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Charged

The Roman Catholic Ordination rite includes this phrase: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”

 Since I have a low view of ordination- as in, it is for order for the sake of the church- I think this phrase might do well to be incorporated in baptism (a sacrament) or confirmation (not a sacrament). There should be a stage when we explain what it means to embrace God's mission, as we are able to perceive it through Jesus, and the church's call to participate in that missional work. 

 With the Word in hand, we read (in community, in context, in communion). We trust what we read. We live our questions. We share the insights we have received in the written word and through prayer and meditation. We practice what we have shared- together and as individuals in the world. 

 Receive. Trust. Share. Practice. 

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. 

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