by Deacon Leon Suprenant
I have long pondered the “creative tension” in the deacon’s identity.
The deacon shares in some respects in the life of priests, and yet he also shares in the life of the laity, with whom he lives and works in the world. Deacon James Keating therefore quips that a deacon is a man with a foot in both worlds, “a cleric living a lay life.”
This reality certainly can be misunderstood.
Sometimes when we speak of someone with a foot in both worlds, we’re implying that they’re wishy-washy or unsure about which “world” they belong in.
Maybe it calls to mind a strange, hybrid character who is part cleric and part layperson. Or perhaps the deacon is a superhero — a mild-mannered accountant who ducks into the phone booth (or rather, sacristy) and becomes “super deacon” on Sunday!
Sometimes, instead of saying that someone has a “foot in both worlds,” we say that someone has a “foot in both camps.” This expression presupposes that the “two worlds” are competing entities — church versus world, or even hierarchy versus laity. In this polarized reality, the deacon is then some sort of schizophrenic double agent who plays both sides of the fence, and not an instrument of peace.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
Far from being an instrument of division, the deacon is ordained to be a bridge for hurting people to receive the mercy and healing of the church. The deacon is truly the hands (and feet!) of the bishop but, at the same time, a relatable brother in the Lord for the lay faithful.
With apologies to St. Augustine, the deacon can truly say to his community: “For you, I am a deacon; with you (and at the same time), I am a Christian.”
In a synodal, missionary church, deacons serve as key “ligaments,” connecting shepherds with their flock, and the church with the world — especially the poor and marginalized.
Deacons receive no unique “superpowers” at ordination, but instead their charism is to foster connectivity (what we call “communion”) within the church. In particular, they walk with lay people as they fully participate as missionary disciples in the world.
We see this dynamic at work in the dismissal at Mass. The deacon is the spokesperson for the church, commissioning the faithful to go forth in peace, to infuse the world with Christian charity.
But his role doesn’t end there. The deacon then accompanies the faithful out the door, at the forefront of the pilgrim church on the move, bringing faith to life in Christian service.
