The readings for today hold the key to one of the most unique and meaningful aspects of our church. It is the Sacrament of Holy Orders in line with Apostolic Tradition in the form of the Permanent Diaconate. In the Gospel reading from John (14:1-12), the followers of Jesus, the twelve disciples, are still in the learning phase. There are a lot of things about Jesus that they do not know or understand.
This passage is good example. Jesus is speaking to them at the Last Supper, preparing them for his death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father. He says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” (John 14:1-4).
But Thomas is confused and asks, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” (John 14:5).
Jesus continues, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7).
It is Phillip this time who misunderstands saying, ““Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” (John 14:8)
To this Jesus replies, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.” (John 14:9-10).
Although Jesus has performed many signs in John’s gospel – changing water into wine (John 2:1-11), healing a paralytic (John 5:1-15), walking on water (6:16-24), and raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45) – Philip and Thomas and the others do not yet recognize his intimate connection to the Father. Nor do they completely comprehend the words and works of the Father coming through the Son.
Now fast forward to the First Reading (Acts 6:1-7), the time after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The disciples have undergone a transformation after these key events. They have changed from disciples into apostles and have been given authority to become the leaders of the church and teachers of orthodox doctrine. They too have been entrusted with speaking the words of God and doing the works of the Father like Jesus.
We might equate them with our first bishops. Peter will even go onto to become the first Bishop of Rome, later known as the Pope. In this passage we see that the new leaders of the Christian community have encountered a problem and must decide on how to respond. Due to their testimony the membership of the church has grown at a rapid pace. The Hellenistic, or Greek speaking Jews, feel that some of their widows are being overlooked. So just as our bishops today, the leaders hold a meeting, or council, to make a collective decision on what is best for their congregation.
They decide to choose seven men to serve at table while they continue to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. These men are commissioned through prayer and the laying on of hands of the apostles. These first deacons will go on to fulfill a much greater role by preaching and spreading the message of the Gospel. In subsequent passages, Stephen becomes the first martyr of the church for his testimony about Jesus (Acts 6:8-7:60) and Philip becomes the first missionary to Samaria (Acts 8:4-40).
In line with the Apostolic Tradition, men like Stephen and Philip minister in a way that is essential and unparalleled in the service of the Lord. Filled with faith and the Holy Spirit they too will perform the works and speak the words of the Father in imitation of Jesus.
Today’s Permanent Diaconate can be traced back to the establishment of this order in the Book of Acts. Like the first deacons, these men are ordained through the laying on of hands of bishops and fulfill a role which is indispensable for our parish communities. They undergo a thorough screening and rigorous education program in the process of their formation. And the majority of the candidates do this while also holding full-time occupations and caring for the needs of a family.
Once ordained deacons perform a variety of functions in their ministry while still maintaining their secular obligations. They assist and preach at Mass, perform baptisms and funeral services, and officiate at weddings. They visit and take Holy Communion to the sick and homebound and minister to their parishioners in countless other ways in their spare time. They are also required to live sacredly, daily praying the Divine Office and upholding superior moral and ethical standards.
It is not an easy life. Filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, our permanent deacons perform the works and speak the words of the Father entrusted to the original apostles by Jesus and handed to the first deacons through the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands of Apostolic Tradition.
