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| Photo by Juan Guajardo / NTC |
Homily for the Ordination of Stephen Hauck & John Martin to the Transitional Diaconate
St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Arlington, Texas
April 9, 2016
View Ordination Pictures
Readings:
Jeremiah 1:4-9
Psalm 88
Acts 6:1-7
John 6:16-21
Jeremiah's life could be seen as embodying what will happen to Israel: rejection that leads to destruction that brings about the possibility of renewal and restoration. Jeremiah's vocation is very difficult, because it will involve mostly calling the people to be accountable in light of the looming exile. He'll have to speak some hard truths to them, something they won't want to hear, and he’ll have to speak these truths well and in fidelity to the Lord.
The part of today’s first reading left out of the lectionary passage is the next verse that follows; it is an ominous phrase that Jeremiah is sent to "pluck up” and to “pull down,” to “destroy” and to “overthrow,” to “build” and to “plant." There are six verbs. Four of these verbs point to dying (plucking up, pulling down, destroying, and overthrowing). Two of these verbs (building and planting) point to new life. All of these verbs point to Hope in God’s Mercy. It is only from the ash heap of Jeremiah that new life can spring forth: the rubble of Jerusalem that led to exile at the hand of the Babylonians will lead to return and rebuilding for God’s chosen people. Sometimes, structures have to be torn down so that they can return—not the same—but renewed. In my own spiritual life I find this to be a fruitful metaphor for seminary formation and priestly ministry. It is worthy of reflection for each and for all of us.
Likewise, in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear of how the Church faces a problem of the Greek-speaking widows whose loved ones are complaining of injustice. The problem is that these poor women and their children are isolated from the rest of the community because of their poverty and of a language barrier between them and those Christians who speak the dominant language of Aramaic. Some might suggest that this cultural and social barrier presents a problem that could be resolved by building a wall—a HUGE wall—to isolate the problem from the rest of the community who are annoyed by the problem. However, this problem becomes an opportunity for God’s Grace to enter mercifully once again into the life of the Church. The problem, approached by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, soon gives way not to a systematic solution; it gives way not to a larger wall and barrier; it gives way to a deeper revelation of Christ disguised in the mystery of the human person. It is especially the human person who is in need; it is the human person who is not a universal abstraction, but is a real person with a name, a family, and naturally part of the community.
Stephen and John, your vocation to serve as deacons now, and later as to what will be an essential part of the character of your priestly ministry, is a difficult and frightening call to answer. Like Jeremiah, you might be afraid of the difficulty and offer good reasons not to answer. Jeremiah gives good reasons not to say “yes.” It is true that he is too young. Yet, the Lord calms your fears and is present to you within them, just as He calmed those of Jeremiah with His Divine presence.
Stephen and John, the Church needs your diaconal ministry now just as the Church required that of Saint Stephen, of Saint Philip, and of the other deacons in the early days of the Church as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. The diaconal ministry of Saint Stephen and his martyrdom helped to prevent the exclusion of the poor widows and their children. It was an exclusion that was taking place on the basis of differences in culture and language in society reminiscent of the chaos that ensued as the bitter fruit of the sin of Babel. It was an exclusion that harmed the life of the Church through unawareness and insensitivity on the part of its human membership. It was an exclusion that was a serious sin of omission. The Greek speaking widows spoken of in today’s reading had begun to be treated more as a “serious corporate problem” than as particular persons, members of Christ’s Body, the Church, and who have serious problems hurting them.
In the Gospel just proclaimed, we see Jesus coming towards the disciples on the water. The water is a primordial symbol of chaos. Christ’s walking upon it makes known that He, and He alone, is the Master of creation and the only Provider of what is needed to overcome the chaos caused by sin and its bitter fruits. Chaos, especially the chaos caused by sin, is subservient to Him and can only be conquered by Him.
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| Jesus Walks On Water Ivan Aivazovsky, 1888 Public Domain |
Today, we are faced with the same challenges and the same need for diaconal ministry where the chaos of our society often propels us towards a basic insensitivity and unawareness; this too often leads to our own adoption of a passive and lazy attitude whereby people become simply problems that are insoluble on their own terms so we wall them off. The grace of diaconal ministry, including the diaconal ministry of bishops and priests, prevents us from facing the people in the margins of society simplistically as a corporate problem. Christ uses diaconal ministry to save us from abandoning people because they might be misunderstood by us as problems that are too difficult for us to resolve on our own terms. Stephen and John, your diaconal vocation must be a means by which Christ calls us back from such evil complacency and spares us from sinning by omission in failing to love our neighbor.
+ Most Rev. Michael F. Olson
Bishop of Fort Worth
