I was assigned to preach at the 2010 ND Fall Pastor's Conference in Minot last week. This is the sermon I preached for the occasion.
Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Our text today is the epistle lesson assigned for yesterday, 2 Timothy 1:1-14,
"1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to [1] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, [2] 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. [3] 13 Follow the pattern of the sound [4] words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Dear Brothers in Christ. Two parents were asking there 8 year old son what he wanted to be when he grew up. He told them he wasn't sure, he hadn't really thought it through. The boy's mother said, "Well, perhaps you should be a pastor, you seem really interested in theology." The boy's father nodded his head in agreement while the boy thought about it. "I don't know mom," he replied, "I'm not sure I want to be a pastor. I don't think I want to sit around listening to everybody else's problems all day."
So it seemed to this 8 year old that a pastor's job was mostly in dealing with other people's problems all day. Now 18 years later, he stands in front of you having spent a little over 2 months as an ordained minister and he wonders, how far off the mark was his innocent comment. Not to say people are always complaining to him, but there are still enormous responsibilities and issues to deal with as an under shepherd of God's flock.
Fellow brothers in Christ's ministry, you know the issues of what I speak. Sin surrounds us at ever turn. In every direction we see Satan's work, and we are asked how deal with it. We are asked what should be done here or there, and at times it is simply overwhelming. For only two months have I been a pastor, and already I have seen the affects and results of sin on the people of my congregations, and it makes me wonder, what more will I see, and what have you yourselves seen?
Have you seen pain, sorrow and hurting? A man, who has lost his wife, and now is uncertain what to do, and he comes to the pastor asking "Why did this happen? Why does God allow cancer? I am so lonely." And the pastor must give an answer. We are confronted with a young woman who wants to be a mother, and yet, has miscarriage after miscarriage. "Why Lord, can I not be a parent? Why is God keeping this joy from me? What happens to the still born child's soul?" and again the Pastor must speak.
Have you seen sin and its effects on your sheep? Countless young couples who are living together before marriage coming to the pastor, wanting to be married, and the pastor must ask "Lord, how do I handle this situation in a God pleasing manner, both speaking the truth in kindness and gentleness, while still conveying what You think of this sin?" Pastors are confronted by questions about homosexuality, pornography, alcoholism, drugs and more, and the question is asked, "Why is this wrong?" "Pastor, why do you have stick your nose in my personal business on these issues? Why can't you just live and let live?" In addition to these things just mentioned, have you been faced with difficult questions regarding beliefs? Pastor, why are some people saved and not others? Pastor, why can't my cousin come up for communion? Pastor why can't we have women pastors?
Or maybe you have seen people's fears. "What happens when I die? What if I wasn't good enough? Can God really forgive my sin, because oh Pastor, I have been bad." Pastors face the fears of people who are not sure how they will make ends meet this month or week, people uncertain how they will feed themselves this week. There are fears of death, fears of the unknown, fears of not receiving forgiveness. And these fears include our family and friends as well. "Pastor, is my mother really in heaven, I don't know. Pastor, my brother never went to church. Pastor my kids stopped attending after confirmation."
As God's under shepherds, we are confronted with this barrage from all sides. Often we are left awake at night wondering how we will deal with a particular situation, or wondering how God really is working through this situation. We feel like we are on the front lines of a battle, and we are uncertain what to do or how to do it, because when we are honest, we are no different from those people coming to us. We have the same struggles and questions. We too have sorrow and hurting as we share in the death of a loved one, or a family member. We have sin, both in our thoughts and in our deeds, by what we have done, and what we have left undone. We know we have not loved God or our neighbors as we ought to. We too have fears as we wonder how in the world we can handle and deal with the situations before us. We have questions, "Have I handled this correctly? Have I said the right thing? How can God expect me to deal with that?"
We really aren't any different than those whom we shepherd, are we? Perhaps at times we even feel like we are worse, because we can see our own sin and feel our own sinful hypocrisy as we deal with people in our congregations. Hypocrisy because St. Paul says a pastor should be "Above reproach, husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money and more." Well, is that you? It is not me, and I suspect that not a one of us really can fit such a high standard. Sin is on the offensive, and we are its target. So where do we turn?
I can only imagine that St. Timothy asked this same question, "Where do I turn?" And that dear brothers, is why today's text is so important for us today. Timothy was faced with the same problems and situations which we face today. St. Paul gives him comfort for all these problems. Comfort "Not because of our own works, but because of God's own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus."
Comfort that says in the face of sin, we have hope, hope in the blood and death of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, sent to redeem us all from our sin. In Him and Him alone do we have comfort and peace in the face of a sinful world. As our text says, Jesus "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." In response to the difficult situations with which we are faced, perhaps where we have no good answers, we look to Jesus on the cross and say, "There is our answer."
In response to your fears, Jesus says, "In my death and resurrection, I bring you to eternal life apart from tears and weeping." To your sin Jesus says, "You are covered in my blood, as I have taken your sin from you as far as the east is from the west." To your pain and sorrow, Jesus says "I am the lamb in the midst of the throne, and I am your shepherd, and I will wipe away every tear from your eyes." In Jesus, and Jesus alone, we have Grace and Mercy.
After all this gospel is for us pastors too. It is for us men who serve as under shepherds just as it is for those to whom we minister in Jesus' name. Jesus died for the sin of all of us pastors too, and we share in the glorious promises of Jesus. Each of you has been baptized, and in those waters you were washed in the blood of the lamb. As St. Paul wrote to Titus, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness." Not because of our holiness, not because of how well we have served him in our congregations. No. He saved us "according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."
Here today we are gathered together, and we receive more comfort in his "true body and blood" under the bread and wine "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." Forgiveness for our short coming, comfort in times of struggles, promise in the everlasting message of the Gospel. These are the gifts that God gives to you, as an under shepherd in His church, just as you share them with those you serve in His Name.
Dear brothers in Christ, the only way that we can serve as pastors in Gods church, the only way we can faithfully serve God's people in the daily struggles of their lives, is in faith in the forgiveness that Jesus pours out upon us and all people. As our text says, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved you and called you to a holy calling, not because of your works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave you in Christ Jesus, before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" in you and in your parishioners "for which you were appointed a preacher and teacher." Dear brothers in Christ, Jesus will guard you in your ministry. He will support you in struggles. He will work through your preaching and teaching. He promised it to Timothy, he promised it to Paul, and he promises it to you, sealing that promise with his own death and resurrection.
18 years ago, I thought being a pastor meant only listening to other people's problems. I couldn't have been further from the truth. Instead, being a pastor means sharing with other people in receiving the gifts of forgiveness life and salvation earned through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen.
