I've always thought that a community's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. I absolutley love the fact that Eucharist is our central form of worship on Sundays. There's something very mystical and transcendent in the liturgy, and we all know that Christ is present. At the same time Eucharist requires a mediator - a priest is set aside and is the only one authorized to celebrate. If we're not careful though we can fall into a trap that you need a priest for any type of ministry. This is simply not the case because there are a great number of ministries and liturgies that can be performed entirely by anybody - praying the daily office, fellowship with other Christians, visiting a sick person in the hospital or who is homebound, leading a Bible Study, etc.
It reminds me of the postion the people of Israel found themselves in when they fashioned the golden calf. At first God spoke to the people directly, and gave them the 10 Commandments. But the people became afraid, and insisted that Moses go up the mountain, and hear everything God had to say, and then come back for them. Moses then became the mediator, and there was a degree of separation between the people and God. The problem was that he was gone for over a month, and everyone became restless. "As for that fellow Moses, we don't know what happened to him!" Wihtout their mediator the people were lost. They didn't know what to do or how to be, so they did the very thing they shouldn't have done, and made themselves and idol.
Imagine what it would have been like if they had faced their fear. Imagine if they insisted on hearing God's voice directly, and experiencing everything Moses did during those 40 days. This in no way would have diminished the experiences they already had with Moses. He still was the one at the burning bush, and he still was the leader of the organization, but it would have been a much more stable organization, because they still could have functioned without him.
In the same vein, imagine what it would be like if everyone in our Church assumed responsibility for their spirituality. Seven whole days, not one in seven, we could continue in the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, and in the prayers through a spiritual discipline like the Daily Office. We would still need our clergy to celebrate on Sunday mornings, but that would only be a small part of the total work of God's people - at the same time an invaluable part. The rest of it would happen regardless of whether a priest was present or not. Amen.
It reminds me of the postion the people of Israel found themselves in when they fashioned the golden calf. At first God spoke to the people directly, and gave them the 10 Commandments. But the people became afraid, and insisted that Moses go up the mountain, and hear everything God had to say, and then come back for them. Moses then became the mediator, and there was a degree of separation between the people and God. The problem was that he was gone for over a month, and everyone became restless. "As for that fellow Moses, we don't know what happened to him!" Wihtout their mediator the people were lost. They didn't know what to do or how to be, so they did the very thing they shouldn't have done, and made themselves and idol.
Imagine what it would have been like if they had faced their fear. Imagine if they insisted on hearing God's voice directly, and experiencing everything Moses did during those 40 days. This in no way would have diminished the experiences they already had with Moses. He still was the one at the burning bush, and he still was the leader of the organization, but it would have been a much more stable organization, because they still could have functioned without him.
In the same vein, imagine what it would be like if everyone in our Church assumed responsibility for their spirituality. Seven whole days, not one in seven, we could continue in the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, and in the prayers through a spiritual discipline like the Daily Office. We would still need our clergy to celebrate on Sunday mornings, but that would only be a small part of the total work of God's people - at the same time an invaluable part. The rest of it would happen regardless of whether a priest was present or not. Amen.
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