St. Luke 10:1-20 Dearly beloved,
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, but where there are laborers, there is God’s divine love. The church is the product of Jesus’ love. The gospel is the account of the unfolding of the love of God. St. Luke’s gospel, for example, lays out for us, the history of salvation. Jesus is born; He grows: He is baptized in the Jordan; He is tempted. Jesus begins to preach and heal. Through it all, Jesus is establishing His holiness in this sinful world. Jesus talks just before the gospel appointed for today, by saying that there is a cost to following Him. “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” This is a hint. Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. If Jesus has nowhere to lay His head, then you can be sure that the same situation may befall His followers. Then Jesus sends out the seventy-two. Jesus is enlarging the apostolic task given to the twelve. Jesus is also setting the pattern for the apostolic ministry. In the gospels, the twelve and the seventy-two become patterns which lay the foundation for the pastoral ministry. Jesus says that He sends out the seventy-two “as lambs in the midst of wolves.” They go bearing something special. They go bearing the word of peace. They go with the preaching of the kingdom of God in Jesus. They go as God’s men to bring blessings to the world. The seventy-two go bringing new life to a dying world. These apostles were instructed to tell those who receive them and those who reject them that “the kingdom of God has come near to you.” This is the statement of God’s everlasting love for mankind. Through these apostolic proclamations, we find that God uses men to preach divine mysteries, revealing the love and will of God for our lives. The pastoral office, as I said, springs from this and is patterned after it. The pastor is ordained and set aside by God to do just as the seventy-two had done. The healing that is done, however, is of a spiritual nature. The healing that the pastor does is brought forth in confession and absolution. The preaching of peace that is done is the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified: It is the preaching of the cross. St. Paul points this out in Galatians 6 when he says, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”(Galatians 6:14). God setting aside a man and having him ordained for the spiritual upbringing of the church is more than just a human arrangement. It is God’s arrangement for the comfort of the Lord’s church. If we look at how God works, we see a pattern. God wanted to reconcile the world and be in fellowship with His creation, so what does He do? God takes on flesh. He becomes like one of us in order to take our sins upon Himself. Then, God takes the most basic elements in this world and attaches His mercy and forgiveness to them--Jesus takes water and institutes Holy Baptism. Jesus takes bread and the fruit of the vine and institutes the Eucharist, or, Lord’s Supper. Jesus even locates preaching and teaching by using a sinful man, like myself. When a man is ordained, God sends Him out. And we hear a couple of different times that when those in the apostolic and pastoral office forgive sins on earth, it is also done in heaven. We hear Jesus say it of the seventy-two as well. “The one who hears you, hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me”(St. Luke 10:16). Jesus is showing that He gives authority and a lot of responsibility to the man who is given holy orders. It is no glory road, as Jesus reminds the seventy-two. The seventy-two were rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them in the Lord’s name, and Jesus responded, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Then Jesus says something of great import that all pastors are to take heed to-- “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” There are two things to think about in this gospel. One concerns me and the other concerns you. The thing that concerns me is that I am spiritually responsible to God for you. I must someday answer for the way I have shepherded you. I have also been entrusted with the gospel and the sacraments, as well as the office of the keys. It is not about me. It is about Jesus. This brings me to you. Your souls and your spirits--you flesh and blood people--are God’s creation and children. I am here for your spiritual well-being. We think about how technical the human body is and the important work that surgeons do. Think about the dynamics of your souls. You have sins. Your sinful nature causes you to stumble. You are continually tripped up by the things of the world. How do you handle it? Do you pretend it is not there? Do you even see your sins? Many sins go undetected and cause the person a whole host of problems. It is sort of like a human illness, only the spiritual illness of sin may cause you to slowly die spiritually. What is the anti-dote? The gospel, to be sure. It is the preaching of Jesus that causes Satan to fall like lightning from heaven, because the cross of Jesus is poured into that gospel. From there, the pastor goes forth bearing this gospel, bringing it into the lives of the people, much like the seventy-two. The pastor comes to speak to God’s people to help them in time of need--to point out sins in order to help you along the way. The pastor is here to guide and direct, teaching you of the way of Jesus and giving you spiritual refreshment through preaching of Jesus. The German Lutherans had a name for the pastor--Seelsorger, “a carer of souls.” The Seelsorger is God’s way of locating the gospel in the lives of the people. He enters the world of sin, the world of sadness, the world of difficulty and, like the seventy-two, he enters saying “peace be to this house.” The word of God enters your lives in order to bring aid and peace, not a worldly peace, but a peace that surpasses all understanding. Jesus was incarnate and took on flesh to bring salvation from His cross. Jesus enters the lives of sinners in order to show them a new way. Jesus still enters your lives today through office of the holy ministry. Jesus uses ordained men as vehicles to pronounce to you forgiveness for all of your sins. I am here for your benefit. I am here to love you, to care for your souls, to lead you to Jesus and to walk with you until you breathe your last breath at which point Jesus takes your hand from the other side. The gospel is in your midst.....Satan falls like lightning from heaven. Amen. -- Rev. Chad Kendall Trinity Lutheran Church Lowell, Indiana www.trinitylowell.org
