Career defining moment

On Tuesday 8th February 1981, I was ordained a priest in God's Church in St Peter's Cathedral Adelaide. Thirty years have passed! A few thoughts and some reflections on John 15:16

As I was driving home the other night

one of those billboards caught my attention

it was advertising job-placement programs

it said "Have you had your career moment defining yet?"

I immediately thought..this is my theme for the 30th anniversary of my ordination..

And indeed I well remember that 45 degree day 30 years ago.

That ordination has affected my life profoundly

I have tried to be a good priest

sometimes I have done well

and sometimes I have failed miserably.

The world and the church are different places today

If we think about the change in marriage practice in this time

then we will see that I am a priest in a different way than I might have imagined in 1981

The awful scandals that have been uncovered in those 30 years

mean that I, indeed, do not assume any more that I am held in any sort of regard.

Throughout all this there have been times

when I have been asked by all sorts of people...spiritual directors, psychologists, and so on

how do I feel about being a priest

And I have been aware that I have been deeply shaken by all this

but my answer

when I have touched my inner depths

is that strangely

as all the prestige, even glamour, and influence

have been stripped away.

As all the old certainties have been stripped away,

prayer books change

congregations dwindle

as a great sense of shame and embarrassment

have also sat alongside pride and joy

at being an Anglican

...my answer has been

Strangely I feel more certain about my vocation

as all this has been stripped away.

I can only put this down to the fact that I have had to let go of absolutely everything and realise that being a priest is nothing to do with me

What ever I think...I know something of the truth of God's holy words

You did not choose me but I chose you (John 15:16)

It cannot be any other way.

This gives me no cause for complacency or arrogance

but if we can understand the truth

that it's not about us

then we might be relieved

Well any way I am.

So....was my ordination ...the career defining moment

Yes and No!

Yes because I have been privileged to be a priest. And I love this.

BUT if I hear God saying "You did not choose me"

then I want to say...God says this to each one of us at Baptism

that's the point when we are all affirmed as The Chosen Ones

In our Anglican tradition when a priest is ordained

She is surrounded by the Bishop and the other members of the priesthood (see the lovely picture above)

Priests represent the people to God...what a privilege...

and God to the people...what a greater privilege

They are here symbolising that God surrounds us

and we support each other.

We are God's chosen ones

each of us baptised into Christ.

Let this dynamic infuse you

as it seems to have infused me.

You did not do this

I did this.

And I uphold you.