Another great quotation from Eugene Peterson - in "The Jesus Way" - Page 14 (see an earlier post too)
One of the severely crippling misunderstandings of the Reformation assertion of "The Priesthood of all Believers" is to assume (or worse, insist) that each of us can function as our own priest - "I don't need a priest, thank you, I can do quite well on my own, me and Jesus." But that is certainly not what Martin Luther intended when he included the Priesthood of all Believers as a fundamental tenet for reforming the church. He meant that we are all priests, not for ourselves, but for one another: "I need you for my priest, and while we are at it, I'm available to you as your priest."
The Priesthood of all Believers is not an arrogant individualism that, at lest in matters dealing with God, doesn't need anyone. It is a confession of mutuality, a willingness to guide one another in following in the way of Jesus, to assist and encourage, to speak and act in Jesus' name, and to be guided by another to speak and act in Jesus' name. In the community of the baptised, there is no-one, absolutely no-one, who is not involved in this priestly leading and being lead, for even "a little child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6).
Which reminds me of the phrase that we are "all ordained on our baptism day"...
Comments