Read: Acts 6:1-7

Reflect: The church leaders were busy proclaiming the good news of the risen Jesus. The Holy Spirit was busy too – inspiring those leaders and opening the hearts and minds of those who heard their message. As a result, many believed and were baptized. But with the growing numbers of believers there was less time and energy to care for the needs of the most vulnerable among them. The solution: to set apart for special service faithful individuals with gifts for serving those in need. In this way, the message of God’s abundant love made known in Jesus would be shared not just through preaching and teaching, but also through deeds of compassion and mercy.

Two thousand years later, the church is still setting apart such persons for special service – we call them deacons. Frequently (but not always) they serve in food pantries and soup kitchens, hospitals and nursing homes, and shelters for unhoused neighbors. Deacons don’t relieve the rest of us from our responsibility to act wherever we find God’s children in need of help, hope, or advocacy. Instead, the Holy Spirit empowers and guides them to lead us in this work by their own examples of faithfulness and generosity.

Prayer: God of compassion, your Son came among us not to be served but to serve. We give you thanks for those whom you have called to the ministry of word and service [especially

name/s ]. Give to all deacons faith to serve you with gladness; sustain them with a living hope, especially in times of despair; and kindle in them your love, so that they see in every neighbor the face of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen. (from All Creation Sings, p. 46. ©2020 Augsburg Fortress, used by permission.)