We have many wonderful parishioners who volunteer and help during our liturgies as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist or as lectors. But before we invite anyone to minister in these roles, we want to make sure that the person is baptized, practices our faith, and that we know him or her and can be certain that they try to live a good Christian life. And no one expects that the minister be perfect and without sins. That is impossible. But since they are there up close to the altar, we want to make sure we will not scandalize anyone. For example, we can’t have someone reading the scripture during Mass who is not a Christian, or we can’t let someone who is away from the church or just comes occasionally, to help distributing Holy Communion. We can serve, preach, minister, and proclaim the word of God only if we believe in our faith and try to implement it into our lives. In the gospel for today, we read that Jesus visited Simon’s home. However, “Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” See, without the healing touch of the Lord, she was not able to serve Him. In a similar way, we need Jesus’ forgiveness, love, and healing to be able to minister to others.
