Servants of the Divine Will

Therefore, dearest friends,

standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,

invoke with me, I ask you,

the mercy of God almighty,

that he, who has been pleased to number me,

though unworthy, among the Levites,

may pour into me his light unshadowed,

that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises.

(The Exultet, Roman Missal)

The liturgical high point of the year for any deacon comes during the Easter Vigil. Having carried the newly blessed Paschal candle into the darkened church, announcing Lumen Christi, “the Light of Christ,” the deacon is himself blessed by the priest before taking his place at the ambo and singing the great Easter Proclamation — the Exultet.

This is perhaps the richest text in the Roman Missal, possibly dating back to the fifth century. In the absence of a deacon, the missal allows for it to be proclaimed by a priest or, if necessary, a lay cantor. But most properly it is the deacon who is responsible for commanding the hosts of heaven and earth to exult, that is, to be glad and rejoice.

Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,

exult, let Angel ministers of God exult . . .

Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,

ablaze with light from her eternal King . . .

Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,

arrayed with the lightning of his glory,

let this holy building shake with joy,

filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.

Then comes a most special part of the Paschal Proclamation, the lines quoted at the top of this reflection, where the deacon invokes the mercy of God, “who has been pleased to number me, though unworthy, among the Levites.” Who are the Levites? As a lay cantor serving in my small parish for many years without a deacon, I was often called upon to sing the Exultet; but I had to omit these lines each year because I was not numbered among their esteemed order. That changed when I was ordained a deacon. What is the connection between the diaconate and Levitical ministry?

Like all the tribes of Israel, the Levites descended from one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Gen 29:34); in this case Levi, whose name means “one who is connected.” Unlike the other tribes, however, the Levites would possess no territory in the Promised Land (Num 18:20–21, Deut 10:9, 18:1). Instead, they were set apart, or consecrated, for the ritual service of God. This occurred after they rallied to Moses after the idolatry of the Golden Calf, showing their zeal and devotion (Ex 32:29). Having defended the worship of the true God, they were to live among the other tribes as a ministerial class. They were religious experts and liturgical specialists. Their function in society was to offer worship to God on behalf of the people and instruct others in the faith, receiving a tithe of the tribe’s produce for their support. So a Levite is both one connected and one set apart. He is connected to God and set apart from the world by his dedication to sacred worship.

The diaconate today is often spoken of as a servant ministry and it is sometimes suggested that the primary service of the deacon is found outside of the sanctuary. There can be a tendency to think of diaconal service almost exclusively in terms of charity and corporal works of mercy. These things are essential aspects of holiness, but we should always be mindful that the call to this type of service is rooted in our baptismal vocation, not ordination. To “love your neighbor as yourself” and minister “to the least of these” is the work of all Christians, not just the clergy.

To understand the unique nature of diaconal service, we might consider what changes upon ordination. Certain things now are forbidden. After ordination, a man may no longer marry. He is set apart. Certain things are now required. He must pray his daily office. He must obey his bishop. Already a member of the Church by virtue of his baptism, the ordained man is now connected to the Church in a new way as a sacred minister. This is his place in the Body of Christ. The list of things one is able to do as a deacon that one could not do as a lay person is rather short, and entirely liturgical. This tells us something about the character of ordained ministry. Those ordained to holy orders are set apart from the world, like the Levites, for the purpose of serving at God’s altar on behalf of the people. The deacon is very much a servant, and the one he is called to serve first and foremost is God. The deacon serves the people primarily through his service to God in the liturgy for which he is “set apart” on their behalf. This by no means precludes other forms of charitable service, but whatever ministry of charity deacons perform in the world should always flow from and back to the altar.

The service rendered by the Levites to the people of Israel was threefold and consisted of various liturgical, teaching, and governing responsibilities. These prefigure the three types of the Messiah we see fulfilled in Christ: the offices of priest, prophet and king. These, in turn, become the three munera or authoritative powers of the Church: to teach, sanctify and govern in Christ’s name. Let us consider each in their relationship to diaconal ministry.

Among the Levites, the sons of Aaron were called to serve in a particular way as priests (Ex 28:1). A priest is one set apart to offer sacrifice on behalf of the people. All Levites assisted in the worship of God and shared the duty of maintaining the tabernacle and its furnishings (Num 3:25–26), but only the priests could enter the tabernacle itself. In the Christian age, a new priesthood has arisen not of the order of Aaron but of the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7:11); a priesthood fulfilled in Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest who exercises a “more excellent ministry” (Heb 8:3). A new priesthood in Christ requires a new order of Levites to assist in this priestly ministry. In a Holy Week sermon preached by Pope St. Leo the Great, he recounts the effects of Christ’s Passion, remarking that “what before was done in the one temple of the Jews in dark signs is now to be celebrated everywhere by the piety of all the nations in full and open rite. For now there is a nobler rank of Levites . . .” Just as every priest of the temple was a Levite, but not all Levites were priests, every priest of the new covenant is a deacon but not every deacon is called to the priesthood. Thus, in the language of the Second Vatican Council, deacons are ordained “not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry” (Lumen Gentium 29).

The liturgical service of the deacon in sacred worship is exercised primarily in how he assists the priest. Like the angels who ministered to Christ at his Passion, the deacon stands during the liturgy at the side of the priest as he offers the holy sacrifice in persona Christi. This ministry of service begins well before the liturgy commences. Like the Levites of old, the deacon should attend to the sanctuary and its furnishings, coordinating with the sacristans to make sure all that is required for the divine liturgy is properly prepared. The deacon should be of one mind with his pastor in terms of the liturgical style and preferences of the celebrant. It is the deacon’s job during the Mass to help the priest celebrate the sacred mysteries with dignity. He must be familiar with the rubrics of the sacred liturgy, not only in order to perform his own duties, but also to help the priest and other liturgical ministers perform their respective roles well.

In addition to their liturgical duties, the Levites were the inheritors of the law of Moses and were responsible for teaching it to others. When Moses blessed the Levites from his deathbed, he referred to both their catechetical and liturgical ministries, saying, “They teach your ordinances to Jacob, your law to Israel. They bring incense to your nostrils, and burnt offerings to your altar” (Deut 33:10). Earlier in Deuteronomy we read:

When Moses had finished writing out on a scroll the words of this law in their entirety, Moses gave the Levites who carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord this order: Take this book of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord, your God, that there it may be a witness against you (Deut 31:24–26).

Upon a deacon’s ordination, the bishop places the Book of the Gospels in his hands with the command, “Believe what you read, teach what you believe, practice what you teach.” Deacons are to “take this book of the law” (that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ) and “put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (that is, our hearts, where the sanctifying grace of the Lord resides). If we should fail to believe what this precious law contains, if we should fail to teach it, or fail to live it faithfully, then the Gospel we have received will indeed “be a witness against us.” This is where the works of mercy come into play most clearly, for the love of neighbor is integral to the new law of Christ. If a deacon does not visit Christ in prison, feed Christ when he is hungry, care for Christ when he is sick, or clothe Christ when he is naked, then he is not practicing what he teaches (cf. Mt 25:31–46). If he is not instructing others to do likewise, then he is not teaching what he believes. If he does not believe what he reads in the Gospels, then he has no business being a deacon.

Now the works of mercy are many and no single person, ordained or not, is able to do them all. Attempting to do so is a sure path to frustration and ministerial burnout. The Body of Christ has many members who have various gifts which they exercise in different roles. In other words, the deacon does not have to do everything. He must first and foremost do what is proper to his office; then, what flows from his natural and God-given charisms.

All of Israel was expected to obey the law, but the Levites in particular were charged with keeping the law. “Keeping” not only meant maintaining custody of the scrolls upon which the law was written, but maintaining the tradition of the law by instructing others in it. Deacons are called to keep the Gospel in a similar way. The Gospel is not just a book any more than the law was just a scroll. The Gospel (and the law) is a Person, Jesus Christ. As keepers of the Gospel, deacons are called to teach Christ, to call others to conversion and instruct them in the faith. Among the many works of mercy, instructing the ignorant and admonishing the sinner therefore play a special role in diaconal ministry. This evangelical and catechetical aspect of diaconal ministry is expressed liturgically in the proclamation of the Gospel and the preaching of the homily; but the deacon’s ministry at the altar should reflect his ministry in the world, proclaiming the Gospel in both formal and informal ways, as a catechist in the Church and a witness in the culture.

The Levites were also sometimes called upon to act as judges over the people to settle their disputes. In Deuteronomy we read:

If there is a case for judgment which proves too baffling for you to decide, in a matter of bloodshed or of law or of injury, matters of dispute within your gates, you shall then go up to the place which the Lord, your God, will choose, to the levitical priests or to the judge who is in office at that time. They shall investigate the case and then announce to you the decision (Deut 17:8–9).

If a Levite is called upon to render judgment, he must be not only knowledgeable of the law, but a man of spiritual maturity and discernment. When the first deacons were selected to assist the Apostles in their ministry, it is noteworthy that they were all “reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). The governing authority of deacons in the Church is rather limited, but as sacred ministers deacons often find people approaching them to seek counsel or spiritual guidance. It is important therefore that deacons be men of prudence and wisdom, able to offer guidance according to the mind of the Church and not merely their own opinion.

In his teaching, the deacon is not called upon to teach his own knowledge, but the knowledge of Christ. In rendering judgment, the deacon is not called upon to share his own wisdom, but the wisdom of the Spirit. This is expressed beautifully in the Exultet when the deacon prays that God “pour into me his light unshadowed.” Since ancient times, light has been recognized as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. Light is necessary for us to see clearly. Metaphorically, “to see” is to understand. For primitive man, the light of day meant safety and security, while the darkness of night meant uncertainty and danger. For centuries, fire was the only means we had of illuminating the darkness; candles and oil lamps were the only means of taking the light of that flame with us. So the lit candle has a venerable place as a powerful symbol in our religion. Jesus teaches us in parables to keep our lamps lit (Mt 25:1–13) and instructs us not to hide our light under a basket (Mt 5:15). Candles keep vigil by the tabernacle and upon the altar during the sacrifice of the Mass. But the most important candle in the church is the Paschal candle, first blessed and lit every year to begin the great Easter Vigil.

Representing the light of Christ, it is brought into the darkened church for its light to be shared with others. Just as the light grows as people pass the flame one to another through the pews, we are called to share the light of Christ’s knowledge throughout the world, gradually filling it with the radiance of divinity. It is this Paschal candle before whose “awesome glory” the deacon stands and whose “perfect praises” the deacon sings. The candle is a type of Christ. The glory is his. The praises are his. The “light unshadowed” that we pray to be poured into us is his. It is the light of God’s wisdom, and the deacon is the servant of this light.

This light — this wisdom and knowledge — is unshadowed in God because God is its source. God is radiant. Nothing casts light upon God; God shines his light on everything else. If I am in shadow, that means something has come between me and God. We call that sin, and the one that casts the biggest and darkest shadow is pride. To pray for the light unshadowed to be poured into me is to pray that my heart be emptied of all sin and selfishness. It is a prayer of humility and self-surrender. The deacon in the Exultet prays not merely to have Christ’s light shine upon him, but that it be poured into him so that the light shines not only on his heart, but from his heart; so that he, too, becomes a light that illuminates others, another Lumen Christi, another Light of Christ.

God’s Wisdom is personified in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. The personification of Wisdom is understood as a type of Christ, who is the eternal Logos, the Divine Word of the Father. “The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works,” Wisdom says in the Book of Proverbs. “From of old I was formed, at the first, before the earth . . . Happy are they who keep my ways . . . Happy the one who listens to me, attending daily at my gates . . . for whoever finds me finds life . . .” (Prov 8:22a, 23, 32, 34a, 35).

Some depictions of Wisdom also seem indicative of the Holy Spirit. In the following passage, Solomon speaks of Wisdom as the “breath” of God who is “mobile beyond all motion” and penetrates all things, including the souls of the prophets.

For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity. For she is a breath of the might of God and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled can enter into her. For she is the reflection of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness. Although she is one, she can do all things, and she renews everything while herself perduring; Passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets (Wis 7:24–27).

Solomon seeks to make Wisdom his bride (Wis 8:2) and counselor (Wis 8:9). To be a friend of God, to be a prophet, to be a servant of the unshadowed light, the deacon should likewise be wedded to Holy Wisdom, attending always at her gates and heeding her counsel. There is a passage in Proverbs that speaks of Wisdom’s servants.

Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; She has prepared her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidservants; she calls from the heights out over the city: “Let whoever is naive turn in here; to any who lack sense I say, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding” (Prov 9:1–6).

In the ancient world, wine was often mixed with water before it was consumed. A prime example of this is the wine served at the Greek symposion. It was a great honor to serve as the cupbearer of this wine, who, not incidentally, bore the title of diakonos.

In his commentary on this passage, included in the Office of Readings for Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time, Procopius of Gaza (465–528 AD) identifies the wine mixed by Wisdom, and from which we are invited to drink, as Christ himself, “in whom as in a bowl there was brought about by the mystery of the incarnation a marvelous mingling of the divine and human natures.” This is familiar imagery to the deacon, who prepares the chalice at Mass by pouring water into the wine that is to become His Precious Blood, saying as he does so, “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” Procopius identifies the servants of Wisdom who are sent to summon people to the feast as the apostles sent to proclaim the Gospel, whom he calls the “servants of the divine will.”

The description of Wisdom dispatching her servants to invite guests to her banquet is echoed in the New Testament parable of the wedding feast (Mt 22:1–14). Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as a wedding banquet prepared by a king. Like Holy Wisdom, the king sends his servants out among the highways and hedges to summon people to the feast, the bad and good alike (Mt 22:10). Some of the servants are ignored, while others are mistreated and even killed (Mt 22:5-6), but the king sends them regardless. To be a servant of the divine will, filled with the light unshadowed, sounds like a great and exalted office; and indeed it is. But to serve in this office is not to be always liked, always respected, or always listened to. It is, rather, to “do the will of the one who sent me” (cf. Jn 4:34, 6:38). Christ spoke those words referring to his cross, and said, “Where I am there also will my servant be” (Jn 12:26).

As a new covenant Levite, the deacon is connected and set apart. He is connected to Christ in a way that sets him apart from the world. He connects others to God through his service in divine worship, his teaching and his counsel, and by the witness of Christ’s love expressed in the holiness of his life.