Gospel of John, chapter 15:16

What standards does God use to choose men and women to do His work? Normally, we would expect God to pick people who are wise, powerful, and of a good reputation. But scripture tells us that God actually chooses people who are the exact opposite, people who are foolish, weak, and despised. St. Paul says: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). Why does God choose to work with the nobodies of this world? There are two reasons for this: one is in the interest of the individuals concerned; the other is in the interest of those among whom they work.

1. We can do the work of God only with the strength that comes from God. This means that God’s servant must learn how to depend on Him. God sometimes allows His servants to carry the burden of their human weakness, so that they will learn that unless they depend on Him, they cannot succeed. St. Paul had a “thorn in the flesh “which he prayed God to remove from him. God did not remove it. God simply said to St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” As a result, St. Paul concluded: “I am content with weaknesses, … for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

2. The second reason why God picks ordinary, weak people to do His work is so that the people among whom they work will realize that the good they do comes, not from their own personal ingenuity, but by the grace of God. This lessens the temptation for people to idolize their ministers. The Christians of Corinth had already fallen into this temptation when they began labeling themselves according to their favorite missionaries: “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollo,” or “I belong to Cephas.” God wants us to see beyond the priests or ministers who bring us the word of God and to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We belong, not to the minister of the good news, but to Jesus, the author of the good news.

The Lord calls all Christians, especially priests and ministries of the word and the sacraments, to a life of unity with Him. While we recognize the human weakness of all who are called, let us ask God to give us the faith not to be scandalized when any of His followers falls short of his or her vocation.

Fr. Hugh Duffy