skills to do or for reasons of power and prestige. Who is going to watch out for that? And there ARE folks who feel excluded because the "institutional" church makes it hard for them to get the necessary training because of schedules, age, or any other number of requirements. Perhaps remembering what Moses and Jesus say can be a reminder to us all that the operating presumption is to get the ministry done and that discernment as to abilities requires wisdom and compassion first of all. AMEN
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