There are times when we face so much pressure in ministry. Some demand the numbers from us - attendance, budgets. Others look to us to be a source of spiritual wisdom and eternal significance, even if we only slept three hours because we spent the past week orchestrating VBS or a school of spirituality. As the pastor of my campus ministry center always love to throw at the peer ministry team, "to those who have been given much, much will be expected!"
What can make those expectations even harder is the skepticism and doubt others throw as road blocks in our path. Though our faith in God, his work here, and the people around us may be solid; others may not offer quite that same faith. Their cynicism, doubts, fears, and (usually) abundant willingness to share those thoughts can deflate even the most faithful and energetic ministry (and minister) in record time.
I find comfort in today's Gospel. Jesus faced the same pressures. The challenge he sets before us, is that he kept working. We can too. it may be harder and we may not do all that we hoped to do, but we cannot give up our ministries to those nay-sayers. Jesus still did good in his native place. And we don't know what happened after he left. We don't know what those who were healed did with their new lives. We may not know what our ministries do, even when we fall short of our ideals. After all, we do believe that God has a plan.
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