3rd Sunday of Abib - Characteristics of Ministry (2025)

Salutation

Background

Today is the 3rd Sunday of the Blessed Month of Abib. The Church arranges for us the readings of the Coptic Month of Abib to be about our fathers the apostles and their ministry. At the beginning of the month, we are fasting the Fast of the Apostles and on the 5th day the Feast of the martyrdom of St Peter and St Paul. So the focus of the readings for the whole month, takes from this and we see the support of God the Holy Spirit in the Ministry of the Apostles.

• In the 1st Sunday, we read the gospel of the commission of the 70 Apostles when the Lord Jesus sent them and gave them instructions about the ministry.
• In the 2nd Sunday, we read the gospel of the Lord warning the Apostles against becoming a stumbling block and the message was about the offenses of the ministry.
• Today, in the 3rd Sunday, we read the gospel of the feeding of the multitude and we see the administration of the ministry.
• Next week, in the 4th Sunday, we will read about the raising of Lazarus, and God willing, we will see the the gifts of the ministry.

Introduction

The Gospel reading today is from Luke 9:10-17 - it is the same Gospel Reading that we pray in the 9th hour of every day. And there are many messages that we can take from it related to ministry and service. Before we look at today's Gospel, let's ask ourselves the question of "who are the ministers?" Lest anyone think "well I'm not a servant so this message is not relevant to me"

Does service only apply to those who are serving in an official capacity? What if I am not serving in Sunday School or Youth Meetings or BRAVE Men or Virtuous Women? What if I am not a deacon? What if I don't serve in the kitchen service or the cleaning service or the orban service? Does that mean these gospel readings are not relevant to me?

Definitely not. As Christians, we are ALL called to be servants. 

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13).

• Liberty means freedom - don't use your freedom as an opportunity to serve yourself, to entertain yourself, to give in to your passions, to satisfy the lusts of the flesh... but use your freedom to serve one another through love.

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10)

• When I use my talents to serve others, I am acting as a good steward of God's grace

We are all called to serve one another, and to be ministers to one another. To use our talents to support our brothers and sisters. And to be good stewards of God's grace. To love one another.

So if I am a husband, I am called to serve my wife. If I am a wife, I am called to serve my husband. If I am a parent - a mother or a father - I am called to serve my children. If I am a child (no matter how old I am), I am called to serve my parents. In my workplace, I can serve my co-workers. In my school, I can serve my peers. I am called to serve my friends. I am called to serve the stranger. And I am even called to serve my enemy - the Lord says: "Do good to those who hate you" (Matthew 5:44)

So when we look at the different aspects of ministry, let's consider my role as a servant of God, and as His disciple. Let me hear each point and see where I can grow in my life and in my service to others.

The Holistic Ministry

Why did the Lord feel the need to feed the multitude? The disciples recommended sending them away to find supplies elsewhere. Isn't it enough that the Lord gave them the spiritual food, and healed them?

The first lesson we can take from the Lord's Ministry wasis that it is holistic

• Everyone of us has a body, has a spirit, has an intellect, has emotions and relationships.
  • The Lord didn't just minister to the spiritual aspect, but also to the intellectual aspect, to the emotional aspect and to the physical aspect
  • For example when He healed a leper, He didn't just heal his physical infirmity, but He touched him. A man that had not been touched by another person in so long, the Lord touches him to show him that he is loved, that he is human, that he is not alone. And then he told him to show himself to the priest and offer a sacrifice and to do the spiritual part. The Lord in His Ministry was always holistic, looking at the whole individual.
• The Church also serves Her congregation holistically as well.
  • For example in Sunday School, our children enjoy a lesson and activities which is an intellectual and spiritual meal
  • Then, they are given time to play sports and play outside and breathe fresh air - physical activity and physical health
  • They are encouraged to play together and to build and strengthen godly friendships

I also need to minister holistically to those whom I am called to serve

• For example, as a parent, I am responsible for the well-being of my children in all aspects of their lives...
  • I need to provide for them physically - to give them good and healthy food, to encourage them to breathe the fresh air outside, to play sports or exerciseexercise, to bathe and brush their teeth and take care of their hygiene
  • I need to provide them with adequate schooling and education; I need to encourage them to study, help them with their homework, follow-up with their grades and their exams, give them opportunities for learning especially during the breaks like summer vacation
  • I need to encourage them to build relationships with others, to cultivate healthy friendships, to love and respect the stranger
  • And the foundation for all of these things is that I teach them the way of the spiritual life - I follow-up with their prayers, with their Bible Readings, I encourage them in the sacramental life - repentance & confession and the Eucharist, I ensure they are attending Vespers and Praises and Liturgy on a weekly basis, I make food that will encourage them to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and the fasts of the Church. Of course, the Church will support me in the spiritual upbringing of my children, but the Church is not a replacement for my role. I cannot depend on the 2 hours a week of Sunday School, but rather I have to work WITH the Church.
  • Many parents focus so much on the intellectual and education and studying and obtaining degrees and having a good career, but what's the point of a career if he loses his salvation? What's the point of degrees if she doesn't know how to socialize with others or form relationships with others?
  • I have to minister to my child holistically, I am responsible for his or her well being in ALL aspects of their lives
    
    
• Even as an individual, I need to see myself holistically and to examine myself in all aspects of my life
  • Let me strive to glorify God in my intellect - education, career
  • Let me strive to glorify God in my body - to stay in shape, to eat healthy, to exercise
  • Let me strive to glorify God in my relationships - to turn away from evil relations, to distance from friends that bring me down, and to get closer to those who raise me up
  • And let me strive in my Spiritual Life - in my fasting, prayers, prostrations, readings, in repentance and confession, in the liturgical life

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37)

The Organized Ministry

We might say - it's difficult to do all of that. How can I, as a parent, focus on all of these things and also I have my work 40 hours a week. It's impossible! 

InWe it,can wetake seeanother howlesson from the Lord in HisLord's Ministry is organizedhere - weIt is very organized. Our God is a God of order and not of chaos.

We start by reading that the Apostles returned from their mission and told Him all that they had done. They reported to them the details of the service He had sent them to do. And then, after the Lord had taught the multitude and healed many, the disciples reported to Him - the people don't have food. Send them away to go and rest and get food. But the Lord said to them "You give them to eat." And He told them to organize them into groups of 50 - and that's how we know the multitude was 5000 men, because they were separated into groups and organized. Then He told them to distribute among them the fish and the loaves. Then He told them to collect the remainder in baskets. The Lord is always organized in His Ministry.

That's why, also we see that the Church services are organized. There are services and people responsible for those services. And there are schedules and timetables. And there are group chats and announcements and emails and systems and websites. When we are organized in our ministry, taking the example of the Lord, then the ministry can be successful.

I also, need to minister to those I am responsible for, in an organized way:

• I need to be organized, as the Lord was organized. I wake up at this time, I stand in my room for prayer, I take care of my hygiene, I go to school or work, I have a time for eating, I have a time for playing, I have time for my spiritual canon, I have time for sleeping. If I am organized, I will find time for all of those things - but if I am not, then the first thing that will suffer will be my spiritual life. We have all experienced it, and we have all said it: "I didn't have time" - "I was too busy" - "I was too tired."
  
  
• Same thing if I am a parent - I should model the organized life for my children. I should help them to have a daily routine. Wake them up at a certain time, stand and pray WITH them, eat with them, give them chores and things to help around the house.

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16)

The Cooperative Ministry that Cooperates with God

• Human element: What you need to do (what you CAN do)
• Divine element: What God will do - What you CANNOT do
• God will never do our part, because that would encourage and enable us to be lazy.

The Abounding Ministry

Finally, what is the result of this ministry? This Ministry that is Holistic, that is Organized and that is Cooperative with God - the result is an Abounding Ministry.

"12 baskets of the remaining fragments were taken up by them"

The Ministry that doesn't turn away

I am not simply serving someone because I know he can give it back to me. I'm not looking to see who is rich or who is well off, or who has a good reputation.