Give Yourself Time

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

As Bishop, I often hear plans from young men discerning their vocations that project a lot of stress and inflexibility. Many people seek the ministry for affirmation and “security”, wanting a “respectable job” that will put them in the center of relationships and community. Many also feel that their formation and “placement” should be an easy thing for a bishop to accomplish, and this creates unrealistic expectations that easily leads to hurt feelings. 

I feel for them, and, if I let myself, I sometimes feel tempted to allow their internal stress and expectations to be projected on to me in the form of ordination plans. However, one of the things that I’ve discovered in my own journey is the value of the time spent in the process, the irreducible part that patience plays in making a ministry sustainable, vibrant and vital. 

Only by waiting ten years before my ordination to the priesthood was I able to fully appreciate the difficulty I was undertaking. Only through multiple disappointments have I been able to see how truly rare and happy those serendipitous convergences of vision and life truly are. The experience of difficulty has made me more grateful and less easily offended when things don’t work out. 

Only by crossing the country multiple times for consultations, ordinations, presentations and synods have I realized how hard you have to work and how much you have to sacrifice to make things happen. Ordination was, at least for me, a heroic undertaking that gained value as the journey grew long and I learned more about myself and my own weaknesses. It is basically seven failed projects for every successful one, which means you have to try a lot and be unafraid of failure. 

I’m not saying that I am a model. I have often been too trusting and too flexible, anxious to make things work with people who were either unwilling to give of themselves or who revealed themselves to be co-dependent or spiteful. But, in the end, I still believe you get out of the experience only in proportion to what you put in. God works in our sacrifices. 

If you take the time to study, prepare, and sacrifice yourself, the rewards will be far better than if you expect your ministry to “come to you.” “Cast your bread upon the waters”, Scripture says, “and it will return to you again abundantly after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1) 

Make yourself a living sacrifice. You will not regret it!