The 1662 Book of Common Prayer has a section titled “The Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests.” This is actually part of The Ordinal in which also includes the “The Form and Manner of Making of Deacons” and “The Form of Ordaining or Consecrating of an Archbishop or Bishop.” Last year, on March 4, 2007, I was ordained a Deacon. On Saturday, May 17, 2008, I will be ordained a Priest. To be a Priest in Christ’s church is to be an Undershepherd of the Great Shepherd. The 1662 BCP lays out the responsibilities of this office (in the old language) as:

we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye have in remembrance, into how high a Dignity, and to how weighty an Office and Charge ye are called: that is to say, to be Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family; to seek for Christ’s sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.

This is followed with an admonition to remember that a Priest cannot fulfill these duties out of his own power, but:

therefore ye ought, and have need, to pray earnestly for his Holy Spirit. And seeing that ye cannot by any other means compass the doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvation of man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the Holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the same; consider how studious ye ought to be in reading and learning the Scriptures, and in framing the manners both of yourselves, and of them that specially pertain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scriptures; and for this self-same cause, how ye ought to forsake and set aside, as much as ye may, all worldly cares and studies.

All of this is followed with a series of questions to fulfill the office with  the answer given in response, “I will, the Lord being my helper.” At the end of the service, the Bishop hands the new Priest a Bible, with the words:

Take thou Authority to preach the Word of God, and to minister the holy Sacraments in the Congregation, where thou shalt be lawfully appointed thereunto.

It is those words that I have been especially comtempating upon and praying about this last couple of weeks. The office of Priest is a “weighty” office. It carries with it great responsibility, but as the the words from the Bishop states, it also carries with it Authority to be a preacher of God’s Holy Word and faithfully administer the Holy Sacraments of Baptism and Communion. Now the only way for me to be the faithful Preacher and Minister is to be a shepherd…a serving Undershepherd who cares for Christ’s people as Jesus Himself does. I do believe that I am entering into something, a release into a deeper level of authority and responsibilty to pastor God’s flock.

I thank all of you who have been a part of my life and the journey to get here. I pray that we will be able to continue to journey together in the future. May God richly bless and bestow His precious grace upon you.

Semper Fi,                                                                                                                                      Shane