Because I am a deacon and my blog is "Catholic Deacon," it would be strange not to reference the first reading. This reading comes from the beginning of the sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. According to a tradition going back at least to Ireneaus of Lyons, a Doctor of the Church who was one of Christianity's earliest systematic theologians (ca.AD 120,/140-200,/203), this passage tells of the institution of the diaconate in the earliest Church.
What is curious about this passage is that while the word diakonia and its appropriate variants are used several times, not once in this passage or in any subsequent passages are the seven wise and Spirit-filled men referred to as "deacons," either collectively or individually. The task that requires selecting them- the daily distribution of food to the community's widows- is diakonia. In verse 2 the Greek word translated into English as "serve at table" is diakonein. Finally, the "ministry" of the word the apostles want to be free to engage in is diakonia.
In all likelihood, the earliest reference to the diaconate as an office can be found in the first verse of the first chapter of Saint Paul's Letter to the Philippians (Phil 1:1- "overseers" is a translation of episkopois and "ministers" is a translation of diakonois). In this verse, deacons are referred to along with bishops. Before bishops came to oversee multiple communities in a region, each community was led by a bishop who was assisted by deacons. Hence, one can make the argument that the diaconate is older than the presbyterate, at least as we understand it today and not as the "elders" of the Pauline communities.
In today's Gospel, when Jesus speaks of his disciples (there are no apostles in the fourth Gospel) doing works as great and even greater than those he has done, he seems to imply that this power will result from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who seems to be able to come because Jesus goes to the Father. I don't think it's too much to assert that this points to something that might be called "the diakonia of all the baptized." Is not this service driven by the same Spirit that filled the seven men called forth not only hand out food but to heal a rift in the earliest Christian community? Alms-giving can be viewed as diakonia. Diakonia points to the concrete ways of loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
First Peter is the source of our epistle readings for the Sundays of Easter this year. While "the diakonia of all the baptized" may be a phrase with which you are unfamiliar, the phrase "the priesthood of all the baptized" should not be utterly foreign to you. In the Rite of Baptism for Children, shortly after an infant in baptized, s/he is anointed with chrism as "priest, prophet, and king." When an adult, that is, anyone over the age of reason, is baptized s/he is confirmed immediately afterward.
In confirmation we are anointed with chrism, our baptism is "sealed," and hands are laid on us. Due to the anointing with chrism and the laying on of hands, it has been observed that both of these liturgical actions amount to a kind of priestly ordination. While the priesthood of the baptized and the ministerial priesthood can and must be distinguished one from the other, they are not separate and unrelated realities.
In 1 Peter we are told that the Church of God, is made up of living stones (i.e., us), is "a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). In one his very popular radio addresses, Saint Óscar Romero, the greatly venerated martyr-archbishop of San Salvador, once taught:
How beautiful will be the day when all the baptized understand that their work, their job, is a priestly work; that just as I celebrate Mass at this altar, so each carpenter celebrates Mass at his workbench, and each metalworker, each professional, each doctor with a scalpel, the market woman at her stand, is performing priestly office! How many cabdrivers, I know, listen to this message there in their cabs; you are a priest at the wheel, my friend, if you work with honesty, consecrating that taxi of yours to God, bearing a message of peace and love to the passengers who ride in your cab.Finally, in our present circumstances, I cannot think of a better Psalm for our responsorial than Psalm 33. Let our antiphon for today's reponsorial be our prayer as move forward into this new Easter week exercising the diakoinia of our priestly calling: "Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you."
No comments:
Post a Comment