Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent December 11, 2011
I CONFESS: I AM NOT THE MESSIAH
(JUST A PRIEST)
“When the [religious authorities] from Jerusalem asked John the Baptizer, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed … ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, “What then?” (The Gospel of John Chapter 1)
Today, I am celebrating the fact that I was ordained a priest on December 8, 1981 – 30 years ago Thursday. Naturally, I want to reflect on my ministry as priest, but I want to do that in the light of today’s readings, and in relation to the calling and ministry we all share.
In various settings, people will ask me, “So, what do you do?” I know from long experience that when I answer that I am a priest, most people become uncomfortable, and obviously don’t want to explore that any further. If they do persist in wanting to know what I do as a priest, it is exceedingly hard to convey in a short conversation. If you said teacher, doctor, lawyer, or traffic cop, most people would assume they know what that’s about. But a priest? Is there any consensus or awareness of what that means, even within the Church? Suffice it to say, that after 30 years at it, it remains difficult to communicate to people the heart, the essence of what a priest is. But each of the readings this morning carries a message that I believe is central to what being a priest is about, and in turn those readings point toward what we as the Church – the priesthood of all believers — are about.
The reading from Isaiah says “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.”
That sense of being called, and anointed, to serve God, although nebulous and difficult to comprehend, is essential. To me, being a priest is not a job; it is not an interesting hobby; it is not a career. It is a vocation, a calling, that grasps your whole being and will not let you go. It means putting the will of God first in your life, and letting everything else flow from that.
And the ministry, according to this prophecy of Isaiah, involves being a bearer of good news; it means offering a message and hope of liberation to the oppressed; it means being on a mission to seek ways to connect with those who become victimized and broken by the powers and principalities of the world. Our world creates a lot of broken-hearted people, so to be a priest means to be a kind of freedom fighter for God, contending with the forces and factors that restrict and diminish people’s lives.
In the second reading today from 1Thessalonians, St Paul says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” This speaks to me of the central role that worship and faith play in the life of Christianity and the way the priest is meant to enable and animate it.
Isaiah also expresses this in saying “my whole being shall exult in my God.” True worship engages us at every level of our being and is a transforming experience, as people offer themselves in faith, hope and love to God through Christ. Encouraging people to believe that there is a God, and leading people toward the experience of God in worship and prayer and service, is our central focus as priests, and 30 years in, it is still a huge thrill to see the light go on in people as they wake up to the presence and power of God, and see how that does indeed integrate and transfigure “all circumstances.”
A priest is the one who makes Eucharist in order to lead the people into the encounter with God in word and sacrament – a priest is one whose primary work is to inspire in people an attitude of gratitude so they, becoming deeply conscious of God’s sacramental presence in all things, are always thankful, and always in communion with God.
Finally, in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist is a strong reminder that when the Spirit of God enters our lives (or we enter His) we don’t automatically get order, peace, and serenity. Sometimes God brings chaos, wild passion, divine madness, upsetting the conventional order of things. The Holy Spirit is spontaneous, volatile, unpredictable and ungovernable, and John is a reflection of the Spirit he embraced. When we walk with the wind of the Spirit at our backs we find we take huge leaps and bounds into the unknown and that’s not just going to be uncomfortable at times, it’s going to be terrifying.
A priest friend of mine was telling me about a book he was reading which suggested that historically, many societies assigned the role of shaman, guru and priest to the insane, so it’s not surprising that the Church has had its share of schizophrenics, the autistic, the delusional, the psychotic, the eccentric and weird among the clergy. Perhaps so we clergy don’t feel completely rejected, the book also points out that great historical figures like Michelangelo and Van Gogh and Einstein also were afflicted with one mental illness or another.
We’ve all seen the sign which says “You don’t have to be crazy to work here but it helps.” That is especially true of the Church. Clergy may not need to be certifiable or clinically insane but I think you have to be sufficiently unhinged from normal in order to be able to become responsive to the incomprehensible reality which is God. In the old King James Version of the Bible, this same chapter of John’s Gospel says, “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” The world did not comprehend, and typically does not comprehend. It speaks to the inability to stretch our minds and imaginations far enough to receive the mind-blowing revelation of God becoming incarnate. Advent, along with the message of John the Baptist, is our yearly recall to the incredible story of God becoming human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth – a reminder that it’s our mission to proclaim it to the world.
When the delegates of the Jewish religious tradition come to him, they ask, “Who are you, really?”
And John says, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.” To be called by God inevitably means a degree of feeling apart – other than – because it reflects the reality of the relationship between God and humankind. Through Christ, our role is to become bridge-builders between the sacred and the secular, the mystical and the ordinary, the human and the divine. When you connect people with God what flows from that is community – a community which is gracious, generous, life-giving and compassionate.
In his book The Christian Priest Today, former Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey says “Through the years people will thank God for you. Let the reason for their thankfulness be not just that you were a person whom they liked or loved, but because you made God real to them.”
John says he is a spokesperson, a representative. In some modest way, we strive to speak for God, but one of the most important things John says is “I am not the Messiah.” That is a helpful corrective, not just to keep us from being consumed by our own egos, but to keep us from being consumed by our vocation.
The focus of the ministry, while first on God, is then focused on the whole people of God, and for us priests to see ourselves in context. Ministry means I have the privilege of being set among people like you. My ministry as priest serves the ministry of the Body of Christ, and apart from that it has very little meaning. Winston Churchill, speaking of his role as Britain’s Prime Minister during the Second World War, said, “I was not the lion, but it fell to me to give the lion’s roar.” Like John, we need to know that we are not the Messiah – we are merely spokespersons – and at the heart of true priesthood there is always a deep humility: as St Peter found out, to know anything of the greatness of God is also to know how profoundly inadequate we are. For me, being a priest has meant knowing myself more and more as a servant, and not the one in control.
The old, not entirely facetious, “Warden’s Prayer for the clergy” said: “You keep him humble, Lord, we’ll keep him poor.” God knows, there are many reasons today for clergy to be extremely humble, if not poor, and we live in a society which has become increasingly antagonistic toward the Church. In Christ, we embrace both the Cross and the Resurrection, death and life, but in our time, it seems we are experiencing the shadow side of the Cross.
Despite all that, the real purpose of ministry, no matter how crazy you may seem to others, is that people will believe through us, as they did with John the Baptist, not just through what we do and say but through who we are. Archbishop Ramsey said that priests would be “humbled by discovering how God can use you in spite of yourself.” Ramsey sees humility as absolutely central to what we as representatives of God are all about. As John the Baptist said in relation to his importance relative to Jesus: “He must increase, and I must decrease.” When we point the spotlight toward God, instead of ourselves, we discover that everyone is glorified.
So when people ask “What do you do?” what can I say? I have always kept in mind the cartoon I saw about 30 years ago, which shows the parish secretary looking into the Rector’s office. He is on his knees praying, and she is saying, “Oh good, you’re not busy.” Even people close to us sometimes don’t get it. I would have to say a priest is not primarily about doing things, it is about being – it is primarily about cultivating a relationship with the divine and lighting the way for others. If people can get that, they can begin to understand Jesus’ teaching about the children, and the birds, and the flowers of the field.
As clergy, as spirit persons in this materialistic, perfunctory and success-driven age, it’s tempting to want to model ourselves on something or someone else, someone other than John the Baptist or even Jesus – it’s tempting to model ourselves, like orphaned geese, upon the CEO’s or military leaders or symphony conductors or othercelebrities of the world. But the reality of the ministry is found in being centered in God, and making God real to people, so that, like the Velveteen Rabbit, they can become real themselves.
One of my guiding themes as a priest originates with something St Irenaeus said about 1700 years ago: “The glory of God is human beings fully alive.” To be called to have even a small part in encouraging and guiding people to become who they truly are, is to be richly blessed indeed. Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, for the privilege of serving as one of God’s priests, in the Church which is the Body of Christ, serving the beloved of God.
The Rev. Grant Rodgers+
RCL appointed readings:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion– to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
John 1:6-8, 19-28 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
