Priesthood

Saint Nektarios of Aegina, a wonderful Saint who reposed just over a century ago and who was persecuted for the dedication that he showed to his flock, said: “The Priesthood is a mystery... because through it the earthly are adorned as if in heaven and thus raised up to heaven, while heaven inclines itself somewhat toward the earth.” Right about now, the Divine Liturgy is beginning at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco. During this Liturgy, heaven will incline itself to earth, and raise up two of the servants in our Church. Deacon Seraphim will be ordained to the Holy Priesthood. A little later in the service, Subdeacon Richard will be ordained to the Diaconate. I think it appropriate to talk a little about what this means because it is not a reward or a promotion; they are rather being called to greater service, and being equipped to perform these tasks. To begin, let's look at the event recorded in the gospel today. 

Our Lord had just been informed about the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, and so He set out to a deserted place. The people followed Him out of the cities on foot. Jesus looked upon this great multitude with compassion: five thousand men, plus women and children, and He healed them of their sicknesses. Toward evening, the disciples recommended to the Lord that He send the multitudes away so that they could go buy food for themselves and eat. In response, our Lord commanded the impossible, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." He knew that the disciples had nothing with which to feed even a small crowd, much less thousands of people. But nevertheless He ordered them to feed the multitude. In order to accomplish this, the disciples gathered five small loaves and two small fish. They brought these to Christ, Who blessed them and broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute. The abundance left over surpassed what was there in the beginning. 

In this we see a glimpse of the priesthood that would be given to the disciples and those who come after them. Ordinary men with little to offer, bring what they have to the Lord -- those things which are already gifts from God -- and He blesses and multiplies these gifts for the multitudes. This priesthood feeds not just multitudes in a particular place and at a particular time, but those throughout the world and throughout the ages. And how are the faithful fed? Saint Nektarios said, “The Priesthood has the mission to bring sanctification and salvation to all of humanity, transmitting the grace of redemption to all the successive generations of people until the end of time, so that the entire human race may be saved through the sacrifice of the Savior of humanity, Jesus Christ.” This mission is accomplished not directly by God without any human involvement, but rather through those whom He has called and ordained to this task. 

Saint Nektarios shows the link between salvation and the feeding of the faithful by pointing to a part of the ordination of a priest: “The primary work of the priest is to offer the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist to God upon the sacred altar. This becomes obvious when the ordaining hierarch places the sacred Lamb upon the hands of the new priest being ordained and says to Him: ‘Receive this spiritual heritage, watch over and serve it well until the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He will demand an accounting from you.’” The newly ordained priest prays with the Bishop the prayers of consecration over the bread and wine, but he receives in his hands what he himself could never make, the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which is entrusted to him to be distributed for the salvation of the faithful. We bring such simple gifts to God: bread made with just four ingredients, the fermented juice of grapes, and our broken and humbled hearts. From these simple gifts, God feeds all His people. 

The deacon serves the bishop. This is most clear in the Hierarchical liturgy, but even in normal parish life, he maintains the good order of the services, he gathers the prayers of the people and offers them in litanies to God, he enables both Bishop and Priest to pray without distraction and to devote themselves to the liturgy and the preaching of the word. He serves those who are in need of God’s help. His offering is simply the giving of himself to serve God and the people. The diaconate is part of the one priesthood which encompasses the offices of Bishop, Priest and Deacon. 

Saint John Chrysostom said, “Reflect on the great power of the priests: Consider the holy Baptism, the forgiveness of sins, the adoption, the Mysteries, the myriads of blessings, which come upon you by the laying on of the hands of priests and the supplicatory prayers they invoke.” And again, “What the priests do here below on earth, these are authorized by God in heaven above, and the Lord confirms the decision of the servant.” This is a great mystery which was given at the very beginning of the Christian Church and perpetuated from generation to generation so that throughout all ages, we might be sanctified by the prayers and works of the priesthood. 

Because of the way we speak about the priesthood, a priest may be tempted to see in himself something worthy of the gifts he receives, or take pride in the service that he renders, and the people may likewise judge him all the more harshly because of his failings in spite of what has been given to him, but we must remember that the priesthood is not his possession, it belongs to Christ. Saint Nektarios says that  “The High Priest [Christ Himself] stands as the legislator [the law-giver] to the clergy, who receive from Him the divine grace and who serve under the order existing in Him.”Christ is the High Priest and all who are ordained to the priesthood share in this one order. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says that “The Logos [Christ Himself]... makes the priest devout and honorable and separated from the many in the community.” Anything that is good in your Bishop, Priest or Deacon comes not from Himself but from God Who has separated this person to Himself in order that they might do God’s work in the Church. 

We heard Saint Paul admonish the Corinthians in His epistle this morning for following strong personalities and not Christ, “Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” The unity of the Church comes from its head. It flows from Christ through His Bishops, Priests and Deacons. While their roles are important, they are still Christ’s work, not the work of His ministers alone. 

Because the priesthood belongs to Christ Himself, we must honor and venerate it. For the person ordained, venerating Christ’s priesthood means living according to God’s will, separating himself from evil and passionate living and dedicating himself to acquiring virtue and the love of God and man. A priest must constantly strive to live as an example to others and to always lift others up in prayer. Anything less, and we often are guilty of doing less, demonstrates a disdain for the gifts that have been given to us. 

The people must also venerate Christ’s eternal priesthood by ignoring the many temptations to judge their priests who are tempted as all are, and will already face the judgment of God. Saint John Chrysostom said that “all will be inclined to judge the spiritual pastor, not as men bearing flesh and subject to a human nature, but rather as angels relieved of the usual human weaknesses.” Even the holiest of clergy have weaknesses. They will withstand some temptations, fall to others, but must always strive to get back up and repent. We must pray for our Bishops, Priests and Deacons, knowing their weaknesses, and assist them in their labors knowing that they also carry our burdens before God.  As Saint Paul said to the Hebrews: “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.” We encourage and help and pray for the priests so that they may more perfectly live their lives in holiness, so that we may have their good example to follow.

The clergy of the Church are set apart for service to Christ and His Church. They are the means by which God provides the greatest mysteries to His body and bestows abundant grace upon His people. But they are not holy apart from God. They are responsible for helping us as we grow in holiness, and so we must also take responsibility for helping them acquire the grace of God and holiness. Pray for us, especially for the Priest Seraphim and the Deacon Richard, as we pray also for you.