07.04.2009
Address by the Archbishop of Dublin at Chrism Eucharist in Christ Church Cathedral
“The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” Mark 10:45
This is about being a deacon – “to serve” in Greek is “to deacon” – the verb δ??κονεω – and its English translation is “to Minister”, except when it is used more narrowly and specifically to refer to the Order of Deacons. A deacon is a minister – and all ordained ministers in the historic ordained ministry start out as deacons and in a real sense never cease to be deacons.
As we celebrate today all the ministry of the Church of God – lay, diaconal, priestly and episcopal – we are talking of diaconal service in the name of Christ who came not to be served, but to serve – not to be ministered to, but to minister.
At the heart of all such ministry is humility – self giving – bearing the yoke of Jesus Christ. Just as Paul called all Christians to have this mind among themselves as they have in Jesus Christ who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, who became obedient to death, even death on the cross.
But there is a further aspect to this word “deacon” in Greek - δ??κονôς is in fact used in two senses. It is used indeed of the servant minister but it is also used of a very important official – an official who is important, not in their own right, but because of the authority with which they have been entrusted – the person or nation whom they represent. In the Hellenistic world in which the Christian faith found its first cultural identity, the δ??κονôς, as well as being a servant, was also something like an emissary of a ruler, or perhaps an ambassador. The minister represents the one whom he or she serves – and even though that representation must be through service – it is a very responsible service, a very important service.
When Jesus told the disciples that they were to be his witnesses – he was entrusting them with a tremendous commission – to be his representatives wherever they went. In their lives, in their words, Christ is present.
The Christian Minister is therefore by very nature a sacramental person. Just as the sacraments of the Gospel take the ordinary, the humble, and the mundane, water, bread and wine, and fill them with profound significance – the mystical washing of rebirth, the receiving of the life of the Risen Christ, so the Minister – is a sacramental person – ordinary, humble, and yet carrying a tremendous responsibility – the representation of the living Christ.
Ordination confers this sacramentality in a very explicit way – it becomes what is an indelible mark – but in a real way too, those commissioned by the church to perform a specific ministry as lay people express something of that sacramentality that belongs to the whole church – called to be servants, ambassadors, witnesses – δ??κονô?.
Do not underestimate the meaning of this. Some distortions of Anglican Doctrine have almost inferred that Anglicans regard the sacramental as a mere sign – or sort of reminder, perhaps little more than a bookmark or a memorial tablet. A Sacrament is a sign that conveys what it signifies – the sacraments of the Gospel are those ordained by Christ to actually achieve what they point to – the “how” may be a mystery, but the reality must never be in doubt. The sacraments are effective signs – they convey the grace with which the Spirit of God imbues them.
In the world of today, the Church of God is there not for its own sake, but to bring Jesus Christ to a sorely hurting and depressed world. It brings a message of hope through the cross and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It is vital that the entire ministry that we offer as a church – ordained and lay alike – brings hope and new life. It must be good news or it is not worth telling. The oils which we bless today point to new beginnings, to healing, to God’s hand reaching out to us in life at its beginning and its ending, to the presence of the Spirit of Jesus present in our joys and in our sorrows.
It is in this spirit that we seek God’s renewing and commissioning in this Eucharist, we seek to be anointed afresh for his service – that we may be δ??κονô? for Jesus Christ – servants of Jesus, and servants of the world that God so loves, servants of Good News, servants of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament.
