Exodus 28:1-4,9-10,29-30
Acts 1:15-26
John 17:11b-19
The Lord said to Pat: Bring near to you your brother Roger, and his sisters with him, from among the Central Minnesotans, to serve me as priests – Roger and Roger's sisters, Zippy and Sally Jo.
Okay. Well the three of you had better get up here. Let's see what else it says.
You shall make sacred vestments for the glorious adornment of them.... These are the vestments they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash.
(Pat dresses the new ministers in various modern versions of the same: a church vestment, an apron/toolbelt, a preacher's robe, a plaid shirt, a turban, and a stole.)
Well, that should set you apart – really make you stand out in the crowd. I'm not certain, though, if this outlandish dress is quite what Jesus meant when he talked about his followers of not belonging to this world.
Now... You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Spirit of the Heartland.. (Pat hands the ministers copies of the church directory.) I guess these are the modern versions of those priestly prayer lists. So the names of the children of Spirit of the Heartland will be on your heart when you go before the Lord.
Looks like you're all set for your priestly ministries of prayer and preaching.
Aaron and sons, of course, had to wear all these sacred vestments at once for thier glorious adornment; but this looks like total ministry sharing the burden and the blessings of teamwork.
But wait a minute here. Sally Jo's not on the team. How come she gets fancy clothes? For that matter, why do we have others, like Linda and Fritz, serving and preachers and such when they're not team ministers either? Remember, this is TOTAL ministry so all baptized folks are part of it. Some, like our commissioned and ordained ministers, whether team ministers or not, are set aside for special ministry in the name of the church, (and so they get to wear funny clothes), but all are called to share Christ's priesthood together. All of you baptized folks with your own Church Directories have a priestly calling to carry God's people in your heart.
So, as a sign of our shared ministry, you three can pass on your priestly work clothes to six other good-humored ministers to wear for the rest of the service. Your ministry team is working on delegation and this is it. Though remember that I'd like my priestly clothes back after the dismissal, so I can go forth and share them with the East Range Churches too.
One day soon, God willing, Roger will be vested as priest. And these plastic collars sometimes look no less silly than that turban. (At least it reminds me that God holds the leash?) Later Zippy and Sally Jo will receive symbolic "sacred vestments for glorious adornment" as preachers. They will have the traditional "preachers bands" or "Geneva tabs" as a sign of their role as preachers of the word. Some say they stand for the two tablets of the Law. Others suggest that they stand for the "law and gospel" "rightly dividing the word of truth."
They are outward and visible signs that these folks have been set apart by the church for a special ministry. That they are, as Jesus said in today's gospel, in the world, while not belonging to it because they belong to God. Their funny clothes remind us that all baptized people belong to God rather than the world. The truth is that we very worldly folks are possessed by the Holy One.
Now all that you priestly people of God will need to complete your glorious adornment would be the Urim and the Thummim. I guess this is as close as we can get today. (Holds up dice.) We all could use God's sacred lots at times of decision making.
Just what the Urim and the Thummim were is a bit of a mystery: The words "urim" and "thummim" might mean light and perfection, revelation and truth, proof and holiness, or guilt and innocence. It's clear that, along with dreams and prophecy, they revealed God's will to the people. They were some kind of lots to cast.
And it's not just in Old Testament times that divine decisions were rendered by lot. Jesus' earliest followers gathered in prayer and choose Matthias by lot. We don't choose priests or bishops in the church that way today, although still today, there are a few churches who select vestry members by lot. The key piece in discernment is prayer. In that context, whether it's casting lots or votes or some other method, God's choice can become apparent. And the power of prayer is that it is not closed. Prayer is open ended. There is space in prayer for the Spirit to move.
And that means that ministry can never be exclusive or a closed circle. There is room for all in the priesthood of Christ. Remember that this is Jesus prayer for us, all of his followers: That we may be one, just as Jesus and his Father are one.
Roger, Sally Jo, and Zippy, as intercessor and preachers you will have a priestly ministry. All priestly ministries are relational. Anything that helps people connect with God is priestly work. A Christian does not need a bishop's hands in ordination to do that priestly work, your baptism joins you to Christ's priesthood. In baptism, you become one in Christ, just as Jesus and the Father are one.
Jesus had "the Twelve" as symbolic of the tribes of Israel. But there were many more who followed him faithfully, at least ten times as many were gathered for the selection of the new twelfth apostle. These all became one in Christ.
You have ten commissioned team ministers: Doris and Harriette, Zippy, Lu, Johanna, and Cedar Maren Kay, Rob, and Randy, and Cynthia, our intercessor emerita. Today Roger will be commissioned as your new intercessor. That makes eleven. To have the perfect twelve, you'll need one more.
I think a good ministry team always needs that extra place to be filled. It's like keeping an empty chair at the table in just case Elijah shows up. There should always be room for those who are called to minister with you.
Because, when in prayer those sacred lots are cast, God only knows whose number will come up next. Today it's Zippy, Sally Jo, and Roger. Tomorrow, it could be you.