"My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation." Sirach 2:1 (RSVCE)
Introduction
When I began my service to God in lay ministry in the Catholic Church 20 years ago, I could never have imagined the joys and trials that would await me- watching conversions take place of those in the RCIA process, experiencing increasing temptations of the evil one as I tried to serve the Lord, forming lifelong friendships with fellow workers in the vineyard, battling church politics, helping someone discover the beauty of a teaching of the Church, worrying about how we were going to pay the bills for our family of six on my modest church employee salary. Yes, these have all been part of my journey as I have said to the Lord "Here am I, send me."
One key truth that was instilled in me early on in my ministry training as I prepared to serve with the National Evangelization Teams (NET Ministries) was that, above all, I am a beloved son of God. It does not matter whether I brought a soul into a relationship with Jesus Christ or I was ridiculed by those to whom I ministered on a particular day. God has always loved me profoundly and been pleased with my efforts to serve Him. It was through this knowledge of my sonship in God and my desire to serve him that I was drawn to the Second Chapter of the Book of Sirach. I have always felt that the Father was speaking this passage to me as His beloved son who has chosen to serve him by working for the Church. This passage has been a source of strength and guidance for me in times of trial. It is such an inspiration in my work that I asked my wife to give me a framed copy of this passage for a present. This gift has hung in my office for quite a few years now serving as a reminder of God's presence in my ministry. While I feel blessed that I have had this passage to refer to in times of confusion and discouragement in ministry, I have often wished I had someone or a book I could turn to to receive advice for navigating the often turbulent waters of lay ministry in the church. My hope is that through this series of reflections on this passage, that others in ministry will be encouraged and guided as they follow their calling to serve the Lord.
If You Come Forward to Serve the Lord...
If you were looking to get into church work and the first piece of advice you were given was that you should expect to encounter many trials, would you continue on this career path? I certainly wouldn't! I suppose this is why the Lord allows those he has called to serve him to experience the sweetness of being a vessel to draw others to Him before the trials come. It would certainly become easy to be jaded by the various discouragements and temptations that are part of the life of a lay minister if I did not first have that awareness that this was part of the job and may even be a sign that I am doing something right!
Whether in my work as a college campus minister, a parish or diocesan leader in faith formation, or my current position as a parish coordinator of adult faith formation, I have become resigned to the fact that trials, sometimes crushing tests of my endurance, will be part of the job. I have come to understand that such trials are even indicators that the evil one sees me succeeding in leading others closer to Christ and is attempting to discourage me. I guess if it happened to one of the greatest evangelists of the church like St. Paul, we should expect the same:
" Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches." (1 Cor. 11:24-28)
As the saying went in one of my favorite childhood cartoons, GI Joe, "knowledge is half the battle." If we know up front what we are getting in to when we come to serve the Lord, we can prepare ourselves for the battle. We can put on the armor of God through frequent prayer and reception of the sacraments. We can learn the tactics of the enemy and use them against him like spiritual jujitsu. When trials come our way, we can wallow in despair or we can offer up the sufferings we endure for the salvation of souls. Fortunately, the Lord gives us many graces to live out our calling and we don't have to experience every set back with great discouragement. We simply need to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord who is our hope and inspiration in all we do.
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