August 9, 2009
Translated by Lydia Ma

According to the Presbyterian Church tradition, the role of deacons or "diakonia" is to take care of the church's general affairs, including assisting church elders and pastors in teaching believers and managing the daily activities of the church. Consequently, many have assumed that deacons have special status within a church and being chosen to become a deacon is a necessary step or process before one can be "promoted" to the position of an elder.

Such a misconception is actually misleading and brings us back to the way things were before the Protestant Reformation. Before that time, the Catholic Church saw deacons as the Pope's helpers during mass. However, the founder of Presbyterianism, John Calvin, gave deacons a new direction and role based on his understanding of the Bible's teachings.

In Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, IV.3.9, Calvin taught that taking care of the poor was the duty of deacons. If we accept this teaching, and we must accept it, then, it follows that there are two kinds of deacons. The first kind is responsible for organizing help for poor people while the second kind is responsible for actually helping them. Calvin also taught about this and went on to claim that being elected as deacon is a permanent, life-long calling.

As we celebrate Calvin's 500th anniversary, it is very important to re-examine the role of deacons, especially in the context of contemporary Taiwanese society. Like religious leaders in Jesus' time who asked Him who was their neighbor, we must also ask who these "poor people" deacons are called to help really are. Are they people the borough leader has listed as "low income families"? Are they people earning less than $500,000 NTD per year?

As we ponder on the "poor people" we are called to help, we must look beyond the financial or economic aspect of being poor. "Poor people" come in different shapes and sizes. There are "emotionally poor people" who never find contentment in their hearts. There are "physically poor people" who are always worried about illness, growing old, and the illnesses that accompany old age. There are also "environmentally poor people" who consume so much energy and waste precious resources without knowing it, and the list goes on. The role of deacons is to think of ways to help these people and then go out and help them.

That being said, we must admit we oftentimes run into the aforementioned "poor people" in our lives but choose to look the other way because it is simply more convenient to do so. We behave much like the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is more convenient to simply cross over to the other side of the street, instead of stopping by to help and bandage the wounds of these "poor people."

The role and responsibilities of deacons should not stop with having mere "head knowledge" of what they must do, or be dismissed as a duty of the selected few at church. We must examine it anew in light of the Reformed church tradition, which emphasized on the priesthood of all believers. As we accept our roles as priests and relish in our reconciled relationship with God, we must also take up our calling from God and start planning how to help poor people and go out and help them. This is what makes us really reconciled to God and this is how we bring God's kingdom to earth.

Let us reflect on the true meaning of diakonia and apply it in our daily lives.

Taiwan Church News