Book Review: "Jesus the Priest"

When I see a book with back cover endorsements from N.T. Wright and Brant Pitre, I experience an almost reflexive need to acquire it. Jesus the Priest (Baker Academic, 2018) is the second of a proposed trilogy from Dr. Nicholas Perrin of Wheaton College. I must admit that I had yet to run across his first volume, Jesus the Temple, but would like to read it and his future Jesus the Sacrifice. Dr. Perrin has an incredible grasp of the primary and secondary literature and is a skilled writer. That said, I did not feel that he achieved his goal in this volume - showing, via the words and actions recorded in the gospels, that the historical Jesus primarily thought of Himself as the eschatological high priest. Dr. Perrin offers a great deal of speculation on the background behind specific words and actions of Jesus, but in my mind his arguments never rose above the level of speculation.

As a Christian, I obviously agree with Dr. Perrin that Jesus understood Himself to be the high priest of the new and eternal covenant. Unlike the good doctor, however, I find very little in the gospels - apart Jesus' statements that He would give his life in sacrifice - from which to illustrate my claim. (It is the Church's great Tradition, with pride of place given to the Epistle to the Hebrews, that communicates this truth to us.) Dr. Perrin has a very Catholic vision, proposing that Jesus meant to share His priesthood with His disciples and that the disciples suffering, united to Christ's, is given a redemptive value. He was speaking my language. I simply wasn't convinced by the evidence he offered that:

• the traditional reading of the Our Father "has a debilitating weakness," and that "with each petition Jesus is [actually] alluding to a different aspect of a single eschatological reality, all centered around a newly consecrated priesthood and sacred space" (p.52).
• Jesus' baptism was not so much his anointing as Messiah as it was a priestly anointing.
• The beatitudes were offered by Jesus as a priestly blessing
• The disciples eating of the grain on the Sabbath was Jesus recreating the priests' eating of the shewbread.
• The Danielic Son of Man as a priestly figure

Even though I was not persuaded on these large points, I still found the book to be filled with exegetical gems:

• Parallels between the Aqedah and Christ's transfiguration
• Parallels between the Exodus and Gethsemane
• "Perhaps it is our unconscious prioritization of certain formulations of atonement theology over and against the biblical data that has caused us to understate the communal nature of Jesus' suffering" (p.237).
• The historicity of Mark's account of Jesus' trial before Caiaphas.

Such gems have me looking forward to reading Dr. Perrin's other works.

"Under the Mantle" by Fr. Donald Calloway

I spent this afternoon reading Fr. Calloway's latest, Under the Mantle: Marian Thoughts from a 21st Century Priest, and I just have to say, "Wow!"  This book is tremendous - insightful, straightforward, down-to-earth, humorous, and Marian.  Once I started looking at it, I had to purchase it; I am going to read these chapters aloud to my son in middle school.  Here is a priest who speaks and models authentic masculinity - strength expending itself in sacrificial service to Christ and His Church.  In this book he writes about foundational issues such as the Papacy, Eucharist, Confession, Prayer, and the dignity inherent in both Masculinity and Femininity; but he presents these timeless Truths through analogies that any 21st century Americans can understand. Let me give you an example of what I mean, because it's pretty unforgettable:   

Confession is like a spiritual diaper change. Fr. Calloway points out what an incredible wise Heavenly Father we have.  When God made us members of His Family, He knew that, on our way to maturity, we are going to make a mess of things.  Like human parents He knows there "is no 'once cleaned, always cleaned' situation when it comes to taking care of a child.  No parent would ever say to a child, 'What's this?  I cleaned you yesterday! No more cleaning for you!"  And that is why God gave us the gift of Confession; and our Father administers this cleansing through the hands of our Mother, the Church.  Observe how Fr. Calloway brings it home, "In light of this we should never be afraid to approach our Father and our mother, the Church.  It shows we have humility when we, like a little child, come to Confession and echo in childlike terms: 'Uh oh, I did it again!  I'm messy again.'  Then Dad and Mom clean us up every single time."  See what I was saying?  You are never going to forget that analogy, and there isn't a person alive who cannot understand it (so by all means, share).

What I appreciate most about this book though, is the way Fr. Calloway has integrated the Blessed Mother into every facet. He teaches in a practical, common sense way the truth glimpsed by all of the great saints - that Mary is Jesus' most perfect disciple and the personification of the entire Church.  And as such, God intends for her to play an integral role in the life of every Christian. We are meant to pray, live, celebrate, obey, suffer, and come to eternal life - just as she was!  Every Christian is called to be a "Marian" Christian - by the grace of God to say, "Let it be done unto me according to Thy word" (Lk.1:38) in every circumstance.

I am failing to do this book justice; seriously, you need to check it out for yourself ... and then share it with someone you love.

Help a Good Priest and a Worthy Cause

So here is a first for my blog - fundraising!  When a friend brought this to my attention however, I knew I needed to do my part to get the word out.  Here is the link to Fr. Kenneth Bolin's fundraising page, where you can pledge money and support him in his running of the 38th Annual Marine Corp Marathon in support of the Archdiocese for the Military Services.  I have never met Fr. Bolin personally, but a man who gives his life to not only the priesthood but the Marines is certainly deserving of our help.  Oh, and NOT ONLY is he a priest and a Marine, he's a HUSBAND and FATHER (a convert from Anglicanism in 2009)!  I know that it if it is within your means, you will do what you can; so my thanks in advance.

On my way to Confession ...

... and I have been thinking about its healing properties.  Earlier this morning I read a powerful quotations from Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation on Reconciliation and Penance:

“But as it reflects on the function of this sacrament, the church’s consciousness discerns in it, over and above the character of judgment in the sense just mentioned, a healing of a medicinal character. And this is linked to the fact that the Gospel frequently presents Christ as healer, while his redemptive work is often called, from Christian antiquity, medicina salutis. “I wish to heal, not accuse,” St. Augustine said, referring to the exercise of the pastoral activity regarding penance”

It brought a few analogies to mind regarding the discomfort I feel before confessing my sins before one of Jesus' priests and the incomparable benefits it brings to my soul:

• I don't like it when my doctor says, "I'm going to need you to disrobe;" but it's a necessity for the doc to examine and treat some conditions.
• Sometimes we're embarrassed to talk to the doctor about a health problem, but until we are able to acknowledge it, the doctor cannot prescribe the cure.
• After we've received treatment, to prevent the problem from returning, we may need to change certain behaviors - less foods high in fat, less caffeine, more exercise, more fibre in our diet, etc. (That's penance - repair the damage we have done to ourselves and Christ's Body and move forward in such a way that we do not fall into that sin again.)

Confession isn't easy; but nothing about Redemption is.  Whenever I read the Bible I am forced to acknowledge that God the Father is not in the business of raising wimps.  We all recognize that He never gives up on us, never abandons us, no matter how many times we fail; but we often fail to acknowledge that there is a second manner in which He never gives up on us - He never stops challenging us.  

The Father never says, "Oh, Shane is never going to look like Jesus.  I'm going to stop challenging Him to and just let him stay the way he is for eternity."  No, God loves us right now, just as we are; but He loves us too much to let us stay the way we are!  He wants children who have grown strong under His loving discipline, grown strong by repeatedly opening themselves to His grace.  As Paul wrote, "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Phil.2:12-13).  We might well experience "fear and trembling" before making our Confession, but oh how it allows God to work in us!

And you and I know - Jesus would not have established the Sacrament if it was necessary for us.  He knew what He was doing when He appeared to the Apostles on that first Easter, and said,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23).  And, through the Holy Spirit, the Apostles knew what they were doing when they ordained presbyters (the technical term for those we commonly refer to as priests) to share in their ministry of forgiving or retaining sins.  Note how it is was simply mentioned in passing in connection with the Anointing of the Sick:

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed (James 5:14-16).

Confession.  Has it been awhile since you've seen the doctor?  I want to be healthy; I'm on my way.  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Hope to see you there!

"Me, a Priest?"

Photo by Patnac

Yes, me - and you too!  Today is the last day of the Church's year, the Feast of Christ the King, and one of the messages in today's readings is how we share not only Jesus' kingship, but His priesthood!

"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. " (Rev.1:6)

Every baptized man and woman share in the priesthood of Christ, offering all of our words and actions in this world to the Father.  St. Paul wrote of this to the Christians in Rome:

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom.12:1)

The ordained priesthood  supports us in this by making Christ's priesthood sacramentally present - feeding us His Flesh and Blood in the Eucharist, absolving our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, communicating the grace of Confirmation and a deeper participation in the Gifts of the Spirit, anointing us to impart strength and healing in the Anointing of the Sick.  Or as St. Paul wrote:

[Jesus] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.  

You my friend share the priesthood of Jesus Christ.  So suit up and start offering your day to the Lord!