In the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Exodus, after God’s people have been delivered through the Red Sea from slavery into freedom, and after the Israelites have journeyed through the wilderness for some time, Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, gives him some keen advice. Moses has been sitting before the people he’s leading, and over the course of an entire day, he judges the people. Jethro is disturbed. He asks Moses why he alone is sitting before the people, judging them all day while the people stand about (twiddling their thumbs?). Jethro is direct: “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it alone” (18:17-18).
Jethro has a better idea. Moses should continue to teach the people in the way of following God. He will be their guide. But he also needs to choose able persons from among the people to be rulers who can do most of the judging, especially in small matters. Moses doesn’t have to take all of it on himself! In large matters, however, the people can and should still approach Moses for help. Moses took his father-in-law’s advice, and presumably, the advice worked.
This brief passage from Exodus aligns beautifully with St. Paul’s theology of the Body of Christ. Paul would, of course, have known this passage, but he takes it one step further. Paul, in his various letters, develops a theology in which the Church’s ministry is shared, but he fleshes out this theology by referring to spiritual gifts given by God to his people. The Church’s ministry is now tied to the creative and dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit. Ministry is never a solo endeavor. Whether heeding the model of Jethro or of Paul, shared ministry enables ministry to flourish without wearing down the collective body of the faithful.
Ministry is increasingly difficult in our own day, especially as churches have grown smaller. How indeed do we sustain vibrant ministry with small staffs and small congregations without burning ourselves out? Jethro offers words of wisdom, and St. Paul outlines a theology. But if we dig deeper below the surface of Paul’s theology of the Body of Christ, we will see that ministry is directly informed by the gifts present in a particular community. Too often, we approach it the other way around. We have ideas for ministries that we like or that we think we should implement, without asking whether a parish has the spiritual gifts present to support those ministries. What if we inverted the order? If we ground ourselves in prayer while, at the same time, paying close to attention to the obvious and latent gifts in our own parish, I believe that we’ll understand more clearly the ministries to which God is calling us. We can’t do everything, nor should we. But there are certain things that God is specifically asking us to do, if we have ears to hear his voice.
Eastertide is arguably the most important liturgical season in which to discern our own spiritual gifts. The thrust of the season of Easter is outwardly directed. In the early Church, after the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into heaven, and following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, the Church had to rely on the Spirit’s guidance. The Church, to thrive and survive, needed to rely on the shared gifts of all her members. This is how the earliest deacons emerged on the scene. As the Gospel called the early disciples farther into the mission field, ministers were needed to serve the widows “back home.” The Gospel both needed to be proclaimed in various places, and there were still people in need of aid in local contexts. And as the Church grew, priests were eventually needed to assist bishops in celebrating the Eucharist.
I have long said that Good Shepherd will not be as vibrant and effective in Gospel ministry unless we’re all—official members and regularly attending non-official members—participating in ministry in an active way beyond Sunday Mass. We need each other, and the Church needs our many gifts. We would do well to remember Jethro’s advice, practical and wise: if we try to do things alone, we will wear ourselves out. And yet, the solution is not to diminish ministry or to assume that the Church should remain small. The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles certainly assume that the Church will grow because the Gospel is not meant only for a local context but for the whole world.
This Easter season, if you aren’t already participating in a parish ministry, I invite you to consider doing so. What gifts has God given you that will complement our life in community? If you don’t know where to start, prayerfully reflect on what skills you have as well as your passions. Or schedule a time to talk with me, and we can look at spiritual gifts in relation to your life. Peruse our parish website to learn more about our ministries. We’re always in need of acolytes to serve at the altar for Sunday and weekday Masses, persons to launder altar linens (which can be done at home), persons to serve on parish committees, new ushers, and volunteer assistance with our retreat house ministry, among many others. I assure you that we will find something with which you can be involved.
Ultimately, Jethro’s and St. Paul’s perspectives on shared ministry are liberating. We don’t have to and shouldn’t do ministry alone. We have each other. And more than anything else, we have the grace of God and the specific gifts that he has given us not to hide under a bushel but to use for the benefit of his kingdom. So, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, let your light shine before others, so that all you do and all that you are will testify to the astounding glory of almighty God.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle