Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 5, 2011 - St. Agatha, virgin and martyr
[Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21 and Mark 6:30-34]The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. They they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and ,any came to know about it.......
One of the great blessings/dangers of ministry is the feeling that one is "needed" and that if one isn't on duty 24 hours a day, a soul in need will be lost! In my ministry as a retreat master for priests, deacons, sisters and lay ministers of various kinds, I encounter this blessing/danger all the time. Although it is cloaked in religious language and motivation, it comes down to a kind of "career" that can "eat one alive." Such good folks fail to see what Jesus did often and encouraged the disciples to do: GET AWAY FROM IT AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. I am blessed with friends and Members of this Beloved Congregation who regularly ask me about my own efforts at self-maintenance!
The thrust of my retreats is basically one of "spiriitual, emotional, intellectual and physical hygiene!" Many "ministers," if challenged to draw a picture in which they are asked to rank in importance (by drawing four circles) according to time spent (or at least how they perceive it) the four elements of Prayer, Study, Relationships, and Ministry, would make ministry a large circle and the other three smaller in size. My challenge to them is that all four need to be the same size if the ministry is going to be long lasting and effective. If we are not people of prayer, willing to learn, able to give and receive love [especially if the minister is a married person], how are we going to be able to help others in their struggles to take care of themselves?
The invitation from Jesus is clear. We ministers have to learn how to say, "I am tired and I must get away to take care of myself." The gospel says that people will try to interrupt this. That "vast crowd" will move us to pity just as they moved Jesus. I would hope that some members of that crowd will take it on themselves to remind the minister to take care of him or herself! AMEN
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