When we talk about pastors, we often imagine someone who is always strong, wise, and unshakable—a hero with the right words, the perfect prayers, and unshakable faith. But maybe that picture is incomplete. What if, before anything else, our pastor is not a hero, but simply human?
True spirituality is never about perfection—it’s about honesty. The danger comes when we put our leaders on pedestals so high that they can no longer be real. We expect them to carry holiness for us, forgetting that they, too, walk the same road of weakness, questions, and growth. When we see our pastor as human, something shifts—we are freed. We no longer demand that they save us. Instead, we walk with them as companions on the same journey of faith. ✨
Henri Nouwen reminds us of the “wounded healer”—the one who leads not from untouchable strength, but from shared vulnerability. A pastor’s gift is not that he stands above life’s struggles, but that he chooses to live them honestly with us: as a friend who listens, a husband who loves patiently, a father who struggles and grows alongside his children. These are not failures—they are signs of humanity. And in that humanity, God’s grace quietly shines through.
So when the time comes to remember, may it not be said that our pastor was the “best preacher” or a flawless leader. May it be said instead that he was a good friend, a loving husband, a patient father. Not a hero, but human. Because in being truly human, he showed us something far greater—that God meets us not in perfection, but in our ordinary, fragile, and beautiful lives.
And to our dear friends from Marinduque—thank you. Your presence spoke volumes to us.