Ordination of Bishop Paul Etienne

Update from Cheyenne #2

By Sean Gallagher

As I sit in our airliner, flying along at 36,000 feet and going several hundred miles per hour, I’m struck by the fact that we’re using such a modern means of travel to participate in something very ancient.

The rites that we are about to witness can be traced back to the earliest days of the Church.  The most essential that we’ll see is, of course, the laying on of hands by the three consecrating bishops on the head of Bishop-designate Etienne.  This rite is spoken of in the New Testament itself.

The later epistles of St. Paul (those to Timothy and Titus) clearly show that the great apostle had in mind the necessity of passing on leadership in the Church to those that would not only come after him—after all, Timothy and Titus were, spiritually speaking, his children in the faith—but also after those co-workers.

He advised them to find men worthy of such a high calling.  In those letters, you see Paul imagining the future of the Church and, in a way inspired by the Holy Spirit, laying a solid foundation for that future.

Could Paul have imagine what we’re doing today?  Well, in terms of flying across the sky in a jet, I suspect not.  But could he have envisioned the liturgy that is at the heart of this special day?  That I do believe he could have foreseen.  Perhaps not in some of the more fine details of the rite.  But in its essentials, most definitely.

Considering, though, all the twists and turns of history between Paul’s time and ours, it’s amazing that we’re still here.  The Church has seen glorious times in those 2,000 years.  And it’s seen its fair share of dark days and persecution.

God, in his great providence, has certainly cared for his Church over those two millennia.  And we’re about to witness today a very concrete act of how he is providing for it today in the ordaining of a shepherd of the local Church in Wyoming.

Looking at God’s providence on such a macro scale and being thankful for it might be an invitation for us to consider how that same providence has and continues to care for us in our own lives.

Praying about this reality is a good thing, for it keeps us from that pride-tinged view that we take care of ourselves.  Speaking for myself at least, I know that I most certainly need our heavenly Father’s care each day.  It will be a blessing to see it so concretely and lovingly on display this afternoon.