To Do List

 

To Do List

We spent this morning at a Mass and celebration for a brother deacon who is marking 25 years of ordination.  He was my mentor for the final year of my formation, and he has become a good friend.  Friday was my 16^th diaconate anniversary.  It has been a good weekend for some reflection.  I remember when word started getting out among family, friends, fellow parishioners and some of those that I worked with that I had entered formation.  The question most asked was, “What does a deacon do?”

The question says a lot about our culture.  First, it demonstrates that people, even people inside the Church aren’t really familiar with the scope of responsibility of the role of deacon.  It also shows that we tend to think of roles, even the roles of the ordained, as task lists.  And thirdly, there is always contrast and comparison between roles – what do you do that I can’t?  So, here’s sixteen years of thoughts on the question:

The first time we see a deacon active in the Church was at the Last Supper.  Jesus rose from the table to go to each of his apostles to wash their feet.  Jesus showed that to lead in the Church is to serve.  Deacons serve.  We serve at the altar, within the faith community, and in the larger world.

In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6: 1-6), the first deacons are called and ordained to serve at table.  At first mention, deacons served the widows.  The widows were vulnerable and needed protection, safety and food.  In serving the widows, the deacons served the Twelve, because they were freed up to spend more time on prayer, Scripture and teaching.

Stephen, one of the first seven deacons became the first martyr (see Acts 6-7).  He was out among the people working signs and wonders and he preached the Good News of Jesus Christ.    

While that was what deacons did at the beginning of the Church, the focus of the diaconate has not really changed.

It looks like meeting with a family to plan a funeral of someone who didn’t really belong to any parish.  They still belong to God’s family and they are treasured.  We do the most we can for them by offering prayers for their soul, and we serve the family in their hour of grief.  No parish contribution envelopes are needed.

It looks like meeting with a couple planning marriage to help them be aware that sacrament calls them to sacrificial love for the sake of the other.  It looks like praying the blessing over them as you witness Jesus enter into their marriage.

It looks like the privilege of claiming a soul for Christ by pouring water over those who come for baptism.

It looks like sitting and holding the hand of an elderly woman who has no family members that visit her in the nursing home.

It looks like hurrying to the hospital or someone’s home who has just passed, because the family is requesting prayers for their loved one.  You know they will need prayers and comfort as well. 

It looks like pausing at the door of that emergency room or family home door to take a deep breath and call on the Holy Spirit to be present and work through you.

It looks like someone who is both amazed and unsurprised that the Holy Spirit was present and did work through them.

It looks like praying the Divine Office and Morning as dawn melts away the night.  And pausing for Evening Prayer as night settles back in.  Those prayers help fulfill St Paul’s urging of the Church to pray without ceasing for the salvation of souls.

It looks like bowing to the priest and asking for his blessing, that you may proclaim the Gospel “worthily and well”.

It looks like holding the Book of the Gospels up to the congregation and hearing again in your heart and mind the bishop’s words at your ordination: "Receive the Holy Gospel whose minister you have become. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. And live what you teach."

It looks like listening to the parent, the teen, the jilted spouse, the inmate, the victim, the perpetrator, the homeless, the rich man, the prodigal, the older son, Lazarus and Pilate, the lost and anyone else who needs to be heard, to be acknowledged.

It looks like seeing your reflection in the chalice as you elevate it at Mass, knowing you are called to drink the Cup that Jesus drank from.

It looks like the altar that Jesus will be broken and shared on as you bow low to kiss it in faith, in affection and in awe.

It looks like having the courage to stand in front of all to be judged as to what sort of man you really are, and to open your heart wider instead of trying to hide it.

It looks like someone who mentally drew a line through the words “Why me?” from their vocabulary, but underlined “Yes Lord”.

It looks like someone who will willingly admit that their own soul needed this level of public commitment to God for the sake of their own soul, so they could then also work for the sake of all souls.  

It looks like someone who is aware of his unworthiness and is grateful to have been called anyway.

It looks like a beautifully wrapped gift that you get to open every day and be surprised!  

Thanks be to God! 

His Peace <><

Deacon Dan