Maronite Voice - Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

y Fr. John Nahal
B
eing a priest is no laughing
matter. In fact, it is what I believe
to be the highest and most
important calling on the face of the
earth. Pastoring and preaching are
second to none, and as I elaborate a
little bit on the priesthood, I want a
better understanding of and a deeper
appreciation for the men God has
placed in your lives we call priests.
In this article, I want to deal with
one thing: I believe that as members of
the Lord’s churches, there are certain
responses we owe to priests in light of
their calling.
A Church’s Response
God calls a man to do the work of the
ministry. God has found that man
faithful, oftentimes seeing in the man
things that the man can’t even see
himself. He leads some church out there
to call that man to be their priest. He
has equipped and enabled him to fulfill
his calling, and has given him divine
authority to carry out that calling. What
then should be the church’s response to
that man? What are your
responsibilities to your priest?
Recognize His First Loyalty
Look with me at 1 Corinthians 4:1-4.
1
Paul said, “ So then, men ought to
regard us as servants of Christ and as
Being a Priest!
those entrusted with the secret things of
2
God. Now it is required that those who
have been given a trust must prove
3
faithful. I care very little if I am judged
by you or by any human court; indeed,
4
I do not even judge myself. My
conscience is clear, but that does not
make me innocent. It is the Lord who
judges me.”
Whether they mean to or not, many
people are overly critical of priests. In
my opinion, it is usually when they
didn’t get their way or when the priest
didn’t do something to suit them. He
may not have visited them enough or
called them at the right times or perhaps
he preached something they disagreed
with.
Priests are ministers of Christ.
Priests are stewards of the mysteries of
God. A priest’s first loyalty is to God,
and if our church is to be a healthy
church, we must recognize that loyalty.
Honor him
A lot of folks have mistaken ideas
about what it means to honor God’s
man. When Paul mentioned honoring
those who labored in word and deed, he
specified the financial support of those
who labored. That is certainly one way
to honor God’s man, but there are other
ways to do so.
Respect the office of priesthood.
There are some policemen that I do not
respect, but I respect the office they
hold and I know there is much more to
it than what I see. The same is true of a
priest. You can respect the office of
priesthood. Don’t treat priests with
contempt, and don’t tolerate others who
do.
Allow Him to Fulfill His
Calling
I do want to point out that God has
called men to join Him in His work,
and too often there are churches or
members of churches who really aren’t
interested in being a part of that work.
There are some who are content to hear
a sermon and be left alone. There are
some who are content with the status
quo. There are some who are afraid to
move, afraid to spend, afraid to work,
afraid of change, and afraid of what
God might do. There are those who
don’t want to be bothered; those who
are filled with self-interest. If God calls
a man to lead, and you as a church call
that man to lead, then he must be
allowed to lead.
Encourage Him
Did you know that…
• 90% of pastors work more than 46
hours a week
• 80% believed that pastoral ministry
affected their families negatively
• 33% said that being in ministry was
an outright hazard to their family
• 75% reported a significant stressrelated
crisis at least once in their
ministry
• 50% felt unable to meet the needs of
the job
• 90% felt they were inadequately
trained to cope with ministry
demands
• 70% say they have a lower selfesteem
now than when they started
out
• 40% reported a serious conflict with
a parishioner at least once a month
• 70% do not have someone they
consider a close friend.
There is no doubt that being in the
ministry is hazardous to one’s health
and well-being, so how do you
encourage the God-called man? You
can pray for him. Tell him you’re
praying for him. You can write a note;
care for him; stand with him; work with
him, feed him, buy him cars and send
him on luxurious vacations (just
kidding!) and did I mention pray for
him?
Hold Him Accountable to
Fulfill His Calling
Like anyone else, priests can allow
many other things to distract them from
their calling. Some are legitimate,
others are not. Some get involved in
other jobs, community affairs, they get
distracted by money or marriage or
school. Sometimes they get
discouraged. Other times they are
elated.
(Continues on page 24)
The Maronite Voice Volume V Issue No. VII Page 22 July - August 2009