And they made bells of pure gold and attached them all around the hem between the pomegranates (Exodus 39:25).

I did not memorize Exodus 39:25 in Sunday School. My grandmother did not cross stitch it and hang it on the wall. I cannot imagine it appearing on a coffee mug, t-shirt, bumper sticker, or Testamint candy. It is an obscure verse, yet I have come to think about it nearly every day.

The priestly bells rang to remind, mostly unremembered servants of God, that their work before God was from and for the people of God. The people crafted the bells and made the robes for the priests. The priests jingled in God’s presence. They rang a song of not just their own. The bells rang in the Tabernacle and Temple. The bells rang after the horror of the exile. The bells may toll for us.

A Priestly Moment

A friend recently asked me what being a pastor is like during the Covid -19 crisis. I thought for a moment and said, “I feel very priestly.” It surprised me a little. I am a deep water Baptist accustomed to parroting lines from Carlyle Marney about how we are, “priests at each other’s elbows.” I believe in a priesthood of all believers and that casseroles really mean, “I love you.”

The functional requirements of ministry during the pandemic seem to demand an older view of priestly pastoring. When I lead the church now I do so with “spiritual” bells on my hem. I can hear them in my heart. They remind me that ministry before the Lord is from and for God’s people even if they aren’t currently at my elbows.

The Books of Exodus and Ezra have become important texts. They are both “post-event” narratives. The Exodus and Exile were major crisis moments that both revealed and shaped life for the people of God. “Post-event” circumstances strip away illusions of control. Cormac McCarthy’s memorable line about the “post-event” world in The Road speaks to this, “The frailty of everything revealed at last.”

The frailty of a post-pandemic world provides a fresh backdrop for ministry. For over 100 days pastoral leadership has been lived out in various states of quarantine. In person worship is resuming in many places with very modest participation. All pastors are priests now and we feel it. Like our Old Testament exemplars we are doing the work from and for the people. Ministry will remain this way through a series of next "normals" as we live out what appears to be a prolonged balancing act.

The Book of Ezra can be a help to us. The episodic narratives give us scenes we can identify with as priestly pastors. The book offers at least seven marks of priestly pastoral leadership that need our reflection.

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Promptings (Ezra 1:5-6)

The family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites - everyone whose heart God had moved prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. All their neighbors assisted them ...

Priestly ministry following the Exile began with God moving hearts to return and rebuild the House of God. The world is frail, but it is not godforsaken. Priestly pastoring is animated by the Holy Spirit’s summon to life and ministry. Vocation rests on this divine action.

In difficult seasons it is important to remember God’s gracious call. Like Graham Green’s priest in The Power and the Glory, the call of God is, “like a birthmark.” We did not ask for it and we cannot wash it off.

In a post pandemic world it is also wise to remember that faithful Christians will re-enter corporate worship and public ministries at different paces. These believers are vital to the ongoing strength of the church and can enable ministry through neighborly generosity.

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Pluriformity (Ezra 2:69)

According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments.

1 Peter 2:10 asserts that the church is a, “royal priesthood.” In verse 4:10 of the same epistle Peter calls the priestly church to faithfully steward God’s grace in its various forms. We need to remember this when we preach to a camera or a “studio audience” congregation.

When social distancing is a community policy, and wise plan for life, it is natural to feel alone. Do not trust that feeling. The people of God are always present. They are present in spirit and purpose.

Pastors, we are wearing golden bells and priestly vestments made by God’s people. It is their work we are doing. It is by them and for them unto God's glory. Think of the men and women that have emerged in the last three months that have made innovative ministry possible by offering generous gifts and sometimes hidden talents. Marvelous is the manifold grace of God.

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Praise (Ezra 3:10)

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.”

We must put on our Sunday clothes and remind God’s people that God is good, that his love endures forever. Praise is prescribed in Scripture and is an act of trusting faith. Christians celebrate Easter in cells and catacombs because grace puts hope in our bones. The singing of the church has largely been silenced. Prudence requires this. Priestly pastors and modern day Levites step into this and lift a word of praise on behalf of the covenant community.

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Pain (Ezra 3:12-13)

But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard by many.

I find this to be one of the most powerful scenes in Scripture. It is a testament to the faithful noise that is made when praise and pain are commingled. This image is a fitting metaphor for our current crisis ministry.

Denying the pain denies our basic humanity and undermines the resilience inherent in orthodox Christian living. Honest to God, let’s be honest with God. Gardner C. Taylor famously said, “There are days when we can bring before God ... laughter of joy and gratitude. There will be other days when we can only muster a bitter, angry complaint. Be confident that God will accept whatever we lift up before him, and will make it serve his purpose and our good.”

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Proclamation (Ezra 7:9b-11)

For Ezra devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

Ezra arrives in Jerusalem in Chapter 7. Ezra is a prototypical priestly pastor. Verse 7:10 is something of a job description. Study. Observe. Teach.

The description of the good parson in Canterbury Tales fits Ezra and every other faithful priestly pastor, “He was a model his flock could understand, for first he did and afterward he taught.”

The church and greater community need embodied Christian truth. Priestly pastors proclaim, in deed and word, winsome Christian hope.

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Pastoral Leadership (Ezra 8:15)

I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days.

Ezra’s little phrase, “I assembled them” says a great deal. Priestly pastors are stewards of convening power. There is no faithful way around, under, or over this. We are in a season of discontinuous change. Priestly pastors call the meeting. We must help define reality and shepherd the movement from the next normal to the next normal.

Priestly Pastoral Ministry is Marked by Prayer (Ezra 10:1)

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites - men, women and children - gathered around him.

Prayer is the core mark of priestly pastoral ministry. In response to sin, brokenness, discouragement, and frustration Ezra led the people to pray. This communal life of prayer generated a clear eyed sober confession, “... there is still hope for Israel” (10:2). Indeed there is.

Pastors, we need to keep showing up with bells on. Our ministry before God is essential. It was generated by his call. It is also derived from his people and is for their good. We are their priests as they are ours.

Matt Snowden is the pastor of First Baptist Church Waco, Texas.