Diakonia

The gospel for today begins with some words of Jesus about welcome, and it seems an appropriate place to start as we welcome the Reverend Naomi Gardom as a member of the ministry team here at the University Church. Naomi will be serving as an Assistant Curate, and she will be completing a period of training, which began with her studies at Ripon College Cuddesdon, and which continues for a period of about four years here at St Mary’s. Yesterday, in an occasion of great joy at Christ Church Cathedral, Naomi was ordained as a Deacon by the Bishop of Oxford, and next year, God willing, she will be ordained as a Priest in the Church of God.

We have not had a curate at St Mary’s for some years and people are occasionally befuddled about the difference between a Deacon and a Priest, so I thought I would spend a moment this morning just unpacking how we understand the role of a Deacon in the Church. And I want to do this, not by talking about the distinctive liturgical role of a Deacon (the distinctive way in which they wear a stole over one shoulder and carry out certain functions within the service), but by talking about the readings which we have heard from scripture this morning. I think they will help to illuminate the role of the Deacon, and help us to think about the meaning of this ministry.

Of course, the Church of England, like the Roman Catholic Church, and the Orthodox Churches, continues to honour the tradition of the early church with a threefold order of ordained ministry: Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. The diaconate is the first step along the way. Sometimes described as a ‘transitional’ Deacon, the Deacon is then ordained Priest the following year, and if they are really unlucky, at some point the Priest might be ordained as a Bishop. But this does not mean that a Bishop stops being a Priest, or a Priest stops being a Deacon. The character of ministry begins to acquire a deeper range of dimensions. The original dimensions are still there.  In recent years, partly as a consequence of the Second Vatican Council in the Roman Catholic Church, the ecumenical work of Anglican and Protestant churches, we have discovered that in some ways the diaconate is the most important…. because it describes the foundations of Christian ministry.

It has become a truism of ecumenical dialogue in recent years that the role of the deacon is described in terms of service. The Greek word, diakonos, is often associated with service. In some churches, that has meant that the recovery of the permanent diaconate, which almost always involves a distinctive ministry to the poor and the dispossessed. This may involve some Chaplaincy work, working with the homeless, or members of the deaf community, or in some form of social outreach programme. And yet while this pattern of ministry, this pattern of service, helps us to see an important dimension of the role of a Deacon, more recent scholarship – and I think particularly of the work of the New Testament scholar, John Collins, in his work on Diakonia – has come to recognise that, in the ancient world, the word diakonos was used to describe a much greater variety of roles.

Looking at ancient literature across the board (not just the New Testament), Collins finds the term used in the world of commerce: ‘deacons’ as go-betweens, merchants engaged in trade, importers, agents and mediators. Again he finds the term used to describe various forms of communication: ‘deacons’ as interpreters of documents, transmitters of speech or messages, heralds, and messengers.  He finds the term used to describe various deeds, where the deacon has the role of an agent, some kind of representative or vicarious role, carrying out an undertaking on behalf of others. He notes that the role of a Deacon often comes into its own in the context of offering hospitality. Here ‘service’ is about serving at table, attending to the needs of guests, ensuring that the hungry are fed. Finally, Collins sees the role of a ‘Deacon’ in the world of diplomacy: ‘servants’ or deacons are emissaries, authorised representatives and agents.

We see the resonances with our scripture readings today: note first the accent on hospitality and welcome, the service which lies in even giving a cup of cold water to one of Matthew’s ‘little ones’ – a term he loves to use to describe the marginalised and the broken-hearted. But note the pattern ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me’. There is a representative role. Jesus is speaking to his disciples and reminding them that they are agents, emissaries, heralds, messengers. It’s a role that Jeremiah understands all too well in our Old Testament reading. The prophet Hananiah has announced that although Israel had been living in Babylon in exile, its fortunes would be restored. Jeremiah, who is grumpy at the best of times, hears these words, and he feels the weight lift from his shoulders – quite literally. The passage goes on to describe the way in which Hananiah removes a yoke from Jeremiah’s shoulders, a symbol of the subjection of the people of Israel.

And all of that should challenge us to reflect on the role to which Naomi is called – to be an agent, an emissary, a herald of Christ’s kingdom. That’s why the Deacon proclaims the gospel. That’s why the Deacon preaches. But there is more to this than a representative role. A Deacon is also called to be a ‘go-between’, prompting others to pray, praying for the people she serves, carrying their cares and concerns, their hopes and their joys, in her heart. And then there is the ministry of welcome and hospitality. The role of a Deacon involves literally serving at table, laying the table for the meal, attending to the needs of all those who are honoured guests at Christ’s table, ensuring that the hungry are fed, that the thirsty receive something to drink. This ministry of hospitality is grounded in those words of welcome, which lie at the heart of the gospel. We welcome Naomi today, just as she will in future welcome many others to enjoy the hospitality of this place as honoured guests at Christ’s table. And our ministry of hospitality, our ministry of welcome and inclusion, is an expression of the hospitality of God, the one who constantly reaches out to us in love and grace, the one who will not let us go, the one in whose arms we can rest and abide. That is why the Deacon is told by the Bishop to go out into the forgotten corners of the earth, to bring solace and compassion to those weighed down by hurt, or disappointment, or grief, or real and desperate need.

But there is more. The Deacon invites each of us to share in this ministry, because at the end of the liturgy, Naomi will send us out with the words: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Every ordination is an occasion of great joy. It is hugely significant for the person who is ordained. It follows a long, and sometimes arduous journey of reflection and discernment and prayer. But it is also significant for every single one of us – because as we contemplate the foundations of Christian ministry, we are challenged to attend again to the vocation of the Church and to renew our commitment to love and serve the Lord.