EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF
MERCY
JUBILEE OF DEACONS
HOMILY
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Saint
Peter's Square
Sunday, 29 May 2016
“A servant of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1:10).
We have listened to these words that the Apostle Paul, writing to the
Galatians, uses to describe himself. At the beginning of his Letter, he had
presented himself as “an apostle” by the will of the Lord Jesus (cf. Gal1:1).
These two terms – apostle and servant – go together. They can never be
separated. They are like the two sides of a medal. Those who proclaim Jesus are
called to serve, and those who serve proclaim Jesus.
The Lord was the first to show us this. He, the
Word of the Father, who brought us the good news (Is 61:1), indeed,
who is the good news (cf. Lk 4:18), became
our servant (Phil 2:7). He came “not to be served, but to serve” (Mk 10:45).
“He became the servant (diakonos) of all”, wrote one of the Church
Fathers (Saint Polycarp, Ad Phil. V, 2). We who proclaim him are
called to act as he did, “merciful, zealous, walking according to the charity
of the Lord who made himself the servant of all” (ibid.). A disciple of
Jesus cannot take a road other than that of the Master. If he wants to proclaim
him, he must imitate him. Like Paul, he must strive to become a servant.
In other words, if evangelizing is the mission entrusted at
baptism to each Christian, serving is the way that mission is
carried out. It is the only way to be a disciple of Jesus. His witnesses are
those who do as he did: those who serve their brothers and sisters, never
tiring of following Christ in his humility, never wearing of the Christian
life, which is a life of service.
How do we become “good and faithful servants”
(cf. Mt 25:21)? As a first step, we are asked to be available.
A servant daily learns detachment from doing everything his own way and living
his life as he would. Each morning he trains himself to be generous with his
life and to realize that the rest of the day will not be his own, but given
over to others. One who serves cannot hoard his free time; he has to give up
the idea of being the master of his day. He knows that his time is not his own,
but a gift from God which is then offered back to him. Only in this way will it
bear fruit. One who serves is not a slave to his own agenda, but ever ready to
deal with the unexpected, ever available to his brothers and sisters and ever
open to God’s constant surprises. One who serves is open to surprises, to God’s
constant surprises. A servant knows how to open the doors of his time and inner
space for those around him, including those who knock on those doors at odd
hours, even if that entails setting aside something he likes to do or giving up
some well-deserved rest. One who serves is not worried about the timetable. It
deeply troubles me when I see a timetable in a parish: “From such a time to
such a time”. And then? There is no open door, no priest, no deacon, no
layperson to receive people… This is not good. Don’t worry about the timetable:
have the courage to look past the timetable. In this way, dear deacons, if you
show that you are available to others, your ministry will not be self-serving,
but evangelically fruitful.
Today’s Gospel also speaks to us of service. It
shows us two servants who have much to teach us: the servant of the centurion
whom Jesus cures and the centurion himself, who serves the Emperor. The words
used by the centurion to dissuade Jesus from coming to his house are
remarkable, and often the very opposite of our own: “Lord, do not trouble
yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” (7:6); I did not
presume to come to you” (7:7); “I also am a man set under authority” (7:8).
Jesus marvels at these words. He is struck by the centurion’s great humility,
by his meekness. And meekness is one of the virtues of deacons.
When a deacon is meek, then he is one who serves, who is not trying to “mimic”
priests; no, he is meek. Given his troubles, the centurion might have been
anxious and could have demanded to be heard, making his authority felt. He
could have insisted and even forced Jesus to come to his house. Instead, he was
modest, unassuming and meek; he did not raise his voice or make a fuss. He
acted, perhaps without even being aware of it, like God himself, who is “meek
and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). For God, who is love, out of love
is ever ready to serve us. He is patient, kind and always there for us; he
suffers for our mistakes and seeks the way to help us improve. These are the
characteristics of Christian service; meek and humble, it imitates God
by serving others: by welcoming them with patient love and unflagging
sympathy, by making them feel welcome and at home in the ecclesial community,
where the greatest are not those who command but those who serve (cf. Lk 22:26).
And never shout, never. This, dear deacons, is how your vocation as ministers
of charity will mature: in meekness.
After the Apostle Paul and the centurion,
today’s readings show us a third servant, the one whom Jesus heals. The Gospel
tells us that he was dear to his master and was sick, without naming his grave
illness (v. 2). In a certain sense, we can see ourselves in that servant. Each
of us is very dear to God, who loves us, chooses us and calls us to serve. Yet
each of us needs first to be healed inwardly. To be ready to serve, we need a
healthy heart: a heart healed by God, one which knows forgiveness and is
neither closed nor hardened. We would do well each day to pray trustingly for
this, asking to be healed by Jesus, to grow more like him who “no longer calls
us servants but friends” (cf. Jn 15:15). Dear deacons, this is
a grace you can implore daily in prayer. You can offer the Lord your work, your
little inconveniences, your weariness and your hopes in an authentic prayer
that brings your life to the Lord and the Lord to your life. When you serve at
the table of the Eucharist, there you will find the presence of Jesus, who
gives himself to you so that you can give yourselves to others.
In this way, available in life, meek of heart
and in constant dialogue with Jesus, you will not be afraid to be servants
of Christ, and to encounter and caress the flesh of the Lord in the poor of
our time.
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