Renewal

In many dioceses this Maundy Thursday, men and women gather together, with their bishops, to renew the vows they made at their ordination. It was on Thursday of Holy Week that our Lord and Savior broke bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). One of the few things that only a Priest can do in the Episcopal Church is to preside at the holy table during the Eucharist. So, it seems appropriate for priests to renew their vows on this particular Thursday.

What vows did I make on December 16, 2007, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Burke, Virginia? “To proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ…to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor…to preach, to declare God’s forgiveness…to pronounce God’s blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood.”

Having committed myself to these and other awesome responsibilities, Bishop David Jones then said, “May the Lord who has given you the will to do these things give you the grace and power to perform them.”

Save for one week, I have been with you all for three months now. You all have begun to see how I try, and hopefully, succeed in the fulfillment of these vows more often than not. Bishop Jones’s words are a reminder that I will not always succeed, and never by my own efforts alone. It’s a strange profession to enter, in which you start with the assumption that your best will not be enough to guarantee success. In our achievement-driven culture, in a superpower country used to “winning,” it might even seem as foolish as the Cross (1 Cor 1:18).

The truth is that we who dare to stand before that hanging cross in the church know that it is the “self-sufficient” who are the fools. We know our need, of God, and our brothers and sisters in Christ. To make my best effort on behalf of you all; to accept the responsibility when I don’t succeed; and to praise God when I succeed, is my calling. And I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to fulfill God’s call.