THEOSISGregory the Great
Those who ascend to the pinnacle of pastoral ministry must embody ethical living and possess a deep empathy for the frailties of others. Consider how Saul accompanied Samuel to the heights and then descended to the city. It is essential for the steward to manage the matters of the elevated status, but he must also adeptly oversee the concerns of the everyday. He should proclaim with Paul, 'But our dwelling is in heaven' (Phil. 3:20). Simultaneously, he must acknowledge, 'I am a wretched man! Who will rescue me from this body of death? For in my members, I observe another law waging war against the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin' (Rom. 7:24-25).
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The true leader, who imparts wisdom among those who are mature, engages with the common struggles when he addresses the matters of the flesh, stating, 'To avoid immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband' (1 Cor. 7:2). Yet, he ascends when he declares, 'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor present things nor future things, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 8:38-39). Nevertheless, he descends again when he remarks, 'To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people' (1 Cor. 9:22). In this way, Samuel elevated Saul to the heights and afterward led him back to the city.
When the most esteemed individuals occupy the highest positions within the sacred Church, they instruct those they install to aim high in their living, to communicate plainly, to hold themselves accountable, and to exercise greater discretion with those in their care, striving earnestly for their own salvation while walking alongside the weak and sharing in their vulnerability.