Those
are the words of wisdom posted on the sign in front of our Church this
week. It’s only Monday and I've already
lost count of how many people have asked me what they’re supposed to do to be like
a deacon. One woman came into the
Sacristy looking to put on one of my albs (the white vestment we wear). I guess she thinks that being a deacon is all
about the wardrobe. Last night, a friend
texted me a picture of the sign asking, “Does this mean I should tell some
really bad jokes this week?” Note to
self – cut back on the jokes. And just
this morning, four people separately asked me; “What does that mean?” Hmm. I
guess I’m not an obvious example of what it means to be a deacon. No surprise there, but, being a
glass-half-full kind of guy, at least they read the sign.
Being like
a deacon means being “handsome, elegant, intelligent and sweet.” Oh, sorry, that’s for “Be like Magilla
Gorilla Week.” How about “faster than a
speeding bullet; more powerful than a locomotive; able to leap tall buildings
in a single bound.” Oops, that’s for “Be
like Superman Week.” So what does it
mean to be like a deacon? Well, the
message on the sign is referring to the first reading from Sunday’s Mass (Acts 6: 1-7), the calling of the first deacons.
In that passage, the Apostles ask the community to “select from among
you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom,” to serve the
community. So that’s it in a
nutshell: reputable; filled with the
Spirit; and wise. Allow me to share a few
words on each.
Reputable
means “considered to be good; respectable.”
I think we’d all like to be reputable, but it takes work. It’s a sad fact that people tend to remember
the bad things we do more than the good.
Recall Marc Antony’s tongue-in-cheek eulogy of Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them; The
good is oft interred with their bones.”[1] So true.
We all have our faults, so we need to work extra hard to be reputable. We need to be aware of our public persona – the
image we want to portray to the world, the person we want to be remembered as. I ascribe to the famous words inscribed on a
pillow: “I’d like to be the kind of
person that my dog thinks I am.” Once
aware, we need to make it our reality. To
be reputable, we need to do enough good to outweigh our faults.
Being
filled with the Spirit is a fun one. It
means allowing the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts and guide of our
actions. It means living life fully as
God wants us to live. God speaks to us
all of the time; we just have to take the time to listen and allow God to lead
us. God’s Spirit inspires us to make
good choices; it helps us do good.
Psychologists acknowledge that faith-filled people are happier and
healthier than those without faith; they make better choices that ultimately promote
their health and happiness. So being filled
with the Spirit is fun and good for you.
Wisdom
is the ability to think and act with the benefit of knowledge, experience,
understanding, common sense and insight.
Wisdom takes time. Life is filled
with lessons, many learned in the school of hard knocks. Wisdom comes when we heed those lessons, when
we learn from our mistakes, when we follow the example of good, reputable
people, and when we listen to the inspiration of the Spirit. Wisdom doesn't come easily, but it's worth the wait.
So now you
may be asking, “How in the world did you
become a deacon?” Well, the short answer
is “beats me,” but the deeper answer is “by the grace of God.” I’m not perfect; I certainly don’t
demonstrate all of the qualities of a deacon all of the time. I’m human.
But God constantly calls us to be fully
human – all that we are meant to be – reputable, filled with the Spirit and
wise. We’re all called to be deacons in
our own unique ways – some like the first seven deacons, some like Magilla
Gorilla, and others like Superman. With
God’s grace, we can all be deacons, even those who tell really bad jokes but
look great in vestments.
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