MINISTRY
Introduction
The term Ministry comes from Latin ‘ministerium’
which means ‘activity of a servant, service, duty’. In Middle English
‘ministere’. Later it became Minstri. Our Lord Jesus Christ talks about ministry,
“My Father will honor the one who serves me”. John 12:25. If we want to get
honor from Almighty, we should do the ministry with sincerely. The word
ministry appeared in the bible 22 times.
Healing Ministry
The Bible talks about Jesus, the Son
of God who went about doing good and healing all kinds of diseases – bringing
wholeness and healing to people in their body and mind. When Jesus had risen
from the dead, he gave the authority and power to his disciples to drive out
demons and heal all kinds of diseases. Since then, the church has been engaged
in the ministry of healing.
Biblical Understanding of Healing:
We must clearly understand the fact that Jesus never attempted to heal people
without any relevance nor benefit to the Kingdom of God. When Jesus began his
ministry, he began to preach: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.”
Whenever there came opportunities for him to heal, he never separated the body
from the spirit. When he healed the paralytic man, he told him before hand:
“Yours sins are forgiven.”
Healing Misunderstood: There is a
section of Christian community that emphasizes bodily healing alone as above
every aspect of healing. The Bible also talks about being healed and delivered
of our mind and spirit. People quoting from the 53rd chapter of
Isaiah say that we are healed by his stripes and emphasize that Christ in this
world? Jesus indeed performed miracles and healed people of their diseases. But
he did not heal every one of them.
Purpose of Healing Ministry:
Clearly, the outcome of any healing ministry is glorifying God. By this, the
one who received healing may put his faith and trust in the Lordship of Jesus
Christ. It is an avenue of ministry through which the Lord draws people to
himself. Today, there are countless testimonies of people of other faiths who
have received the healing touch of the Lord, walked into the fold of faith and
have declared their faith through the act of baptism.
The forgotten medication of the Churches: The
ministry of the church in the area of healing has produced tremendous results
in all the continents of the world. Many medical missions have come to serve
the community far and wide. In Tamil Nadu, the work of Dr. Ida Scudder and the
C.M.C. in Vellore is commendable. Unfortunately, many church run hospitals lie
in deplorable conditions. There are not many dedicated medical personnel
available to serve in the rural areas. People perish where there is no vision.
The church must wake up to the grim realities of the society. Jesus said: “You
are the salt of the earth and light of the world.”
Pastoral Ministry
God’s call to different persons has
been implied different responsibilities. Moses was called at the Burning bush
not to be a ‘religious’ leader but a social and a political liberator!’ Isaiah
was called to prophesy to His people but not as a priest. David was chosen as a
king to protect the people of God.
In the New Testament a new vocation
of ‘preaching’ and ‘witnessing’ (2 Tim.4-1) (Kerygma and Marturia) were
discovered as a Pastoral commitment, i.e., Peter, Paul, Timothy etc.
In Jn. 21 St. Peter was asked by
the Lord Jesus to ‘find’, Shepherd’ this sheep. The role of the Shepherd was to
(feed) provide, to protect and constantly to seek ‘pastures’ for his sheep.
Peter again (I Pet.5) reaffirms the
commitment of a Pastor (one who pastures) is; to shepherd’ the flock- to heal
the sick and wounded, protect from unknown attacks in the night and in the day.
A Shepherd is a caring leader rather exhibits Lordship and power at any time.
Laity Ministry
Laity as living witnesses: The
ministry of the laity primarily is to witness God’s wondrous act and to pass
the message to nations and generations. The four leprous did the same telling
the good news of how God delivered his people from enemies during famine. Acts
1:8 reminds us ‘And you shall be my witnesses’.
Courage of the Laity: In Acts 8:2
we read the effective role of the laity during early church persecution “And
devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him”.
Laity as preachers: In Acts 8:4 we
can identify the scattered faithful laity went everywhere preaching the word.
It is like the little leavened bread transforms the whole pot
likewise the lay persons are the
transforming instruments in the hands of
God.
Laity as partners in God’s Mission:
Form Exodus 18:13-27 we learn from the act of Jethro who instructed his son in
law Moses to share the responsibility with people’s leaders. Nehemiah 1-6
chapters present how the laity co operated to complete building the temple.
Conclusion
The Christian ministry is to imitate the Lord Himself. The image of the suffering servant in the Book of Isaiah (Ch.53) is deserving example of the very nature of the servant of God.
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