Reflection for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Early in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke, who is the author, tells us that the community of believers was “…of one heart and soul…there was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” It appears that this did not last long, based on what we hear today in this Sunday’s first reading. Luke now tells us that a division has developed in the church between Jews and non-Jews, with the non-Jews complaining that their people are being neglected in the distribution of food. You can almost hear the exasperation in apostles’ voices, “…it is not right that we neglect the Word for waiting on tables.”

Of course, the solution for the problem is found in the community itself. The apostles ask that seven men be identified whom they would charge with the ministry of serving the everyday needs of the people. These men would be “diakonoi,” servants, or as we would say today “deacons,” whose ministries freed the pastors of the church to do what they were charged to do, to preach, to lead, and to pray. This principle of empowering others to do as their competency and authority permits them is the principle of subsidiarity, a foundational element of Catholic social doctrine.

One Catholic commentator I read recently posed the question, “Is the Church a cruise ship or a battleship?” I found both the analogy and his commentary on the state of most U.S. parishes to be striking. By posing the question in this way, he wanted to provoke this reflection: do we look at the church as a place where we come to be served or where we serve according to the command and example of Jesus? The Church, of course, is not a cruise ship. This is not where we come to be “entertained” for one hour a week, or to be lavishly fed on a buffet where we can pick and choose what we want, or where we can avoid stormy seas by not engaging our times with the human and Christian values meant to transform it. We are and must be “all hands on deck,” where we do not complain that “somebody ought to do something about… (fill in the blank)” but where each member of the Body of Christ learns how put their gifts and resources in service to the mission of Christ and the needs of the community.

We live in a time when we priests are becoming fewer and fewer. Thankfully, we’re seeing an upswing of men in our diocese responding to the call of God to be priests. But there are still many priests in our own diocese and throughout the country who are alone in their parishes and must carry heavy burdens with little to no assistance.

When I entered the seminary, two of my aunts disowned me because they believed I was wasting my life by following the call of God. Other seminarians have told me similar stories of ostracization by family members or friends because they, too, were following the call. I have not wasted my life! I have found it as a priest. Each day brings me both joy in priestly ministry and its cross to bear. One cannot be without the other. How will we ever see vocations to holy orders and consecrated life increase unless faith is nurtured in the family and vocations are supported, not discouraged, by the Catholic people?

Our parishes have many needs. Contrary to what many believe, most parishes, including our own, are not sitting on vast financial reserves. Many parishes struggle to meet their obligations and grow their ministries. Ministry cannot happen unless we provide the resources needed for it, which in the first place, is our faith and active participation in the life of the parish, even if that participation is interceding for me, our clergy, and the needs of our people. Christ calls us to put our gifts in service to one another, even if they seem little in our own eyes. If we’re looking for someone else to take up the call to serve, then, according to our commentator, we’re on the cruise ship looking to be served.

Jesus tells Thomas that He is the way, and what is that way if it is not what He said of Himself that He comes, not to be served, but to serve? Our greatness is found in this call to humble service. We cannot wait for another to answer it for us. This is what the apostles did by calling forth the first deacons of the Church so that they would not be neglectful of the apostolic charge Christ laid on them. This is what every parish and Christian community must do; identify and form servants who, under their pastors, are empowered to use their gifts in service to the mission and in care for the community, which is another way of saying we must constantly seek to turn the cruise ship into the battleship.