Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 5, 2008 - Saturday in the Second Week of Easter
[Acts 6:1-7 and John 6:16-21]As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widowns were being neglected in the daily distribution.
Complained? All was not sweetness and life - happiness forever after? Sigh! No! The early community experienced the same growing pains that any rapidly expanding organization undergoes. Those language differences also signified cultural differences! Who knows if the neglect was deliberate or not? But the Greek-speakers might have represented "outsiders" in the community. We don't know. It seems clear that the leadership considered the problem serious enough to address and made the wise decision to delegate! One might smile at the solution because the apostles effectively removed themselves from the problem and passed it on to a new group that admittedly might have been more effective in dealing with angry widows! Knock on any pastor's door! The roots of "diaconal" ministry are to be seen in this decision. Notice the contrast between this activity and the ones the apostles claim for their own. The restoration of the Order of the Permanent Diaconate after the Second Vatican Council lead to a "new" clerical role in the Catholic community. However, the job descriptions, in practice, are a bit fuzzy. Deacons baptize, marry and bury, just as the priests to. Priests run soup kitchens, organize social justice efforts, etc. etc. At least in the American Catholic scene, the matter of leadership seems to be a question of the "sheriff and deputies!" It's only 40 years of so since the Council and we still have a long ways to go! We can pay attention here to something important, however. The "daily distribution" represented the care of "widows and orphans" and other vulnerable members of the community. This was and remains an important obligation on the part of every Christian community and should not be left just to ordained personnel. The St. Vincent de Paul Societies do valuable work in this area, but it should not be left exclusively to them either. We should be on the lookout for those "Greek speaking widows" or their equivalents in today's church so that the "daily distribution" remains a fair and loving outreach from us all. AMEN
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