These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
The (apostles) strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. (Acts 14:22-23)
Ministry in the early church was fluid. Apostles and teachers eventually give way to overseers (bishops) and elders (presbyters). And of course there were always the table-waiters (deacons). What is interesting is that the early church did not use religious terms for its ministers. The early church knew about priests and high priests (Jewish Temple) and pontiffs (Roman State religion), but it chose not to use those terms. Rather, overseers, elders and table-waiters, terms from everyday life described the ministry and the service to which they were called. It was only much later did those other terms began to be used of Christian ministers . . . but only by way of analogy. In the New Testament there was only one priesthood, that of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, and of the entire priestly people of God.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He jumped up and began to walk about. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in human form.” They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes,” because he was the chief speaker. (Acts 14:8-12)
Poor Paul and Barnabas . . . folks wanted to offer sacrifice to them. But the apostles prevented them:
“We proclaim to you good news that you should turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.” (Acts 14: 15)
As the Psalmist says:
Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory. (Psalm 115)
You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Pt 2:9)
A people . . . chosen . . . royal . . . holy . . . special. You know that’s the lesson our mothers taught us and Scripture confirms it. There’s no one quite like Mom.
Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn 14:8-9)
The Father and I are one . . . as Saint Paul would say:
God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. (2 Cor 5:19)
This passage has been interesting in the art of the church.
Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:5-6)
The very first name for the Jesus Movement was The Way (Acts 9:2). That eventually changed when the term Christians was applied to the members. But The Way still has a ring to it, and it reminds us that we are on a journey with Christ, that we are called to follow Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
