Priesthood

Prayer isn’t meant to be on our own behalf.  We are “like living stones…being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” it says in 1 Peter 2:5.  This is again repeated four verses later, saying that we are a chosen people.

What is this whole priesthood thing about anyway?  I had always read this in reference to what the author of Hebrews talks about.  He says that Christ’s death on our behalf, his expiating blood, is the ultimate sacrifice—perfect, so that no more blood need be shed for our sin (ch.8-10).  Thus, Christ is the mediator between us and God, allowing us to enter the “Most Holy Place” (10:19).  What a privilege, for only the high priest was allowed to under the old covenant, and at that once a year.  This means that we are able to draw near to God in ways that were off limits before.  I had always thought that this emphasized the individuality of our faith, that we can truly be in close relationship to the Father because of what Christ, the Highest Priest, has done for us.

Then I read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers that changed my thinking.  The entry for June 21 suggests something completely opposite about being a part of the priesthood.  He said it is not about looking inward and working out our salvation.  That is self-centered with the wrong perspective.  Instead, we are to look outward.

I was pretty surprised when I read this, but then I started thinking about the priestly duties.  They were a select group, chosen to serve the people by making sacrifices and atonement for them.  Said differently, their life was dedicated not to themselves but to others.  Their life was no small sacrifice, it is quite a duty to be responsible for so many people.

When Peter wrote about us being a priesthood, I think it was with this mindset (he was after all, living in the time of the temple).  I think it is difficult to grasp as we don’t have that context or familiarity with all that a priest does.  Chambers says that our focus needs to be on praying for the saints.  This is the ministry of the priesthood, that we intercede on behalf of others, not ourselves.

Are we, as royal priests, working on behalf of others?  Or are we ministering to ourselves, concerned about our own issues, thus denying our priestly duties?  We are to be praying for one another.  Christ has got your back, so quit focusing on yourself.  Pray for the saints.

Let’s face it, we all need prayer.  But if we spend too much time praying for ourselves, that is one man’s gain.  If we pray for others then how much greater is the covering of our prayer?  If we are all praying for our brothers and sisters then that means instead of you only praying for yourself you got your whole family lifting you up.

Pray for the saints.

"If you can?!"

¹⁷…“Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.  ¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you?  How long shall I put up with you?  Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰So they brought him.  When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion.  He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered.  ²²“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.  But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

            ²³“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus.  “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

            ²⁴Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

            Mark 9:17-24

            When I read this I thought that the way the man asked Jesus, “If you can do anything…” was legitimate and in a way trying to be respectful towards him.  After all, his disciples were not able to drive the demon out whereas Jesus had given them the authority to do so (ch. 6). 

            When you read v.19, Jesus almost seems annoyed that despite his presence, teaching, and miraculous works that people still don’t quite get it.  I read that as, “What else do I have to do to make you believe?”  Yet, Jesus is always compassionate, pitying the poor and the broken that can turn no where else.  When you continue reading with the tone of v.19 in mind and read v.23 I couldn’t help but see the situation in my mind, picturing Jesus’ face and tone of voice.  “If you can?!” he asked incredulously. “Are you serious?  What kind of question is that?  Don’t you know that everything is possible for him who believes?  If you really want something, then really ask for it.  Ask boldly.  Don’t say ‘if you can,’ of course I can.  Let me direct the question back to you, can you—can you believe?”

            “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

            If you read on Jesus drove out the spirit—a deaf and mute spirit—with such power that it shrieked.  There is real power here, especially when you consider that at the sight of Jesus the spirit started freaking out (v.20).  Jesus in the flesh, with all this power, and still belief comes into question.

            Do we pray like the father of the demon-possessed child?  How many times through the gospels does Jesus say that if you believe anything is possible?  He says that if we ask, then the Lord will give.  Do we really ask?  Or do we just timidly say, “um, if its alright with you…I mean, I know you can do anything but…only if you have time”  Do we pray and ask boldly or are we saying “if you can?”

            Read through the gospels, Jesus healed the people that had the temerity approach Jesus no matter the inconvenience.  People bore a hole in his roof to get to him—that’s risking ticking somebody off real bad.  Blind men were calling out his name to the point that people were telling them to shut up and go away.  Their determination got Jesus’ attention, rising above the din of the crowd.  They were desperate.

            If he were here where we could see him in his physical body, do you think we would talk to him the same way that we pray?  I doubt it.  Would our pleas get lost in the crowd, or would we find a way to be heard?

A Return - A response to "Flotsam"

I returned to the vessel I once abandoned—
leaving it a ghost ship—
after drifting as flotsam for quite some time.
My hands, now unfamiliar with the ropes.

Docked, lost in the expanse, fearful--
hoping to find my place in the celestial sea
before I take to the winds.
Instead the sextant lay untouched, collecting dust.

Sever the anchor!
Although reticent, no longer content
to float in familiar waters.

Pull the halyard, hoist the sails!
Let the breath of Poseidon carry us;
may the currents pull us in their invisible paths

clenching the helm, unseen destination
Knowing naught in the nautical vast
My map, along with my fears, is swept off deck

The sky reflects what fills my veins.
Alone I will sail through the night
with only the moon to haunt me
and the stars to keep watch
until the sun steals their scattered glory.
I will find you.

Though the squalls suggest a different course,
though my soul may threaten mutiny,
and though the waves toss and tangle
in their nets of doubt and destruction,
I will find you.

Forgotten

Forgotten

This ironically came out of me while walking through the concrete jungle (Bangkok). Weird.

Leaves fall from above
Taking with them shards of shade
Allowing the sun to poke through.
They pattern the ground
in their own scheme, their own design
Shaping, shifting in the slightest wind
A breathing mosaic,
Alive in these brittle castaways.
their each move is a dance
in all of time
never performed twice
to only live on in their own memory.

Frail sails without vessels
travel the winds, trading secrets.
they land ashore, leaving imprints
etching lightly into the sand
tales of wonder and wander,
treasure maps to coves undiscovered.
only to be erased by the wind,
each new day a canvas
leaving yesterday forgotten.

mongolia