Lent 8: Ordination

So it came to pass on Monday that I found myself back at Gustavus Adolphus College for the ordination of Jason Lukis to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Though the driving there and back was slightly more complicated than usual, the event itself was a wonderful way to spend an evening, worshiping and celebrating and catching up with old friends.

I might not have made the whirlwind trip (I was in MN for less than 20 hours, and even four or five of those were driving) had Jason not asked me to preach at his ordination, an honor I could not possibly have turned down. Ordinations are rare, and each is unique - no one else ever gets to preach at Jason's ordination sometime in the future - and it's always amusingly intimidating to preach in front of a group that includes a number of pastors, a bishop, and plenty of other theologically educated folk.


One of the perks of preaching at such an event is that the majority of the assembly shares a relationship with Jason, in such a way that inside jokes and personal references are possible unlike in many other situations. For instance, I told the story of the time I accidentally beached the Abbey Road, Jason's father's 52-foot sailing ship (I'm rubbish with sailing / boating terminology) on a sand bar in what I thought was the middle of Lake Superior during a windstorm. It was a hilarious event in itself, and a legitimate sermon tale because Jason had chosen Mark 4:35-41 as his ordination Gospel text, and I was making a reasonable point about Jason knowing the power of water. Later in the sermon I briefly referenced Transformers, to general raucous laughter, because nearly everyone assembled there knows that Jason and his two brothers own more Transformers toys than maybe anyone else in the United States. The bishop may have been confused, but he took it in stride.

It was a tremendous additional blessing that the ordination was in Christ Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College, my undergraduate alma mater and the site of my own ordination in December 2009. I realized it was ten years ago this Spring that I graduated from Gustavus and went out into the wide world, and I can assure you that I would not be where I am today if not for my experiences at Gustavus. Christ Chapel was absolutely formative in my spiritual life, singing in choirs whose music and community changed my life more than I can express here. My first fleeting opportunities to lead worship were there, and no place better tells the story of my faith journey.

OK, enough nostalgic rambling. It was great to be back at Gustavus and a blessing to participate in Jason's ordination. He will continue to be a gift to the whole church, as will so many of the community that gathered for this lovely event.