Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

Dear disciples of Jesus: honoured bishops, reverend fathers, candidate Vijay Samuel, and all the little flock,

 

“Fear not... for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

 

 

The appointed Gospel reading for this solemn occasion expands on Jesus’ words to His disciples, “Do not be anxious... Seek His kingdom and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:22, 31). “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v. 32). So the following words of our Gospel reading should not frighten or alarm you or cause you fear and distress, but they do. And Jesus knew that they would, so He prefaced these comments with “Do not be anxious” and “Fear not.”

 

Why do we feel anxious about the words that govern the management of God’s house, the instructions given to those who are appointed to take care of His children? “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” (12:35). They call to mind the responsibilities of the priests who served in the presence of God at the tabernacle and temple.

 

From Mount Sinai the LORD commanded Moses, “you shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons” (Exodus 29:9). “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD” (Exodus 27:20-21).

 

And so they did. Aaron and his sons were dressed for action and the lamps were kept lit all night inside the tabernacle before the ark of the covenant where prayers were offered and the Word of the covenant was kept in the ark and the bread of the presence was placed on the table. “and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:23-24).

 

The LORD almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth, the all-powerful Destroyer who smote Egypt with plagues of terror and who blew back the sea for the Israelites to cross before He drowned Pharoah’s army and their dead bodies washed up on the shore; the God who thundered and shook Mount Sinai and appeared in smoke and flashes of lightning; the God whose fire came right into the midst of the people in front of the tabernacle, from above the ark of the covenant, upon its cover, the seat of mercy between the two golden cherubim, shot out of the tent to the altar of burnt offering in the sight of the people to consume all of the sacrificed flesh. What is there to fear or be anxious about? The people all screamed and fell on their faces.

 

There is a continuity of instruction given by the LORD as Jesus speaks to His disciples, on the day recorded in the Gospel reading and today as we gather for the ordination of Vijay Samuel. “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks” (12:35-36).

 

The office of the Holy Ministry is about being ready for the coming of the Lord, the LORD who came in fearful fire to consume the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering, and the Lord who comes down from the eternal wedding feast to us today. He comes to His people and He commands you to be dressed for action, waiting and expectant, for He has promised to come and to be with His people, His household. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes” (Luke 12:37).

 

Immediately after the inaugural sacrifice by the freshly ordained Aaron in the Book of Leviticus (9), comes the death of two of Aaron’s ordained sons, Nadab and Abihu. The same fire that came out to consume the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering came out to consume these two priests “who offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:2). There is danger in not watching what you are doing in service to the people of a LORD who comes with all of His might and power.

 

Likewise, immediately following our appointed Gospel reading for today, Jesus speaks of what happens to a servant who does not watch for the coming of this very powerful Lord. “If that servant says to Himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful” (Luke 12:45-46), that would be in hell with its everlasting torments even worse than being cut in pieces.

 

So “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.” The key is to be watching and ever ready in faith for the Lord’s promised coming. Those who minister in the house of the Lord condemn themselves when they forget that what they are doing is what has been commanded by the Lord who comes to His people in might and strength.

 

He comes to rescue His people from slavery to sin, like He came to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt. He comes to conquer their oppressor, like He came to conquer Pharaoh. He comes to vanquish death, like He passed over the houses of His people when He came as the Destroyer to kill the firstborn of the Egyptians. He comes with power to defeat and to drown and to destroy so that His people might be forgiven and cleansed and purified from all that is unholy.

 

He comes to eradicate anything that might prevent Him from dwelling with His people so that they may have His victory, His life, and His blessing. And His blessing is also for those who are charged with the oversight of His household. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when He comes” (Luke 12:37).

 

It is not all about danger and dread for those who manage the where and the what and the how of the Lord’s coming to His people. There is blessing. Blessed are those who believe the Lord’s promise that He does indeed come. They watch because they have faith in the presence of God in His Word and Sacraments. And so they dress for action and keep the lamp burning. They do this not so that the Lord would come, but because the Lord does come, and when His coming is received in faith, His coming means blessing greater than can be imagined.

 

“Truly, I say to you, [the master] will dress Himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them” (v. 37). The Lord comes also for His servants, to serve them. It is not His desire to come to make them cower in their duties, but to give them the very gifts that they are called to administer to others. As all of God’s people are called to come with faith in His presence as they receive His gifts, so the servant of the house is to always be watching for the coming of the Lord, in expectation of His blessing.

 

Craft the sermon mindful of the Lord’s promise that He will come in His Word to bless His people, the servant included. Conduct the liturgy of the service mindful of the Lord’s promise that He is knocking on the door. Administer the Holy Supper knowing that the Lord comes in His body and blood to rescue, to deliver, to save His people. “Be ever watchful for His coming that you may meet Him with joy and enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom” (baptismal rite). “Blessed are those servants” (Luke 12:38).

 

Knowing our weakness of faith, knowing our distractions and our worries, knowing our self-indulgent sinfulness, knowing our lack of care and compassion for those entrusted to our care, we might pay attention to Jesus question, meant to redirect Peter’s inquiry about whether He was talking only of the twelve or about all people. “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions” (Luke 12:42-44).

 

Well, who is it? Is it you? Is it one of these honourable servants of the Lord gathered here today? When you serve as a team in managing the household of God there will be times when you feel that you are the only faithful and wise one, and the rest of the team is not. There will also be times when you know that you are not the one, not faithful and not wise. You will be right. You are not the faithful one, and neither is any of the other servants who take part in the ministry of the little flock of Jesus.

 

There is One who is faithful. Who is the faithful One whom the Master has set over His household? Christ is the head of the Church and Him alone. Who is the One who always gives the members of the household their food at the proper time? Who gives even to the servants of the household their portion as they require it—the forgiveness that they need for their many sins even as they carry out their duties and responsibilities within the household of faith? Jesus is the blessed One whom the heavenly Father always finds ready and doing His will.

 

He did the Father’s will when He took bread and broke it and gave it saying, “I AM the living bread that comes down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51). He did the Father’s will when He took the cup, the cup of God’s wrath against sin and drank it to the dregs (Luke 22:42). He did the Father’s will when He gave Himself into death upon the cross and rose victorious from the grave and sent His servants to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. Jesus is the faithful and wise manager who gives forgiveness, life and salvation to all in His house, and it is Him whom the Father has put in charge of all His possessions.

 

He has put Him in charge of you. You are the Father’s treasured possession, and He has set Jesus over His house to care for you, all of you who are children of the household of faith, especially the servants. He is faithful and wise in His care for you. He is faithful and wise in His absolution for you. He is faithful and wise in speaking His Word to you. He is faithful and wise in feeding you His own body and blood.

 

He knows what it is to be anxious about such responsibility and such an immense task that has been laid upon you. Jesus Himself said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is My distress until it is accomplished” (Luke 12:51). He sweat great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42. Yet He has accomplished it and He has accomplished it for you. That is why, even amidst the solemn warnings and commands given in today’s Gospel concerning the ministry now to be entrusted to you, Vijay, He prefaces by saying, “Do not be anxious... Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

 

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.