The Apostles did it... maybe we should, too.
What I love about “The Chosen” is that it plausibly fills in the gaps in the Gospels. Hasn’t everyone wondered what in the world happened that made it possible for Simon and Andrew to just drop everything and leave their lives? There’s no way that came out of nowhere: a random stranger walks by, says, “Come follow me,” and they are just magically struck so forcefully by the Spirit that they leave. Call me jaded, but I never bought that. That’s not how human beings work. SOMETHING happened to prepare them for that moment.
The Chosen creates a story that fills in that gap, and in that way, it eliminates something that could become a stone to trip over in the faith journey. We don’t have to believe what Dallas Jenkins et al portray is The Way It Actually Happened. We just need to know there WAS a plausible through-line. To have an idea of what that might feel like. The Chosen gives us that.
But there are other places in Scripture where the whole story is right there. The reading from Acts this past weekend was one of those.
If you read the daily Scriptures, you’ll know that during Easter we get parts of Acts multiple times, between weekdays and weekends.
When the story of the Hellenists’ widows and the forming of the diaconate came up on the daily readings this spring, I heard it in a new light.
I used to get a little prickly about this reading. Like, the Apostles were too good for practical work, huh?
But as I have transitioned into the sheer logistical dumpage that is parenting multiple teens, I see that passage in a whole new way. I’m like, “Oh, now I get it!”
There were practical, logistical problems that needed addressing in the early Church, and the Apostles said, “Look, we can’t do everything ourselves. Let’s deputize some trustworthy people and delegate the practical work, so WE can focus on shepherding the flock.”
Somewhere along the line, we as Church lost that. Because now we think Father has to make EVERY DECISION.
Maybe this worked before we had priest shortages (though that’s questionable at best). But it’s not sustainable now. Priests are formed for the faith, not for choosing an internet company or managing money or HR. Their vocation is for the faith. Lay people can do that practical work.
Yes, this passage is talking about the diaconate, and yes, deacons are also ordained.
However, I recently encountered a quote from Lumen Gentium that speaks to this. (It’s from Chapter 4.)
“The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and all of the secular professions and occupations.”
So why aren’t we taking the example of the Apostles and spreading the burden around on shoulders better equipped (and trained) to handle them?