The Rt. Rev. Frank S. Logue
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Brunswick, Georgia
November 6, 2026
Let the whole world see and know
Jeremiah 1:4-9 and II Corinthians 4:1-6
“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.”
I love this sentence, which is the heart of the collect we use for the ordination of deacons, priests, and bishops. The action described in this prayer is God’s doing, not ours. Things which were cast down or that had grown old are being raised up and made new as a part of Jesus bringing all things to their intended perfection. God the Holy Trinity is prime mover, the first cause that set the vast cosmos into motion in the moment of creation.
This is the truth we find in the opening words of all our sacred scripture, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” God as the one who initiates everything is seen even more clearly in the equally powerful language of the prologue to the Gospel of John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”
Without Jesus, the Word made flesh, the light that shines in the darkness, not one thing came into being. God made everything that is from fertile soil and great seas, to wildebeests and duck-billed playpi. God gave humans everything they needed to thrive. Humanity decided that they did not need God and yet, the Holy Trinity never gives up on humanity. The prophets call the people to faithfulness. God continually holds out the possibility through repentance and forgiveness for a renewed relationship. Then comes the boldest act of all, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity enters creation. This was always the plan. God makes us out of love knowing before the foundation of the world what the cost of that love will be.
John and Ethan, neither of you set in motion the series of events that bring you to these steps in this church. In our reading from Jeremiah, the Lord says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” We know that it is God who calls each of us to various vocations in different seasons of our lives. This includes calling some of us to ordained ministry in Christ’s Body, the church. So, we know, Ethan and John, that God initiated the journey that brought you here.
Each of you knew quite well that wonderful and sacred mystery we call the church. You each, more than many, had seen the cost of responding to the call to be a pastor, priest, and teacher. I know that neither of you will be surprised when I name that this liturgy asks you to die more fully to yourself. This connection between ordination and death is why the collect for ordinations fits well as the concluding prayer in the Solemn Collects in the Good Friday liturgy.
This is the way of the cross. To truly live, you must die. This is, of course, true of every baptized Christian. As Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”
In being ordained a deacon, even one who is in formation for the priesthood, one is dying more fully to self for the sake of the community, those who need the care of the church as, “you are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.”
In being ordained a priest, one is dying more fully to self for the sake of the Church as the rite puts it, “You are to preach, to declare God’s forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God’s blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood, and to perform the other ministrations entrusted to you.”
This is where I am so grateful for the journeys we have been on together as we have corresponded quarterly throughout your time of formation, and we have been able to talk from time to time as you have prepared for this day. I know your heart, Ethan, and I know yours, John. We have all three seen the dangers in this call.
We know that the church is a beguiling tempter, who can make you feel that giving yourself fully to the ministry is faithful, only to find that you are not giving time to take care of yourself, of other relationships, and even of your connection to the God who calls you. One danger is to make it all about you so that the church becomes yet another way to impress others by earning ever greater calls or honors, seeking gain for yourself rather than serving the one who humbled himself, taking the form of a servant and being faithful unto death on a cross. The other danger is to make it all about those in need, so that you continually say yes again and again to taking on more and more as if there was a job opening for a savior.
We know that, rather than being the impressive person with all the gifts and all the answers, or the sacrificial leader who pours out their life for others, the pastor, priest, and teacher is a steward of that which they never own. Or, in language that fits our Gospel reading, the pastor is a humble shepherd, tending a flock that belongs to God. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, not instead of caring for ourselves.
If this seems too small a thing, recall the observable fact that everywhere you go, people all around you are fighting battles you know nothing about. The sources are legion and layered as our world is filled with hurting people who go on to hurt each other. The way to end the cycle is in finding the grace to let the Holy Spirit bring the forgiveness, healing, and wholeness that come from God alone. We serve a risen savior who is up to this task, as Jesus seeks to reconcile all creation.
The immensely good news in knowing the Holy Trinity to be the prime mover, the first cause, is that while we long to see lives transformed by the Good News of Jesus, that change of heart and mind does not depend on us alone or even on us primarily. The metamorphosis we long for people to experience is Holy Spirit work. What you get in walking alongside others is the ineffable joy of seeing how God shows up. And as you do so, those you serve with need to see you acknowledging your God-given limits and that you depend on others even as you depend on God.
To this I add the wise counsel of the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury, the great Anglican Theologian Michael Ramsey who told ordinands, “Use your sense of humour. Laugh about things, laugh at the absurdities of life, laugh about yourself…You have to be serious, but never be solemn, because if you are solemn about anything there is the risk of becoming solemn about yourself.” I usually state it: take your faith seriously, but not yourself. It is not about us anyway as our Epistle reading says, “We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.”
When you can manage all of this reasonably well, do so delighting in the knowledge that God is doing more than you could ever accomplish on your own. And when this call seems much too heavy, and everything you have offered seems to no effect, remember that the church is not yours to save. On those days as on every day: Pray. Read the Bible. Reflect with your spiritual director. Share your sorrows (as well as your joys) with your colleagues. Be gentle on yourself and you will see the ways the Holy Spirit keeps showing up in your life and in the people you serve alongside. In this way, you can nourish yourself even as you “nourish Christ’s people from the riches of his grace.”
Know this: the deepest center of your call is to fall in love with God, the Holy Trinity, who made us and loves us. Love the people God gives you to serve.
That is everything.
Making love the center of your life should be true for every Christian. I invite you to fall in love with Jesus again and again and again. The love of Jesus got us here. The love of Jesus will bring us home.
Laugh at yourself.
Love one another.
Leave the rest to God.
Amen.
