Are there any other priests among us?

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

Father John, a priest in London, felt called to work with that city's poor; yet he was never assigned to a poor parish. At length, he decided to retreat from his priestly duties and take work among the poor as a street sweeper. The other street sweepers he worked with every day never knew he was a priest.

One of the most popular street sweepers suddenly became ill and died. "If only we had known he was sick," the other street sweepers lamented, "we might have been able to do something for him. But now we can do nothing."

John suggested, "Why don't we give him a good funeral..." The street sweepers replied that they did not know how to give a funeral. It was then that John revealed to them he was a Catholic priest. The planning for the funeral began. Saturday, hundreds of street sweepers filled a Catholic church. Father John came out in all of his robes and led a beautiful funeral.

During the quietness that followed the reverent benediction, one confused and curious street sweeper, who was seated toward the front of the congregation, stood up, turned around and addressed his fellow street sweepers with the question: "Are there any other priests among us?"

To begin with, John’s heart demanded of him to be someone within God’s world—not an isolated worshiper, but a worker, a servant among others. We do not readily take upon ourselves the role of servant. It has demeaning connotations and suggests doing something for very little, if any, reward or payment. Nonetheless, it was Jesus, the High Priest himself, who said, “The son of man came not to be served but to serve.”

In ancient times a servant could also be the representative of his master, as in Jesus’ story about the master who left his servant a large sum of money, and asked him to trade with it. To be a priest, to represent Christ, is to be a blessing to others, a help to the less fortunate, an encourager to the weary, mercy to the fallen, love to the forgotten. Are there any other priests among us? Also, John was more than content to be a priest in anonymity. It has been common throughout history to bestow a certain respect and dignity to priests. John was satisfied in his life without seeking such special recognition. It was good enough for him just to be John the street sweeper.

Remember it was once asked of Jesus the High Priest, “Is not this the carpenter?” How much good goes unrealized, how much love is unshared, how much good is not done because so many would rather have recognition for themselves than recognize the needs of all the world that could be met if no one cared who got the credit. Are there any other priests among us?

There that day were stone masons, carpenters, bread bakers, farmers, vineyard growers, cloth makers, fishermen, doctors, shepherds, homemakers, ranchers, teachers, soldiers and others from all walks of life. And as the speaker read a letter from Peter, they heard these words: “You are a royal priesthood!” Our world, our cities and towns, the groups in which we all live and move are in such need of those who, in anonymous servant-hood and without thought of reward, will bring God’s blessings to bear upon God’s world. Are there any other priests among us?