Welcome to Resurrection Parish as we begin the fifth week in our current message series, “Staying Power.” This series is exploring the commitments that we need to make and keep if we want to grow spiritually.
We started off the series by explaining why spiritual growth should be something that we prioritize in our lives. Spiritual growth empowers us to identify our purpose and to accomplish what God has created us to do. Spiritual growth enables usto become the best version of ourselves, the person we want to be. Spiritual growth encourages us to love the people around us the way we want to love them but often fail to. Spiritual growth equips us to love and care for ourselves in a way that is not selfish but selfless. In fact, our most important objective in life could be to grow spiritually.
We have been focusing on five commitments that are particularly valuable for growing spiritually, and they form the acronym STEPS: Serving in ministry or mission, Tithing, Engaging in small groups, Prayer and the sacraments, and Sharing your faith. We have been looking more in depth at each of these five commitments.
We started off by looking at the commitment that is the easiest to understand and appreciate, namely prayer (and as Catholics, this includes the sacraments). Prayer is a conversation with God that takes practice. The more we pray, the more likely we’ll see the fruit of prayer.
We looked at what we said is, perhaps, the most challenging step: sharing our faith with people who do not have a relationship with Christ and his Church. Sharing our faith helps us grow in faith. While sharing our faith can seem intimidating, it does not have to be. We talk about identifying someone far from God whom you know, investing in them through prayer and building the relationship, and then inviting them to come to Church at the appropriate time.
Last week we looked at what we called the most helpful of the steps, we took a look at
engaging in small groups. We said, our faith is personal but it is not private. We grow in faith relationally. So, we need friends in faith. Our strategy for helping you to develop Christ-centered friendships is small groups. We think one of the basic steps in spiritual growth is getting into a group.
Today we are looking at what is perhaps the most useful of all the steps: serving in ministry and/or missions. Ministry is the term we use to describe service done in the parish for other parishioners and guests. Mission is service beyond our parish: the work of restoration and healing to a hurting world. To serve in ministry or mission means to be of use to God by being useful to others.
We can serve others in many ways. Traditionally the Church has taught about The Corporal Works of Mercy and The Spiritual Works of Mercy.
The Corporal Works of Mercy are found throughout the ministry of Jesus, and provide a guide on how we should care for one another, especially when it comes physical needs: feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, care for the sick. Some of the ways that we participate in the Corporal Works of Mercy here in Resurrection Parish is through our pastoral care of the sick team who visits with the homebound, and our St. Vincent de Paul Conference which provides financial assistance to those in need.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy are found throughout the teaching of Jesus, they provide a guide to how we should be treating one another, especially when it comes to spiritual needs: comforting the sorrowful, instructing the unschooled, counseling the doubtful or confused. Again, some of the principle works we engage in here at Resurrection Parish is our Bereavement Team that comforts those who have lost a loved one, our wonderful catechists who provide instruction and witness to the next generation, and our Small Groups.
In order to grow spiritually, we want to become more like Christ, so we’ve got to act like Christ, and Christ told us plainly: “For the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve”
(Matthew 20:28). For Jesus, serving wasn’t just a good idea, it was the whole idea, the whole idea of his life.
Service brings blessings and rewards, short term, and long term. Jesus told a story to help us understand that; “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise” (Matthew 25:1-2).
At that time, in that culture, bridesmaids played a different role than they do today. They often formed a welcoming committee for the groom as he arrived at the house of the bride for the wedding. Jesus says that five of the bridesmaids were wise and five were foolish. Why? The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, the wise ones did.
Jesus continues: “Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, “Behold the bridegroom!” The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out.” But the wise ones replied, “No, for there may not be enough for us and you’” (Matthew 25:5-9).
So, after a delay, the groom finally arrives. Because of the delay the lamps of the foolish ones have gone out. The wise ones are not being selfish; what they have is simply not transferable.
The parable continues; “While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other bridesmaids came and said, “Lord, open the door for us!” But he said in reply, “I do not know you” (Matthew 25:10-12). The foolish ones didn’t get to enjoy the celebration, they miss out on the rewards.
The kingdom of God, as described by Jesus over and over again, is a feast, a party, a celebration, filled with rewards, so full of rewards, its worth organizing our lives around. And this is why Jesus concludes, “Therefore, stay vigilant” (Matthew 25:13). Stay vigilant when it comes to your spiritual health. The parable urges us to persevere in good works, to have staying power when it comes to serving.
Sooner or later you need to serve here in your parish. We are part of the body of Christ and in a healthy body every part of the body performs some function, some help to the rest of the body.
Ministry and Mission in our parish help you, Move from being a consumer to becoming a contributor, feel more connected to the work of the parish, and grow as an owner of this, not just an observer. Your whole relationship to the parish and your fellow parishioners changes completely when you get up out of the pew and start serving.
At the end of the day, at the end of our lives, all we’ll have is what we’ve given away. That’s why we serve.