The "table" and the "word"

[yosupman]

Today’s first reading for the 5th Sunday of Easter began with discussion on the apostles needed help to tend to the needs of the people so they could tend to the word.

I believe its important always to help serve the needs of others, but this scripture shows we can’t neglect the word.

 

[Sherry_G]

Agreed. Pointing out that the word they refer to is spreading the good news of Jesus Christ or evangelizing. They were spending all their time teaching and so appointed deacons to attend to the needs of the poor, etc. They taught orally as the new testament had not been written or compiled at that time.

 

[yosupman]

My original point was that today (since Vatican II), so many religious orders have moved away from salvation/glorification of God to simply doing social justice stuff. This is misguided.

 

[puzzleannie]

Today’s first reading for the 5th Sunday of Easter began with discussion on the apostles needed help to tend to the needs of the people so they could tend to the word.

I believe its important always to help serve the needs of others, but this scripture shows we can’t neglect the word.

it also shows what Paul goes into in more detail, that the Holy Spirit grants specific gifts and charisms to particular servants of the Church which are different but complementary and necessary. To those gifted to be the priests and bishops are give the charisms needed as preachers, sanctifiers, proclaimers. To those gifted in other service the charisms of healing, ministering, administering, teaching etc. This is the basis for other forms of service auxiliary to the ordained priesthood, including first deacons as illustrated here, who are clearly ordained by laying on of hands, and growing to include those lay persons chosen for service including the holy men and women mentioned in the NT, and later those in consecrated religious life, and lay persons responding to the Holy Spirit who serve in their various ways the needs of parish and the whole church.

 

[yosupman]

it also shows what Paul goes into in more detail, that the Holy Spirit grants specific gifts and charisms to particular servants of the Church which are different but complementary and necessary. To those gifted to be the priests and bishops are give the charisms needed as preachers, sanctifiers, proclaimers. To those gifted in other service the charisms of healing, ministering, administering, teaching etc. This is the basis for other forms of service auxiliary to the ordained priesthood, including first deacons as illustrated here, who are clearly ordained by laying on of hands, and growing to include those lay persons chosen for service including the holy men and women mentioned in the NT, and later those in consecrated religious life, and lay persons responding to the Holy Spirit who serve in their various ways the needs of parish and the whole church.

I agree totally with you. The message I was focusing in on was that the apostles did not want the service aspect of the church to keep the word from being preached.