Last week, we heard about the Shepherd who takes care of the flock. In all the readings this weekend, we are shown some of the ways. In the apostolic church, the apostles quickly realized that they could not do everything and the Lord led them to a solution: the order of deacon. In Greek, the word “diakonia” means to serve. In the life of someone called to be a deacon, we see the call of the entire baptized community. We are all to serve the world in the name of Jesus. This is the primary vocation of each baptized Christian. Ministry is not the realm of the ordained.
A deacon, priest, bishop are first baptized Christians. Look at what St Peter wrote about all of us in the second reading: let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ..” Are we letting ourselves be built or are we telling God what the plans are? We know that the deacon stands in the community as the reminder to each of us that we are to serve. The deacon should know the needs of the community and lead the community in meeting those needs. We are baptized to be servants. The deacon embodies for us that call. He is a reminder of who we all are. This is a part of the way that Jesus shows us.
We are also priests by baptism. The priesthood of the faithful is the origin of the ordained priest. We all offer ourselves to Christ everyday by giving over our egos, our wills, our hearts, and love to him. We all place ourselves on the altar with the holy gifts and it is the one chosen from the community of the baptized who offers them to the Father. In the life of the ordained priest, we see servant leadership. In fact, the heart of a priest is rooted in the call to diaconate. Those of us called to priesthood serve the holy table and we feed to you, God’s People, his own divine presence. In the life of a Bishop, we see the call to announce the Good News of Jesus who suffered and died to us, just like the apostles did. In the life of the ordained, hopefully, is the witness of how to strive to live as the People of God.
Finally, we are a people set apart. We belong to God. We are not called to live apart from the world, but we are called to season it as salt and leaven. I have come to believe that world needs the Chrisitan witness as much, if not more, today than it did in apostolic times. The Church herself needs that same witness. We are called to give flesh to Christ and live as His Body. Christ left us the gift of His Body and Blood so we would have the strength to wash the feet of others. He is the strength and model of what it means to serve.
In the anointing at baptism with the Sacred Chrism, we are set apart to be priest, prophet, and king/servant leaders. May the grace of this anointing flow in our hearts and transform us. May those set apart to be ordained always be servants to rest, people who speak the truth of Jesus, and offer the sacrifice of love for the good of the community.
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