The Priesthood: The Essence of Humanity

Contemporary culture appears to have lost its grasp on its understanding of humankind. This is largely due to the rising influence of naturalism. Humankind is understood in a way that is limited to the physical and functional. Persons no longer exist; human beings are simply collections of operational parts. They are biomechanical bags of chemical fizzes and flare-ups. However, because empiricism denies that there is anything beyond the material, it is unable to provide comprehensive answers to questions around the concepts of beauty, logic and morality. To fully understand humankind, one must recover a metaphysical grasp of it, and doing so will unveil the Imago Dei, a core attribute being Priestliness.

As image bearers of God human beings cannot help but function as priests, it is intrinsic to human nature. Whether conscious or not, everything we do is an offering of worship. The way in which God has made the world, and humankind’s place therein, makes this inescapable. We were created for worship. One will always oblate but the question is always, to which God? Humankind sadly, often exchanges the worship of the Creator for the creature (Rom. 1:25). Thus, telling lies, watching pornography and moreover the African Slave trade are horrific acts of oblation to the wrong god.

The priestliness of humankind oozes from the pages of Scripture. In the beginning God places Adam in the Garden of Eden which literally means Park of Pleasure/Beauty. The Garden was to be the effective hint, sign and sacrament of direction history is heading. As the first man and vice-regent of God, Adam was a priest of creation; It was his to behold, to lift and to offer. Adam gave shape to the Garden through working it and keeping it, and through naming every creature. Adam’s priestliness though, also meant that he had the potential to misshape things, as we witness when he fails to guard Eve from the serpent resulting in the fall (Gen. 3:1-7). From this point on creation continues to be marred by misdirected oblations made by human beings.

The rightly ordered priestliness of humankind is preserved nevertheless, through the nation of Israel, its Temple and Levitical Priesthood. The temple is formatted in such a way that resembles humankinds return from Exile, through the veil, back into Eden (The holy of holies). The various sacrifices offered by the priest, generally stated, are typological of the oblation of Christ himself for our sin and the oblation of ourselves and creation to God. There is also Israel’s inhabiting of the promised land which is the development of the Garden as the sacrament, sign and effective direction of history towards a new heaven and new earth.3 This is further reiterated in Israel’s exile from the land to Babylon, as Adam was banished from Eden (Gen. 3:23-24).

It's into this cycle that Christ enters into humankind and history to perform the ultimate oblations to God which effectively reorder the cosmos. Jesus is the second Adam and The Great High Priest who immaculately fulfils the Priesthood of Adam through His perfect obedience, substitutionary death and Resurrection. He now stands in Heaven continually oblating His people before the Father through intercession.

The offering up of Christ’s own self on the cross, is the very act of oblation that comprehensively redeems and renews Priesthood of Adam in humankind (Heb. 10:11-14). As we follow His example, imitate Him and are conformed into His image, we consecrate and oblate ourselves as living sacrifice[s], holy and acceptable to God (Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:1-2). Jesus restores humankind to rightly ordered priestliness and therefore Jesus restores us to our true humanity.

Oblation is primarily salvific as we offer ourselves and one another up to God through Christ (Rom. 15:15-16; Phil. 2:17). We offer our praise and prayers to God as a holy people (Heb. 13:15-16; Rev. 5:8). Yet, these oblations are not limited to spiritual, immaterial things. God deems His whole creation as good (Gen. 1:31) and is reconciling to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (Col. 1:19-20). We are to do everything as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23). All things are from Him, through Him and to Him (Rom. 11:36). Everything under heaven is given by God in order to be offer back up to Him in worship. This is how the wilderness of the world is beautified into an Edenic paradise.

These truths impact the way we perceive God’s purpose for ourselves and the world, reorientating the way we view life. This leads to the continual question, what has God given me to oblate right now? This is the task of the whole church, individually and corporately, as a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:6). It’s achieved through everything we have (I.e. our children, finances, vocations) as we oblate all things (Phil. 4:18; Col. 3:23). There also remains of course, the specific ecclesiastical vocation of the Priesthood which plays a vital role in this ministry.

The Ecclesiastical Priesthood serves in preparing God’s people for worship and mission. It primarily does this via the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). The Priest offers God to the people whilst simultaneously offering Himself, and the people, to God. This is done sacramentally & liturgically as he leads people to confession before he oblates them through absolution. He oblates children to God through baptism. He offers the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and, as the eucharistic liturgy concludes, he leads himself and God’s people in oblation of themselves to God in a sacrifice of praise. Through these processes of oblation and worship the church is renewed and refocused in its priestliness and ready for its mission in the world.

I believe I am called to the Priesthood because I can see that it is a fundamental aspect of the human metaphysic. I am already functioning as a priest in being a husband and father, and with every other gift and opportunity God has given me, presently, to serve Him. As He deepens my understanding, I sense the desire for this ministry increasing, whilst my jurisdiction also appears to be expanding. Simply put, an Ecclesiastical Priest is one who is set apart by God to be a reconciler through oblation. An ordained Priest models true humanity. He renews and refocuses the church in her priestliness and thus in her true humanity. These convictions have strengthened my sense of calling to the vocational Priesthood. I long to model true humanity to the world and bring people into the fullness their humanity.