Business of Bishops

Seeing the foundations of faith in Acts of Apostles

04/30/2022

Acts 6:1-7 As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the Apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

One of the most neglected books of the New Testament has to be the Acts of the Apostles. When was the last time you picked up the Bible and said, “Hey, I am going to read Acts”? Exactly. But I love Acts, and even did a Bible study on all 28 chapters of Luke’s so-called “second volume”. A lot of times you will hear Luke’s two books in the New Testament referred to with a hyphenation: “Luke-Acts”. They are really one book in two volumes.

The apostles continue the ministry of Jesus entrusted to them and established the Church that Jesus desired, namely, the Catholic Church. Jesus’ work is not finished until the end of Acts. That was the purpose of my Bible study on Acts of the Apostles: to show how the practices we have today as Catholics find their foundations in Acts. If you would like to watch those videos, you can find them on our church website, and the study is called “Axe of the Apostles”, like an “axe” you use to chop down trees and build a Kingdom.

Let me just say three things about our first reading from Acts 6:1-7. First of all, the apostles realize they need some help and decide to ordain 7 deacons. You all know Dc. Greg, Dc. Charlie, and Dc. Cesar here at Immaculate Conception. Where did they come from? Deacons were not something the Catholic Church invented in the Middle Ages. Deacons were invented by the Apostles in Acts chapter 6. In other words, the ministry of deacons is far more biblical than it is medieval.

Please pray for two men from our parish who will be ordained as deacons on June 25, namely, Bill Curry and Candelario Galvan. Just like Deacons Greg, Charlie and Cesar, so too Bill and Candelario (whom I like to call the Candyman) follow in a long line of deacons going all the way back to the Bible and the first seven deacons in Acts 6. My first point is that deacons are in the Bible, and shows how Acts is a thoroughly Catholic book. And so is the whole Bible.

My second point is: what do the apostles mean when they say they want to “devote themselves to the ministry of the word”? Now, most people read “ministry of the word” on merely the surface level, and on face value, and think it means only preaching and teaching the Bible, the Word of God. But the “ministry of the word” means so much more than simply the written word (Bible) or the spoken word (good preaching).

As St. John teaches us in his gospel, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). In other words, before the Word is written or spoken, it has been made flesh and dwells among us. And where do we find the Word made Flesh and dwelling among us today? First and foremost, we find it in the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus.

When the Apostles want to “devote themselves to the ministry of the word”, that is the "Word" they mean: both the Word made Body in the sacraments, and the word made Bible in the Scriptures. The ministry of the word, therefore, encompasses both the ministry of sacrament and Scripture. And that is the business of bishops, to ordain deacons, and the ministry of the Word. This is the second reason Acts is such a Catholic book, and why you should read it.

And the third thing is a humorous line in Acts 6:7, the last line from the first reading, which says: “Even a large number of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.” Can you hear Luke’s surprise in that statement? Wow, even priests were obeying the faith! In other words, if priests can be faithful , then anyone can be saved! And there is a lot of truth to that. It is like that old saying: The Catholic Church must be a divine institution if we priests have been trying to destroy it for 2,000 years and been unsuccessful!”

Of course, Luke’s meaning in Acts 6:7 is not primarily about Catholic priests but about Jewish priests who were converting to Christianity. But I believe Luke’s verse has an application for all priests, Jewish and Catholic. Pray for us priests to be more “obedient to the faith”. Yes, we have been called to be his ambassadors for you. But we also are tempted and have trials and we trip up and fall on our face and are “disobedient to the faith”. The ministry of priests is also implied in the Acts of the Apostles, and a third reason this is such an important Catholic book of the Bible.

Folks, in just seven verses, Acts 6:1-7, St. Luke has suggested the whole hierarchical structure of the Church: the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons. I hope you can see why Acts is such a Catholic book, and why I love it and did a 10-part study on it, and why you should read it.

Praised be Jesus Christ!