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July - September, 2006

Ordination Address

by Rev. Myron Jones

Because of a family emergency, I was not able to be at the last ordination ceremony at Pathways. I was very sad not to be able to pin my student, Mary Daw. Mary and I have worked so closely during her ministerial studies and have become such good friends. I was really looking forward to being part of her ordination, so I was really glad that she decided to have a ceremony for family and friends back home. Mary asked me to be part of her ceremony and so I spoke to her about being a minister of God, and presented her as Reverend Mary Daw. It was a wonderful moment. I would like to share with you what I said to Mary.

Mary, you are now coming to a new place in your spiritual journey as marked by your ordination. I am so pleased to join you in this celebration of your accomplishments. You have learned so much in the last year, and have grown in a way that is truly inspiring to those of us who have witnessed your transformation. Perhaps it feels like an ending, but let me assure you, it is not an ending, but the beginning of everything.

You have proclaimed yourself to be in service to God. I have said often that all of us are ministers whether we realize it or not. You, however, have consciously and before witnesses, claimed your place among the ministers of God.

Mary, this is not a time for false humility. “Be not afraid nor timid.” Stand tall, stand proud, and speak the truth given you by the Holy Spirit. The world is hungry for God’s word. There is great need to be reminded that we are His children, and that He loves and cherishes us.

Nor is this the time for arrogance. As ministers it is our job to carry God’s messages, but not to decide what the message is. It is arrogance to think we should decide where to go, what to say and to whom. That is why the minister’s best prayer is, “I will step back and let Him lead the way.”

It is arrogance masquerading as humility to think that you cannot do what is given you to do. God created you. He knows you as you are. It is not arrogance, Mary, to accept yourself as you were created. Whatever it is given you to do, you can do it.

In perfect humility, Mary, know with an absolute certainty that as you step back, He will guide you to be where you are most needed. He will tell you where to go, what to say, and to whom. And in complete humility know that God will always provide the strength to do whatever He needs you to do. In deepest humility, Mary, know that God did not choose you wrongly.

And Mary, don’t for a moment think that in doing God’s work He is asking for sacrifice. God is your Father. He loves you and wants only joy for you. He has given you a function, and in fulfilling that function you will achieve happiness. It could be no other way because your function and your happiness are the same.

Mary, I would like to share with you some things I have learned as a minister that may be helpful to you. As a minister of God we need no defense. As with anyone there will be times when you experience yourself as attacked, and your first reaction may be to defend yourself. But what happens when you defend is that you see yourself as weak. The very act of defense is proclaiming that you are vulnerable, weak and in need of defense. And what you teach yourself, you are teaching your brother. Weakness will never be the message God needs you to share.

Your strength lies in your defenselessness. If someone says to me that I should not be a minister because I am a woman, or if someone questions my authority, or my spiritual path because it is different from their’s, I might want to defend my choices. It can be tempting to argue or reason with them, and try to win them over. But the truth is, I am fulfilling my function as given me by God through His Voice, the Holy Spirit. This needs no defense, nor do I need anyone to agree with me because I am certain in it.

And this is the message God would have me share. I am a child of God, created in His image and after His likeness. I am strong in God. I need no defense, and what is true about me, is true about each of us. God does not play favorites. He loves, equally, all that He created. He shares His strength with all His creations. Mary, let your every word and your every action teach the lesson you want to learn. Teach strength, not weakness. Teach defenselessness.

As A Course In Miracles says, “We rise up strong in Christ, and let our weakness disappear, as we remember that His strength abides in us. We will remind ourselves that He remains beside us through the day, and never leaves our weakness unsupported by His strength.”

I have spoken of a minister as a messenger for God. Being a messenger for God is different than being a messenger for someone you know or work for. Mary, if I asked you to deliver a message to someone, you would simply take the message to that person and give it to them. Then chances are, you would forget all about it. Your life doesn’t change because you did me a favor and delivered a message.

In order to deliver a message for God, however, you must first receive that message, and in receiving it, the gift of the message becomes yours. It is only then that you deliver it. And on giving it you know that it is yours. So for instance, if God places someone in your path who is grieving, you will want to bring him the comfort of your Father. To do this you must first accept God’s comfort as your own. Otherwise, your words will just be words, and will lack conviction. You cannot give what is not yours.

As a minister of God, Mary, you are on a sacred path. All roads lead to God in the end, because, after all, where else is there to go? Most of us have spent our lives taking the long road to God, but you have now chosen to take the straight and narrow path. This is not to say that you will never again wander off course. Certainly I have. Nearly everyday I slip off the path, but like you, I have committed myself to making every effort to stay the course, and with the Holy Spirit’s gentle guidance we will be able to correct our errors and get right back on the path.

And finally, Mary, teach only love for that is what you are. You were created by a God of Love and you can be nothing else. To teach anything else is to confuse yourself about your identity. Teach love with each word that leaves your mouth. Teach love with all your actions. Teach love to remember who you are. Teach love that we might all remember who we are, that is children of Love. Let the light of your love go before you lighting the path for us all.

© 2006, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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