JOURNEYING TO THE DIACONATE[1]
It all started with a farmer.
A humble man, hardworking,
prayerful, seeing God
present in the soil, the
sprouting seeds, the
animals, the wind,
sunshine and rain. The
cycle of life that governs
life on the farm, always
displaying to his eyes
the abundance of God’s grace.
Now, the sower of seeds,
clothed in alb and stole,
sows the word of God,
to those gathered for Mass,
and among the lives of
those confined to home,
hospital and nursing home.
He is Christ personified
As the Servant of God.
Little did he know the
seed he sowed in my life,
slowly germinating, pushing
seeking God’s sunshine,
like the seeds he sows in
his fields during Spring.
As the seed grows, I
seek after God’s light
not just in seminary
classrooms and incense
scented church naves.
Rather, God present
in all of God’s Creation,
a chord in Copland’s
“Appalachian Spring”,
the smile of an infant,
the comforting of the
abused and bereaved,
the stories of the broken.
And, now, the joy and
ordeal of Formation,
with you at my side,
my Ruth, and our
diaconal brothers and sisters,
I kneel before the bishop,
placing my hands
between his, his hands
now imposed on my
bowed head, and don
my alb and stole,
as a servant of
The Servant of God.
The homeless man
in my communion line
approaches me, “The
blood of Christ,”
extending the cup of
wine to him. Draining
half the cup, he smiles,
“Amen to Jesus!” my
ministry now beginning
not to the well off and
the pietistic righteous,
but to the broken, the
poor, and the seeker.
© 2019, The Book Of Ruth, Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.
[1] Deacon Len Shambour the farmer/deacon remains for me a tremendous permanent deacon. I directed the music at his “first” Mass in the late 1970’s. He and his wife, Ellie, are the epitome of the deacon couple. Getting admitted into diaconal formation is an involved process, with many interviews, a perceiver’s test, eight hours of psychological testing, meeting with a psychiatrist, and finally meeting with the selection team. Ruth and I did this twice. The first time on our way up for the final interview, Ruthie told me she was not ready for this. Beth was still very young, and so in our meeting with the selection team, we removed ourselves from consideration. We were invited to reapply by the team. A couple of years later, we reapplied and were selected. Beth was 10 years old when I was ordained. Life, as a deacon, has been quite the journey for Ruth and me. I always maintain that were it not for the sexism of the Church, Ruth would have been the one ordained to the permanent diaconate. Hopefully, under Pope Francis 1, this will become a reality for the wonderful women of our Church.
