Texts: Ezekiel 34:1-16, Romans 10:14-17, Luke 12:35-43
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. Our text comes from the Old
Testament lesson just read, especially these words, “I will seek the
lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured,
and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will
destroy. I will feed them in justice.”
Thus far our text.
Dear Pastor
Warnier, and Saints of Zion Lutheran. The
Lord works in his Word. In fact he does
all his work through his Word in one way or another. And if this should happen through the office
of the ministry, the pastor must first and foremost see to it that the Word is
preached in its truth and purity.
After all, it is
the Word that seeks the lost, that touches the heart of man and lets him know
that God seeks after him. But that Word
must be God’s Word, the Living Word from God’s lips that is filled with God’s
longing for His children.
And it’s the Word
that brings back the strayed sheep to the flock. Only the Word can show the way home. But, if the Word is corrupted it cannot lead
right. If our preaching does not lead
the way, does not point to the springs of life in the Bible and the Lord’s
Supper, if it does not speak clearly about the sins that bind men and haul them
away, the neither can it lead them back.
It is the Word
that binds up the injured. If the
preaching cannot paint Christ as crucified and cannot proclaim His atoning
death, then neither can it heal the wounded conscience. It then leads only to complacency, to
uncertainty, or to despair.
It is the Word
that strengthens the weak. Only a
rightly proclaimed Word can show men that they in their weakness can and may
live in faith in Jesus, that it is the faith in Him that makes them children of
God, and that it is this faith that strengthens our weakness so that we do not
tire of seeking the forgiveness of sins and do not tire of fighting against our
Old Adam.
It is the Word
that pastors are ordained and installed to bring out honestly, humbly,
persistently. If the pastor skimps,
compromises or forgets, he hinders the Word from seeking, bringing back,
binding up, and strengthening.
The Word does the
work. And the pastor is given to carry
this Word out into the world. He must
himself go out with the Word to seek, and lead back, to bind up the broken, and
to strengthen the weak. He seeks out
with the Word. Pastor Warnier, this is
your task here in this congregation – to give God’s Word in season and out of
season. And Blessed is that servant whom
his master will find so doing when he comes.
And that is good
that God has brought you to proclaim his Word here. Because it could be said of us all, even the
members of Zion Lutheran Claire City, the same things as God says about Israel
in this chapter of Ezekiel. “My sheep
were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every single
hill.” “With none to search or seek for
them.” (3:6). It is this that all too
often happens.
For if pastors are
given to preach the Word, then congregations are given to hear the Word gladly,
after all “Faith comes through hearing and hearing the Word of God.” Congregations are to be in the pews,
listening and rejoicing. They are and to
attend bible studies, they are to receive the Lord’s Supper gratefully and
regularly for the forgiveness of sins.
And not only are
they to hear to Word, but they are also to love and support the one whom God
has given to preach that word to them. After
all, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! And so congregations rejoice in caring for
the one who brings the Word to their ears!
They provide a living wage so that he can support his family and loved
ones. They listen to his concerns and
they pray for and forgive his shortcomings.
For he brings the Word to their ears, and the Word does the work.
But so often we
listen not to the Word, but instead look to the man. Our sinful natures want to look to the
personality of the pastor, and decide whether we like him or not, after all,
the pastor can be replaced if we don’t like him. It wants to measure the entertainment level
of his sermons, and points to its watch when 15 minutes of preaching has been
passed. It wants him to know his place,
as servant, not master. Our sinful
nature is so willing to complain about the man God has sent us rather than to
listen to the Word he proclaims.
That’s why we need
the Word the pastor brings so badly, because our sinful nature needs the Word
of God to break its wickedness with the law, and to heal it perfectly and
purely with the Gospel.
Such is the
Word. It breaks. It binds.
It destroys. It heals. It seeks.
It gathers. It feeds and
strengthens. It sets free. It does the work of the Lord. It brings Jesus to you here who need Jesus so
badly.
Christ comes when
the Word comes, which is why the Word is so important. The blood of Jesus covers the Words of the
pastor so that they are his Word. The
blood of Jesus is attached to the Word of the pastor. That’s why when he says “I forgive you all
your sins” it really happens, because Christ is at work in His Word. That’s why when he speaks, “Take and eat this
is my body, take and drink this is my blood,” it matters, because it is God’s
Word at work. And even when that Word is
combined with plain old water, baptism comes about. The Word does the work of God. And the pastor brings the Word.
So the pastor uses
the Word to call back the scattered sin filled sheep into the flock of the
Lord. The pastor strengthens the weak
and the wounded with the Word of God.
The pastor binds up the wounded, visiting them in their homes and even
while they are in the hospital. The
pastor brings the Word, the Word does the work, and the congregation rejoices
that the Lord cares for them so much that they might hear the Word of God
regularly and in their own community. They
come and they hear, and by their hearing they believe.
And behind it all
is Christ. Pastor Warnier, as you begin
to serve this congregation officially, you do so in the grace and mercy of the
Word of Christ. You do so in the
forgiveness of sins earned by his cross.
You use the Word he gives you to care for His people, because He has
placed you here – you are his man here and he will not abandon you, nor forsake
you.
And dear
Christians, God cares for you enough to use his word on you, to send you a man
to preach that word of forgiveness into your ears and hearts. He brings you his grace day in and day out. He loves you for the sake of Jesus, and he
always will. Listen to the Word that
tells us of what Christ has done, and believe that word.
Pastor Warnier,
the Word is entrusted to you today. Dear
saints of Zion, this pastor is entrusted to bring you this Word today. May the Word work in all of you, so that
saints may be gathered, healed, and strengthened. And God has promised that it will be so.
In the name of
Jesus. Amen.
