Being a Priest Today provides a really good overview of what it means to be a priest. I particularly appreciated the way it began with God’s calling to the whole church to witness in a priestly way, and then spoke about the role of the priest (presbyter) within this calling.

The emphasis is placed on the subject of calling to leadership from a place of servanthood, rather than from a place of power. This emphasis, being for the other, and being for God, is very powerful. The authors write: 'Our calling into Christ is simultaneously a calling into Christ’s messianic ministry, his service' (p.5). This reminded me to reflect on how Christ’s life was lived entirely for the life of others. The following quotation from page 12 also resonated loudly: 'the towel a symbol of authority... tears, the mantle of suffering.'

A further section that rang a chord were the paragraphs that spoke of being an 'example to the church' of prayer and of holiness. Furthermore, being examples of worship, ministers of the Word, agents of reconciliation, and people of blessing. I loved the quotation that said 'Polishing and perfecting the saints, ourselves included, is a lifelong vocation to holiness' (p.153).