Given that I have now been selected to study for the priesthood, I thought we could revisit this post, from 2011, where I explored what it means to be a priest in the evangelical tradition. I had almost forgotten how much of an evo I am!
I often find organised religion slightly ridiculous.
Not quite so ridiculous as other strands of religion mind you, but my point still stands.
Christianity walks a perilous path between the two. Organised chaos is our aim. And that's what happens when you have a Priesthood of all believers, yet still have an ordained order of priests.
Much of the theological ink spilled over this matter was wasted on misunderstandings of some simple Bible stuff. A good friend of mine once taught me 'understand the bible by reading the bible:
In the New Testament we have two Greek words, which have both come to be translated 'Priest', in my beloved, but often misleading English.
ἱερεύς - hiereus meaning "sacred one". These are the Old-testament-sacrifice-offering-blood-and-guts-and-gore guys. They were a select few, as with most religions, held to be in some way especially sacred. They were almost a race within the Jewish race. All being patrilinial descendants of Moses' mate Aaron.
πρεσβύτερος - presbyteros meaning "one with elderhood". Here is where we get our word priest from, and it has nothing to do with sacrifices.
#facepalm
It's a pastoral role, about replicating the Apostles' love for the brethren, and their flair for administration... maybe.
The confusion has crept in with the doctrine that at Communion the priest offers it as a sacrifice. This is a doctrine I am uncomfortable with, but mostly because it re-restricts the use of hiereus. The bible, IMHO, calls us all to live a life of sacrifice. Christianity, for me, turned the old religious system upside-down; ushering us all into the the life of the sacred ones. Christ in us makes us all sacred. In that sense, in the sense that we offer a sacrifice, pleasing and acceptable to God - we are all priests, through Christ.
Though we don't get to kill animals.
Unless you're my dad, but that's an entirely different story.
We are not however all priests, in the presbyteros sense of the word; that is, in the actual sense of the word. Our ordained priesthood has a very specific role, and it involves being sacred ones every day - even when they don't feel like it. Even when they demonstrably haven't acted like it. And raising as many people as they meet into a position where they too can become sacred ones.Don't get me wrong though. Although, I don't think Communion should be confused or conflated with Christ's actual, historical sacrifice - I am by no means a full blown protestant.
Our priesthood is about raising people to meet Jesus. And how do they [priests] do that?
Primarily, it's about making God real to people, and this is done through:
Communion.
Baptism.
but also through confirmation, holy orders, marriage, reconciliation, extreme unction... and actually any number of ways that God's grace is conveyed into people's lives through ordinary and physical means.
How I long to join them.
NB - This post must send a Hat Tip over to http://www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/priest-altar/1950
