Monday, April 14 — Psalm 49:1-12, Leviticus 8:18-9:11; Mark 3:1-12
S (Scripture):Leviticus 8:34
Everything we have done today was commanded by the Lord in order to purify you, making you right with him.
O (observation): The rite of ordination was introduced to set aside the priests for specific duties. In this rite, God purifies them so that they may represent God on earth and cleanse the people from their sins.
A (Application): Several times over in the Biblical narrative, God sets aside ordinary people for extra ordinary work. Aaron and his clan were the priests that would represent God for the Israelites.
Being set aside as an ordinary person for extraordinary work is something of a mystery. Yet that is how God works; taking the ordinary and making it/them/us extraordinary. This is not about superpowers or anything of that nature but it is a powerful exhibit of who God chooses to embrace in all of this work. In fact the word ordination means to put in order or arrange. This is what God intended. God arranged for some to be set aside for specific ministry.
Many people would like to think that they do not participate in the life of God because they are not set aside but we have embraced (in our reformation roots) the idea of the priesthood of all believers. Meaning that all of us are ministers. In our Baptismal promise, we are set aside to be God's representatives here on earth, that we are God's ambassadors, a royal priesthood. All of this is God's arranging....ordaining.
P (Prayer): Lord we thank you for calling us into your ministry, help us, the ordinary, to do extraordinary things.
S (Scripture):Leviticus 8:34
Everything we have done today was commanded by the Lord in order to purify you, making you right with him.
O (observation): The rite of ordination was introduced to set aside the priests for specific duties. In this rite, God purifies them so that they may represent God on earth and cleanse the people from their sins.
A (Application): Several times over in the Biblical narrative, God sets aside ordinary people for extra ordinary work. Aaron and his clan were the priests that would represent God for the Israelites.
Being set aside as an ordinary person for extraordinary work is something of a mystery. Yet that is how God works; taking the ordinary and making it/them/us extraordinary. This is not about superpowers or anything of that nature but it is a powerful exhibit of who God chooses to embrace in all of this work. In fact the word ordination means to put in order or arrange. This is what God intended. God arranged for some to be set aside for specific ministry.
Many people would like to think that they do not participate in the life of God because they are not set aside but we have embraced (in our reformation roots) the idea of the priesthood of all believers. Meaning that all of us are ministers. In our Baptismal promise, we are set aside to be God's representatives here on earth, that we are God's ambassadors, a royal priesthood. All of this is God's arranging....ordaining.
P (Prayer): Lord we thank you for calling us into your ministry, help us, the ordinary, to do extraordinary things.
RSS Feed