Can You Imagine It?

 I was listening to a podcast that was reflecting on the necessity of brotherhood and how we should be looking out for each other.  It was referring to the Gospel of Matthew 25: 31-46.

In this passage Jesus is telling his disciples that whenever they care for someone who is thirsty, hungry or in need of clothes, or whenever they visit the ill or imprisoned, they are doing it for him.

We do not always recognize that this is what we are doing, but Jesus makes it very clear that when we care for our brother (or sister), or specifically, the “least ones” among us, we are doing it for him.  (Technically, that we are doing it to him.)

This got me to thinking about the layperson’s view of the ministerial priesthood.   

We know that as a group, our priests, ordained into the priesthood of Jesus, are in a special category all their own, setting aside their life for Christ as they do.

For years, laypeople in the church, though, have put their priests on a pedestal (one that almost no one could actually stand firm upon without faltering in some way.)  Set apart from us as they are, we are genuinely—and rightfully so—

 grateful for the vocation they have accepted.  It is indeed special.

But, here’s what I think we forget.

As baptized Christians, we too are called to a special vocation.  We are members of the common priesthood.

Imagine a world where this non-ordained group called Christian laypeople, could be looked upon as being in a special category where they have given over their entire life to be a witness to the gospel.  That is not to say “special” as in being elevated above others, but special as in uniquely joined as one, set apart in purpose and mission, behind the person of Jesus Christ.

Imagine if you will, this group so dedicated to the gospel and committed to fulfilling their role as a disciple, that like the early apostles and disciples, and similarly our priests, they are clearly recognizable for the “group” to which they belong.

Bear with me, if you will, and imagine that this group of non-ordained Christians are so outstanding in their self-sacrifice and love for each other, that they are as easily defined as standing with one purpose, as do our ministerial priests.

Is this the image you have of the laity in the Church?  Can you see them so clearly as a defined group of people?

I suspect you may see that the boundaries which identify non-ordained Christians as distinct followers-of-Christ may be blurring a bit.  We can see our priests as a collective group, but can we see ourselves in that way as well?

Of course, as laypeople our role is different in many ways and by its essence, from our ordained priests, but our responsibility in spreading the gospel is really no less.

Using our unique gifts, our words and our actions, we are called to punctuate our places of work, our relationships with friends and family, our communities-at-large, and indeed every aspect of our life, with an exclamation of the Good News.

Just imagine the impact on the world today, if Christians, as well as all people of faith, worked together—not against each other, nitpicking as we do, differences in our approach! Yes, sometimes it is more than a difference in approach, I understand.

But can you imagine the magnificent transformation that would be possible if we were to see ourselves as totally committed disciples where within our places of work, among our friends and families, we put our faith first?

We may not be members of the clergy, and that is fine, because God calls each of us—you and me—today, to fulfill our very special vocation as lay disciples.

Are you taking it seriously?  Will you choose to take it up and act on it?

Janet Cassidy

janetcassidy