Sermon for the Ordination of Priests

Ordination of Priests
St. John’s Cathedral, Los Angeles
8 January 2011
Canon James Blair White


Help us, O Lord to be masters of ourselves
that we may become the servants of others.
Take our lips and speak through them,
our minds and think through them,
and take our hears and set them on fire,
for Christ’s sake. Amen.


So, what is a lay person doing up here in the pulpit at this festival of ordained people? It’s a good question. And I don’t think I have an answer. I’m evidently here by virtue of the fact that I am one of the co-chairs of the Commission on Ministry. Well, that and the fact that Bishop Bruno told me he wanted me to preach. Thank you for this opportunity, Bishop. And thanks, too, to the Deans for sharing this historic pulpit.

Since I don’t have a formal theological education and know nothing, really, about homiletics or exegesis – other than what I’ve experienced from where you are – I’m going on the assumption that I should be preaching from my experience, rather than attempting to dazzle you with intellectual delights. So this, obviously, is going to be a lay person’s perspective on this event and some of the process that leads up to it.

I’ve been a member of the Commission on Ministry for more than a dozen years – and chair or co-chair for a good part of that. For those of you who may not speak Church, the Commission on Ministry is a Diocesan committee that is mandated by the Canons (the laws) of The Episcopal Church to (and I’m quoting here from Title III of those Canons) “to assist the Bishop in the design and oversight of the ongoing process for recruitment, discernment, formation for ministry, and assessment of readiness therefore.”

So we have the responsibility, among other things, to advise and make recommendations to the Bishop on persons who come to us aspiring to a ministry as an ordained person. (I should say that in all of these things, the ultimate decisions are the Bishop’s and we only make recommendations. The Bishop usually agrees with us, but that’s not always a given.) We call our initial interview process “the Formation Retreat” and we hold two of those a year and see 10 or 12 people at each one. I had never really done the math before, but when I got to thinking about this, it became clear to me – and I have to admit, something of a surprise – that over those dozen years, I’ve probably interviewed, or at least met and read the applications of, a couple of hundred of these Nominees, as they’re called. It is always a privilege and an honor to hear these people’s stories and have a chance to get to know them a little and to try to hear the call to a vocation that they are hearing. Our process is one that invokes the Holy Spirit often during our deliberations and we pray regularly that we are hearing what ministry it is that God is calling each person to. We know that we are asking these people to share with us the deepest, and sometimes the most private parts of their lives and we always try to receive that in the most gracious way possible.

As you might imagine, there has been a broad swath of the church that has appeared before us. Some of those people have been hearing this call since they were children. One of my favorite of those stories is about a guy who, at about age 9 or 10, lined up all of his G.I. Joes in front of him, used a Kleenex box for an altar, and celebrated the Eucharist for his platoon. (We’ve had girls doing the same thing with dolls, too.) And yet others come to us after long and successful careers in something totally un-churchy and yet have found those careers unfulfilling and have finally figured out that they’ve been hearing God calling them to something totally new and different – in many ways. A guy who retired from the Army as a Colonel, then ran a major I.T. organization, and now has become one of the loveliest priests I know; and recently a woman who had a very successful career in Silicon Valley – and she said to me, “Well, Steve Jobs really liked what I was doing and the work was so easy for me – and after some time it all became so meaningless.”

And the ways that those people hear that call come in a wide variety, too. A few talk about having had a dramatic experience where they hear a big voice or the room is filled with light or something along those lines. Those always make me a little bit nervous, but only because I don’t have that kind of revelation from God in my own experience – and so I try to understand and respect it. But the ones that I am more comfortable with are those that speak of having been sort of surprised that people around them have been nudging them – “Have you ever thought about being a priest?” or “You really should think about a vocation in the church.” At first it takes them by surprise, but as they continue to hear it from more and more people, it begins to sink in that God may be calling them to something new. I guess the reason I’m more comfortable with this style of revelation is because I have always heard messages from God in the voices of other people – sometimes from the pulpit, but more often just in a conversation. And, of course, being a little bit slow, I don’t usually realize it until some time after the fact – and I think back, “Oh, wow – God was really in that conversation.”

So, I think that’s part of our responsibility as members of a faith community – to identify, encourage and lift up new leaders for the church. It’s really Stewardship at the heart of it – caring for the future of our church – and for the bringing about of God’s Kingdom. Part of our work that we do for the church needs to be urging those we think would be good ordained leaders to think about following that path. And, I have to add, on the flip side, cautioning those who think they might be called when we don’t hear or see it ourselves. Honesty is tough, but it’s definitely necessary here.

We often talk about “discernment” as being work that the one who is hearing the call is supposed to do. But I believe we are all supposed to be discerning not only our own vocations – and for most of us that means discerning where our lay ministry is headed – but I think we should also be helping discern others who may be called to an ordained ministry – and helping them hear that call.

And along those lines, I am really interested in getting young people to think about a future vocation – or at least getting them to begin to think about it as a possibility. Is there a kid in your congregation who is an acolyte or a choir member who seems to have an attraction to the liturgy – or scripture or prayer or whatever – one who really seems to get it – more than those around her or him? Let’s get that kid thinking! Several years ago, a couple of the younger priests on the Commission on Ministry put together a day of exploration for young people who might have such an attraction. They spent that time talking about what the life of a priest is about and answering questions and putting on skits and just generally getting those kids to think about what it might be like to become a priest. We got about 50 high school and college-aged young people to come to that event. I would really like to get that to happen again – and there are a couple of you that I’m thinking of in particular to help me make that happen. If anyone is interested in working on that, please talk to me – you don’t have to be a member of the COM. It’s very rare that we see someone identify – or even hear the rumblings of – a call early in life these days – and, particularly, to head off to seminary directly after getting a bachelor’s degree. Yet 30 years ago, that was standard operating procedure. How have we changed the way we do this work of discernment? The church went through a period some years ago where it told younger people that they “needed more life experience” before thinking about ordination. I’m not so convinced that is true. Maybe a year or two of something like the Urban Interns program after college and then seminary. I think we need to look at all of that.

Now in a few minutes this panoply of presbyters will gather around these ordinands and the Bishop will lay hands on them and something mysterious and wonderful will happen. I want to encourage all of you lay folks to be participants in this – not just observers. You are just as capable of summoning the Holy Spirit’s presence here today as anyone. I know many of we Episcopalians are pretty cautious about getting physical in our worship. But when the time comes for the Bishop to say the words: “Make her a priest in your church,” it has become my habit to raise my hand and send my blessing on them, too. I encourage you to do the same. And a hearty “Amen” is appropriate, too.

So, now, this assignment didn’t come with an instruction manual, but at every ordination I’ve ever been to, the preacher always has the ordinands stand and gives them a charge. So I don’t want you to be cheated just because you drew a preacher who didn’t know what he was doing. So, Ordinands, will you now stand?

I don’t know if you know it, but the Commission on Ministry publishes several documents that describe what it is we’re looking for in people called to ordained ministry – and I mean pages and pages. And while I’ve been part of developing some of that material, there are really only three things that I look for.

First, does this person have an infectious love of Jesus? You may have been hearing for some time now that it’s all about the sacraments – or the liturgy, or preaching or pastoral care or whatever. And, yes, all of those things are important. But in the end, it’s all about Jesus. George Regas – by the way, whose sermon prayer I used to begin here today – thank you, George – anyway, George once told me that a preacher can’t preach about the transforming power of God’s love if that person hasn’t been transformed by it her (or him) self. So, tell us your story. Help us get to know the God who has changed you. Help us to be changed ourselves. Bring more people to that love.

Secondly, is this a person who can gather a community? Some of that is about inborn charisma, but much of it is about making your community of faith a place that people want to be a part of. Develop your skills as a speaker and teacher and friend – and help the people with whose care you have been entrusted to develop an attractiveness, too. Teach graciousness, hospitality and friendliness – and teach it by being it yourself.

Finally, I ask, will this person be an example of a holy life? Even though we know that God’s love is given freely and unconditionally, most of us think that we’re supposed to be doing more – maybe not so much to earn it, but at least to be holding up our end of the relationship. So we need you to show us how to do that. Teach us to pray. Teach us to give. Teach us to see Jesus in everyone we encounter. And teach us to help bring about God’s kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.

Do all these things and the church – and the world – will be blessed by your ministry. God bless you.

Amen.