30 July 2025

It’s the priesthood of Christ which liberates us from the tyranny of the Bible and the Church or rather the tyranny of those who would replace the authority of Christ with the Bible or the Church! In denominations like our own, the Scriptures are declared to be ‘the supreme rule of faith and life’. So far so good!

However,  we may be oppressed by particular interpretations of the Word unless we remember that the words in the Bible are not sufficient in themselves. They point to that Word made flesh, even Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

This living Word reminds us that the truth cannot be contained fully in any document nor any collection of words. By their very nature, they are a finite resource and God who is infinite transcends all our finite resources.

How can such a thing contain the whole truth of one who is eternal? And so the priesthood of Christ calls us firstly to humility and secondly to a gracious disposition towards fellow Christians who differ from us in their understanding of the Word.

In denominations like the Orthodox or the Roman Catholic Church tradition may override the Word in the creation of doctrine and legislation. From this perspective, we are reminded that the canon of Scripture is a product of the Church.

Here authority resides not so much in those who interpret the Word so much as those who evaluate the tradition. This may be oppressive too failing as it does to recognise that, in the words of the ‘Book of Common Order’, Christ is  ‘that great King and Head of the Church’.

Once again, the priesthood of Christ who alone enables us to come to the Father and who alone shows us what the Father is like, calls us firstly to humility and secondly to a gracious disposition towards our fellow Christians in other traditions.