http://reconnexion.wordpress.com thoughts on missional life in the Wesleyan way Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:06:20 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://reconnexion.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/ordained-confusion/#comment-10 Francis Lee Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:06:20 +0000 http://reconnexion.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/ordained-confusion/#comment-10 As a lay believer, I profess no personal desire for the right to administer the communion sacrament. However, through my reading (scriptural and theological), I cannot find a logical basis to limit this right to ordained clergies. I learnt that the mystery of communion can be fulfilled only through the participation of two parties: Christ who freely gives his body and blood to those who accept Him, and the receiver with the right spirit and hunger for God’s love. I believe that no other human, ordained or otherwise, can truly turn bread and wine into sacrament without the presence of Christ. But since we non-Catholics do not follow the doctrine from the Council of Trent, we do not accept the idea of extra-scriptural knowledge, possessed by the Church and its leaders alone, is required for salvation. It thus follows logically that the ordained clergy do not have unique power required to consecrate the communion. Each of us has a personal relationship with Christ. We know that He will listen to the prayers of the laymen as well as the ordained, so He will be present in the Eucharist as long as our prayer is sincere. The bottom line is, I may prefer that the communion is administered by an Elder if one is present, but I have no reservation to receive the sacrament that is consecrated by a deacon or unordained pastor. As a lay believer, I profess no personal desire for the right to administer the communion sacrament. However, through my reading (scriptural and theological), I cannot find a logical basis to limit this right to ordained clergies. I learnt that the mystery of communion can be fulfilled only through the participation of two parties: Christ who freely gives his body and blood to those who accept Him, and the receiver with the right spirit and hunger for God’s love. I believe that no other human, ordained or otherwise, can truly turn bread and wine into sacrament without the presence of Christ. But since we non-Catholics do not follow the doctrine from the Council of Trent, we do not accept the idea of extra-scriptural knowledge, possessed by the Church and its leaders alone, is required for salvation. It thus follows logically that the ordained clergy do not have unique power required to consecrate the communion. Each of us has a personal relationship with Christ. We know that He will listen to the prayers of the laymen as well as the ordained, so He will be present in the Eucharist as long as our prayer is sincere. The bottom line is, I may prefer that the communion is administered by an Elder if one is present, but I have no reservation to receive the sacrament that is consecrated by a deacon or unordained pastor.

]]> http://reconnexion.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/ordained-confusion/#comment-6 Stephen Wilson Sat, 08 Sep 2007 03:35:25 +0000 http://reconnexion.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/ordained-confusion/#comment-6 If each of us is a part of a 'royal priesthood' as the Apostle Paul proclaimed it is impossible to justify the segregation of sacraments to a select few. The Holy Spirit leads a Christian believer to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ but the church prohibits the administration of the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion to those brought into the family of God by the very believer through whom the Holy Spirit has acted. An elder of the church is fully dedicated to this task but the elder is not the only one called to it. The church should quit handcuffing the Spirit to serve the worldly interest of a few at the expense of the many. If each of us is a part of a ‘royal priesthood’ as the Apostle Paul proclaimed it is impossible to justify the segregation of sacraments to a select few. The Holy Spirit leads a Christian believer to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ but the church prohibits the administration of the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion to those brought into the family of God by the very believer through whom the Holy Spirit has acted. An elder of the church is fully dedicated to this task but the elder is not the only one called to it. The church should quit handcuffing the Spirit to serve the worldly interest of a few at the expense of the many.

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