Today’s Mass readings from the Acts of the Apostles continue to tell us about Saint Stephen – one of the first ordained Deacons of the church. And its first Martyr.
As I approach the 30th Anniversary of my own Ordination as a Permanent Deacon, I must admit to having a special place in my heart for Stephen.
Yet, to focus on Saint Stephen runs the risk of seeing that diakonia – “ministry“ – is something to be left to the clergy, to the ordained. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Serving the needs of the community, looking after those in need, bearing witness to God’s love through our own acts of love in humble service – these are things that each and every Christian is called to.
We are all called to give something of our time, our energy, our love, to those who in our society seem to count for nothing; to those whose God-given dignity is still veiled, still hidden to the eyes of the world.
We are all called to go out and serve those in chronic poverty. We are all called to reach out to battered women, to the handicapped, to the refugee, to the dying, to the unborn, the forgotten, to those who are nobodies in the eyes of the world.
We are all called to allow the love within us to be generously poured out for the world, the way our Saviour did.
And like Stephen, we are all called to rely on God’s love for us, as we live our lives in the service of others.
In this time of seclusion, that giving of self in the service of others begins with the support of our family and friends as we isolate ourselves. But it certainly doesn’t stop there.
Each prayer we offer for the sick and those on the front lines; each call we make to a sick friend; each text we send to someone to let them know they are in our thoughts; each email we write to let someone know how we are; each video chat we host to let people feel connected; each of these actions become the way we minister to each other at this time.
It is how you and I bear witness to the power of love, to the very essence of who God is. It is how you and I will use this time of seclusion to deepen our own relationship with God. And it is how you and I will use this pandemic to help society rediscover what it means to be human.