Office of the Bishop (Diocese of St. Petersburg) at 6363 9th Avenue North, Saint Petersburg, FL 33710 US - Embracing Priesthood
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Embracing Priesthood |
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| Picture by Ed Foster, Jr. |
Bishop Lynch, the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of St. Petersburg rejoice on the occasion of the Ordination to the Priesthood of Philip Dac Clement, MSHS and Timothy Cummings, at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, on Saturday, May 17, 2008 -
"Philip and Tim,
You have chosen for the Gospel reading this morning the well known passage from Mark recounting the moment of the Transfiguration. In Mark’s Gospel it marks the moment of what in Shakespearean tragedy is called the denouement or in easier English, the beginning of the end. It is precisely this moment of peak excitement in Mark’s Gospel account that as in Hamlet, Jesus, the principal actor
Picture by Ed Foster, Sr.
begins his quick and steady progress to the cross, to pain and suffering, to death. As in Hamlet, so in the Gospel when Jesus and those closest to him come to this moment of self-revelation and realization, reality sets in and the drama of his life hurtles to its conclusion.
It is a powerful moment, this moment of Transfiguration. If there had been any doubt in the minds of Peter, James and John that their new friend was truly the long awaited Messiah, this was for them a moment of truth. They had been looking for some sign that would completely validate the claims He had made for Himself, and they got it on Tabor.
But the sheer joy, the excitement, the exhilaration would in moment give way to hard, cold reality. “Tell no one of what you have seen until the Son of Man has died has risen from the dead.” The sober truth – the servant of us all must first die. It must have been akin to a bucket of ice water thrown full force in their faces. Exhilaration, joy, unparalleled happiness followed by hard, challenging and painful reality.
For many years you have prepared for this important moment in your life. The applause, long, loud and sustained, mirrors in the community gathered here the joy and happiness and apprehension, which is likely to be found in your hearts.
And like the moment of Transfiguration, embracing priesthood is more of an invitation to a life of weakness than of strength. Jesus might well have allowed the moment of strength and glorification to be the end of his story. Instead he chose to descend from the power and strength of the moment of Transfiguration in order to ascend the smaller hill of Golgotha and the throne of the cross. On that journey, he experienced genuine human weakness: fear, doubt, betrayal, denial, and uncertainty. Human weakness, which gives birth to unselfish service, is a hallmark of priestly ministry.
Jesus knew, as Jeremiah in the first reading knew, and as you must know that you must not be afraid because the Father/Lord promises to be with you and to deliver you. Precisely such faith moved the Apostle Paul to cry: it is when I am weakest that I am strong.
Tim, in baptism you were given the name of an early disciple and colleague of Paul. A quick reading of the New Testament might give you too hasty an opinion of your namesake as faithful, strong, forceful. A more careful reading, particularly between the lines of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, shows the Apostle worried whether or not Timothy has what it takes to survive his encounter with the Corinthians. In point of fact, Timothy’s mission to Corinth was no more successful than Paul’s. But Paul and the Church had confidence in this man, despite his apparent human weakness.
Philip, only recently given this name, the little we know of the Apostle after whom you are named, indicates to us a special calling. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, the name Philip occurs only in the list of the Apostles. But in the Fourth Gospel, he is one of the first to be called, brings Nathaniel to Jesus, serves as a distributor of food in the feeding of the five thousand and manages to introduce certain Greeks who wish to meet Jesus. We know from Acts that he was so wildly successful in gaining converts to Christianity, that Peter himself traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch to witness his work. He succeeded because he placed himself at the service of others, like Jesus, coming to serve and not to be served.
A sense of our own personal weakness can make us kinder, more compassionate, more tolerant, better listeners, and more successful doers of the word.
There will be many “Tabor” moments in your priestly life now beginning. Enjoy them. Enjoy this moment to the fullest. But also prepare yourself for the moments which await you in the vast valleys of the priesthood as well when doubts, uncertainty, criticism may also be present. Wrap yourself in the Lord Jesus always, knowing that He walked from Tabor to Golgotha confidents of only a few things: he was following the will of His Father in heaven and the same Father would give him the strength to overcome his and the weaknesses of the others for the sake of the truth.
This Church this morning Tim and Philip promises you manifold opportunities to demonstrate the strength of your faith but I counsel you that it may well happen that your greatest success in ministry may flow from your knowledge and acceptance of your weaknesses. But again, fear not. The Lord will be with you. The Church will love and support you. And the saints to whom we shall soon pray will intervene for you."
Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch
Bishop of St. Petersburg
Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch
Bishop of St. Petersburg