Ordination and Installation of Gerald E. Kurka God Made a Choice Among You Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. The First Reading is from Acts 15, where Peter stood up and described the Office of the Holy Ministry with these Words: “God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the Word of the Gospel and believe.” Today we pray humble thanks to our merciful God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As with Peter, God has likewise made a choice among us, in order that by Gerald Kurka’s mouth the Stoverites “should hear the Word of the Gospel and believe.” Dear Christian friends, I once heard a wedding sermon in which the bride was compared to a horse. Incidentally, that was also the day I learned you should never compare a bride to a horse. The horse analogy seems more appropriate for today, as we have gathered to ordain Gerald Kurka into the Office of the Ministry and to install him as the pastor of this congregation. We should push the word “install” back to its ancient roots: since the Latin-speaking days of the 15th century, we have used the word “install” to describe the act of placing a man into a church office. The word “install” also includes in its heritage that place where you put your horse at the end of the day. With kindness and love, courtesy and forbearance, you should think of your pastor as a horse, a pack animal, and a beast of burden. Many blessings will come to you and when you think of your pastor in this manner. For example, • When you compare your pastor to a horse, you will be able to regard his faithful preaching as nothing more and nothing less than the Word and Work of God Himself. In this we have Balaam’s donkey as our example, Numbers 22. Donkeys, mules and horses do not possess the ability to speak. But what did God do for His servant Balaam? The Lord God caused the donkey to speak. Through the donkey’s speaking, God enabled Balaam’s repentance and saved Balaam from death. So shall it be with you when your pastor—your pack animal—speaks the divine Word in your midst. Donkeys, mules and horses do not possess the ability to speak, but God has promised to open your pastor’s lips, so that his mouth may speak forth and declare God’s praise (Psalm 51:15). The Lord Himself will open the mouth of your beast of burden, just as He opened the mouth of Balaam’s donkey. Through your pastor’s speaking, God will create your repentance and spare you from death. This is the manner of ALL God’s prophets, that they should pull a plow through the ground, so to speak, going before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God (Luke 1:76-78). • Again, when you think of your pastor as a horse, you will more conscientious about keeping a saddle on his back and a bit in his mouth. Stated another way, you must see to it that your pastor acts as he is called to act and speaks as he is given to speak. When I refer to a saddle and bit for your pastor-horse, I am NOT saying that you should try to make him take you where you want to go or expect him to preach according to the desires of your sinful flesh. God did not send this horse to entertain you, or, as the Scriptures say, to itch your ears (2 Timothy 4:3). When I refer to a saddle and bit for your pastor-horse, I mean that you should be careful to keep him in check and confined to the task for which he shall be installed today. Our Lutheran confession has a fine history of preachers who stand behind pulpits and wear vestments. Pulpits and vestments are being lost today. Many preachers seem to think it better to wear everyday clothes in worship, or to “prowl about like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8) while preaching. Such preachers do not seem to realize or believe that the pulpit is given for your safety and protection; that the vestments are about hiding and covering the man so that the Word of God alone may be the sole focus of your attention. Think of the pulpit and the vestments as saddle and bridle. You will be safer with these things kept securely in place. You are hard-working people. You know the value of good tools. The pulpit and the vestments are good tools that will make your job easier. As soon as your horse slips the saddle of the pulpit and wanders free, he loses value as a beast of burden and you should line him up in the crosshairs. When the air conditioning dies and he feels like it might be too hot for vestments, strap the vestments onto the horse anyway. You can always hose him down after his work is through. • As you compare your pastor to a horse, bear in mind that horses are not valuable merely because they are pretty. Horses are valuable because they carry the load and pull the plow. Over time, you may begin to notice your horse’s knees knock every once in a while, or his back might begin to sway. Your pastor-horse is not perfect. You will find that he grows less perfect every day. Your horse will need your kindness, your forbearance, and your gentle approach. Your horse will need you to be careful that you do not muzzle him. He will need you to see that he walks a faithful path and plows a straight row. Every once in a while, your horse will need some time by himself in the back of the pasture, grazing undisturbed. Your horse will need regular forgiveness and patience, both from God and from you. He will need forgiveness and patience from you even while he brings God’s forgiveness and patience to you, perhaps even adding a little of his own. • Here is a fourth blessing of being able to think of your pastor as horse. It has to do with the old saying, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.” Simply stated, your horse has been given to you by your God. Over time, our synod’s call process has grown labor-intensive. The Eighth Commandment requires us to think that the meetings and the studies and the evaluations all represent an earnest desire not to get in the way of the Holy Spirit. The congregation has needed to labor and deliberate, the seminary has needed to labor and deliberate, the Council of Presidents has needed to labor and deliberate, and even the horse as needed to labor and deliberate. How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb? Not quite as many as it takes to purchase a horse! Never lose sight of the fact that you have NOT purchased this horse. The Scriptures teach us to believe that horses get lowered out of the sky, a gift “from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17 NIV). After Jesus died for your sins and was raised for your justification (Romans 4:25), He still was not done being good and generous toward you. Jesus also ascended into heaven. In His ascension, Jesus continued to give us gifts. Thus it is written, “He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastor-teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). Were these Words not enough proof to believe that your pastor is a heaven-sent horse, listen again to St. Peter in today’s First Reading, Acts 15: “Brothers… God made a choice among you.” God made the selection; God cast the only vote that matters. Why did God choose this horse? You heard the reading: “God made [this] choice among you” so that “by his mouth the [Stoverites] should hear the Word of the Gospel and believe.” “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?” (Psalm 116:12) What might be a good way for you saints of Stover to respond to these Words, that “God made a choice among you”? It would be good for you to saddle up and ride. Ride as Balaam road, who thus was made able to repent and be saved (Numbers 22). Ride as Israel rode out of Egypt, rejoicing that your God has acted to save you and has chosen you to be His own treasured possession (Exodus 12). Ride as the wise and beautiful Abigail rode, with saddlebags full of gifts for the king (2 Samuel 25). Ride, knowing that your Lord Jesus rode before you into death and resurrection, thus creating your forgiveness and life (Matthew 21). Ride, because your horse is a warhorse, pawing the air, racing toward the enemy, thrilling at the sound of his Commander’s trumpet (Job 39:19-35). Ride, because your horse is only a horse, and the true gifts come from Him who gave the horse. You, Gerald: welcome to the Sedalia Circuit stable. Stick your nose into the manger with us. Gather the scent of the swaddling clothes. Stare in wonder with us at “the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay” (LSB 364.1). _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
