Our Lutheran teaching on vocation is a profound and salutary emphasis, one of great value and benefit to our understanding of the Christian faith and life. Yet, it is potentially confusing when it comes to a consideration of the Divine Call (Vocatio) to the Office of the Holy Ministry.
The underlying vocation that every Christian has in common – and forever – is the high and holy calling to be the children of God in Christ Jesus, as we are named and adopted to be by the Word and Spirit of God in Holy Baptism. Sanctified by and established upon that most holy vocation, Christians also have a variety of other holy callings and stations in life, each of which is valuable and contributes to the benefit of our neighbors and the overall well-being of the Body of Christ.
When we speak of the “Divine” Call (Vocatio) to the Office of the “Holy” Ministry, however, we are seeking to distinguish something that is unique and distinctive about this particular vocation. That is not to suggest something “more” or “better” than other Christian callings, and certainly not any superiority to the vocation of Holy Baptism belonging to all Christians equally in Christ. It is simply to confess what the Lord has spoken and given to His Church by and with His Word.
The divinity of the Call to the pastoral office, and the holiness of that office and ministry, is not located in the person of the pastor but in the Lord’s institution and arrangement. That is to say, the Ministry of the Gospel is not simply a practical or pragmatic matter for the sake of getting a job done, but it is given in and with an Office established by the Lord as integral and necessary to the life and health of His Church on earth. It is through this pastoral office and ministry that our Lord has chosen to preach His Word, administer His Gifts, and shepherd the sheep of His pastures (St. Matt. 9:36—10:42; 28:16-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; St. John 20:19-31; 21:15-17). As such, there is something lacking when there is no pastor in a congregation (Titus 1:5-9).
We do trust that, when a man is called to be the pastor in a particular place, that arrangement is also from the Lord and neither arbitrary nor accidental. Luther praises the importance, necessity, benefit, and significance of this Divine Call in his 1531 Lectures on Galatians, commenting on St. Paul’s calling to apostleship (Galatians 1:1-3). But the sort of confidence that rightly derives from knowing that the Lord has placed this man in this place is the sort of confidence that every Christian should find in each and all of his or her particular callings and stations in life. Whereas the unique significance of the “Divine Call” to the “Holy Ministry” is found in the distinctive and intimate connection between that Office and its work and the very life of the Church.
Now, within the Church’s life – in the freedom of the Gospel – other “auxiliary offices” have been established to support the pastoral office and to assist in the work of the ministry, mission, and mercy of God’s holy people. For example, in our own Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod we have established a number of auxiliary offices, including those of school teacher, deaconess, director of Christian education, church musician, and so forth.
These various commissioned positions are sacred and salutary callings and stations, and the men and women who hold these offices and serve them are also God’s good gifts to His Church. But these auxiliary offices are not necessary and integral to the life of the Church in the way that the Office of the Holy Ministry is. That is simply to honor and respect what the Lord has chosen to do and give to us by and with His Word. And then we also thank Him for the gracious freedom within which the Church is able to create and arrange other helpful offices to serve and support the pastoral office; and we thank Him, as well, for all those who serve those auxiliary offices.