Best Priest Ever
Rev, the fabulous BBC series http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0178fhq
For those of us who have ever been involved in Church, I guess we can all remember a good Priest/Minister/Pastor/Leader (from here on in, when I say Priest it is a generic term for a church leader). I particularly remember the one, who as a teenager, was just glad we were there. He told people it didn’t matter what we wore (a big issue then, jeans were not done in church!), it mattered that we were there. Without him, I would probably not have stayed in the church long enough for the others to have any impact. Then there have been those who have been willing to go along with my harebrained ideas; those who have supported me; asked the difficult questions of me; comforted me and challenged me. They were good ministers.
The writer to the Hebrews gets thinking about Priests:
Hebrews 7:23-28
23 There have been a lot of other priests, and all of them have died. 24 But Jesus will never die, and so he will be a priest forever! 25 He is forever able to save the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.
26 Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honoured above all beings in heaven, 27 and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. 28 The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.
and then compares those priests to Jesus. Because however good a good one has been, Jesus is above and beyond.
What qualities do you look for in a “priest”? What are you looking for in God?
A priest is no one special. Sorry if that shatters any illusions! Our role is to be given the specific task of
bringing God to the people, and the people to God.
A task, set out by Jesus.
Priests get things wrong. They have human traits of being tired and grumpy sometimes. They can’t be in more than one place at once. They don’t always grasp what you are saying, or know what you need.
But Jesus, he is none of those.
For a start, he will never die, or move on. He is in it for the long haul.
But more importantly he is the one who can save us. However good a priest is, they can’t do that, they can only point us to the one who can. Jesus gave his everything for us. He has done nothing wrong, so he is the only one that can stand in the presence as God, innocent and faultless. Jesus can do far more than a human priest. He alone is worthy to stand before God – but he does that for us – and as he does so, he saves us from ourselves.
Jesus truly shows God to us, and takes us to God. He is the priest we need.
Thank you Jesus
for giving up everything,
that I can come into God’s presence.
Thank you for being all that I need
to be able to reach out to God,
to be acceptable to him.
Thank you
for bringing God to me,
and taking me to Him.
Thank you for being all that I need
– and more
Pam's Perambulation 