Friday, May 5, 2023

 

Friday, May 5, 2023


Psalms 82; 84

Exodus 29:38-30:10

John 11:55-12:8


It is most holy to the LORD.


When St Peter told us that all disciples of Jesus (including you and me) are members of a royal priesthood, he would have had in mind someone like Aaron to communicate his illustration. It is a very special thing to be a priest.


Biblically, it would appear that, in some sense, everyone is a priest. We can picture Aaron, bedecked in jewels and gold, bowing under the weight of his metal and stone vestments, slaying animals and splashing their blood on everything, then proceeding past the curtain into the direct presence of God and speaking personally with the Most High, standing between God and God’s people, praying and pleading for blessings. This is the role that Christ performs now in heaven: having splashed His own blood He now speaks face-to-face with our heavenly Father, discussing how best to bless us, His people.


This was the role performed by Mary, when she approached the Lord Jesus, and anointed Him with fragrant perfume. She stepped up to bless God, and by blessing God, brought blessings on those in the room with them.


There is some discussion over whether an “ontological change” happens when we ordain priests; if there is something inherent in the person’s soul that changes when the bishop lays his hands on them. But, as one Episcopal priest in the United States observed, his own “ontological change” happened two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem. Christ ordained all believers into His kingdom on the cross, making us a people to speak directly to God on behalf of all people and creation, to be light in the world, and to proclaim the gospel – we are most holy to the Lord.

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