The Preachin' Deacons! Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A. May 10, 2020

Happy Mothers Day!  Welcome back to the Preachin' Deacons. A video link to our three homilies and this week's readings follow, along with the text to my contribution.  We're sorry that there is no discussion at the end--computer problems!

Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

 We Can All Do Something

         The past few weeks have been really frustrating for me, and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus or eight weeks of isolation.  My computer died . . . then my printer died.  I’m not technologically gifted, so when I imagine what hell is like, I think it must involve a computer Help Desk where the only solution offered is, “Did you try rebooting?”  My frustrations came to a head this past Thursday as I was trying to set up my new printer.  I got so frustrated by what I couldn’t do that I needed to get away from the computer and reboot myself.  My little time out helped me realize that while I can do some things, I can’t do everything. I need help sometimes.  This Sunday’s readings agree.

         Our readings today speak to us of service.  In our first reading, we hear of the call of the first deacons—the servants of the Church. The Apostles weren’t cutting it.  The growing number of disciples made it impossible for them to preach and serve at table, and some of their followers were feeling cheated.  So the Apostles turned to their community for help, and the service ministry of the Church was born.  In our second reading, Saint Peter invites us to join this ministry by becoming “living stones” in the foundation of the Church.  And in our Gospel, Jesus calls us to follow his model of service, assuring us that there’s room for all.

          Yes, we’re called to serve.  God has endowed each one of us with unique talents for us to use to build his Kingdom here on earth.  We’re all called to do something . . ., but we’re not called to do everything.  We have a tendency to expect that we can do it all.  Think of our mothers, whom we celebrate today.  Our mothers do so much for us that we think they must have 10 hands in addition to the eyes they have in the back of their heads.  But even mothers can’t do everything, and those that think that they have to usually aren’t very happy.  We need to help out.  We need to share our talents and work together, not just to get through the daily grind of life and to fix our computers, but to love as Jesus loved, to serve as Jesus served, and to build God’s Kingdom here on earth.  As Pope Francis said, “Everyone has something to give to society; no one is excluded from contributing to the good of all.”  You have talents that I don’t have; I have talents that you don’t have.  When we pool our talents, we accomplish amazing things—together.  

           Just yesterday, our parish ran a food drive to stock our pantry and to help out some food pantries in the area.  In these tough times, a lot of people can’t afford even the most basic necessities, so the pantries are running on empty.  We came together as a community, appropriately masked and gloved, and our parishioners didn’t disappoint. For three hours, we had a steady stream of families dropping off food and sundries, so much so, that we filled our pantry wall to wall, with even more food piled on three folding tables in the hall.  None of us could have done that alone, but each of us was able to do something.  Working together, we did something miraculous in the model of Jesus Christ—we fed the hungry.