Royal priesthood
Day 666, Monday, June 8
1 Peter 2:4-10
The priests of the Old Testament were mediators: they spoke to the people on behalf of God, and sacrificed to God on behalf of the people. The qualifications of Old Testament priesthood were based on the accident of birth: male descendants of Aaron.
We, by our new birth in the Spirit, are called to a new priesthood. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
This new priesthood, fortunately, doesn’t require us to slaughter and burn animals on an altar or to sacrifice grain offerings. It does, though, still call us to be mediators, speaking God’s word to people and making prayers of intercession to God on behalf of people. This is part of what Paul in 2 Corinthians calls our ministry of reconciliation.
One of the pillars of the Protestant reformation is a belief in the priesthood of all believers. Too often Protestants have interpreted this as a reduction in the importance of the priestly function rather than taking on the responsibility to live it out. Hearing and taking on the pain and guilt of others is a heavy task, but one God calls us all to.
-Rev. Mark Fleming
Monday meditation
Psalms 137:1-9
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Prayer focus
Lord, may we see and share the pain of those around us, bringing them the good news of your salvation and lifting them up to you in faithful prayer.