Dear friends in Christ, when the Holy Spirit created the Christian Church on Pentecost, He gave the Church wonderful blessings. First, God gave the great blessing of FAITH in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection, as St. Paul says, "Our preaching is useless and so is your faith." (1 Corinthians 15:14). The resurrection of Jesus is central to the church. That Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and then rose again, is the treasure of the Gospel. So when we trust Jesus as our Savior, we are blessed with saving faith.

         Secondly, God endowed His church with the blessings of both "FRUITS of the Spirit," and "GIFTS of the Spirit." FRUITS of the Spirit are the godly attitudes that flow from faith: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control. The Bible says, "There is no law against such things." (Galatians 5:23). These divine attitudes are given to the whole Church, so that all Christians have two, three or all of these attitudes as God gives them. The GIFTS of the Spirit are godly abilities and skills. Most all Christians have one or two, but few have many. Spiritual Gifts are what God uses to help get His work on earth accomplished, such as preaching, teaching, administration, sharing the faith and healing. The church relies on such gifts to do its work.

         The third great blessing God gave His church is the OFFICE of PUBLIC MINISTRY. By this term, I do not mean ordained clergy. The Office of Public Ministry is preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments of Baptism and Communion according to God's Holy Word. This Office is given to strength and guide each congregation, and is usually exercised by ordained clergy, but not always. If a church does not have a fulltime pastor, it still has the Office of Public Ministry, and so it keeps on having worship services. In the case of a pastoral vacancy, an interim pastor or the Board of Elders carries out the tasks of the Office of Public Ministry.

         I'd like to read you a portion of a document that clearly spells this out. It is part of our Elders Manual and is a brief summary of what the Lutheran Confessional writings say about this:

         "The Office of Public Ministry, or Pastoral Office, is the only Biblical office established by Holy Scripture. Any and all other offices a church may establish have their authority only as they are derived from the Office of Public Ministry. This includes Elders, officers or any governing Boards. The Office of Public Ministry is a gift from God, not an invention of the Church. The Office of the Public Ministry is given by God to the whole church. In the Lutheran Church the distinction is made that the Pastor occupies the function of the Office of Public Ministry. There is only one Pastor in a congregation. Any other staff pastor, teacher, DCE or any other staff person is there to assist the Pastor."
         "The Pastoral Office is the means by which Christ distributes to His people the benefits of salvation through His life, death and resurrection. The church does not own or control the Office, but exercises the functions of the Office through the Pastor. In the case that the congregation has no ordained pastor, the functions of that Office are carried out through designated members, usually Elders or an Interim Pastor."
         "A congregation does, of necessity, establish certain other church offices, ministries or boards to assist the pastor in the performance of his official duties. In the apostolic church, beside pastors (NT term "elder" or "bishop"), there were also "deacons". By-law articles and customs notwithstanding, any office created out of the Pastoral Office, such as Elder, Trustee, or Chairman, have no biblical basis for usurping authority over the Pastoral Office. They are there to support it."

         So why am I telling you this today? Why bring it up now? Partly because of the Pastoral Call meeting which will be held this weekend, and partly due to today's Old Testament lesson, the calling of Jeremiah. I have a strong feeling many members misunderstand what the ministry is, who gave it, and why it is so important. A pastor is not just a "sky pilot", helping us get to God. Nor is he the hired man, or the CEO of a congregation. He is a man called of God to do God's Work among people. He is called to do the tasks of the Office of Public Ministry. Today's text may help us.

         I and countless other pastors have had Jeremiah 1:4-10 read at their ordination or installation. Ordination is done only once in a pastor's life, at the beginning of his fulltime ministry. But installation is done each time a pastor assumes the duties of the Public Ministry in a new church. I was ordained at my home church in Windom, Minnesota, May 30, 1971. I was installed a week later, June 6, at my first congregation in McClusky, North Dakota.

         Pastors are often asked how or when they knew God had called them into this task. I "heard" the call early on, through family, pastors and Sunday School teachers. I heard the call from the Lord quite clearly when I entered college. I can't explain how that happened, but I know it did. Like they say, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck."

         So let's look at Jeremiah, and how God called him. Jeremiah was a priest from a small town six miles northeast of Jerusalem. We know more of his life and personality than of any writing prophet in the Old Testament other than Moses. Jeremiah was a prophet of God for 67 years - amazing! He received his call to the prophetic office already in his adolescence, in the year 627 BC, just as the Assyrian Empire was just beginning to crumble.

         Jeremiah's book begins with, "The word of the LORD came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah" (Jeremiah 1:2). After explaining the kings of the times, Jeremiah gets personal: "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.' "

         God called Jeremiah before he was born. He doesn't immediately agree to God's call. "Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I'm only a child,"; he said. I know that feeling. When installed into my first pastorate, I felt I knew nothing about the office. But I charged on ahead, praying and trying things, hoping the best and always being encouraged by a loving wife who was more sure of things than I was. You see, God doesn't always see things our way. We may think we can't do it, and maybe we can't! But God can. With God all things are possible.

         Now God quiets the nervous Jeremiah. "Do not say, 'I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' " declares the Lord.

         I've needed a lot of rescuing in ministry. White writing this message, I began to think of the past years. In that time, I've walked into domestic disputes where guns stood in the corner, and counseled drunks who threatened to beat me up. I've eaten food with fly wings in it and sat on furniture covered with pet hair. At home visits, I've absorbed the nicotine of cigarettes, gotten food poisoning and accidentally drank Kool-Aid spiked with EverClear. I've counseled kindly old people tormented by what they did as kids, and calmed youth too old for their years, from drugs, alcohol, and even Satanism. I've been pursued by both lonely women and men, and I've been falsely accused of almost everything, once threatened by a murderer just released from prison. I've baptized babies in dishpans and married people in a snowstorm. I buried a newborn in a styrofoam cooler in a grave dug by a penniless father, and I've had weddings attended by astronauts, actors and millionaires. I've argued with District Presidents and consoled dying friends. I've been hung up on, had doors slammed in my face, and heard more excuses- and bad jokes - than I care to recall. I've apologized for things I did and a lot I never did. And in all those times, a few things were constant - the love of God in Jesus and the Gospel of God's forgiveness, the Good News that God rescues us through our Lord and Savior.

         Jeremiah was called to serve the Lord, and he did. In his 67 years he could add a lot more to my list, I'm sure. But in today's text, he's young and wondering if he can do what God wants. So the Bible says God helped him. "The LORD reached out his hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth and said to him, 'Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.' " God not only gave him the task - He gave Him the strength and abilities to do it.

         Jeremiah was written to bring people to repentance and back to faith in the True God. That that's a fine message for us today. Apostasy is on the rise. Falling away from faith in the True God comes with every generation. It plagued the Jews back then, and it plagues Christians today. Some religions kill apostates, those who leave it, but not God. He gives us a choice. He will not stop us from running away. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, He let us go on our way. But then He waits with hope for us to return.

         God is not a God of vengeance upon His children, only on His enemies. " 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." (Romans 12:19) The True and only God who made heavens and the earth will balance the scales. He has redeemed the world in His son Jesus, and there is no other Savior but Jesus of Nazareth.

         Like Jeremiah, God still calls people to serve the Lord, as prophets, pastors and teachers, DCEs, Deaconnesses and missionaries. Soon God will call a new Jeremiah to be Epiphany's new pastor, a new shepherd to keep watch over the sheep and encourage and feed the lambs. And we certainly have a lot of lambs at Epiphany!

         The Good Shepherd will never leave His sheep, and He encourages us not to leave Him. I urge you all to stay with the sheepfold called Epiphany. We have always been a "church of the strays," and there are many more who will come here. God brought you here for a purpose. I pray He will give you a fine, new shepherd to lead you to the green pastures of His love. Amen

Credits:
 
  Epiphany logo designed and provided by Dale Bargmann at daleb@ecentral.com