To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his
own blood, and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen. I am not a priest.
Priests are people who preach, teach, organize, administer, empathize, marry, bury,
visit, comfort, baptize, fraternize, and decide.
I can't preach, marry, bury, or baptize. I don't have the knowledge to teach. Hospitals
and nursing homes make me nervous; the grief of others ties my tongue. I work best in
solitude, am incompetent at chit-chat, always think of the right thing to say after I have
left the meeting, and – though I do make decisions -- they're often wrong. Obviously,
I am not a priest.
Priesthood is for the articulate, the compassionate, the wise. Priesthood is for the
ordained, for those who have special knowledge and special training.
No, says the Lord, speaking to me and to you, to all of us. Priesthood is for YOU.
You, child of God, sanctified by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, YOU
are a priest in the community of faith. Before you were born, I knew you. I have chosen
you and called you by your name. You are mine, marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Only a few of us are "priests' or 'pastors" or "ministers" in the
sense that we have received advanced education in theology and have been ordained in the
orders of our denomination. Our ordained brothers and sisters are given to us by God so
that we may be taught, encouraged, and uplifted as we make our own spiritual journeys.
But we -- all of us -- are partners in this ministry, because we are partners in
redemption.
