Purpose: What are you giving your life to? - Ordination

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Luke 4:14-21

DAILY BYTE

In 1983 Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers, approached John Sculley, who was the vice-president of PepsiCo at the time, to ask him to become the CEO of the fledgling computer company. The legendary question that Jobs asked him that finally convinced Sculley to accept the new position at Apple was this: ‘Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?’

This week we’ve been challenged by the question, ‘What are you giving your life to?’ as we’ve reflected on our purpose within the world. All of us, deep down, want to live lives of purpose and substance. It’s not just high-flying executives like John Sculley who want a chance to change the world - we all do!

God delights in these grand ambitions of ours. In fact, it was God who planted that yearning for significance within us in the first place. And the church, in her wisdom, has sought ways whereby this yearning for significance can find expression.

One of the ways is through the sacrament of Holy Orders, or what we, in our tradition, simply refer to as ordination. Ordination is the process whereby the church discerns the call of God upon an individual’s life to be set aside in a special way as a minister of the gospel, and then consecrates that person to God for that life-long work. In our Methodist tradition, people can be ordained either as deacons or as ministers, and those ordained are referred to as the clergy.

Two important points need to be made about ordination:

1. One of the things that sets ordination apart from other forms of service within the church - for example, being a Society Steward - is the life-long intention for ministry that ordination presupposes. Of course, ordained people do sometimes leave the ministry. But a bit like getting married, when someone gets ordained, the intention is that it’s for keeps. As such, ordination stands as a powerful reminder to the whole church that people can, and do, commit their entire lives to the service of the gospel. This is something we all can do, whether we actually get ordained or not.
2. It’s a mistake to see ordination as a ‘higher’ form of service within the church, but it’s also a mistake to suggest that there’s no distinction between the laity and those ordained. Yes, we believe in the priesthood of all believers, but the church continues to recognise the importance of setting aside women and men who are called to this work, who represent the wider church within the local community. As such, ordination reminds the whole church that our ministry is always part of something much broader and wider than just ourselves. Again, this is true for us all, whether we are actually ordained or not.

In a secular world where people are constantly changing jobs and career paths; where the focus is very much on individuals climbing the ladder to success and where the commitment they offer to their employer is largely dependent on their own personal needs being served - in such a world the whole concept of ordination is a little crazy!

But ordination is a reminder to us all of the need to give ourselves to something bigger than ourselves in a life-long way! There is something gloriously liberating when this happens. Of course, ordination itself makes it a lot easier for those ordained than it is for the laity. But all of us are called to give ourselves to a purpose beyond ourselves in this kind of way.

Questions for reflection

1. Reflect on the following words from an Apple Inc. advertising campaign in 1997 entitled ‘Think Differently’, or ‘The Crazy Ones’ as it is commonly referred to:
   

   Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
   The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
   About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.
   Maybe they have to be crazy.
   How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
   While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

2. If you could change the world, what would you do? What’s stopping you?
3. Read Jesus’ personal purpose statement in Luke 4:18-19. How does it challenge or inspire you?

PRAYER

Gracious God, thank you that you believe in me. Thank you that you call me to be a part of something so much bigger than just me. Help me to offer up my whole life in devoted service and surrender to you. Amen.