Formation

Introduction

This article is intended to be a simple and brief contribution to the process of reflection and sharing on the theme of ministeriality in Biblical texts. Given that the abstract noun “ministeriality” is not to be found in Sacred Scripture, our approach will be based on the semantic plurality of the term “minister”. It is important at this point to emphasise that our text does not include all the Biblical terms equivalent to “minister”, or to study the so-called Biblical ministries such as those of priests, kings, prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors or doctors. We will limit ourselves, therefore, to taking up some theological-linguistic elements associated with the terms and afterwards share, by way of conclusion, a brief reflection and some questions in view of possible further study of the theme.

1. A general outline of Biblical terms equivalent to “minister!

1.1 In the Old Testament

1.1.1 MESHARET

The root of this Hebrew word signified any form of service. In the context of our theme: the service of Joshua to Moses in Ex 24,13; 33,11, Nb 11,28 and Jos 1,1. In these texts, MESHARET means minister, a direct helper, a disciple. In fact, Moses would bring Joshua to his encounters with God on the mountain and in the tent. The ministry of Joshua consisted in helping Moses to understand the message of God and then transmit it to the people. Interestingly, these texts show that being a minister is a stage in the preparation to be a guide, or a true discipleship. Therefore, MESHARET goes back to the theme of the disciple-master relationship, of being able to learn in order to continue a mission or a ministry. From this perspective, the concept of MESHARET gives us to understand that, in the disciple-master relationship, the disciple learns not only from the master but from reality. In other words, reality becomes the master. This shows that the minister is a disciple both of the Lord and of reality.

1.1.2 EBED

Another term used in the Old Testament to signify ministry is EBED. This term indicates not only the common service of any person working under a master, as in the case of Naaman (2 K 5, 6), but also subordination to divine plans as in the case of the servant of God (EBED ADONAI or EBED HA–ELOHIM) in Is 42, 1-4; 49, 1-6; 50, 4-9; 52, 13-15; 53, 1-12. Even though exegetes do not all agree on the historic identity of the EBED ADONAI, the texts clearly show submission to the plans of God and the condition for realising the mission received.

1.2In the New Testament

In the case of the New Testament )NT), the following terms merit discussion:

1.2.1 PAIS/DOULOS

In ordinary language, PAIS means ‘child’. In Mt 12, 18, however, the Greek version of Is 42,1 is used in which the term PAIS is translated with the Hebrew meaning of EBED (servant), to show that Jesus is the Servant of God. With the same intuition, after Pentecost, under the Jerusalem portico, Peter declares for the first time that Jesus is the Servant of God (Ac 3,13). In effect, Peter was so moved by the image of Jesus-Servant that this became the reference point of his first preaching, after Pentecost. In this way, he presents the image of Jesus-Servant as the paradigm of any service whatever in the nascent Church. Textual proof of this is to be found in the semantic transposition made in the NT of the terms PAIS (child, servant) and DOULOS (slave, servant). Here we must be careful: addressing the apostles in Jn 15,15, Jesus qualifies his relationship with them as one of friendship and not of service or slavery. Furthermore, the term DOULOS (servant) continues to characterise the mission of the disciples. Jesus recommends that interpersonal relations be marked by the attitudes and sentiments of a servant and that they must be adopted by anyone who wishes to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 20,27; Mk 10,44). It is also worth noting that DOULOS is the title with which Paul presents himself to his communities (Rm 1,1; 2 Cor 4,5; Gal 1,10; Ep 6,6; Ph 1,1; Tt 1,1). Some Christians are called servants (DOULOI) in Col 4,12; 2 Tm 2,14; Jm 1,1. Peter, Jude and the whole Church are DOULOI of Christ according to 2 P 1,1; Jude 1,1; Ac 1,1. We may then see that the terms PAIS and DOULOS become synonymous and Jesus-Servant becomes the unique paradigm in the exercise of ministries.

1.2.2 LEITOURGOS

Three meanings of this term merit particular attention:

1. indicates public servants and administrators who are called servants of God for the zeal with which they carry out their duties (Rm 13,6). The Christian must be submissive to them and pray for them that they may live tranquil, peaceful, pious and honest lives (2 Tm 2,2).

• The one who announces the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who do not know Him, so that they may become an offering pleasing to Him, is also called LEITOURGOS (Rm 15,16).
• The term is also applied to Jesus to indicate his ministry as mediator between God and humankind (Heb 8,2). It is also interesting that, in the NT, by this term, the ministry of the public servant is seen as equal to that of the evangeliser because both, inspired by Jesus the Mediator, serve the same God. As we have just seen, being inspired by Jesus the Mediator means assuming and performing, within and outside the Church, the priestly dimension of the ministries. All the ministries, without exception, are clothed in a priestly dimension or, in other words, the mediation between the Creator and creation.

1.2.3 HYPĒRETES

As regards the term HYPĒRETES, we find it means only “minister of the Word” (Lk 1,2; Ac 26,16). In these texts, the experience of Christ is seen as a necessary condition for the exercise of the ministry. We need only see that the “servants of the Word”, mentioned in Lk 1,2, are eyewitnesses. Saul, in Ac 26,16, is constituted servant and witness of what he had just seen and of what the Lord still had to show him. From these passages, the idea emerges that ministries are born of the experience of Christ and take nourishment from it.

1.2.4 DIAKONOS

The term is widely used in the NT, but in different contexts and with different meanings. Fundamentally, we do well to examine the following: DIAKONOS is the person who receives the mission to serve the Church. Stephen and his friends are deacons since they carry out the charitable works of the community (Ac 6,1-6); Paul and Apollos, however much they work tirelessly in evangelisation, prefer to be considered simply deacons (DIAKONOI) of the Church (1 Cor 3,5-15); Tychicus (Ep 6,21), Epaphras (Col 1,7) and Timothy (1 Tt 3,2) are DIAKONOI since they collaborate more directly in evangelisation. Even Jesus Christ is a DIAKONOS since he did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mt 28,28; Mk 10,45; Rm 15,8). Assistance to the neediest is considered not only a DIAKONIA (ministry, service) but a necessary condition to have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 25,31-46). In particular, it is of help to highlight the texts on the inferiority of the DIAKONOS: Lk 12,37  22,26-27. The DIAKONOS is inferior to God and the people entrusted to him. In effect, it seems that this was an important characteristic of ministries in the first Christian communities.

1.2.5 OIKONOMOS

The OIKONOMOS is the administrator who looks after the property of his master. It must be noted that, in the Pauline and Petrine traditions, all Christians are called OIKONOMOI since they administer the graces of God (1 Cor 4,1-2; 1 Pt 4,10). The symbolism of the administrator of the house is indeed striking as it insists on the duty of every Christian to have a ministry. In this way, the ministers are seen as a way of administering the OIKOS (dwelling, house) of God (1 Cor 3,5-9).

2. Reflection

The semantic riches which we have already mentioned are not to be seen as mere linguistic research, for its own sake, of Biblical authors but as clear proof of the diversity of ministerial experiences among the people of Israel and the first Christian communities. In the same way, these semantic riches serve as a foundation and inspiration for the continual contextualisation of ministries.

2.1 A diversity of ministerial experiences

From what we have said above, it is clear that the various experiences of ministeriality recorded in the sacred texts are of interest to hagiographers to present, through them, a God who raises up ministries at the service of His house. We bear in mind that, in the NT, house of God (OIKOS TOU THEOU) indicates, strictly speaking, the Church of Christ (1 Tm 3,15; Heb 3,6) and, in a broader sense, the entire universe (At 7,44-50). The inherent complexity of the concepts shows the importance of deepening not only the meaning of the expression “house of God”, but also the ministries required for its integral administration. The house of God is so complex that it is not possible to administer it without a vast range of ministries. It is urgent, therefore, to stimulate the birth of new ministries within and outside the Church. In this sense, the Comboni Missionaries are called to animate this process that today, more than ever, seems to be a conditio sine qua non for the evangelisation of the contemporary world.

2.2 Contextualisation of ministries

The various experiences of ministeriality in the Bible are accompanied by a process contextualisation, making ministries fit for a given context. For Comboni Missionaries, contextualisation brings with it two intrinsically interdependent processes: the process ad intra and the process ad extra. Ad intra because it requires a re-think of ministries and missionary commitments in light of the internal situation of the Institute (number of confreres, academic formation, vocational geographics, the financial situation, etc.). Ad extra because it challenges us to identify, in the context in which we work, people, means and methods to promote, with and through these, new ministries or the actualisation of those already in existence. Both processes require realism, courage and optimism. It is to be noted that, in the process of the contextualisation of ministries, assumed either individually or as a group, the contextualised reading of Sacred Scripture plays an irreplaceable role. For this reason, it is fundamental to re-learn the Bible, starting from the context of the contemporary listener. Only in this way will it be possible to discover the ministries more suitable for each situation.

3. Study questions

a) In what does the “inferiority of the minister” consist, as applied to Comboni missionaries?

b) Do we see the need for new ministries in the Church and Institute today? Which ones?

c) The house of God is immense and complex. How is it to be administered integrally?

d) Have we succeeded in contextualising the Comboni charism and the ministries associated with it?

e) Have we succeeded in contextualising our hermeneutics of Biblical texts, for the purpose of arousing ministries fit for the situation? What difficulties did we find?

Recommended Bibliography

COLLINS, J.N. (2014). Diakonia Studies: Critical Issues in Ministry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

COMISSÃO Teológica Internacional. (2002). Da Diaconia de Cristo à Diaconia dos Apóstolos.

GUIJARRO, S. (2017). La Aportación del Análisis Contextual a la Exégesis de los Textos Bíblicos. Cuestiones Teológicas, 44 (102), 283-300.

KING, N. (2019). Ministry in the New Testament. New Blackfriars, 100 (1086), 155-164.

MĂCELARU, M.V. (2011). Discipleship in the Old Testament and Its Context: A Phenomenological Approach. Pleroma, 13 (2), 11-22.

Fr. José Joaquim L. Pedro, mccj

“The pilgrim Church is by its nature missionary” (AG 2; cf. Mt 28, 16-20; Mc 16, 15-20), but by its nature, it is also ministerial (cf. Rom 12, 4-8). Ministeriality and mission are closely linked since the mission becomes concrete and is realised through different ministries. A ministry is a service for the common good and for the development of the mission of the Church. Therefore, we may say that the Church is missionary in that it is substantially ministerial and a servant. In the context of the year of ministeriality which we are living in the Institute, in this article, we will dwell especially on the ministerial and charismatic aspects of the evangelising mission of the Church in the parish.

In light of the Second Vatican Council, we know that all baptised persons are called to be evangelisers since they participate in the three ministerial functions of Christ who is Priest, Prophet and King, and share in the mission (cf. LG 30-38). First of all, ministries may be classified as two main groups: Lay Ministries and Ministries of the Order of Priesthood. If we start from a hierarchical view of the Church and a clerical view of pastoral, lay ministries become suffocated or reduced to supporting the priest and his mission. Consequently, pastoral agents become mere collaborators, assistants, “altar boys” or, as happened in many missions, “mission boys”, even though they were adults. There are also some priests who dedicate much of their time to activities proper to the Brothers or other lay ministries, leaving little time for the ministries proper to their priesthood.

Another widespread practice is that of dividing parishes into pastoral zones, each of which is entrusted to a priest. Each one organises and administers his own zone, his own pastoral, his own team, projects, people, mission and money. The zone becomes his property where other missionaries may not intervene and concerning which, at times, they may not even express an opinion. Each one has to respect the territory of the others. The XVIII General Chapter and Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium appeal to us to begin a process of conversion, to pass from clerical and hierarchical models of mission and pastoral to models based upon ministries raised up by the Holy Spirit, to live the spirit of Vatican II. In virtue of our baptism, we are all equal: disciples of Jesus but with different vocations and gifts (cf. LG 30). Using the expression created by the Latin American bishops in Aparecida and adopted by Pope Francis, we affirm that we are all missionary disciples of Jesus Christ (cf. EG 119-121.130-131, Aparecida 184-224).

It is important that we emphasise that the baptised are, first of all, disciples of Jesus Christ and that the encounter with Christ transforms them into missionaries. Jesus, who has fascinated them, sends them out to evangelise. “Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel” (EG 20). Each missionary disciple ought to make their own the passion of Paul for the mission and exclaim: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9,16). Evangelisation is not only the duty but also the right of every missionary disciple of Jesus Christ.

Today it is fundamentally necessary to grow in ministerial plurality. Priestly and lay ministries are gifts of the Holy Spirit, given so that they may complement a common goal: “

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done but always to the same Lord, working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same Spirit working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose” (1 Cor 12, 4-7). The mission today demands ministerial pastoral models. A ministerial missionary parish is dynamic because, through listening to the Spirit and interpreting the signs of the times, it discovers, conceives, creates and develops new ministries and pastoral strategies.

I now propose two pastoral plans based upon ministries that are already functioning in different parts of the world.

I will not refer to ordained ministries since they are part of the priestly vocation, but I will emphasise lay ministries.

• In some Small Christian Communities. 1. Regarding the Word of God: a Biblical animator who coordinates Biblical reflection in the small communities. 2. Regarding community formation: catechists for preparation for the sacraments and accompaniment afterwards. 3. Regarding liturgical celebrations: welcoming ministers, cantors, readers, acolytes, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. 4. Regarding social solidarity: formators of political and human rights awareness, the ministry of charity and solidarity with the poor, a ministry for community organisation and mobilisation.
• Pastoral organisation. Some parishes integrate the different ministries in three pastorals: Prophetic, Liturgical and Social. 1. Prophetic pastoral: catechists for initial formation in the sacraments, teachers to provide ongoing formation for all those who exercise a ministry, coordinators to accompany the various parish groups, a school for pastoral and a periodical publication for the formation of all leaders and parish communities. 2. Liturgical pastoral: welcoming ministers, choirs, cantors, people who proclaim the Word, acolytes, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, coordinators of liturgy groups, actors for dramatizing the Gospel in children’s Masses. 3. Social pastoral: ministers of solidarity and charity, visitors of the sick, social conscience formators in human rights and the social doctrine of the Church, hospitality.

In order for a ministerially organised parish to function well, it is fundamentally necessary to be able to count on a parish council that includes those responsible both for ordained and lay ministries, so that, in communion, they may accompany the evangelising process, discern the signs of the times so as to understand which pastoral options are suitable for the present context and time and which ministries are necessary to carry out the missionary work. It is equally important to rely on a spirituality that may help the evangelisers to know and love more their vocation as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.
Fr. Fernando Mal GatKuoth