Yes You, A Priest

Priests have always been the ones who stand in the gap between God and humanity. In ancient times, and in many religions still today, they brought prayers and sacrifices to God on behalf of the people as well as speaking to the people on behalf of God.

The great reformers of the 16th century argued, based on many Bible passages, that we don't need any human priests in order to come before God. Christ alone, they said, is our Great High Priest. As the Bible puts it in the letter to the Hebrews, "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens.... Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4.14, 16) We do not need a human intermediary in order to help make us right with God. Jesus has done the work for everyone, once and for all.

However, the reformers also emphasised that we are all, in fact, priests. As John Calvin put it: "In him [Jesus] we are all priests." While Jesus has done the work of salvation for us, he also drafts us in his service to stand in the gap as priests. We saw last week how it is both a privilege and responsibility to pray for those who, for one reason or another, is unwilling or unable to pray themselves. This--bringing prayers and "sacrifices" to God on behalf of others--is one of the roles of a priest.

But there's more to it. As the apostle Peter puts it, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." This is the other role of the priest, i.e. speaking to people on behalf of God. Notice that this doesn't require a special or rare experience. We don't have to witness a burning bush or have a vision of the glory of God. We are simply asked to "proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." We don't need to be preachers; we don't need to be theologians; we don't need to have had a Moses type of experience. But we are called to be priests, to share with others the experiences we have had of God.

We'll be looking at this idea this week through two shorter messages. The first will be delivered by one of our elders, Marion Snyder, as she looks at Jesus' parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13.31-32. The other will be delivered by me, looking at Colossians 3.12-17 as a call to live all aspects of our lives as "priests" of Jesus. Hope to see you Sunday!