Ang Pagpangalagad [Ministry]: August 29, 2017

MINISTRY

What is Minister? Unsa man ang Ministro?

          Minister o ministro naggikan sa latin nga pinulongan nga nagpasabot ug nagkahulogan “alagad o sulugoon” o “servant.” Usa ka tawo nga gitugotan sa pagpahigayon og mga spiritual nga mga kalihukan sa Simbahan.

Minister – pari, klerigo, ministro, or tinugyanan sa simbahan or alagad.

Unsa may kalainan sa Ministro ug Ministeryo

          Ministro     -        Tawo

          Ministeryo  -        Bulohaton

Sacred ministers are clerics ordained to administer the sacraments (CIC 276; CCEO 369).

Ministers of the word (see Acts 6:4 – “Ug kami, igahin namo ang among kaugalingon sa pag-ampo ug sa pagwali sa Pulong.” Col 1:23 – “Barog nga lig-on sa sukaranan sa inyong pagtoo ug pabilin sa inyong gilaoman. Ibutang sa hunahuna ang ebanghelyo nga inyong nadungog. Kay gitudlo kini sa tanang binuhat ubos sa langit. Ako si Pablo, ang nahimo niyang alagad.”) Preach the gospel, a responsibility not only of the pope and bishops (CIC 756), but also of priests, deacons, and others commissioned to preach and teach (CIC 757-61; CCEO 608).

Ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are bishops, priests, and deacons.

Extraordinary ministers of communion are those laypersons commissioned to do so (CIC 910). In case of necessity laypersons may be authorized to minister by baptizing, distributing communion, preaching, and presiding at the Liturgy of the Word (CIC 920).

What is Ministry? Unsa man ang Ministeryo o ang ‘Bulohaton’?

          A sharing in Christ’s roles as prophet, priest, and king. All the faithful participate in these functions in virtue of their baptism and confirmation, clerics in a particular way through the sacrament of orders (see DH 1326; ND 1705; PO 1; AA 10). Particular and special gifts should be exercised through the ministries that help the whole church (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:1-31; 1 Pt 4:10-11).

Ministeryo – pag-alagad, pagpangalagad ug pagserbisyo.

Roma 12:6-8

“Busa, ang matag usa nato, moalagad unta sumala sa atong nagkalainlaing gasa. Ang nakadawat sa gasa sa Diyos sa pagkapropeta, pasultiha siya sa gilamdag kaniya sa pagtoo. Ang dyakono magtuman sa iyang katungdanan. Ang magdadasig, magdani. Kinahanglan usab nga kamo mohatag nga binuksan ang kamot; mangulo sa kalihokan nga mainiton; ug magmaya sa inyong mga buhat sa kalooy.”

1 Pedro 4:10-11

“Ug paghatagay sa usag-usa sa mga gasa nga inyong nadawat. Niining paagiha mahimo mong maayong tigdumala sa nagkalainlaing grasya sa Diyos. Kon mosulti ka, isulti ang Pulong sa Diyos. Kon duna kay espesyal nga ministeryo, ipakita ni isip gahom sa Diyos, aron himayaon siya pinaagi ni Cristo Jesus sa tanang butang. Diha niya naa ang himaya ug gahom hangtod sa kahangtoran. Amen.

           

Ang Konsepto sa Simbahan Mahitungod sa Pagpangalagad

Ministry is service given to God and to people (Ang pagpangalagad usa ka serbisyo nga gihatag sa Ginoo ug ngadto sa iyang katawhan). One of the things that our Lord repeatedly taught his disciples was the importance of service. Just consider the following. After they had been living with him for some time as his chosen core group, one day Jesus asked them what they were discussing along the way. They kept silent. The reason? “They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.” Jesus told them in no uncertain terms, “If anyone wishes to be the first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” (Mk. 9:33-37).

Mark 9:33-37

          “Miabot sila sa Capernaum. Sa diha na sila sulod sa balay nangutana si Jesus kanila: “Unsay inyong gilalisan samtang diha pa ta sa dalan?”  Wala sila motubag kay naglalis man sila kinsa ang labing dako nila.

          Milingkod siya. Gitawag niya ang Napulog Duha ug miingon: “Ang buot mahiuna, kinahanglan nga maulahi. Alagaran niya ang tanan.” …

          In the following chapter of Mark, after Jesus had given them the third prophecy of his coming passion, James and John approached him with the request to be given the two top places of honor when Christ would take possession of the kingdom. When the ten heard it, they were indignant (naglagot; napungut) at James and John. The reply of Jesus in Mk. 10:42-46 was this: “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.” (Apan gitawag sila ni Jesus ug giingnan: “Sumala sa inyong nahibaloan ang gitawag og mga pangulo sa kanasoran maoy nagharihari kanilang tanan. Ang ilang kadagkoan nagpakita sa ilang kabantogan.” )  Then Jesus declared his opposition to this wordly way of acting: “But it shall not be so among you.” (Dili kini ang nahitabo kaninyo). 

His disciples are not to pattern themselves after the ways of the world. “Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:43-45). “Ang buot mahimong dako diha ninyo kinahanglan mainyong sulugoon. Ug ang buot mauna, kinahanglan maulipon sa tanan. Ang anak sa tawo wala moanhi aron alagaran. Hinonoa, aron pag-alagad ug paghatag sa iyang kinabuhi. Sa ingon daghan ang iyang maluwas.”

          The disciples must have a standard of greatness radically different from that of the world. The pattern of the disciples’ behavior must be not the world but Jesus himself. The way to greatness among his disciples is through service, after the example of Jesus.

          But it seems that even at the last supper, the question of who was the greatest among them still preoccupied (hinuptan na) them. St. Luke indicates that they had not yet learned their lesson. And so, once more Jesus reiterated (balikbalik) to them, “… let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servent.”  Jesus then teased (tiaw, sungog) their minds, asking them, who was the greater, the one who sat at table or the one who served at table. He himself then gave them immediately his own example: “I am among you as the one who serves” (Lk. 22:24-27). They were to find greatness by acting as Jesus did, through service.

          According to John’s Gospel, Jesus illustrates (batbat; gihulagway) his point by washing the feet of his disciples and telling them afterwards to imitate him (Jn. 13:1-17). Again, their model is not the world’s greats but Jesus himself.

          Notice how hard it is for the disciples to get Jesus’ point. When the Lord approaches to wash his feet, Peter resists, and is told, “What I am doing, you do not understand now…” But it is of the utmost (hinungdanon kayo) that the disciples get the point. That is why, when Simon Peter persists (nagpadayon) in refusing (nagdumili) to have his feet washed, Jesus threatens (hulga; bahad) him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” He who does not want to understand the lesson Jesus wants to impart cannot share his life. Fortunately, Peter yields (dawat; tugyan).

          In the course of the Church’s history, the followers of Jesus have shown a great capacity of forgetting the truth repeatedly taught by our Master. The followers of Christ have often been more comfortable in following the example of the world’s greats than in following the Master.

          Jesus calls his own to serve one another and to serve others. Our Christian vocation is one of service. To minister is to serve.

          But there are different kinds of service. While ministry is service, not all forms of service can be called ministry.

          1.] There is the service of the slave. A slave serves because he is compelled (pugus) to serve. And he serves out of fear. If he does not serve, he will meet with very unpleasant consequences (sangputan). And so, whether he likes it or not, he must do the bidding (sugo; mando) of his master.

1]. Service done out of compulsion (pagpugos) and fear, like that of a slave, is not ministry. (Ang pagpanerbisyo pinaagi sa pagpugos, paghadlok, susama sa usa ka ulipon or sulogoon dili usa ka pagpangalagad).

          2.] Then there is the service of the employee or hireling. This service is done in freedom, but done for pay. When the pay is no longer commensurate (tupong; sibo) to the work done, the employee feels cheated (limbong). If the risks (kuyaw) outweigh (gibug’aton; labaw) the benefits of the work, then the employee can have second thoughts about serving. And if a higher pay is offered by another employer, the employee feels justified in taking on the other, more lucrative (mapuslanon) job.

2]. Service done for pay is not ministry but employment (trabaho). (Ang pagpanerbisyo nga adunay bayad, suhol, o sweldo dili pagpangalagad, kundili usa ka trabaho).

3]. Ministry is service that is freely done, but is not done for pay (though the minister deserves to be supplied what he needs for decent living). (Ang pagpangalagad usa ka pagpanerbisyo nga libre ka sa pagbuhat niini o usa ka boluntaryo, dili sa pagbuhat aron bayaran). It is service that one does because of a call from Christ and a mission from him. In other words, a minister is called and sent by Christ to serve. And the minister prolongs (padayon) the service of Christ himself, so that as St. Paul can say that Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20), so the minister can also say that Christ serves in him. It is service done so that others may grow into fullness of life (Jn. 10:10-18).

4]. Ministry is not isolated (lain) service but service done in communion with the Christian community. (Ang pagpangalagad alang sa tanan, dili pilion ug ipahilayo sa katawhan). The service that is  Christian ministry is part of the service of the whole Church, the body of Christ, in order to build up the Church itself and to promote the growth of the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 12:4-7). Technically speaking, ministry is service recognized by the Church and exercised on a stable and sufficiently broad basis for the growth of the Church and of God’s Kingdom.

5]. Ministry must be modeled not on the world but on Jesus (Ang sumbanan sa pagpangalagad dili mao ang dagan sa kalibutan kundili mao si Hesus). In the world, people work to get ahead. Those who hold positions of power in the world use that power for their own advancement (pag-uswag; pagpalabaw) and self-aggrandizement. “What are we in power for?” is a question often in the mind of an official in the world. A position in the world is considered an opportunity for gain for the office-holder, his family and cronies. Rare indeed is the office-holder in the world who does not seek financial and social advancement in the performance of his office.

6]. Ministry is service which is primarily for the benefit of those whom the minister serves. (Ang pagpangalagad usa ka pagpanerbisyo nga ikaayo, ikauswag, ug ikalambo sa gialagaran sa usa ka nag-alagad). All gifts of the Spirit are given for the common good. Ministry is also a gift of the Holy Spirit, and so it must be for the good of the whole Christian and human community. This “for you and for the whole community” aspect of the gifts of the Spirit and of ministry shine out very clearly in the case of the power to celebrate the sacraments given to the clergy. A priest has the power to forgive, but he can forgive others, never himself, in the Sacrament of Penance. He has the power to anoint the sick but he cannot administer the Anointing of the Sick to himself but only to others.

          The Christian minister must have the same attitude as Christ’s. He must seek(mangita) to serve first and above all, and be willing to serve in any position or even without any position. He must not seek a position first and then look for ways of serving from that position once attained. The really important thing is to serve, and the position is a means to service. It is not the service that is the means to the position.

7]. Service is primary and the position is secondary. (Ang pagpanerbisyo maoy una, ang posisyon maoy ikaduha). Our first parents sought (nangita) a status that did not belong to them and to which they had no right. They refused to serve God. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave up a status which belonged to him, and to which he had every right. He served God and men to the point of dying for them.

          It is not easy to find servants in the likeness of Jesus. It is easier, even in the Church, to find slaves and employees. While many indeed profess to be servant-leaders in the Christian community, they often show the mind-set of masters and lords rather that servants. How sad indeed that those whom the Lord has called to greatness through service often find more comfort in titles like Monsignor (My Lord), Your Excellency, Your Grace, Your Eminence, and even Your Holiness, when the best title that suits those who minister in the Church is “Your Servant,” and the best title for the Pope is “Servant of the Servants of God.”

          There are also Church workers and priests who seek themselves while they render service. People sometimes go on mission not to be missionaries but to be mercenaries (magpasuhol). They serve not for love but for the love-offering, so that the greater the love offering they receive, the greater the love they give. You see them not as committed people but as “kumita” (good earners), their greatest achievement not the salvation of souls but their savings in the bank.

          Naa poy mga tawo usahay na mo serbisyo para mo sikat sila. They are happy when people praise them. They serve not for the glory of God but for themselves. Gusto nila na ang mga tawo mo tanaw sa ila nga sila taas. Wala sila mangita sa approval sa Diyos kundili ilang gipangita ang approval sa mga tawo. Daghan ni sila. They glory not in their service but in their promotion.

          But, thank God, there are also those for whom ministry really means service, and who use their authority to build up people and the community. These are people who are willing to work and don’t care who gets the credit. They are happy to do things out of love even when no love offering is forthcoming. They know that to serve Christ is to rule, and that Christ rewards even when men don’t.

          Guide Questions:

1.     Kumusta naman ang akong pagkaalagad/ministro?

2.     Unsay imong tuyo ug tumong sa imong pagsulod?

3.  Kumusta man ang akong commitment (pledge, pasalig, saad, tahas, or buluhaton)?

4.     Unsa pa man ang akong manimo isip usa ka alagad?

Ref:     A SPIRITUALITY FOR MINISTRY (Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr.)

By:      Fr. Danny Arellano

            Bishop’s House

            Ampayon, Butuan City

            Cp# 09177238158

            dunsmarie@yahoo.com

            papafrancis77@gmail.com