Sunday After Ascension
Kasey Gage Ordination

Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats." "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church." "I haven't had any more problems," said the third. "What did you do?" asked the others, amazed. "I simply baptized and confirmed them," he replied. "I haven't seen them since."

Today we ordain a man to the sacred order of the priesthood. Hopefully our brother in Christ will retain those whom he baptizes and presents to the bishop for confirmation; they will come back and keep coming back to the church. But this does remind us of the great challenges before today’s priest.

Someone has observed, “The pastor teaches, though he must solicit his own classes. He heals, though without pills or knife. He is sometimes a lawyer, often a social worker, something of an editor, a bit of a philosopher and entertainer, a salesman, a decorative piece for public functions, and he is supposed to be a scholar. He visits the sick, marries people, buries the dead, labors to console those who sorrow and to admonish those who sin, and tries to stay sweet when chided for not doing his duty. He plans programs, appoints committees when he can get them, spends considerable time in keeping people out of each other's hair. Between times he prepares a sermon and preaches it on Sunday to those who don't happen to have any other engagement. Then on Monday he smiles when some jovial chap roars, ‘What a job--one day a week!’"

What this observation reveals is the essence of the Gospel lesson appointed for the ordination of a priest. The text is found in St. Matthew 9:35-38. It has two parts. It details how Jesus perceived the peoples’ need for true servants to minister to the people of God. It then concludes with a prayer based on the need.

The need our Lord beheld was as the text states, people “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:37). The two Greek words here translated “harass and helpless” are fascinating descriptions of the needs to which you are called. The words mean to be left without any covering and helpless. Our culture is filled with God’s people who have been abandoned, especially in the Episcopal and Anglican world. I rather suspect it is quite similar to what Jesus saw when He looked at the Jewish laity of His day. Their spiritual leaders had abandoned them. They were sheep without shepherds. And when Christ saw their plight, our text of the Gospel states that Jesus had compassion for them.
For these reasons Jesus adds a second half to our Gospel lesson. He tells His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (9:37-39). Jesus’ descriptive word for clergy says it all. He calls for “laborers,” true workers who will have compassion on the people and work hard to minister to them. Please don’t misunderstand the situation. There were clergy in Jesus’ day; they just were not good clergy. As a former dean and seminary professor and now as a Bishop I’m often asked, “Is there a need for clergy in the Reformed Episcopal Church?” My answer is always, “Yes, we always have more churches than we do clergy.” But then I add, “Besides, there is always a need for good clergy, the kind that will not be lethargic but energetic, compassionate hard workers.” Yes, we need men of strength who will give their entire lives to serving the people of God.

I came across a wonderful prayer written by Bob Morehead in his book, The Growth Factor. I therefore ask you to stand Kasey and hear this prayer that I claim for your life and ministry: “God give us men...ribbed with the steel of Your Holy Spirit...men who will not flinch when the battle's fiercest...men who won't acquiesce, or compromise, or fade when the enemy rages. God give us men who can't be bought, bartered, or badgered by the enemy, men who will pay the price, make the sacrifice, stand the ground, and hold the torch high. God give us men obsessed with the principles true to your word, men stripped of self-seeking and a yen for security...men who will pay any price for freedom and go to any lengths for truth. God give us men delivered from mediocrity, men with vision high, pride low, faith wide, love deep, and patience long...men who will dare to march to the drumbeat of a distant drummer, men who will not surrender principles of truth in order to accommodate their peers. God give us men more interested in scars than medals. More committed to conviction than convenience, men who will give their life for the eternal, instead of indulging their lives for a moment in time. Give us men who are fearless in the face of danger, calm in the midst of pressure, bold in the midst of opposition. God give us men who will pray earnestly, work long, preach clearly, and wait patiently. Give us men whose walk is by faith, behavior is by principle, whose dreams are in heaven, and whose book is the Bible. [And he continues to exclaim to the Lord] Those are the men the Church needs today.”

Indeed, I could commend no better statement of the kind of man I pray you, Kasey, become. And thus I add the prayer of Aelred (1109-1167), “Since you [O Lord] have appointed this blind guide to lead [your people], then for their sakes, Lord, if not for mine, teach him whom you have made to be their teacher; lead him whom you have bidden to lead them; rule him who is their ruler. Amen.”