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Ordination Sermon for Bryan Stewart Fr. Dewayne Adams May 9, 2015 1 Ordination Sermon for Bryan Stewart Fr. DeWayne Adams May 9, 2015 Sermon at the Ordination of Bryan Alan Stewart to the Priesthood “But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11-12) I proclaim to you the Word of God, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Introduction When we look at Chapter 3 of this book of 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul lays out for us the qualifications of bishops and deacons. Bishops as we know them, arose from the order of presbyters (Middle English, “presters” and Modern English, “priests”) or elders, and so in many passages of Scripture there is an equivalence of the use of these terms (i.e. bishop and presbyter). But also in these Pastoral Epistles of Timothy and Titus we see certain of these presbyters given what we call Episcopal authority. In 1 Timothy 5:19, Timothy, whom Paul the Apostle made Bishop of Ephesus, is told not to receive an accusation against an elder (presbyter or priest) unless there be two or three witnesses against him. That is, this one man, Bishop Timothy, is put in the place of judge. There is not a trial by a group of peers or a presbytery, but one man is given apostolic authority to judge elders. This is an episcopal function. In Titus 1:5, Titus, who was made Bishop of Crete by the Apostle Paul, was told to “ordain elders in every city.” Note that again it is one man, Bishop Titus, who has in himself the apostolic authority to ordain presbyters, as our bishop is doing today. It is not the function of a group of presbyters, but of one man. This is an episcopal function. Even in Anglicanism today, although it is common for there to be three or more presbyters generally required for regular ordination, a bishop may ordain a presbyter without them. Such an ordination would be irregular, but not invalid, for it is given to the bishop to ordain priests. From this it is clear that the apostles gave to certain men the authority of oversight of congregations in various sites, even as Paul says to Titus, in different cities of the same region. So while bishops and presbyters have an equivalency in certain functions, even in the apostolic age some were raised up over the presbyters to keep order, both moral and administrative, in the churches, and to ordain other presbyters. By the end of the New Testament period, the three-fold order of bishops, priests, and deacons was set in the churches, to which all of the earliest post-apostolic writings testify. It is our high privilege today, together with our bishop, to give witness to this apostolic practice and to participate in this act as we have received it from the apostolic church. 1 Ordination Sermon for Bryan Stewart Fr. DeWayne Adams May 9, 2015 I turn now to the text. Bishop Timothy, himself a presbyter, yet more (just as Peter was not only an Apostle, but also an elder, as he himself states in 1 Peter 5:1), is addressed as a “man of God.” Perhaps we might be reminded of a similar phrase in our culture, “man of the cloth,” which stirs up images in the mind and puts people in remembrance of the duties and graces the clergy should have. But “man of God” is certainly a stronger title, and one all of us should strive to be remembered by among our people. The Presbyter Must Be a Man The Presbyter Must Be a Man, No Matter the Judgment of Culture. First of all, Bryan, you are a man. A presbyter must be a man, a qualified man. The culture may say something to the contrary, but I repeat, the presbyter must be a man. Culture chafes at this, as it does at so many of our doctrines, standards, and practices. People say, “It’s not fair to women;” “Women are just as worthy;” “Women are called, too,” and so on. Let me answer that God is just. Justice is not always equal, but may take in multiple factors in deciding, so that one may be treated differently from another, but that in itself does not make it unjust. And women may be just as worthy. I have had bosses in the secular world who were women. They did a great job. No problem, and I enjoyed working for them and with them. But we are not in the secular world here, and the rules of the secular world do not govern here. Finally, with regard to this, calling is discerned from the Word of God and the historical practice of the Church from Christ on, not one’s individual feelings. I have said on several occasions in discussions with others that one would have to rewrite the Bible and church history to make valid the idea of women priests. Others may be willing to do that; I am not. A Presbyter or Priest Must Be a Man, Following Christ’s Example. The presbyterate is of apostolic origin and derivation as seen in the Scriptures themselves that I cited earlier. But the apostles were only following Jesus Himself in this. Jesus called only men to be His apostles. He was not subject to man’s traditions or rules; in fact he often condemned them and even broke them. He had women active in His ministerial circle, active in ways not permitted by the rules and traditions of the Pharisees and Sadducees of His day. This was sometimes a scandal to Jewish religious leaders, as the Scriptures give witness. Yet there were no women – not even Mary the Mother of our Lord, who if anyone would be qualified, she was – made His apostles. Mark 3:13-14 says that Jesus went up into a mountain and called to Himself those He wanted, and ordained the Twelve Apostles. We follow the example of Christ. We will save our objections, if we do object, for glory. It is of us simply to follow and obey that which we have received. The Presbyter Must Be a Man, Following Apostolic Practice. Ephesians 2:20 states that the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being 2 Ordination Sermon for Bryan Stewart Fr. DeWayne Adams May 9, 2015 the Chief Cornerstone. The apostles went into lands and cultures that had religions with women priests, and therefore numerous opportunities to make women priests according to the customs and cultures of those peoples (like many in our culture in this country today). They did not. And so it continued throughout the history of the Christ-following, Bible- believing, missionary Church of God – until basically the 20th century. To sum up, in a way. A woman may be a priest on some other religion, but not the Christian religion. If we follow Christ, the Apostles, the Bible, and the universal practice of the early church and the church for its first almost 1900 years of existence, only a qualified man may be a priest. Again, you may have a woman priest if you are willing to rewrite the Bible and ignore church history. I cannot do that. I have dwelt on this at some length, due to the current cultural and ecclesiastical pressures and distresses, but I must move on. A Man Under God You are to be ordained a priest in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Not a priest of the Diocese of Fort Worth, although you will be that. Not a priest of the Anglican Church in North American or the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, although you will be that. You are to be ordained a priest in the Church of God. You are therefore responsible to God. You are responsible morally. You are to be an example of a godly life to the flock. You are responsible ministerially, serving God as you serve the people in Word and study of the Holy Scriptures, in the sacraments especially of Baptism and Holy Communion, in prayer and in ministerial acts. Therefore count it joy, but know of the seriousness and severity of this calling before God. A Man Under the People You are under the people in the sense of being a servant of the people. You are not being made a ruler to command and coerce. But a servant responsive to the calls of the people. You are no longer a private person; your time is not your own. Your phone number, your cell number, must be published among the people. One priest of my acquaintance, after a hard day, turned his cell phone off to drive home in some quiet rest. During that time, a parishioner was killed in an accident. Calls to him to come and administer last rites at the gruesome scene went unheard. That event stuck in the minds of the people of that congregation. Cell phones may be curse, but deal with the curse. Be available to your people. A Man Under Orders You promise to respect that place. In this ordination liturgy, you promise to “respect and be guided by the pastoral direction and leadership of your bishop.” You do not have to make such a promise with your fingers crossed, or just for the sake of getting ordained, as perhaps happened in the past when we were part of the Episcopal Church, USA.
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