Frontline Devotion for Thursday, March 30,2006 by Rev. John L. Kallerson
Hebrews 5:5-10

“So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says in another place, ‘You are a priest forever…’”   Hebrews 5:5-6

As a kid I use to sneak into the side door of Saint Mary’s By the Sea Catholic Church, which was only a few blocks from my house. This period was just a few years after Vatican II had ended and there were many new changes in the churches of that time but one in particular had my full attention.  I would hang out in the back of the darkened church surrounded by all the red votive lights and wait. What I was waiting for was to see if there really was a flying nun.

The TV show, the Flying Nun, was in full swing and this particular church had a lot of priests and nuns assigned to it. I use to believe the nuns were floating on air since I never saw their feet and to me they floated across the floor of the sanctuary in the red glow of the candles with the dark church adding to the mystery. I never gave much thought to the priests or what they were doing in the church. I thought they were just good people who talked kindly to me, worked on Sundays, and dressed up in funny clothes but I definitely thought about the nuns. I believed they had the inside track to holiness since they could fly, or so I thought. It’s funny how a perception can cloud what you look for.

What do you look for when you hear this passage? Does the word priest make you nervous today or are you looking for something else? I admit to being amazed how many people want to make sure they tell me they are not priests nor do they want anything to do with that word. This includes both clergy and non-clergy in the church. Instead of running away from the word maybe we should see why it was important enough for God to address Jesus this way as well as the writer of Hebrews. It could make all the difference in our perception of not only the word but in Jesus, our high priest.

While the Greek root version of the word means ‘elder,’ I have always preferred the Latin root for the word that we take priest from which literally means ‘bridge builder.’ I love the image of Jesus as the ultimate bridge builder between our Father in heaven and us.  Jesus, whom God beget—that is caused to exist, did not come to glorify himself. He came and continues to come to glorify our Father in heaven and in doing so “he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Wow! Build me a bridge today… please!

The writer of Hebrews emphasizes Jesus’ humanity throughout the book but he also is quick to point out how he is the ultimate mediator who brings forgiveness once and for all. Wow! Would you sneak into a church to see the ultimate bridge builder? You better believe I would. Nothing scares me about how people have misused this term over the centuries. I want it back! I need this bridge builder in my life everyday and so do you. I am humbled when people consider me a minor priest who can assist them in building their bridge of faith. We know it is ultimately through the power of the Holy Spirit that we all come to believe in God but this should not dissuade us from our role as minor bridge builders this side of eternity. I pray that this Lenten Season we will all spend some time in reflection on Christ, our high priest, as the ultimate bridge builder in our lives and what that means for us today.  Go ahead and sneak into the church on a darkened night with the glow of candles surrounding you. Maybe you will fly after all. God be with you my fellow ‘bridge builders.’

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