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| “St. Stephen is Consecrated Deacon” (detail) by Vittore Carpaccio, 1511 |
Reading 1: Acts 6:1-7
As the number of disciples continued to grow,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews
because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and
said,
“It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at
table.
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,
filled with the Spirit and wisdom,
whom we shall appoint to this task,
whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.”
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,
so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy
Spirit,
also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They presented these men to the Apostles
who prayed and laid hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem
even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
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Commentary on Acts 6:1-7
This account from
Acts is considered to be the institution of the diaconate or the Order of
Deacons. There is a clear delineation of roles. The Apostles retain their
pastoral role as shepherds of the faith (through “prayer and ministry
of the word”), while assigning the service role (distribution
of food and material to the needy) to Stephen and his six brother deacons. It
is noteworthy to observe that Stephen and Philip especially began their own
service of the word as well, but in an evangelical rather than liturgical way.
Understanding the roots of the imposition of hands is key to
understanding the rationale for its use in the ordained function. While this was a Hebrew tradition for
designating a person for a task, it was later adopted by the Church as a mark
of ordination and sacramental selection by God. ("From that time on the
apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by
the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of
Baptism.”[4])
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Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in
you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Exult, you just, in the Lord;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his
praises.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Upright is the word of the Lord,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is
full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those
who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
Psalm 33 is a
hymn of praise. In these strophes, we hear the note of thanksgiving for God’s
salvation and complete faith in God’s mercy. The final strophe (v. 18-19)
hearkens to a time of great tribulation where the Lord’s saving hand was
clearly seen. (“The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those
who hope for his kindness.”) This song also can also be applied to the
virtue of the seven deacons (See Acts 6:1-7 and 1 Timothy 3:12-13 "Upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are
trustworthy”).
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Gospel:
John 6:16-21
When
it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea,
embarked
in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum
It
had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The
sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
When
they had rowed about three or four miles,
they
saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and
they began to be afraid.
But
he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
They
wanted to take him into the boat,
but
the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.
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Commentary on Jn 6:16-21
This is the fifth
sign of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God from John’s Gospel. We see Jesus
sharing God’s power (see also Job 9:8). The
disciples are in a boat at night and the sea is up (“The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing”). They were clearly frightened by their situation when the
Lord appeared and said: “It is I, Do not be afraid.”
Immediately they were relieved and wanted to take him aboard but before they
could do so they arrived at their destination.
CCC:
Jn 6 1338
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Reflection:
We
have choices again today as to which part of scripture we reflect upon. While the story from the Gospel is compelling
because of all the neat metaphors built into the story (the disciples’ fear and
how the Lord’s presence calmed them; their need to bring him into the boat; the
Lord’s identity revealed as he assumed power reserved to the Father) the deacon
must address the reading from Acts.
In
the passage proclaimed today from the Acts of the Apostles an important event
is defined in scripture. Most biblical
and Church scholars agree that the appointment of the seven Hellenists
represents the establishment of the Order of Deacons (the diaconate) in the
Christian community.
St.
Timothy later fleshes out the selection criteria for deacons (1 Timothy 3:12-13), but
here the Apostles select these men to provide service to the community. They pray over them and impose hands upon
them, calling them pointedly to service.
Since
the modern Permanent Diaconate was re-established at the Second Vatican Council,
the diaconate has grown faster and in different ways than was anticipated in Sacrum
Diaconatus Ordinem. Permanent
Deacons are, for the most part, now widely accepted as the “servant clergy”
they were intended to be. There are some
notable exceptions. Unless I missed something,
the Knights of Columbus still do not recognize Deacons as clergy at the national
level, and many of the older religious orders are still in denial, seeing the
permanent diaconate as some sort of lay apostolate with delusions of grandeur.
But the true servant finds these kinds of push backs a grace from God. They remind him that what he does in
ministry, for God’s greater glory, sets him on the proper course, in the
footsteps of his Savior who was also not always held in high esteem. And, as we
will see later in the story of St. Stephen, deacons should not expect an easy
road.
St.
Paul says it best in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there
are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings
but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.” Perhaps what we need to remember most is that
Christ came to serve all mankind, and that service was not intended to generate
honor for those who serve, but for the God in whose name that service was
done. If we can keep that squarely in
focus, we will be with him who died as his final service to us.
Pax
[2]
The picture today is “St. Stephen is Consecrated Deacon” (detail) by Vittore
Carpaccio, 1511
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
CCC
1288
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