My Ordination…God Works Miracles!
5th Sunday of Easter (A)
2008-04-19
Acts 6:1-7God works miracles…as sure as I’m standing here.
It was most likely an ordinary morning for Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch. Nothing special. Just another day. They probably had their normal routine…tend to the crops, feed the camels, or shovel the sand off the sidewalk in front of the house. But, whatever they did in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, they probably didn’t expect what would happen to them that day. No…God had other plans.
You see…God called them. He called them forth from among the people, from among the congregation. And being “reputable men”, men “filled with the Spirit and wisdom,” they answered that call. Maybe even to the surprise of those around them, and there may have even been a little friction from friends and family.
“Wow, Stephen! I never you had it in you.”
“Philip, are you sure you want to do this?”
“Nicholas, now you promised me you’d fix the roof today.”
But, the faith community saw that they were worthy of such a calling. They were chosen from all the members of their community to serve the Church in her ministry of outreach to those poor in Spirit. Each of the men came forth. Each answered God’s call. And the twelve apostles laid their hands upon them, and with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, these seven men were forever changed…forever wed to Holy Mother Church, forever deacons.
God works miracles…as sure as I’m standing here.
But, what is really amazing about Luke’s wonderful telling of life in the very early Church, is that what happened in Jerusalem 2000 years ago…is exactly what continues in the Universal Church today. The Twelve Apostles that laid their hands upon the first seven deacons, also laid their hands upon other men who would become bishops, who laid their hands upon bishops, who laid their hands upon bishops, who laid their hands upon bishops, who laid their hands upon…Bishop J. Terry Steib of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee.
That’s right. Our bishop is a true successor to the Twelve Apostles in an unbroken line of Apostolic Succession and Sacred Tradition in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in which we profess our faith every Sunday morning. And just this morning, only a few short hours ago, Bishop Steib laid his hands on the heads of twenty-two men…reputable men filled with the Spirit and wisdom. And their lives were forever changed…they are forever deacons of the Roman Catholic Church – called by God to serve His Church in Word, Sacrament and Charity. More of God’s miracles.
But, how did they know they were called? Were they always filled with the Spirit and wisdom. I suspect that there might have been times in their lives when they doubted their call, maybe even times when they were “less than worthy.”
This brings to mind the story of a man I once knew. He was born into a Catholic family right around the time of Vatican II as many of us were. He received his first communion in the second grade, he was confirmed in the eighth grade, and he even got married in the Catholic Church. But, something was missing. He didn’t really know his faith.
Oh, sure, he was a good man. He loved his family. I think he even loved God, or Who he thought God was. But he really didn’t know that much about God…or about His Church. He didn’t get that much out of Mass. It was kind of boring. He didn’t understand the Church’s teaching about Mary or the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He hadn’t been to confession in years…and I mean like 20 years. Actually, he was not much of a Catholic at all. That’s because this man’s heart was not truly open to God, and he couldn’t hear God’s call. He sat idly in the pew on Sundays – those Sundays that he actually attended Mass – watching passively, occasionally sneaking a peek at his watch and wondering if he would be home in time for the second half. But, God had other plans.
As most of us do, this man reached a crossroads in his life. He knew he needed help. In prayerful desperation, he knelt before the Blessed Sacrament, and asked God to speak to him. And, suddenly, as clear and plainly as I am speaking to you today…God spoke to him. In fact, what he realized was that God was always speaking to him. God was calling him – calling him from a life of mediocrity and selfishness to a vibrant new life of faith; a new life in His Church.
God truly transformed him. He was a changed man.
Do you remember those twenty-two men I mentioned a few minutes ago? The newest deacons for the Diocese of Memphis?
Well, that man was among them.
And if you haven’t realized it yet…that man stands before you now, humbly preaching the word of God, a servant to you, the people of Holy Rosary Catholic Church.
Today, I, along with twenty-one others, prostrated myself on the floor of the Cathedral in humble obedience to our Bishop, and to our Church. And when I rose and the Bishop placed his hands upon my head, I was a changed man…forever changed… forever a deacon of the Catholic Church – no longer Jeff, but, Deacon Jeff.
God does work miracles…as sure as I’m standing here.
So, now you say, “That’s a nice story, Deacon Jeff, but how does that apply to me?”
Or, you might even be saying, “If he would could just get to the point, I might make it home in time for the second half.” Well, I’ll try. It’s simple.
This is not just about me. It’s not just about a bunch of men becoming deacons. It’s about all of us, and our relationship with God. It’s about our call.
You see, no matter who you are, God is calling you.
Calling you to serve His Church.
Calling you to serve your family.
Calling you to serve your neighbor, or the sick, or the poor, the widows and orphans, the homeless, the spiritually confused, or those seemingly lost to this world’s culture.
And He’s not just calling men…oh no. The women, too. And the children. All of us are called. We have only…to listen – to hear God speak to us in our hearts, and through His Church, through the grace of the Sacraments.
But, to do this, we must be quiet. We have to block out the noise of the world…the sorrow and sin of our secular culture, what John Paul The Great called “The Culture of Death.” We have to take our eyes off the television and put them on the great writings of the Church Fathers and the documents of the Church’s Magisterium. We have to empty ourselves…so that we may be filled by Christ in the Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We have to live in the Culture of Life, to live a truly Catholic life. Only then can we hear God. Only then can we answer His call.
So where is God calling you? What does He ask of you? Hush. Listen.
And remember…God does work miracles – as sure as you’re sitting there.