Readings for today: Exodus 29-32
I remember my ordination. After three years of seminary. Six years as a candidate. Several examinations both written and oral. I was eligible to be ordained to the office of pastor. It took place on a Sunday morning at Overlook Presbyterian Church in Mobile, AL. They had called me as their pastor. I had just moved into town. It was my very first Sunday. I put on my traditional black robe. I dawned my traditional stole. I put my grandfather’s cross over the top of it all. During the service, I was asked to take several vows, committing myself to serve the Lord and His people with faithfulness. There were about eighty people there and over the next six years, they shaped me into the pastor I am today. They listened attentively to my sermons. They prayed for me and my family. They supported my crazy ideas. They celebrated our successes. They lamented our failures. They invited me into their lives. I buried some of them. I married some of them. I baptized some of them. I walked with them through good times and bad times. Sat at their bedsides in the hospital. Visited them in their homes. Together, we made a significant impact for the Kingdom of God and I will remain forever grateful for them. They are some of my favorite people in the world.
I wonder if this is how Aaron and his sons felt as they were consecrated to serve as priests for the people of Israel. Obviously, their job was much harder than mine. They served a congregation of several hundred thousand. They offered up sacrifices day and night. They performed all kinds of complicated rituals. They wore elaborate vestments. They were set apart to serve as mediators between God and His people. And it was serious business. If they failed to take their role seriously, the consequences could be fatal like in the case of the golden calf. I imagine Aaron carried the guilt of his actions that day to his grave. But it serves as a sober reminder as to what can happen when we abandon our calling to represent God and instead choose to please people.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter makes a startling statement. He calls Christians a “royal priesthood.” The idea here is that every Christian is now “ordained” a priest by virtue of their connection to our great high priest, Jesus Christ. All of us are “living stones” Peter says, built up as a spiritual temple, so we might serve as royal priests and offer spiritual sacrifices that are pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. It’s not that we have to bring lambs or bulls to the altar. The days of blood sacrifice are long gone. No, now we offer our very lives as a “living sacrifice”, holy and pleasing to God. This is our spiritual act of worship. In this way, all of us are ordained. All of us are consecrated. All of us are set apart so we might intercede for the world.
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 33-36