 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Wednesday, June 29, 2022 Jos’ Consecration, part #2  The Litany and the ReadingsEven after the whole congregation agreed that they wanted Jos to be consecrated bishop of Idaho, it didn’t happen. Not yet. West Missouri’s, the Rev David Lynch, chanted the litany for ordination; it is long. And he did it beautifully. I hope you will listen to it – or read it in the prayer book. This prayer concludes that litany: “O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were being cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord…” And then – the readings and the sermon I shared all the readings last week – so I won’t repeat them now. But here are the texts if you didn’t see and and would like to look them up: Isaiah 61:1-8, Psalm 40:1-14, 2 Corinthians 3:4-9, and the Gospel of John 20:19-23. The sermon – Well, I preached it. It’s apparently 18 minutes long. I haven’t watched it yet. Some people, including our bishop, have asked for an electronic copy. So I will type one up. I had one, But I continued to tweak it after I got to Idaho, change a word here and there, up until a couple of hours before the service. If you want to hear it – it’s at this point in the service. By tomorrow it will be on the facebook page and on or website. But mostly I just urged the people of Idaho to make the same commitment to Jos as he was making to them; to help him be a good bishop by taking seriously the same biblical vision that animated and motivates him.A better preacher could have done it in 10 minutes, probably.It was completely joyful, though to actually speak to them about him, and to him about what I believed he needed to remember as he enters this new responsibility.  The Examination At this point the Presiding Bishop asked Jos if he was persuaded “that God has called you to the office of bishop.” After answering in the affirmative, all the co-consecrating bishops asked him a series of questions. They are searching – and nobody rushed them, either. He was standing there all alone – and I felt a great tenderness for him, but also for Kimby, who although she didn’t get to answer, will still have to live with his vocation, his responses, and will serve him and that diocese alongside Jos.You can find the questions and answers in the prayer book on page 518. But although they are a vocational intensification of our common baptismal vows, he doesn’t answer, “I will, with God’s help.” He simply answers, “I will” – with an addition such as, “I will, for the love of God.”When we answer at baptism for children, we pray that they will come to make those commitments for themselves at Confirmation as young adults – but we cannot assume that will happen. Even adults can hear those as ambiguous, although they re not intended to be –“I will, IF God helps me…” But for Jos there was no possibility of being cagey or ambiguous. Before the actual prayer of consecration, the two cantors sang the Veni Creator, Come Holy Spirit, beautifully. Only then did the bishops all gather around Jos, kneeling, before the Presiding Bishop, and together, laying hands on him, prayed. (The prayer of Consecration is in the Prayer Book on page 520-21.) You know that to consecrate anything is to make that thing holy – to set it aside for God’s own use. Consider what it means to consecrate a person in this way. Or what it means to be so consecrated. And finally he stood up – a bishop. Quickly, he was vested in the signs of his office – the stole, the cope, his Episcopal cross, mitre and bishop’s ring; and finally the retiring bishop handed him the shepherd’s staff of office, the crozier – I will say more about those items tomorrow.  |
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