Ordination of Sub-Deacon James Hill (2/03)

Bishop John Eyla's Homily on the occasion of Sub-deacon Hill's Ordination

Dear Friends,

I am very happy to be with you again to ordain our brother Subdeacon James  Hill as Deacon.  A deacon is an extension of the bishop and the priest, as the priest is an extension of the bishop. (And, please, don't tell me that our bishop and our priests are extended enough and don't need more extension!  Our Lord said: "The one who has will have more.")   The deacon carries the burden of ministry with the priest.  Our burdens are reduced when shared with good helpers who care.  The deacon helps the community to pray in the full splendor of the original ritual of our Royal Byzantine tradition.  He assumes also whatever pastoral tasks which are assigned to him by the Pastor or by the Bishop - Not necessarily in this order!

 Let us consider briefly what we are doing today in this deacon's ordination. The first reading, appropriately chosen for this special occasion, takes us back to the time of the marvelous expansion of the early Church, immediately after Pentecost. In those days, the young Church was expanding by leaps and bounds under the spell of the Spirit, like a growing, blossoming baby. In one day - that was her Birthday on the first Pentecost - some three thousand joined the New Way.  Then, "day by day", as writes St. Luke, "the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47).  But growth, my friends, especially sudden growth, brings with it some trouble sometime.  We call it growing pain.  The Twelve Apostles were spreading themselves too thin.  As we heard in the Reading, they  had to act as referees between the Greek and the Hebrew widows in their picayune ethnic quarrels.  They were forced sometimes to neglect the word of God to take care of material concerns.  And do you know what happens often when we are torn between material and spiritual concerns?  One of them suffers violently.  And do you know which one suffers?  The more precious, which is the more fragile.  The same thing happened, in the old stories, between the pot of steel and the pot of porcelain.

 One day, a pot of steel and a pot of fine China took a liking to each other; they fell in love and they wanted to join their lives together for ever.  They took a leisurely walk together on a lovers' lane.  The pot of China leaned lovingly on the pot of steel.  Then the pot of steel leaned a little too heavily on the pot of China and... broke it.  St. Paul reminds us: "We hold (our) treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God ands not from us." (2 Corinthians 4:7)  God alone can preserve our integrity when our spirit has to compete with our material and emotional needs.  God preserve us!

The Apostles, then, wanted to disengage themselves from the responsibility for material things, in order to dedicate themselves fully to prayer and to the preaching of the Word. And so, they summoned the many Disciples and said: "It is not good that we give up the word of God and serve at tables.  Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom that we could put to this service, while we devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."  Seven believers were chosen and were presented to the Apostles, "who then prayed and laid their hands upon them." (Acts 6:6) These seven became the first deacons. Diakonos in Greek means servant. Thy became God's servants by serving His people, and especially the poor and the needy.  Servant is not a demeaning word, but an imitation of Christ the Servant par excellence.  Our Holy Father is called proudly "the Servant of the Servants of God."  Jesus warned His disciples: "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.  For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:43-45)

What are the qualifications of a good Deacon, according to the Apostles' specifications heard in the Epistle of the day?  Let us enumerate them and find out if our new deacon, Gregory, passes the test.  Let each of us also apply them to ourselves to see how much we deserve to be called servants of the Lord.  The Apostles said: Deacons should be men of good reputation. They are taken from among the people; but they represent the whole church. All baptized people should give a witness of good conduct "worthy of the call God gave us", says St. Paul.  "All of you (not some, but all) who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ". (Galatians 3:27)

 A deacon is challenged to be one step ahead of the crowd.   He is challenged to be a model to his fellow Christians.  To him applies the challenge posed by Christ to His disciples, to be like a lamp which should not be put under a bushel basket or hidden under the bed, but kept on a lamp stand where it gives light to all in the house". (Matthew 5:15 & Mark 4:21)  This is a great challenge which our dear Deacon is taking on himself today.  He has faired with an A+ so far.  Good luck for a good continuation!

Besides good reputation, a deacon should be, according to the specifications given by the Apostles, "full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom."  A good reputation, is an external quality. Being full of the Holy Spirit is an internal condition.  The external should be a congenial extension of the internal.  Otherwise we would be phony, acting a role, but not living an authentic life.

I am glad to note that the double challenge of "being of good reputation" and of "being full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom" is not new in the life of our new deacon. It is a continuation and a deepening of what he has been doing all along in  his adopted Roman Catholic Parish of Our Lady of the Mountains in Sierra Vista. He has served in visiting the sick and helping in the Religious Education Program, especially, as I understand it, in preparing young couples for marriage, and in other supporting roles.

Let me conclude by offering my heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to James and to his better half Julie. As required by our Deacon Formation policy, we have asked for the approval of Julie to have her husband serve the church as Deacon and to be his partner in this service. Behind every great man, there is a woman telling him what to do.  Congratulations to their children Michael, Gregory, Jeffrey and Isabel.

Congratulations also to James' two brothers here present John and Roger Hill and to his cousin Dennis and wife Shiela Davies and to other relatives, together with a good number of his fellow parishioners of Our Lady of the Mountains.  

Congratulations and sincere thanks to Father Paul Frechette, Director of the Eparchial Diaconate Formation Program. In the last 20 years or so, he has seen over 20 graduates from this successful Program, for service in the Melkite Church and a half a dozen for service in other churches.

Congratulations to Father Robert Bryerton and to the parishioners of Our Lady of the Mountains here present and all the other parishioners who are present with us in spirit, and who will be the beneficiaries of his continued service.

Congratulations also to Deacon James' mother parish of St. John of the Desert here in Phoenix and to the Pastor Fr. Peter Boutros, to the Right Reverend Archimandrite Robert Skagen, Assistant Pastor and to the previous Pastors who supported Deacon James in his diaconal vocation.

"No man is an island".  If we rise up, we raise with us in some way all those close to us, and if we go down, we lower with us the standard of others.  May this occasion inspire more and more parishioners of Our Lady of the Mountains and of St. John of the Desert  to emulate James' example of dedication. I hope and pray that many of you people present here today, especially our younger generation, will be inspired to dedicate your life to the Lord and to do more and more of the good things you have been doing; because there is no limit to God's love.  Believe me, to serve God and to serve Him full time is the most worthwhile thing we can do with our life. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.

 To Him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

 +Bishop John Elya

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