The Gift of God Within You

On Saturday, I was ordained to the priesthood in The Episcopal Church. The service went better than I could have even imagined. The sanctuary was adorned beautifully, the sound of music filled the air, the sweet smell of incense wafted through the building, and, most importantly, there was a palpable sense of the Spirit’s presence and working.

In the days leading up to my ordination, I took a prayer retreat. And as I reflected on my call to the priesthood and the vows I was about to undertake, one word I kept coming back to was gift: “For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). The most important thing about the priesthood is not innate talent, rhetorical ability, or charisma—the most important thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Everything “special” that the priest does—blessing, consecrating the Eucharist, absolving—is not the priest’s doing but the work of the Holy Spirit. The prayer of the priest is that it would be the Holy Spirit who works in and through them as they preach, give pastoral care, lead, and pray.

You may have noticed that we wear red at ordinations; this is to signify the presence and working of the Holy Spirit, a recognition that it is ultimately the Spirit who does the ordaining. But we don’t wear red only at ordinations—we also wear it at Pentecost! Why is this? We wear red at Pentecost because the gift of the Holy Spirit is not just for the clergy. The Spirit is God’s gift to every single follower of Christ, and endows each of you with your own gifting and call in the body of Christ.

Today, I hope that you will remember you have been given that very same gift, and that you might consider what the Holy Spirit, who has been given to you, might be doing in your own life. How might you “rekindle the gift of God that is within you”? Where might the Spirit be drawing you to represent Christ to the world and share the Good News?

Whatever that may look like for you, know that it is a privilege and an honor to be one of your priests, and I look forward to all the places to which that Gift will lead us.

Blessings,

Father Jacob+