It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
One of the pleasures of ministry in the hospital is the joking that goes on around me. Half the time I don’t hear the jokes, either because my hearing is poor or because I am not supposed to hear it. Often someone else is the butt of the joke; I am only the prop. But rarely does anyone take offense. It’s all in good fun and, as much as possible, I try to play along with it. It’s obvious that people like to have a chaplain around.
No one supposes that I am like the high priest that Hebrews describes; I am not wholly innocent, or undefiled, or very remote from sinners. Only my office on the eighth floor might suggest “higher than the heavens.” But I am expected to maintain a certain moral decorum. There are jokes I should not tell; images I should not see; and suggestions I should not pick up. If no one should act immorally, I should be the last one caught in such a predicament.
But, more importantly, it seems the chaplain’s presence helps everyone maintain their level of integrity. In the Veterans Affairs Hospital, everything is about the Veteran, and the Chaplain’s presence is essential to maintain high morale in a challenging environment.
Despite the egalitarian goals of the Protestant Reformation, the chaplain/minister /presbyter represents the presence of God in the human community. He or she is one of our own who is consecrated to God and belongs to God.
In the Christian dispensation the only true priest is Jesus Christ. The Author of the Letter to the Hebrews never supposed the word should apply to anyone else. But we do apply it to others – Catholics, to ordained men and Protestants, to ordained adults – because we need the presence of God in a sacramental form. If some denominations do not call their ministers priests they are nonetheless accorded the same expectations, privileges and duties. They should be holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and higher than the heavens.
Priests pray for people; that's our job. We show up for rituals: funerals, weddings, memorials and so forth. If no one noticed Jesus’ presence in Cana when he arrived, they certainly saw him after he changed water to wine. “Our priest has arrived!” they might have said.
Periodically, we hear also of ministers who go the extra mile. I think of the four chaplains who gave their seats in the lifeboats to servicemen as the ship sank; Father Vincent Capodanno, killed while anointing the wounded on a battle field in Vietnam; and Father Mychal Judge, killed in the shadow of the Twin Towers, New York City.
Like Jesus, the minister is the church’s gift to God, and God’s gift to the church. Our Catholic tradition honors ministry as a Sacrament, in a class with Baptism and Eucharist; and not unlike Marriage. More than a human construct for marshaling unruly disciples, the Sacrament of Holy Orders is God’s gift, a clear sign of his intense, faithful, generous presence to his people, the Church.
Please pray for your ministers, and for quality vocations.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.