So a man may evaluate us as servants of Christ and managers of the
mysteries of God. In this place, in addition, it is sought in managers,
that a certain one be found faithful. Yet to me, it is insignificant,
that I be judged by you, or by man's day; but I do not even judge
myself. For I am conscious of nothing, but I am not in this justified,
but the One judging me is the Lord. For this reason do not judge any
before the season, until whenever the Lord comes, the One Who will also
bring to light the things hidden by the darkness and reveal the motives
of the heart; and then the recognition will come about to that one from
God.
There was a pastor, years back, before he accepted a call to serve a
congregation, who promised the members that he would preach, teach, and
act according to His ordination vows as a faithful Lutheran minister.
But after he arrived, many in the church refused to let him be their
shepherd. They tried to tell him what to teach, how to preach, and what
to do. They didn't want a pastor to shepherd them. They wanted a
hireling who would do their bidding, not what the Lord wanted him to do.
Sadly, we fail to be good judges of the pastors God gives to us. It's
not the "judging" part that's the problem. Everybody has an opinion as
to whether the pastor is competent or not. We are quick to judge. The
problem is in judging by the proper *criteria*. You judge based on your
feelings, or what you think your church should be. But you often fail to
even consider just Who your pastor works *for*!
John the Baptizer and his disciples had the same challenge. John is in
prison, and is no doubt pondering on the OT promises of the Messiah who
comes to set the captives free. But John isn't free. He's about to die!
So he sends two disciples to Jesus to find out if He really is the
promised Christ. They should have known that He was. That's why Jesus
points them to the facts–what they heard Him say, and saw Him do. They
were to evaluate Jesus based on God's work given Him to do.
Likewise, you are to judge your pastor accordingly. Your pastor is a
manager. He doesn't own the church. He serves Christ here, because it is
Jesus' church! As the manager, your Pastor has certain God-given tasks
He must accomplish. It is to these tasks that he must be found faithful.
Does he preach God's word, baptize babies, teach the truth in bible
class, administer the Lord's Supper as Jesus bids, instruct the young in
confirmation classes, and bring good news to the sick & hurting?
On this "rejoice" Sunday, you ought to have great joy in God using your
Pastor to proclaim Jesus' love to you from the + publicly in the sermon,
and privately in holy absolution. You should rejoice in the blessing of
your under-shepherd delivering the Good Shepherd's gracious forgiveness
to you in the waters of baptism to cleanse you of all your sins which
Jesus bore for you on the +. You ought to delight in every opportunity
to worship and receive your Lord's body given & blood shed for you.
Instead, you find yourself grumbling and complaining about your pastor.
"Why doesn't he pick more hymns that *I* like?" Why isn't he a more
exciting and captivating preacher, to draw in more members so I don't
have to give so much in the offering plate?" "Why doesn't he spice up
the worship service to make it more entertaining and interesting?" "Why
won't he sponsor more fun activities at the church instead of all these
extra worship services?" "Why doesn't he give me what I want?"
But that's just it. The Pastor isn't your servant. He's Christ's! Oh, he
serves you with all kinds of good blessings from Jesus, to be sure, but
that doesn't make him your slave. He is to manage the mysteries of God,
the word & sacraments. And even though you sometimes lose focus of the
importance of these means of God's grace to you, a faithful pastor
doesn't. He keeps offering you God's forgiveness even if you think it is
boring, or not so significant, or just not your cup of tea.
Why? For the same reason Jesus did what He did, regardless of the
questions and complaints of those around Him. Jesus did the loving
thing, the saving thing, the forgiving thing, the merciful thing. John
and his disciples had their doubts about Jesus work as the Messiah, but
as the Christ, He turned aside the criticism of disciples and family
members, and set His face toward Jerusalem where He would give His life
as a ransom for them, and for you too at the + of Calvary.
So judge your Pastor with Christ's Own last day judgment in mind.
Recognize by God's gift of faith those faithful works God gives your
Pastor to do, that in them you see Jesus' love in action for you! Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
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