St. Mary s, Pokomoke, MD The Ordination of the Rev. Barbara Bassuener February 5, 2011 The Rev. Grayce M. O Neill Let us pray: Gracious and Holy God, Grant us, we pray, the will to declare ourselves Hearers, Bearers, and Dreamers, of your life-giving word. Amen. An unknown author (oh the wonders of the Internet!), this nameless man, this unknown author, tells the following story: Years ago, when our daughters were very young, we d drop them off at our church s Children s Chapel on Sundays before the service. One Sunday, just as I was about to open the door to the small chapel, the priest came rushing up in full vestments. He said he had an emergency and asked if I d speak to the children at their story time. He said the subject was the Twenty-third Psalm The Lord is My Shepherd. But just as I was about to get up from the back row and talk about the good shepherd, the priest burst into the room and signaled to me that he would be able to do the story time after all. He told the children about sheep, that they weren t smart and needed lots of guidance, and that a shepherd s job was to stay close to the sheep, protect them from wild animals and keep them from wandering off and doing dumb things that would get them hurt or killed. He pointed to the little children in the room and said that they were the sheep and needed lots of guidance. Then the minister put his hands out to the side, palms up in a dramatic gesture, and with raised eyebrows said to the children, If you are the sheep then who is the shepherd? He was pretty obviously indicating himself. A silence of a few seconds followed. Then a young visitor said, Jesus, Jesus is the shepherd. The young priest, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy, Well, then, who am I? The little boy frowned thoughtfully and then said with a shrug, I guess you must be a sheep dog. (buffalos-g-jokes.yahoogroups.com)
Today we are gathered here in this beautiful church to ask God to make Barbara a priest. So, does that mean that she will become a sheep dog today? Ok, Barbara, don t get upset with me, but you know, I just couldn t resist doing a little Google search about sheep dogs and this is what I found: sheep dogs are good natured, sociable and enthusiastic hmmm, sounds like Barbara. Sheep dogs do best in the suburbs or the country Pokemoke maybe? They need at least one hour of daily exercise and space to move I do hope that you are getting that! The sheep dog loves people, can be quite the clown, and is polite with strangers hmmm again. This dog breed combines intelligence, a hard-working ethic, levelheadedness, good instinct, and an overall cuteness to win over human s emotions. They are herders and often remain in a home soaking up hugs and love from a family. This describes Barbara to a tee. To be honest, I had to skip some of the descriptions, surely I d be in trouble if I started to talk about the fact that some sheep dogs drool, that they are clearly not for fastidious households as they track in mud, they splash in the water bowl and they often thrust their wet and dirty beards into their human s lap. OK so perhaps the analogy has gone a little too far. The priest as sheep dog; to be honest this helps me a bit for I was a little perplexed about this Gospel for an ordination and I know that it is one of the recommended Gospels for ordinations. It just seems like it could set the new priest, or the new priest s parish, it could set them up into thinking that the priest is the good shepherd and that, we know, is not the case. Better to stay as a sheep dog. The Good Shepherd, as the little boy said, is most definitely Jesus, and the priest s job is not to be Jesus, but to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A priest is to minister the Word of God and the sacraments of the New Covenant, so that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. It is Jesus who lays down his life for us. It is Jesus who knows us by name, who knows his own and who is known by us. It is Jesus who is the good and beautiful shepherd who guides and protects the sheep.
A shepherd, we know, has the main purpose of keeping his sheep alive and healthy. This might be said in another way, and that is that the shepherd provides for his sheep the fullness of life. That is what Jesus is all about Jesus was, is born among us, Jesus lived, lives among us, Jesus died, dies and is resurrected for one purpose and that is to give us life, to reconcile us to the fullness of life lived dwelling in God and God in us. This fullness of life, of course, then motivates us to live outside of and beyond ourselves. As we live in full relationship with God, through Christ, we live caring for others in the way that the shepherd cares for us, through our outreach, through our intercession, our worship, through our study, our work for justice, through our fellowship and through our ever-deepening relationships with God. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, keeps us ever on this path of deepening relationship with God. And Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls out of us, sends to live among us, Jesus sends us sheep dogs, otherwise known as priests, to help him in this work. Priests are not Jesus, they are not the Good Shepherd, they are sheep dogs faithful, dedicated, ever diligent, keeping their focus on the community, striving for the kingdom, being clowns, showing love, receiving love, sometimes nipping at our heels, other times in the midst of us all with the purpose of working with Jesus to keep us ever in the fullness of life. You at St. Mary s have called among you Barbara to be your sheep dog, your guide, your partner, your fellow traveler on the way, your lover. You have a rich history, beautiful buildings so obviously loved and well maintained. You have already lived through challenging times, you are a people who care well for each other, you are reaching out to your community, especially through your child care center; you are centered on Christ, the Good Shepherd. But be careful for you as a people, in your parish profile, you have stated that you know that change is critical for your survival and change is not always easy. You have called someone who will walk with you into that change, maybe even nipping at your heels at times and let me tell you, when Barbara gets her mind set on something, there is no stopping her. With Barbara and especially with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, you have a wonderful future ahead, a future living in the fullness of God s blessing.
And so today we ordain for you, but more importantly for the entire church, together we ordain a priest, one who joins the multitude of priests throughout all of the ages. Barbara, if you will, please stand. What wonderful timing, to celebrate your ordination on your mother s birthday; your family is smiling upon you today. What a day this is; so long awaited. I know that there were times when you thought this day would never happen, maybe even times when you were not so certain that you wanted it to happen. Yet through those times you remained faithful to this call of Jesus to the fullness of life. There have been challenges and I m sorry to tell you that nothing about what we do today carries with it the promise that there won t be challenges again. Today, though, we celebrate, for today you are set apart and today you will be filled with the gift of God s most Holy Spirit. Today you will be made a priest in Christ s Church. There will be times when you are tempted to do too much, to do it all and I know that because I know you only too well and I know that because I, too, as a priest have faced that temptation. Remember always and you the people of St. Mary s must help Barbara to remember that she is not to do it all; you as a community are here to share that responsibility with her. Barbara, do not ever lose your rich sense of humor, your love of stories. Remember that the greatest gift that you can give this parish is to take good care of yourself, take your weekly Sabbath and if you miss your time away one week, don t just lose it, be sure to build it into future time away. You may be the only priest here in Pokomoke but you are not alone; depend on your clergy colleagues throughout the Diocese, depend on your bishop for guidance and support. Remember always that you are not the good shepherd, you are merely and wonderfully a sheep dog. And finally, let me quote from a powerful little book, The Art of Pastoring, a book filled with rich wisdom about what it means to be a priest, what it means to be the leader of a congregation: The work of the Word is done within your heart, not within your mind. Within your heart lies all love and peace, and it is your heart you must give. Your actions and words are demanded by the parish. Do this and that and we will be satisfied. Say this and that and we will be pleased.
But it is your heart they truly need. For from your heart, and not from your achievements, comes the healing power of God. Many blessings to you today and to this marvelous parish. May you each walk fully in the presence of God and may you have the time of your life as you do so.