Discovering Priesthood in Rubbish

When I was a student I used to spend the summer holidays with my parents in Milton Keynes. Lacking transport, and needing some exercise, I would often walk into town along the red ways - the cycle paths which criss-cross the city.

On one occasion I was walking along consciously trying to listen to God. I felt that he was telling me to pick up a piece of litter. I resisted for a while, thinking this was just my mind distracting me from the task in hand, but eventually I decided to do what I was told. I reached down and picked up a small chewing gum wrapper.

Holding this in my hand I sensed that God wanted me to pray, and so I prayed for those who produced the materials, those who manufactured the paper, wrapped the gum, transported it to the shop, sold it, unwrapped it, chewed it and then dropped it on the ground. This one tiny wrapper was linking me with a whole host of people that I had never met, and yet I knew that my prayers were meaningful. I didn't know anything about these people, but God did.

And so I spent an extremely valuable and productive afternoon, walking along the path, picking up litter and praying. Putting my pile of prayer-rubbish in a bin eventually had to be done with a certain amount of love and respect.

Looking back, I realise that this "prayer walk" was a form of priestly ministry. Each piece of litter provided a sacramental opportunity to connect heaven and earth, to do business with God and to bless a wide range of human beings. Priesthood is realised in the connections we make with the ordinary stuff of human existence, just as it is in the grandest of cathedrals. Whether we break bread and pour out wine, or lift up the crumbs of everyday life, we take what is normal and offer it to God, receiving it back transformed and enlivening.

Opportunities for genuine priesthood are strewn at our feet each day of our lives. The trick is to hear God's voice and to allow him to transform the lowliest of moments into the kingdom of heaven.

Emerging Priesthood

One of the things I decided to do while at Greenbelt was to start a new blog which focusses on priesthood. I thought this would be a good way of helping me to focus some of my thoughts about priesthood in a more coherent way. In can be found at Emerging Priesthood and currently has only two posts. My plan is to put all posts about priesthood on that site rather than on the main blog and to develop it as a separate project. It will be interesting to see if I actually do this...

NOTE: These blog entries have now been absorbed into my main blog and the separate space has been deleted.

The Priesthood of All Believers Part One: The Incarnation

The key problem that priesthood is attempting to solve is the separation between God and humanity which is expressed nicely in the concept of the fall. How do human beings deal with the God who can seem distant yet all powerful; who sets out seemingly arbitrary rules that you cross at your own peril; who rules your life, yet doesn't allow you to make your case? These were the concerns which encouraged ancient societies to identify individuals who would stand between them and divinity - occupying the numinous zone of chaos and fear; bridging the gap and interceding with the all-powerful on behalf of ordinary folk.

If God is distant that heroes are needed who will set out to find him. In ancient mythology the hero must journey through great perils on a quest to acquire something that will set people free. This is a neat metaphor for the journey that priests needed to make to engage with divine power, attempting to gain from God something that will make people's lives more secure and give them hope. Hence priests spent a great deal of time in isolation or in separation from ordinary people as they journeyed inward hoping to make connection with the almighty. They also developed rituals and sacramental actions which were aimed at appeasing divine wrath or making restitution for sins committed (knowingly or unknowingly) against the gods.

This mindset of clerical separation and ritual appeasement is still present in our popular understanding of priesthood. Priests are those who are set aside to deal with God on our behalf. They take time to meditate or pray, developing their own holiness so that they are able to commune with God. They then provide opportunities for ritual actions which enable us to fulfil our own obligations or intercede with God on our behalf.

This ancient and popular view of priesthood is totally blown out of the water by the concept of incarnation. Into our fallen and broken world, the Christ child is born. In this moment, the barrier between God and humanity is brought down because God is now present and is human. We are therefore no-longer able to claim that God is distant or unsympathetic, since in this moment he takes upon himself all the weaknesses and the suffering of ordinary humanity. He lives for many years as a perfectly normal person from first century Nazareth and then steps into the public arena with a mission to demonstrate that the Kingdom of God is already present.

What does the incarnation say about priesthood? It says that if you want to bridge the gap between God and humanity you don't need another human being to act as a intermediary on your behalf, you merely need to look to Jesus. If Christ is present at all times through the Spirit then every word, thought or action is a prayer. You don't need someone else to intercede for you or bridge the gap between you and God, because the gap is only there until you yourself choose to reach out to him. You are your own priest.

The incarnation makes us all priests. We are all called to make our own decision about Christ. No-one else can make it for us. He is either our Lord, or he is not.

There is no barrier between us an God, except the barriers we erect ourselves. We are therefore called to be priests to one another, helping each other to find wholeness and integration. Every act can be sacramental. Every word can bring healing. Every thought can be prayer.

In short, the incarnation has profound implications on priesthood. Into the gap between God and humanity, God himself steps; becoming in Christ the Great High Priest; making us a kingdom of priests who are able to relate to God directly as we seek the good of all.

Priesthood

One of the big themes that I still need to wrestle with after the sabbatical is priesthood. I've been thinking hard about it, but still feel there's a journey ahead on this one. I've been reading Terry Pratchett's book "A hat full of sky" which could be read as a metaphor of traditional priestly ministry - if witches can be used as a metaphor for Christian ministry... He develops quite a good image of servant ministry in which those who have "power" choose not to use it but to immerse themselves in the stuff of ordinary life so that they can retain a sensible balance - and avoid the whole "cackling" thing with gingerbread houses and the like. This is an image of a tradition pastorally focussed (and separate) priesthood which seeks to meet the needs of ordinary people - particularly those who have no-one else to look after them.

I found myself being drawn in by this comfortable and strangley familiar world, but there are issues here. One problem is that no Christian can claim special "power" since we all have access to the same Spirit. None of us, however holy we may seek to be, can really claim a unique status. We are all wonderful treasure in jars of clay and therefore all need to humble ourselves with the awareness that we can be both very good and very bad. The wisdom in Pratchett's book needs to be taken on board by all of us - since we are all priests - we are all able to stand between earth and heaven...

So what of those "special" priests who are set aside (ordained) for the task? In Terry Pratchett's sequal, Wintersmith, which I also read on holiday. We are introduced to the incredible 116 year old witch, Miss Treason, who uses trinkets from a joke shop ("Boffo") to create an illusion of mystery and menace - which enables her to do her job more effectively. There are, of course, a range of clerical "Boffo" - from collars and robes, to crosses, hats and interiour decorations. The stuff we wear and surround ourselves with can create the impression that we clerical professionals are somehow more special - and irronically this also allows us to do our jobs more effectively...

Is ordination just a form of "Boffo" designed to set particular individuals appart so that they can not just function as priests, but be seen to be priests as well? Is the reason for competitiveness and hierarchical urges really about creating an aura of visible status which allow us to function as priests? Are we more effective the more holy, special and set appart we appear?

These are quite significan questions but I'm not going to rush to give an answer. Pratchett shows us how "Boffo" works, but when should we use it? He reminds us of the need to emerse ourselves in the ordinary so that the extra-ordinary can flourish. What do we do about this vexing issue of prioesthood?

I'm also re-reading Robin Greenwoods, Transforming Priesthood - lots of good stuff in there but he seems obsessed with the concept of a "parish priest". Do I believe in the "priest shaped hole" that apparently exists in every church, or is there a way of releasing the people of God to be priests in every place where they live, work, worship and play?

I'll be back to the theme of priesthood again soon, I'm sure...

Keith Lambdin

Went to Oxford today for a session with Keith. We discussed collaborative ministry, priesthood episcope and the deanery. Much to think about.

New ways of being gym

Went to the gym today and tried to change my work out. I was brave and experimented with some of the strange torture machines with weights attached - I think I remembered my induction training...

I was aware today that I'm comparing myself with those around me. It intrigues me that I seem to have this inbuilt need to compete or lead - is it not possible to merely belong? As usual with such experiments, I'm learning more about myself and about church than I am about other people...

I've spent most of the day working on the question of priesthood. This has been a big theme of my discussions with others over the past year, since it has an impact not only on the ordained ministry but on a useful theology of lay/shared ministry. I've been trying today to put some thoughts down on paper, but struggling to do it concisely. After a few hours of concentration I need a break but may go back to it later...

Images of Priesthood

At Team Space this morning we looked at the images of priesthood developed by Bishop John in his book, the Life and Work of a Priest. These range from "Spiritual Explorer" to "Weather-beaten witness". Bishop John's book is a wonderful exploration of what priesthood might involve, and has already become a must read for ordinands, but it does tend to focus on the activity of "professional" priests - which shouldn't be a suprise given the title...

In his introduction he admits that his descriptions are "a bit busy and breathless". We felt that no one individual could really be good at fullfilling all the various images of priesthood that he puts forward, which brought us back to the concept of the priesthood of all believers - with a shared concept of priestly ministry - originating in Christ and expressed in some way through "set aside" individuals.

More to explore...

Tuesday

Team Meeting - Talked about Priesthood
Holy Cross Team Meeting - Planned Services for next two months
Liz Baker Sepervision - Looking at October 12th Evening for first communion...

Isla out in evening. Watched Star Wars 2 with kids...

Priesthood

I've been thinking a lot about the subject of priesthood recently. Technically, I'm a priest in the Chruch of England, although I've never really felt comfortable with the title: my built in protestantism pointing out to me the biblical concept of the priesthood of all believers - in spite of this I'm slowly realising that there are some really important questions to examine...

The issue came up in the Mission Partnership Exec discussion about Local Shared Ministry. James Cassidy and I continued the discussion by email. I explained my concept of local leadership and he challenged me to look at the patristic concept of the Eucharist making the Church... What is the relationship between Eucharistic presidency and leadership?

Thinking about Local Shared Ministry and the way this may develop raises the question of local priesthood. Should a congregation have a number of priests who share sacramental ministry - this is quite possible with Ordained Local Ministry and Associate Priests... If there are a number of priests (or equivalent in denominations who don't use the title) what effect does that have on the leadership of the church?

Wes Frensdorf spoke of a ministering community, rather than a community gathered around a minister. I'm up for that. It sounds right, but does this ultimately mean letting go of my own priestly ministry in order to become something else?

Then another catholic priest looked me in the eye (during a conversation about lay people taking funerals) and said "we're all priests" - which I think was a reference to the priesthood of all believers - coming back to me from the opposite direction!

What is "priesthood"? Is it the call to stand with Christ in the holy spaces between earth and heaven where human beings encounter God? Much priesthood is therefore often "unauthorised". It's simply part of what we do as Christians in our incarnational, sacramental lives... Ordained priests are those who have been set aside by the church to do this on behalf of the church. They are special, in some ways, and are empowered to act in a way that would be impossible without the authority of the church community - but in other ways they are just like everyone else - visible priests amongst a community of priests... Is this a heretical view?

I've watched ministers thrive in "priestly mininstry". They may not have gifts in preaching, teaching, leadership, organisation or anything else particularly - but when they stand at the altar, or hold the baby in their arms, or pray for God's blessing on a married couple - you can see that they were called by God to do this - magical! There are people who are called to a priestly ministry - but are they called to lead churches? There are people who are called to lead churches - are they automatically called to a priestly ministry?

And yet, the Eucharist does make the church... Steve Coterell has a wonderful chapter in his book "Doing Nothing to Save your life" where he talks about the role of the Eucharist in giving us life. I've even read a paper from an annabaptist talking about the sacred space created by the celebration of the Eucharist in the early church - which stood at the heart of their mission...

I had a converation with another minister recently where we spoke about priestly ministry without celebrating the Eucharist. It's possible. But the celebration of Holy Communion provides an opportunity to express that ministry - and to empower it - to recreate it... A sacramental act for the celebrant as much for the bread and wine...

Much to think about...

Sam Norton posted a very interesting article on the subject of time, clergy workload and priest hood on his blog: Workload, Priorities, Vocation. Worth a read. I stumbled on it while looking for background info for my meeting this morning...