Servant Ministry and Diaconal Ministry

Charleston: Servant Ministry and Diaconal Ministry

 “This is not our first day on the job. I know many of you have been here for a long while, and even more of you have been working overtime. I wish I could tell you it is time to take a break. I wish I could say that the job is almost finished. But that’s not the case. In fact, it looks like we have even more work to do. The task has gotten bigger, and the stakes have gotten higher. That means we must all work harder to create a culture of inclusion, clear a path to peace, develop a sustainable ecology, and repair the bonds of justice that hold us together. And one last note, we still get paid the same: zero dollars, but more smiles and hope than we can spend.” —Steven Charleston

Deacons know about zero dollars, since ours is a non-stipend ministry. However, there is something gratifying about working for free if you can. It means the deacons may be retired or have another income from a reimbursed job, allowing them to work without compensation in their second job. The diaconate is a ministry that keeps you in the world, because that is where you are monetarily compensated. Deacons are called to be a bridge between the church and the world, bringing the needs of the world to the church and bringing the church to the world. They are directly under the leadership of their bishop.

The best recent book about the diaconate is Unexpected Consequences, The Diaconate Renewed by Susanne Watson Epting.

The deacon stands beside others in ministry, cheering them on as they are called to the ministry. Frederick Buechner would say this is where their “deep gladness” meets the “world’s great need.”

The deacon stands beside the priest at the Eucharist. The deacon stands beside those working for inclusion, peace in this world, justice for all, and care for our ecology. The deacon stands for and supports others in servant ministry.

When people are discerning what kind of work they should go into, they are often told, “Choose the job you would do even if you were not paid for it.” Most people who do ministry in the church are not paid. However, the icon for this statement may be deacons in the church, who take a vow to be servant ministers.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Buechner: Surprise Visits

Buechner: Surprise visits

“Jesus is apt to come into the very midst of life at its most real and inescapable. Not in a blaze of unearthly light, not in the midst of a sermon, not in the throes of some kind of religious daydream, but … at supper time or walking along a road. This is the element that all the stories about Christ’s return to life have in common.. He never approached from on high, but always in the midst, in the midst of people, in the midst of real life and the questions that real life asks.”

—Frederick Buechner, originally published in The Magnificent Defeat.  

Road to Emmaus

Buechner describes how we see Jesus in our lives, in our ordinary lives. We need not go on some great pilgrimage or be in an ancient cathedral. God is all around us in our everydayness. Our ministry as spiritual friends is helping each other see God in our everyday lives.

 These resurrection stories give us many clues about where and how to find Jesus.

Jesus’s resurrection appearance is a surprise to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, to Mary at the tomb, to the disciples locked in the upper room, and to the disciples fishing. It is off the agenda.

Jesus is usually not immediately recognized.

Jesus does ordinary things like cooking, eating, and walking.

Jesus looks like an ordinary person, but may do extraordinary things, like walking through walls.

Jesus still bears his wounds, but they are healed.

Jesus feeds us.

 Jesus calls us by name.

 Jesus appears to ordinary people.

 Except for Jesus’ appearance to Paul on the road to Damascus, Jesus appears to those who know him.

Most importantly, Jesus speaks truth and love and peace.

If you want to know more about resurrection, meditate on these stories.

Joanna joannaseibert.com  https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Nothing Can Separate Us

Nothing Can Separate Us

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 8:38-39.

Trinity Cathedral Pierce Chapel

I talk to many people who do not believe they deserve God’s love. I remember visiting with a very alert, highly educated woman in her 90s, still involved in her successful business, who wanted to start going back to church—but only after she got her life together and felt she was a better person. I told her the famous line, “The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.” But she never returned.

I talk to many people recovering from addiction who feel so much shame for the life they have led. They do not see how God and others can forgive them. So many have been taught to fear a judgmental God looking over their shoulder to catch them in sin.

I want to tell them there is another way, a belief in resurrection, an Easter that can be redeemed after a Good Friday life or experience. I remind them of Jesus’ disciples who abandoned and denied him if I can. He did not return to them in that upper room on Easter evening and say, “Shame on you.” Instead, he said, “Peace be with you.… When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” (John 20:21-23).

We discuss the difference between shame, “I am a bad person,” and guilt, “I did a wrong thing.” We also talk about addiction not being a moral failing, but a disease. Finally, we talk about seeing any sign of God’s love alive and well, working in their life. We pray that the Holy Spirit will lead both of us to recognize this presence alive in each other, so we will both see and be led by the Christ in each other.

Sometimes, I tell my story of  God’s presence in my life through many difficulties, to see if they recognize similarities between my story and theirs.

 Lastly, I may share the above mantra from Romans that I still use as I became aware of my harm to others and myself and now seek forgiveness.

Sometimes, I share this image from Trinity Cathedral’s Pierce Chapel of Jesus, the Light of the World, constantly seeking us to love us.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com. https://www.joannaseibert.com/