Sent out by Christ
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
John 20:21-23
This past Sunday I had the privilege of installing Pastor Lee van Rossen as pastor to Wistow Lutheran Mission. It was a great joy for the congregation and one that was clearly shared by others as we heard greetings from LM-A members from around the country. So what is it about the installation of a pastor that brings such thanksgiving and joy?
Perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on the answer to this, but your gut tells you it’s a good thing. If that’s the case, your gut feeling is correct. You see, the Office of the Holy Ministry into which pastors are called and ordained is not something a bunch of people dreamed up because they thought it would be a good idea. Rather it is an Office that our Lord Jesus established so that we might receive all the benefits of His life, death and resurrection.
Many of you will be familiar with the fourth article of the Augsburg Confession which states that we are saved for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that we are received into favour and that our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. But the question is, how do we receive this faith in order to be saved?
Well, the next article of the Augsburg Confession answers that question…
So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. Through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given [John 20:22]. He works faith, when and where it pleases God [John 3:8], in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake. (1)
This brief statement makes it clear that through the pastor’s ministry, God is at work doing something special, bestowing His Holy Spirit, working faith in our hearts, restoring sinners and opening heaven. Our joy at the installation of a pastor is not so much a celebration of the man who has come to fill the role (despite how nice he might be!) but it is a celebration that God will work through this man as he preaches the Word and administers the Sacraments, so that we may be strengthened in faith and receive eternal life. We rejoice when a pastor comes to serve us because the pastor serves in the stead of Jesus Himself. As you hear the voice of the pastor preaching, baptising, blessing and consecrating, you are hearing the very voice of Jesus working in your life to create and strengthen faith and deliver to you forgiveness and eternal life.
It’s not that we pastors are particularly special people – in fact, most of us will tell you the opposite is true. It’s that we have been called to serve in a special office, through which Jesus works to love and serve each and every one of us. One author put it this way:
It is not a man's gifts, his learning, his efficiency, or the charm of his personality which make him a minister, but the Gospel which he is called upon and ordained to preach. This makes him minister, servant, bishop, overseer, pastor, shepherd, priest, a Christ to his neighbour, parson, representative person. This, which he is, he must constantly become. He must, therefore, stand before his people as one of them, a fellow-sinner, and yet in the full dignity and authority of his office, which he "strives to adorn with a holy life and conversation." The high esteem which the laity puts upon the office of the ministry is not to be disappointed. The minister is not a priest with an indelible character upon whose ministrations in the sacraments the Layman is dependent. Neither is he just another member of the congregation. But he stands before the congregation as the bearer of the office of Word and Sacraments upon which the congregation is dependent. (2)
I thank God that He is now providing regularly called pastors to serve our LM-A congregations and I pray that as we rejoice in this gift to the church, God would continue to advance His mission as our people are empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit through the Office of the Holy Ministry.
O Almighty God, by your Son, our Saviour, you have always given to your Church on earth faithful shepherds to guide and feed your flock. Therefore we pray, make all pastors diligent to preach your holy Word and minister your means of grace, and grant your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
by Pastor Matt Anker
President, LM-A
McCain, Paul Timothy. Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: Second Edition (Pocket Edition) (pp. 74-75). Concordia Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
The Doctrine of the Ministry 1952, as quoted in https://txlcms.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/18.-29.-Sample-Call-Service.pdf