The fullness of ministering to the people of God in a particular community is the responsibility of the bishop. However, even from the beginning of the church it was clear that one person could not possibly fulfill this responsibility on his own. This responsibility was shared by presbyters (priests) and deacons from within the community. This responsibility is shared today by the clergy (priests and deacons) as well as religious (sisters, nuns, friars, brothers, etc,) and lay persons.
Theologians generally understand the laity as having the apostolic mission and primary responsibility for bringing the Gospel to the world. If the world is going to be transformed into the Kingdom of God, it is the laity whose witness to their faith and to the Gospel will play an important role in bringing that about. The role of the clergy is to minister to the spiritual needs of the Christian community and encourage the laity in their apostolic mission. Priests do this through their role of sanctification (worship and celebration of the sacraments) and of pastoral leadership. Deacons do this through their ministry of Word, Worship and Service.
One of the understandings of the diaconate is that the deacon is meant to be an icon of sorts; an icon of Christ the Servant. What is an icon? The first thing that comes to mind nowadays is that little picture on your computer screen that you click when you want to open an app. While that is correct in a 21st century context, there is another and older meaning for the word.
In the Eastern part of the church, there is an ancient tradition of painting pictures with a spiritual theme. These pictures are called “icons” and are meant to be a focus for prayer and meditation. The icons are done in a formal style and every aspect of the painting is filled with symbolic meaning. They take months to paint because they are not simply works of art but they are prayers. The act of creating an icon is a form of prayer. The artist is lead into a deeper relationship with God through the act of painting and intends that the painting will help lead those who use it as a focus for their prayer and lead them into a deeper relationship with God.
The deacon is not meant to just be a public agent of the church in his ministry but is meant to reveal Christ more deeply through his ministerial service. As people see the deacon minister to others, they should see Christ at work in the world through the deacon. So, the deacon is an icon in the sense that his ministry points back to Christ and draws people into a deeper relationship with God as a result. In a sense, the ministry of the deacon should be an encounter with Christ for those who witness the deacons ministry, just as the iconic painting can afford an encounter with Christ for the one who is absorbed by the image in his prayer.
I will be the first to confess that most deacons fall short of being the icons of Christ the Servant that they prayed to be on the day they were ordained. I will also suggest that being an icon is not so much something that a deacon consciously does but who he is. As he makes himself available to God to be used in ministry as necessary and does his best at what he is asked to do, most of the work is done by Christ, whose presence radiates from the deacon.
The power of an icon is not in the beauty or artistry of the painting but in Christ. The power of the deacon, as icon of Christ the Servant, is not in the skill or wisdom of the particular deacon but in Christ, who transforms the deacon’s simple attempts at service into something more penetrating and grace filled.
I see this often when I preach at Mass. I will give a homily that I figure is mediocre at best but it was all that I could come up with that Sunday. Then after Mass, as I’m saying goodbye to the congregants, a few people will thank me for what I said in the homily because that is exactly what they needed to hear that day. It certainly wasn’t me per se but the Holy Spirit using me as an icon to all those persons to encounter Christ through my efforts at ministry.