Intercession: Lent Meditation 5

Meditation Five: Intercession

‘Deacons share in the pastoral ministry of the Church and in leading God’s people in worship. They preach the word and bring the needs of the world before the Church in intercession.’- Ordination of Deacons

The missional outward-focused task of the deacon, to be an agent of love in the community with those who are forgotten, is only part of the diaconal vocation. Although spending time outside of the church, the deacon is also called to the church to take a servant leadership role within the covenant community in pastoral ministry.

God calls people to all walks and fields of life; every moment for every person can be holy, everything is spiritual, and work can be worship. Yet the deacon has a peculiar call to serve the people of God in private—that is, with the tender compassion of pastoral ministry—and also in its public worship through leading worship, preaching and intercessions.

All members of the covenant community can worship, whether young or old, a new believer or a lifelong follower, but this does not mean that church services are a free-for-all. In contrast, church worship, with passion and enthusiasm, is to be both ordered and structured. This order and structure are found through liturgy and Spirit-filled leadership.

The deacon serves through preaching and intercession; she acts as a bridge in corporate settings between the people and the divine by speaking forth the Word of the Lord in the public reading of the Gospel and lifting up the needs of the people in intercession.

Intercession brings the needs of the world into focus, so it is important (as mentioned earlier in a previous meditation) that deacons listen for the needs of the world. This intercession role, which involves both listening and speaking, is contextual and changes through time, as the needs of the world differ from generation to generation. Perhaps, at this moment in history as we face ongoing climate breakdown, the deacon should regularly heed Pope Francis’ call to ‘listen to the cry of the earth’ and then, in intercession, bring that cry both before the people and before God.

This intercession role, therefore, also has a teaching function, as it instructs the people in how to pray and raises awareness about the needs of the world. The deacon, therefore, is to be a realist who takes the suffering of the world with utter seriousness.

Father of Creation,

To you be praise, honour, and glory.

You have called us as deacons to lead the flock in worship,

to preach the word, and to pray before you.

By Your Spirit,

Help us to exegete and meditate upon your word and the world,

That our worship may reflect your wonder and

The context in which we find ourselves in.

Amen.

Meditation by Rev John Swales, Lighthouse Community Church, Leeds

Image from studyingprayer.com, with thanks