Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.  And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.  Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty.   But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."  And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.   These they set before the apostles, and they prayed, and laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
 

Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 33 ( Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19):

R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 
 Exult, you just, in the LORD;
 praise from the upright is fitting.
 Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
 with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.

 R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 
 Upright is the word of the LORD,
 and all his works are trustworthy.
 He loves justice and right;
 of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

 R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 
 See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
 upon those who hope for his kindness,
 to deliver them from death
 and preserve them in spite of famine.

 R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 

Today's Epistle is from the 1st Letter of Peter, beginning at the 2nd Chapter, and the 4thVerse (1 Peter 2:4-9):

        Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."  To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,"  and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

+ A Reading from the Gospel of John, beginning at the 14th Chapter, and the 1st Verse (John 14:1-12):

        "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.   And you know the way where I am going."

        Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.   If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him."  Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip?  He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say,  'Show us the Father'?   Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

        "Amen, Amen, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father."

        The first reading shows the Apostles realizing that they were neither businessmen nor administrators -- their talent was for prayer, prophecy and preaching.  The were wise enough, however, to realize that they needed people with those abilities, and so chose seven men out of the community in Jerusalem,  "...and they prayed and laid their hands upon them."  The Diaconate thus came before the priesthood.
        "Diakonos" is the ordinary Greek word for servant, and the seven Protodeacons were the servants of the Apostles and of the ordinary members of the Church in Jerusalem.  Also, they are the pattern we should emulate -- the Social Gospel, the Social Services that the Church has been famous for since their time.
        The work of the Church comprises both prayer and service -- looking upward toward heaven from earth, and bringing heavenly grace down into the earth.  We cannot neglect either side.

        In today's Epistle, Peter takes the image from Psalm 118: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone..." and weaves it into a beautifull allegory about Jesus' work on earth.  Far from being a rough an uneducated man,  he shows himself to have had vision and a powerful talent for illuminating the Gospel story.
        Jesus is the "...stone the builders rejected..." in that He was rejected by Israel, the People of the Lord, who were building their culture and kingdom up around the earthly Temple.  Rejected, in that he was subjected to a degrading execution, reserved for slaves and the lowest of the low.
        Peter quotes Scripture -- the Psalm, Isaiah 28:16 ("...a stone in Zion...), and  Isaiah 8:14: "...stone that causes men to stumble..."  Jesus, the solid Rock of Faith is an image we are all familiar with -- He is the basis and ground of our Faith -- nothing else is stable or sure enough.

        Being a cornerstone is all well and good, but what is it that gives Jesus that depth, that solidity, that surety?  If he were merely a man, or just a created being -- as Jehovah's Witnesses and other pseudo-Christians assert -- there would be no surety there, no authority -- only the ravings of yet another demented prophet.  If Jesus is not God, we are, indeed, still in our sins, and surely damned.
        Jesus here claims explicitly that He and the Father are one:  "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip?  He who has seen me has seen the Father ...  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? "  As C.S.Lewis says -- to make that claim, He needed to have been an over-the-top madman, or exactly what He claimed He was:  "Before Abraham was, I AM."

        Let us pray, then, that we can remain steadfast in the Faith, and serve God and man as we are bid by the Scripture...

In the Name of the Father +
And of the Son +
And of the Holy Spirit +
Amen.

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