Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“And in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians [Hellenists] against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.”
What we are seeing in the Book of Acts is Church life post-Resurrection, that is to say, the Church’s life and activity following the Resurrection of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. It all began last Sunday when we heard once more the account of the absent Thomas encountering the crucified and risen Jesus (Jn. 20:19-31). Indeed, what we are here seeing today is the Church following Pentecost and the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On one hand, this story shares some commonalities with the Old Testament grumbling or murmuring accounts of ancient Israel and the effect such whining and bitter complaining had on the people of God, even to the affecting of their salvation which was adamantly negative, if you recall. Murmuring and grumbling and bitter complaining by the people of God rarely, if ever, gets good results with God, especially when it’s against God’s own divinely appointed leadership. He does not look upon such kindly (Nm. 12:1-16; 16:1-50). However, in today’s account of the early Church’s life together, the results are different because the people do not take matters into their own hands, as does ancient Israel in the Old Testament, but rather follows the divinely appointed chain-of-command, as limited as it is in the early days of the Church. The Apostles hear of the lament, in some form or fashion, and take action to remedy the brewing situation. For all intents and purposes, this remediation is blessed by God and is clearly an action of the Holy Spirit, that is to say, it is an “act of the Apostles” inspired by the Spirit of God and guided by that same Holy Spirit experienced on the Day of Pentecost.
Now, for all those souls opposed to organized religion, that is, religion taking on form and shape, I ask, “Are you opposed to the religion or to its organization, that is, being organized?” If you are opposed to the religion, is it because of its organization? If you are opposed to organization, I ask, how much of life is lived disorganized, chaotically, and haphazardly? Furthermore, I wonder, why does religion and organization have to be opposed to one another? It seems, no matter what, something that begins small with seemingly little or any structure and organization, invariably must become structured and organized as it grows and matures. In some ways, it’s the nature of the beast. It happens to families. Whereas a couple might have great freedom, inevitably, it seems, the more kids that get added to the mix the more organization is necessary for the family’s life together to juggle all the schedules (schedules are a form of structure).
It is true, we all can point to the horrors of bureaucratic red tape, but as the Fathers teach us, abuse doesn’t negate use. In fact, Sacred Scripture clearly reveals God to be organized and not chaotic. He is not the Author of chaos – the devil is (1 Cr. 14:33)! God creates in an orderly fashion: He structures creation from the very beginning and organizes it each day accordingly. In fact, Moses writes that God fashioned the lights in the firmament to divide day from night, establishing them to “be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” Each day was structured and organized as “evening and morning,” the first day, the second day, the third day, and so on (Gn. 1:1-2:3). And, let’s not forget how God organized and structured His worship: first at the hands of Patriarchs and eldest sons to the construction of the Tabernacle with a priesthood (upon which the Temple is also patterned), organizing the 12 tribes of Israel around the Tabernacle. All of this is based on that which is in Heaven, Sacred Scripture tells us (Ex. 25:1-31:11; Hb. 8:5). And, doesn’t our Lord do exactly the same thing throughout His earthly ministry by stilling chaotic waters, bringing peace and stability to their upheaval, casting out demons creating havoc in order to restore souls to their proper condition, and, ultimately, “making peace by the blood of His Cross,” shattering the gates of death (Ps. 106 [107]:16-20; Co. 1:20)?
The Church, beloved, is no different for she is the creation of God brought forth from the spear-pierced side of her Bridegroom. She is the Body of Christ her Head. She is the Household and Family of God. It is a mistake to associate disorganization with the Holy Spirit and with being “spiritual” – as though the two were even equated! The Holy Spirit, freely blowing like the wind, to use Jesus’ imagery (Jn. 3:8), nonetheless does so within the parameters of the divine plan and will of God. He moves with purpose and intention and deliberation, not willy-nilly flitting about like some drunken dove. There is freedom, but not disdain for organization, substance, and structure. The Holy Spirit is very much active and present in the Church. In fact, He is the criteria, along with holy wisdom, for consideration to the diaconate, according to the Apostles who implemented this office. Just as the Prophet Moses found it increasingly necessary over time to appoint 70 others to assist him in his ministry (Nm. 11:16-30), so our Lord organized His mission of redemption and sanctification around the concentric circles of His close inner core of Peter, James, and John, who were encompassed by the other nine – thus forming the Apostolic band of 12 – who were themselves surrounded by the 70 chosen by our Lord (Lk. 10:1). Of course, it could become easy to see or think that the Church exists for the sake of organization when, in fact, organization exists to serve the Church and her salvific ministry and sanctifying life.
Such is the case in today’s reading from The Acts of the Holy Apostles. The Apostles themselves ordain and appoint seven Deacons who have been chosen and deemed to be “Axios!” by the congregation for such a purpose so that the apostolic ministry might be preserved, enhanced, extended, and served. The diaconate as we have it in Sacred Scripture is the apostolic response to a very practical need that arose in the life of the Church as the Lord increased the number of those who were being saved (Ac. 2:47; 5:14). By ordaining Deacons to oversee and administrate the daily distribution of goods and services to the Church’s legitimate widows, which apparently was quite time intensive, the Apostles were enabled thereby to focus on their calling to prayer and the ministry of the Word of God.
We should not assume that the widows mentioned here, which were a protected and revered class in both the Old Testament as well as in the Church (Ex. 22:22; 1 Tm. 5:3-13), along with orphans, were being discriminated against out of prejudice or bias. Such would have been highly unbecoming of those souls known as followers of the Way of the Nazarene (Ac. 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:5, 14, 22). It doesn’t mean there were no tensions, mind you – it’s relatively obvious there were tensions in the Church – but that those tensions were the outcome of her rapid growth beyond her Jewish boundaries and ethnicity placing stress where there had been none previously. Such growth was a blessing and a good thing. It compelled the Apostles, however, to take certain and specific measures to address the unintentional oversight of the Hellenistic widows in their midst – a move made under the direct supervision of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Apostles even gave preference to the Hellenists (those Greek speaking Jews probably from the Diaspora) by requesting that they choose from among them seven notable men of good reputation, “’full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom [they] may appoint over this business.’” The congregation put forth seven such men: the Apostles prayed and laid their hands on them – ordaining them – to the fulfillment of this particular ministry. It is because of this symbiosis between the apostolic Bishops and Deacons that St. Luke tells us at the end of our pericope, “And the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the [Temple] priests were obedient to the Faith.”
It is this model of Bishops and Deacons that has become the foundation of the recognized tri-fold holy orders of Bishop, Priest [Presbyter], and Deacon, with us even today, two millennia later, found in Sacred Scripture and in the early writings of the Church which we still have today. All of this is in fulfillment of our Lord’s Great Commission given to His Apostles just before His Ascension to the right hand of God the Father: “’All power is given unto Me in Heaven and on earth,’” declares our Lord.
‘Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I AM with you always, even unto the end of the world’ (Mt. 28:18-20).
We must never lose sight that the Church has Jesus’ power and acts in His Name and in His stead (Mt. 18:15-20), just as He ordained the Apostles on the evening of His Resurrection, for the very particular purpose of making disciples who follow all of His words and ways, and to feed the reason-endowed Flock of God’s Word. It wasn’t long in the Church’s life that Deacons came to serve more than the widows’ tables. They came to serve the Table of the Lord Jesus, that is, His holy Altar, standing next to the Presbyters, supporting their liturgical ministry, leading the people in prayer, preaching and teaching and evangelizing – all for the sake of the Kingdom of God and His Church. There is something far more important going on here in today’s pericope than simply hand-selecting some men to do social work in the Church. The fact that they had to meet holy requirements, and then were set apart by prayer and the laying on of hands of the Apostles (which is all standard language for ordination) for this ministry tells me there was more at work than simply making sure the widows received their daily bread. Holy orders are essential for the life of the Church, and the diaconate is foundational for all ministry. As Fr. John of blessed memory would always remind me, “David, never ever forget that you were a Deacon first.”
May God fulfill His Word and through this holy Ministry established by Him, increase the souls that are being saved to the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!
PROPERS:
Ac. 6:1-7
Mk. 15:43-16:8