“All religion is of life; and the life of religion is to do good.” - Doctrine of Life §1
Kempton New Church

Week 6
Day 6

    Listen:

Ordination

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.... These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:9-11)

Inauguration and Ordination

[inaugurate: to induct into office with formal ceremonies]

[ordain: to invest with ministerial functions; to bring into the order of the priesthood]

And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, and they shall shepherd you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15)

With respect to priests, they ought to teach men the way to heaven, and also to lead them. They ought to teach them according to the doctrine of their church from the Word, and to lead them to live according to it. Priests who teach truths and thereby lead to the good of life and so to the Lord are good shepherds of the sheep. But those who teach and do not lead to the good of life and so to the Lord are evil shepherds. (NJHD 315)

The affection of interior truth teaches what is in the Word. This is evident from the signification of a “shepherd,” or one who feeds the flock, as being one who leads and teaches. It is the affection of interior truth that teaches, for from this affection the church is a church, and a pastor is a pastor. (AC 3795)

The law of truth was in his mouth, and perversity was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and in uprightness, and turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of the priest should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of Armies. (Malachi 2:6-7)

Whoever wills to become great among you, let him be your minister; and whoever wills to be first among you, let him be your servant—just as the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His soul a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28)

Priests must not claim for themselves any power over the souls of men, because they do not know in what state the interiors of a man are. Still less should they claim the power of opening and shutting heaven, since that power belongs to the Lord alone. (NJHD 316)

Among the ancients, the communication and transfer... and also its reception by another— whether it was of power, or obedience, or blessing, or testification—was signified by the laying on of the hand. (AC 10023)

So it is that Jesus touched infants (Matt. 19:13, 15; Mark 10:13, 16); and that He healed the sick by the touch; and that they were healed who touched Him. That, too, is why to this day inaugurations into the priesthood are performed by the laying on of hands. (CL 396:3)

Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And saying this, He breathed into them, and He says to them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. (John 20:21-22)

The Divine Energy and Operation, which are meant by the “sending of the Holy Spirit” are, with the clergy especially, enlightenment and instruction. [These] are communicated especially to the clergy because they belong to their office, and inauguration into the ministry brings them with it. (TCR 146)

Every man who, from being natural becomes spiritual, passes through two states.... In the first state, which is called the state of reformation, the man is at full liberty to act according to the rationality of his understanding; and in the second, which is the state of regeneration, he is also in the same liberty, but now wills and acts, thinks and speaks from a new love and a new intelligence from the Lord....

The first state is represented by that of... every student who is preparing for the ministry before he becomes a priest, and afterwards before he becomes a pastor, and then before he becomes a primate. (TCR 105, 106)

Comments and Questions
  1. What is the priesthood/ministry for? What are the most important uses you look for from ministers?
  2. What are some ways priests in the General Church might claim for themselves power over the souls of men? What are some ways priests might fail to lead to the good of life and so to the Lord?
  3. Inaugurations and ordinations are performed by the laying on of hands. We also do this in the blessings at baptisms, weddings and other special services. We can see every day how powerful touch can be. CL 396 finishes by saying, “From this it is clear that the innocence of parents and the innocence of infants meet each other through the touch, especially of the hands, and so conjoin themselves as if by kisses.”
  4. The clergy is meant to help people receive the Holy Spirit by teaching the Lord’s Word and administering the Divine law and worship. Each person then receives the Holy Spirit according to the way he or she receives the truth in heart and life, and practices repentance, as in preparation for holy supper. So the Holy Spirit does not come through the clergy, but directly from the Lord. Yet the Lord lets us help each other receive Him.
  5. Three degrees or levels of the priesthood are suggested in TCR 106: priest, pastor, primate. What are some other examples of moving from a lower, preparatory state into a higher state of fulfillment?
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