Rev. Scott Kisker
Several years ago I was director of the Charles Wesley Heritage Centre in Bristol, England. While I was there a colleague of mine, a retired Methodist minister now in his nineties, gave me this white cassock as a present. He had acquired it when he was a chaplain in the Royal Air Force serving in what is now Malaysia. He wore it, he said, primarily because the heat in that part of the world made any other clerical garb almost unbearable.
One Sunday he was asked to preach in a Presbyterian Church in Singapore. He wore this cassock for the service. After the service, one of the bigwigs in the colonial government at that time came up to him. This man was a Scotsman and a dyed-in-the-wool Presbyterian. The man said with a bit of a growl, "I prefer the black of the prophet to the white of the Priest."
The minister friend of mine sort of hemmed and hawed a bit and made some comment about the impracticality of wearing black robes due to the weather in those parts. Then it occurred to him what dressing like a prophet would really mean, and he said, "Well sir, if you are so concerned about proper prophetic attire, perhaps all preachers should mount the pulpit dressed as Elijah or John the Baptist were - in nothing but a camel loin cloth.
"I suppose that might do for some," replied the Scot, "but in you case, Church attendance is already low enough."
Priest or Prophet. Prophet or Priest.
This story points to a tension which exists in Christianity, especially within Protestantism. How does the community of faith live out Christ''s Priestly and Prophetic roles? Protestantism for the most part has tended to focus primarily (as our Scottish burocrat indicated) on the prophetic ministry. The only Protestants to have retained the use of the word "priest" is the Anglican Communion. For most Protestants the ministry of the Word as it is exercised in the pulpit is central.
The prophet''s job is to instruct us in the Word of God. The prophet''s job is to call us back to God''s standard. The prophet is to make known God''s plan that we may see where we fall short, holding up the mirror of God''s Word to our imperfections. He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord."
I remember when I was in seminary, when people first learned about the prophetic role of the minister, the students all thought that was what they wanted to be. Push the boundaries of the acceptable, be on the cutting edge, challenge sin, all for God. They usually conveniently forgot that most prophets end up dead.
Most of us, when we come to church want our minds to be engaged. We want to be intellectually and spiritually challenged. But even for us Protestants, a little prophesy goes a long way.
The priestly role is different. Once we have been awakened to our own spiritual lack. Once we recognize that we are "dead in our sins," that "there is no health in us" it is the priestly function to bring us to new life and aid us in that life. The priest leads us through death to our old selves and resurrection to new life, the cleansing of baptism. The priest serves at table where real sustenance, bread and wine, are supplied for us to live this new life.
The prophet calls to the dead, "Awaken!" The priest is there to encourage the living. The prophet shows us the Word of God. The priest helps us to live the Word of God.
As Christians we need a Priest as much as a prophet. And we need both for the same reason, found in the first verse of our lesson. Sin. By sin I don''t mean that which blinds of to our true spiritual state - the sleep the prophet needs to awaken us from. Rather this is the sin that clings to us after we have heard the prophets warning.
Being convicted of sin, knowing we are sinners, does not make it go away. Knowing what God wants is not the same as living it.
Sin is not something that is talked about much in our society. These days, it is a bit like fish have a conversation about water.
Part of the problem is that when we finally do talk about sin, we turn it into legalism. We think of it as breaking one of God''s rules - transgressing a known law of God.
Now I am certainly not encouraging anyone to flaunt any of God''s laws. The laws God has laid down are a reflection of God''s mind and of God''s created order. However, we know from the scriptures that one can obey the "laws" and still sin. That was the Pharisees problem. That is why Jesus said in Luke 11:42, "but woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe the mint and rue and herbs of all kinds and neglect justice and the love of God. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others."
Sin is not just about a certain set of rules. It is actually much bigger than that.
The word "sin" if we translate the Greek word for it, means literally "missing the mark," like when you shoot an arrow. Sin is not breaking a rule. Sin is "failing to reach the goal." Sin is not finishing the race.
Even if we have never competed in sports, we all know what it means to feel as though we are in a race. There is the race of our daily lives, lives which themselves seem to be made up of tiny little races. There is the race to catch the metro in the morning, the race to meet the next deadline, the race to get the sermon done for Sunday, the race to get the evening meal on the table, the race to get the kids bathed and in bed. The race to relax.
There is the race to make something of our lives - the rat race as it is sometimes called. It is the race to reach the next rung of success in prestige, or finance, or love. There is the race for all those things that the world has to offer those who work hard and sacrifice. The race for the things we want - the things we think will make us happier.
In this worldly race we are often discouraged. Our retirement balance is not where we thought it would be. Our kids are not turning out how we hoped. We often do not reach the goals we set for ourselves. We do not finish the race.
Sin is the same concept. But sin is about not reaching the goal which God intends for us - a goal which will make us truly blessed, truly happy.
This goal which God has for our lives is what we call the Word of God. Now, when we talk about the Word of God we are usually referring to the Scriptures. But as the Scriptures themselves tell us, the Word of God pre-exists the Scriptures. "In the beginning was the Word." All things were made through the Word. Without the Word was nothing made that has been made.
This Word of God is the created order of the universe. It is the logic behind it all. The Word is God''s whole, God''s complete, God''s perfect intention in creation. It is God''s plan for us and for our salvation. It is the Way we should live. It is the truth about existence. It is life.
Our lives corresponding to God''s Word is the finish line in the race we call Christianity. And yet in this race we so easily stumble, so easily get turned around, so often are failing in our striving for the finish line.
That is why in the Old Testament, the priest''s job was to intercede for God''s mercy, "to offer gifts and sacrifices." He was supposed to get God''s forgiveness for the community for not reaching the goal God set out for them.
And yet the problem was that the priest himself was (as it says in verse 3) not running the race very well either. He had to offer sacrifice for his own sin, his own failure to move toward the goal.
It is the image of a group of runners all setting off on a race. They know the goal. They know where the finish line should be. They have been given some basic directions as to how to get there. Still they can''t follow the route. They run around in circles, tripping over each other and frequently collapsing from exhaustion. And it is clear to all, at this rate; they will never cross the finish line.
The priest in this scenario is like the coach running along side and trying to encourage the other runners. Unfortunately he is just as confused, just as weak, just as incapable of reaching the end as the rest of the group.
Therefore he shouts to the one who waits anxiously for the group at the finish line (the one who gave them directions to get there). He shouts out excuses hoping that he will get allowances for the fact this group is never going to get to the end. It is a pathetic scene.
But we are no different from them. We have the same goal. The same struggle. The same finish line.
What such a band of runners needs is a better coach, a new kind of priest. Like the old type of priest, they want someone who knows their needs - one who "to their weakness" is "no stranger." Like the old type of priest they want someone gentle and encouraging. Like the old type of priest they want someone who is humble - someone not in it for the glory, but someone appointed by God for their sakes.
Unlike the old type of priest they need a priest who really knows the Way. They need someone who has completed the race, someone who has crossed the finish line. Someone who can be of real help to the rest of us stumbling runners.
Verse 7. "In the days of his flesh Jesus offered up prayers and supplication, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high Priest according to the order of Melchizedec."
Jesus is the new high priest.
This Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life.
So why does it say that he had to be "made perfect?" Jesus was born without sin and lived a sinless life. He never broke any of God''s rules.
But the perfection the Scriptures are talking about is not avoiding breaking a rule. If this were the case, Jesus could be said to be perfect from the day he was born.
I spoke about a different definition of sin earlier. Perfection is its polar opposite. Perfection is about hitting the mark. Perfection is about reaching the goal. It is about crossing the finish line. Perfection is submitting to God''s will for your life. It is living God''s way, God''s truth, God''s life all the way to the end. And it is not over till it is over.
Jesus'' life was made perfect, whole, complete on the cross. After he had hung there in agony for our sakes, St. John writes, "Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture) ''I am thirsty.'' A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ''it is finished.'' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
He had crossed the finish line. "And having been made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
He knows the way. He is the Way. He lives that he might be our priest to help us, as it says in Hebrews 12:1, "lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so easily and run with perseverance the race set out for us."
"He has been designated by God as a new kind of priest - a high priest according to the order of Melchizedec."
Some of you, I know, are asking yourselves, "Who the heck is Melchizedec?" Turn in your Bibles the book of Genesis, chapter 14. To set the scene, God has called Abraham (at this time known as Abram) to go to "a land that God would show him." God has promised him possession of the land and that through this he would be blessed and be a blessing.
Abram saw the land. (12:6) But as in our race, seeing what the end should be and possessing it are two very different things. There was a detour to Egypt during a terrible famine (12:10-20). There was strife among his fellow travelers (13:1-18). And there was war in the land. His nephew Lot was taken prisoner.
When the war was over and Lot had been rescued, Abram was met by other kings in the Valley of Shaeveh (also known as the Kings Valley) (14:18). Here King Melchizedec of Salem (what is now Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God most high. He blessed Abram and said, "Blessed by Abram by God most high, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand."
The order of Melchizedec:
An order far older than that of the Levitical priests,
And order that is both Priest and King
An order which offers bread and wine and a blessing.
And the race continues.
Derek Redmond was a runner. A very good runner - he was a member of the British Olympic team for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He was also a part of the 1988 team, but that year, only 90 seconds before the 400 meter race was to begin he had to withdraw because of an injured Achilles tendon. After five surgeries and four years, he had again qualified for the Olympic team and was in Barcelona at the starting line of the same 400 meter race, this time in the semi-finals.
The gun went off and Redmond''s muscles sprang into action. He ran for only 100 meters. Suddenly, he crumpled to the ground. He had a torn hamstring. In excruciating pain, he knew he was not going to place in this race. There would be no medals.
The paramedics ran on to the track, but he refused their help. Instead, he began to crawl toward the finish line.
A man stood up in the stands. He made his way down to edge of the track and through those who stood on the sidelines. He walked out walked out to where the athlete struggled forward. He reached out a hand to help him, but the athlete pushed his hand away. Then he looked up and saw the face of his father.
Derek Redmond''s father lifted his son''s arm over his shoulder and the two of them hobbled the remaining 300 meters to the finish line, to the cheers of the crowd.
Making it across the finish line is not about relying on our own strength. Making it across the finish line is not about knowing all the rules. Making it across the finish line is not about never stumbling.
Rather, making it across the finish line is about looking up as you crawl forward, taking outstretched hand of the one who has come out of the stands for you, has stooped down, will bear your weight on his shoulders, and walk with you across the finish line.
A Great High Priest.
Several years ago I was director of the Charles Wesley Heritage Centre in Bristol, England. While I was there a colleague of mine, a retired Methodist minister now in his nineties, gave me this white cassock as a present. He had acquired it when he was a chaplain in the Royal Air Force serving in what is now Malaysia. He wore it, he said, primarily because the heat in that part of the world made any other clerical garb almost unbearable.
One Sunday he was asked to preach in a Presbyterian Church in Singapore. He wore this cassock for the service. After the service, one of the bigwigs in the colonial government at that time came up to him. This man was a Scotsman and a dyed-in-the-wool Presbyterian. The man said with a bit of a growl, "I prefer the black of the prophet to the white of the Priest."
The minister friend of mine sort of hemmed and hawed a bit and made some comment about the impracticality of wearing black robes due to the weather in those parts. Then it occurred to him what dressing like a prophet would really mean, and he said, "Well sir, if you are so concerned about proper prophetic attire, perhaps all preachers should mount the pulpit dressed as Elijah or John the Baptist were - in nothing but a camel loin cloth.
"I suppose that might do for some," replied the Scot, "but in you case, Church attendance is already low enough."
Priest or Prophet. Prophet or Priest.
This story points to a tension which exists in Christianity, especially within Protestantism. How does the community of faith live out Christ''s Priestly and Prophetic roles? Protestantism for the most part has tended to focus primarily (as our Scottish burocrat indicated) on the prophetic ministry. The only Protestants to have retained the use of the word "priest" is the Anglican Communion. For most Protestants the ministry of the Word as it is exercised in the pulpit is central.
The prophet''s job is to instruct us in the Word of God. The prophet''s job is to call us back to God''s standard. The prophet is to make known God''s plan that we may see where we fall short, holding up the mirror of God''s Word to our imperfections. He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord."
I remember when I was in seminary, when people first learned about the prophetic role of the minister, the students all thought that was what they wanted to be. Push the boundaries of the acceptable, be on the cutting edge, challenge sin, all for God. They usually conveniently forgot that most prophets end up dead.
Most of us, when we come to church want our minds to be engaged. We want to be intellectually and spiritually challenged. But even for us Protestants, a little prophesy goes a long way.
The priestly role is different. Once we have been awakened to our own spiritual lack. Once we recognize that we are "dead in our sins," that "there is no health in us" it is the priestly function to bring us to new life and aid us in that life. The priest leads us through death to our old selves and resurrection to new life, the cleansing of baptism. The priest serves at table where real sustenance, bread and wine, are supplied for us to live this new life.
The prophet calls to the dead, "Awaken!" The priest is there to encourage the living. The prophet shows us the Word of God. The priest helps us to live the Word of God.
As Christians we need a Priest as much as a prophet. And we need both for the same reason, found in the first verse of our lesson. Sin. By sin I don''t mean that which blinds of to our true spiritual state - the sleep the prophet needs to awaken us from. Rather this is the sin that clings to us after we have heard the prophets warning.
Being convicted of sin, knowing we are sinners, does not make it go away. Knowing what God wants is not the same as living it.
Sin is not something that is talked about much in our society. These days, it is a bit like fish have a conversation about water.
Part of the problem is that when we finally do talk about sin, we turn it into legalism. We think of it as breaking one of God''s rules - transgressing a known law of God.
Now I am certainly not encouraging anyone to flaunt any of God''s laws. The laws God has laid down are a reflection of God''s mind and of God''s created order. However, we know from the scriptures that one can obey the "laws" and still sin. That was the Pharisees problem. That is why Jesus said in Luke 11:42, "but woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe the mint and rue and herbs of all kinds and neglect justice and the love of God. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others."
Sin is not just about a certain set of rules. It is actually much bigger than that.
The word "sin" if we translate the Greek word for it, means literally "missing the mark," like when you shoot an arrow. Sin is not breaking a rule. Sin is "failing to reach the goal." Sin is not finishing the race.
Even if we have never competed in sports, we all know what it means to feel as though we are in a race. There is the race of our daily lives, lives which themselves seem to be made up of tiny little races. There is the race to catch the metro in the morning, the race to meet the next deadline, the race to get the sermon done for Sunday, the race to get the evening meal on the table, the race to get the kids bathed and in bed. The race to relax.
There is the race to make something of our lives - the rat race as it is sometimes called. It is the race to reach the next rung of success in prestige, or finance, or love. There is the race for all those things that the world has to offer those who work hard and sacrifice. The race for the things we want - the things we think will make us happier.
In this worldly race we are often discouraged. Our retirement balance is not where we thought it would be. Our kids are not turning out how we hoped. We often do not reach the goals we set for ourselves. We do not finish the race.
Sin is the same concept. But sin is about not reaching the goal which God intends for us - a goal which will make us truly blessed, truly happy.
This goal which God has for our lives is what we call the Word of God. Now, when we talk about the Word of God we are usually referring to the Scriptures. But as the Scriptures themselves tell us, the Word of God pre-exists the Scriptures. "In the beginning was the Word." All things were made through the Word. Without the Word was nothing made that has been made.
This Word of God is the created order of the universe. It is the logic behind it all. The Word is God''s whole, God''s complete, God''s perfect intention in creation. It is God''s plan for us and for our salvation. It is the Way we should live. It is the truth about existence. It is life.
Our lives corresponding to God''s Word is the finish line in the race we call Christianity. And yet in this race we so easily stumble, so easily get turned around, so often are failing in our striving for the finish line.
That is why in the Old Testament, the priest''s job was to intercede for God''s mercy, "to offer gifts and sacrifices." He was supposed to get God''s forgiveness for the community for not reaching the goal God set out for them.
And yet the problem was that the priest himself was (as it says in verse 3) not running the race very well either. He had to offer sacrifice for his own sin, his own failure to move toward the goal.
It is the image of a group of runners all setting off on a race. They know the goal. They know where the finish line should be. They have been given some basic directions as to how to get there. Still they can''t follow the route. They run around in circles, tripping over each other and frequently collapsing from exhaustion. And it is clear to all, at this rate; they will never cross the finish line.
The priest in this scenario is like the coach running along side and trying to encourage the other runners. Unfortunately he is just as confused, just as weak, just as incapable of reaching the end as the rest of the group.
Therefore he shouts to the one who waits anxiously for the group at the finish line (the one who gave them directions to get there). He shouts out excuses hoping that he will get allowances for the fact this group is never going to get to the end. It is a pathetic scene.
But we are no different from them. We have the same goal. The same struggle. The same finish line.
What such a band of runners needs is a better coach, a new kind of priest. Like the old type of priest, they want someone who knows their needs - one who "to their weakness" is "no stranger." Like the old type of priest they want someone gentle and encouraging. Like the old type of priest they want someone who is humble - someone not in it for the glory, but someone appointed by God for their sakes.
Unlike the old type of priest they need a priest who really knows the Way. They need someone who has completed the race, someone who has crossed the finish line. Someone who can be of real help to the rest of us stumbling runners.
Verse 7. "In the days of his flesh Jesus offered up prayers and supplication, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high Priest according to the order of Melchizedec."
Jesus is the new high priest.
This Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life.
So why does it say that he had to be "made perfect?" Jesus was born without sin and lived a sinless life. He never broke any of God''s rules.
But the perfection the Scriptures are talking about is not avoiding breaking a rule. If this were the case, Jesus could be said to be perfect from the day he was born.
I spoke about a different definition of sin earlier. Perfection is its polar opposite. Perfection is about hitting the mark. Perfection is about reaching the goal. It is about crossing the finish line. Perfection is submitting to God''s will for your life. It is living God''s way, God''s truth, God''s life all the way to the end. And it is not over till it is over.
Jesus'' life was made perfect, whole, complete on the cross. After he had hung there in agony for our sakes, St. John writes, "Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture) ''I am thirsty.'' A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ''it is finished.'' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
He had crossed the finish line. "And having been made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
He knows the way. He is the Way. He lives that he might be our priest to help us, as it says in Hebrews 12:1, "lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so easily and run with perseverance the race set out for us."
"He has been designated by God as a new kind of priest - a high priest according to the order of Melchizedec."
Some of you, I know, are asking yourselves, "Who the heck is Melchizedec?" Turn in your Bibles the book of Genesis, chapter 14. To set the scene, God has called Abraham (at this time known as Abram) to go to "a land that God would show him." God has promised him possession of the land and that through this he would be blessed and be a blessing.
Abram saw the land. (12:6) But as in our race, seeing what the end should be and possessing it are two very different things. There was a detour to Egypt during a terrible famine (12:10-20). There was strife among his fellow travelers (13:1-18). And there was war in the land. His nephew Lot was taken prisoner.
When the war was over and Lot had been rescued, Abram was met by other kings in the Valley of Shaeveh (also known as the Kings Valley) (14:18). Here King Melchizedec of Salem (what is now Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God most high. He blessed Abram and said, "Blessed by Abram by God most high, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand."
The order of Melchizedec:
An order far older than that of the Levitical priests,
And order that is both Priest and King
An order which offers bread and wine and a blessing.
And the race continues.
Derek Redmond was a runner. A very good runner - he was a member of the British Olympic team for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He was also a part of the 1988 team, but that year, only 90 seconds before the 400 meter race was to begin he had to withdraw because of an injured Achilles tendon. After five surgeries and four years, he had again qualified for the Olympic team and was in Barcelona at the starting line of the same 400 meter race, this time in the semi-finals.
The gun went off and Redmond''s muscles sprang into action. He ran for only 100 meters. Suddenly, he crumpled to the ground. He had a torn hamstring. In excruciating pain, he knew he was not going to place in this race. There would be no medals.
The paramedics ran on to the track, but he refused their help. Instead, he began to crawl toward the finish line.
A man stood up in the stands. He made his way down to edge of the track and through those who stood on the sidelines. He walked out walked out to where the athlete struggled forward. He reached out a hand to help him, but the athlete pushed his hand away. Then he looked up and saw the face of his father.
Derek Redmond''s father lifted his son''s arm over his shoulder and the two of them hobbled the remaining 300 meters to the finish line, to the cheers of the crowd.
Making it across the finish line is not about relying on our own strength. Making it across the finish line is not about knowing all the rules. Making it across the finish line is not about never stumbling.
Rather, making it across the finish line is about looking up as you crawl forward, taking outstretched hand of the one who has come out of the stands for you, has stooped down, will bear your weight on his shoulders, and walk with you across the finish line.
A Great High Priest.
