The first few verses of the new portion Tetzaveh use the same word tamid (always, constant) in two different contexts - the burning of the clear, crushed olive oil donated (or "taken") from the Children of Israel and the "carrying of the judgment of the Children of Israel" on the Kohen HaGadol's breastplate - the chosen ha-misphat. Surely there must be a relation in the repeated use of this word describing both the burning and the breastplate.
What is symbolic of the crushed, clear oil? That even though each of us does not directly participate in the service of the mishkan or, later, Beit HaMikdash, our spiritual energy does - and only the best of it - the clearest, purest, and most sanctified and special essence of our livelihood - the oil - which we contribute to a real manifestation of burning before H'. This is, perhaps, the realest way in which our souls participate in direct, actual, manifested service to H'.
The other constant service is loftier - a judgment - which implies that it can be for good or for bad. Why then is the wearing of the Breastplate of Judgment constant? Perhaps it is because the worst thing that can happen is that G-d "forgets" about us entirely. This thought brings up the extremely enigmatic verse at the very beginning of the Book of Shemot, when H', seemingly all of a sudden, hears our cries and "remembers" us. Surely, H' never forgets about any of His creatures, large or small - but perhaps in some metaphysical way there is a spiritual "forgetting" that can occur. Judgment, whether it appears to us as good or bad, is always ultimately for the good because when we realize that it is happening, it can bring is nearer to H'. But perhaps what this verse about the constant wearing of the breastplate is telling us is that without it, there may be times in which H' spiritually forgets about us, too. In some very dark way, is it possible that without the wearing of this breastplate now, we are in an extended period of "forgetting"? If so, and for so many other reasons, may the Third Temple be built speedily in our days, so that we again may be remembered.
Regardless of the current state of affairs, the link between the constant burning oil and the constant wearing of the breastplate means that both elements - the spiritual contributions of the lay masses (oil) and the holy, choreographed work of the priestly class (and by priestly I refer generally to both the Levi'im and the kohanim) (the breastplate). Each must be constant and the same word for each - tamid - is used. In our tribe, the masses are neither elevated (majority rules - we only need look at the caution against following the masses in the prior portion, Terumah, to make this point clear) or degraded (us lay folks nothing compared to our spiritual leaders). The same is true, however, for the priestly class as well, which is neither elevated (the priestly class essentially serves because of the good will and faith of the masses and their material and spiritual contribution) nor degraded (looked down upon as being separate and elitist - see the fact that not once does a slave in Egypt bemoan the fact that, apparently, an entire tribe - the Levites? - is exempt from the morally and physically brutality of slavery).
Both are important. Both are essential. Both are spiritually equal. Both are tamid. And for that reason, at the end of the day, both are One. (Is this perhaps a mystical reading of the end of the aleinu prayer - that on that day, G-d shall be one and His Name shall be one ...)
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