1 Corinthians 4
“It is the Lord who judges me.” This word of St Paul should resonate within every Christian. But, particularly for pastors of the Church, it should be the prime and supreme principle for all ministerial duties and responsibilities. Ministers of the Church are accountable primarily to the Lord. Ordained ministers belong to the Lord first. Thus, St Paul regards himself and his companions “as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.”
But when pastors forget this principle, they become anything but the servants of Christ. When they follow their pastoral visions only, they become dictators. These dictators depend on human calculation and wisdom. They concentrate on quantitative and exterior expansion. They act as an owner of a business.
When pastors keep their power by pleasing the faithful or the public, they become demagogues. They prefer a democratic process for pastoral as well as pedagogical decisions. They pacify the faithful and the public by adopting their demands even in the matter of faith and morals. They strive to be popular and fashionable.
In either case of a dictator or of a demagogue, the salvation of souls is also forgotten along with the diminution of the mastership of God. The Church becomes a service cooperation that provides religious satisfaction or a charitable organization that contributes to social justice or a very influential social institution that operates educational and medical businesses.
St Paul tells us again, “But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.” As a shepherd of Christ, St Paul struggled to carry out the will of the Lord, not any human visions or ideas. He cared less about the visible success of his ministry or his fame and popularity among the faithful. St Paul knew the Lord would judge him not by any human standard but by the faithfulness to his calling as an apostle. The Lord “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”
Let us pray for the shepherds of Church that they may be faithful and trustworthy servants and stewards of Christ and God’s mysteries so that each may “receive commendation from God.”
