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3
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and
how
I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be
a peculiar treasure
unto me above all people ( ἔσεσθέ μοι λαὸς περιούσιος ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν): for all the earth
is
mine:
6
And ye shall be unto me
a kingdom of priests
( מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים)
( βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα), and
an holy nation
( ἔθνος ἅγιον). These
are
the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD
is
upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to
them that are
bound;
2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all that mourn;
3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified.
‹…›
6
But ye shall be named
the Priests of the LORD:
men
shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
7
For your shame
ye shall have
double;
and
for
confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
8
For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering;
and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up
a spiritual house
( οἶκος πνευματικὸς),
an holy priesthood
( ἱεράτευμα ἅγιον), to offer up
spiritual sacrifices
( πνευματικὰς θυσίας), acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
‹…›
9
But ye
are
a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood
( βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα),
an holy nation
( ἔθνος ἅγιον),
a peculiar people
( λαὸς εἰς περιποίησιν);
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
10
Which in time past
were
not a people, but
are
now
the people of God
( λαὸς θεοῦ): which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
4
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace
be
unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5
And from Jesus Christ,
who is
the faithful witness,
and
the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth ( ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς). Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6
And hath made us
kings and priests
( βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς)
unto God and his Father;
to him
be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7
Behold, he cometh with clouds;
and every eye shall see him, and they
also
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
9
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10
And hast made us unto our God
kings and priests
( βασιλείαν καὶ ἱερεῖς): and we shall
reign on the earth
( βασιλεύσουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς).
9
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar
the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11
And white robes were given unto every one of them;
and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season,
until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they
were, should be fulfilled.
1
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and
I saw
the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received
his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;
and
they lived and reigned with Christ
( ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ)
a thousand years.
5
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This
is
the first resurrection.
6
Blessed and holy
is
he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests
of God and of Christ ( ἔσονται ἱερεῖς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ), and
shall reign
with him ( βασιλεύσουσιν μετ’ αὐτοῦ)
a thousand years.
…this is how we must perceive the Church: we see
what we are called to be by looking at Christ.
… Again, the Apostle Paul writes that sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks clearly in us,
calling God our Father.
This means that at such a moment
we should be the children of God, just as Jesus Christ is the Son of God;
that is, through rooting in Christ, communion with Him, union with Him,
we must no longer become adopted children of God,
but, as Saint Irenaeus of Lyons very boldly says,
in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, become the only begotten son of God and collectively, all together, and each from us.
… As a result of this, it seems to me, there has been a stratification between the laity, who do not feel responsible for the Church and who seem to even be told: “Just do what you are told, and everything will be fine,” and the clergy, who as a result — I’ll tell you straight — it imagines that it has the right to “lead the flock of Christ.” But the laity
are not a flock, they are the living body of Christ,
and the clergy are not leaders or bosses, but servants. … That is, a priest or bishop is appointed to lead the people into this mystery of the sanctification of the world, but everyone in his place must be
ready to give his life.
And when I say “give your life,” I’m not talking romantically about dying in torture, etc., but
giving every day, every hour of your life so that everything around you will be sanctified.
… And the laity, whom the Apostle Peter defines as
the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the temple of the Holy Spirit,
turn out to be simply a subordinate “flock” to which it is said: “Do this, do that, learn this, believe this or that.”
Now: why a royal priesthood?
It seems to me that the answer can be found in St. Basil the Great, who says: anyone can govern and rule,
only a king can die for his people.
… And “at the cost of your life” does not mean dying: you can die every single day, giving your life to other people. Dying on the chopping block is one moment,
dying day after day is another matter.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh correctly says that “we must no longer become adopted children of God,” but “we should be the children of God, just as Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” The modern hierarchical structure of the Church does not help this. To us, the laity, “whom the Apostle Peter defines as
the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the temple of the Holy Spirit,” all that remains is to pray to God and wait patiently until He transforms the Church from one built on
order
(almost the same
commandments)
to one built on
mercy
(“I desired mercy, and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings,”
Hos 6:6).
There is no need to be afraid of anything,
everything is in the hands of the Lord God: “And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends;
and
some
of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all
men
for my name's sake. But
there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls”
(Luk 21:16-19).
Published:
December 28, 2023
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