November 12 - Nourishing and Strengthening All Christ’s People
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 88; PM Psalm 91, 92; 1 Macc. 1:41-63; Rev. 19:11-16; Matt. 16:13-20
Today’s Reflection
In today’s Gospel, we hear two important things unfold. First, we hear Jesus checking his disciples’ understanding of who people say he is versus who they know him to be. When Simon gets it right with his response, “You are the Messiah,” Jesus changes his name to Peter, which means rock, and says that “on this rock I will build my church.” Some take that to mean that Jesus intended to build his church on the rock (petra) of Peter, who went on to become (in the eyes of some) the first bishop or pope of the Church. I would argue that, in fact, “the rock” on which the church is built, and against which the gates of Hades (hell) will not prevail, is the knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
Peter’s correct answer led to him being given responsibility to safeguard and guide the emerging church. On behalf of the newly birthed church, Peter is then given “the keys of heaven.” To hold the keys of heaven is symbolic of holding authority and responsibility in the church. At Saint Stephen’s, being a keyholder means than one has been entrusted with authority and with it many responsibilities to care for the needs of the church campus and, more importantly, the people (who are the church). Keyholders are not the only ones who have authority and responsibility in our church, of course, but these people (clergy, staff, and vestry wardens) are given a degree of trust that we must use wisely as we aim to be the shepherds of God’s people gathered as the flock of Saint Stephen’s.
Today’s Matthew passage, along with one of the Psalms appointed for today, Psalm 91, put me in mind to look back at the service for the Ordination of a Priest in the Book of Common Prayer. From time to time, over these first few years since my ordination as deacon and priest, I like to look back over the words of the ordination liturgy to remind myself of what I am called to as a priest in God’s one, holy, and apostolic church.
One of the first things that happens in the service is that bishop asks the ordinand to affirm that she or he will be “loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church,” the Episcopal Church. The ordinand must affirm “the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God” and “solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.” We are to uphold the authority of the Holy Scriptures as revealing to us “all things necessary to salvation” as well as abide by the ways of worship contained within our Book of Common Prayer. We are also affirming that we will abide by the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, which are very comprehensive, detailed documents that govern everything from church governance (Diocesan and General Conventions, elections of bishops) to who owns church properties to very specific rules for proper ways of relating to the people entrusted to our care as pastors.
We are to conduct our lives as individuals and our roles as priests with utmost integrity so that we may protect the sheep of our fold, all who come within the circle of our care, those within the church as well as in our own families and in the wider community. Later, during a part of the ordination service known as the Examination, the bishop addresses the ordinand and gives this charge: “As a priest, it will be our task to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion your life in accordance with its precepts. You are to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor.”
After listing specific responsibilities entrusted to the priest—preaching, declaring absolution (forgiveness) for sins, blessing, baptizing, and celebrating the Eucharist—the bishop concludes with this, my favorite line of the ordination service. I see this line as encapsulating my main purpose as a priest, and I like to re-read it and reflect on it as a way of keeping this aim as the foundation of all I do in my ministry as a priest and in my life overall: “In all that you do, you are to nourish Christ’s people from the riches of his grace, and to strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come” (BCP 531).
The Church must be built on the rock of Holy Scriptures, on an abiding belief that we are saved by Christ (not by ourselves or anything we do), and on a commitment to “nourishing” and “strengthening” one another. As we read in Psalm 91 today, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty. He shall say to the Lord, ‘You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust.’” The church should be, as we pray in our Celtic service liturgy, “a shelter-house” from the harsh conditions of this world. I know Saint Stephen’s, in particular, to be a place where we can “find refuge under God’s wings.”
All of us—bishops, priests, and deacons, staff, vestry members, and parishioners—are entrusted with the care of one another. We work together to assure that Saint Stephen’s (and the Episcopal Church overall) remain a place of shelter and refuge where God’s dearly loved people will always be nourished and strengthened. I am grateful for your partnership in this sacred trust.
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
When have you felt nourished or strengthened by being a part of a church community? What experiences in a church community have most strengthened and nourished your faith?
What can be done to offer hope to and promote healing in those who have had damaging experiences with the church or individual Christians?
Daily Challenge
You can find the full text of the Service for the Ordination of a Priest in the Book of Common Prayer here. And if you’re curious about the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, you can read them in all their glorious detail here.