I was blessed to hear a beautiful sermon this past Sunday, one that was theologically rich and robust, yet no less personal and “practical” for the people in the pews. Of course, I get to listen to lots of great preaching from the good and faithful pastors of our Indiana District, for which I give thanks and praise to our gracious Lord. In this most recent case, what struck me in particular was not only the sermon’s evangelical orthodoxy and homiletical craftsmanship, but the tenderness of the delivery. It was calm and gentle throughout, and it was spoken with such tender pastoral care, conveying the powerful sense of a shepherd tending the flock entrusted to his care.
The days of Christmas are surely among the busiest of the year for all our parish pastors; and, yes, that does involve a lot of “extra” work. But it is indeed a real labor of love, and the very thing that our pastors really live for – to serve Christ’s holy people with His Word and Flesh, and to preach His delightful Holy Gospel in all its profound and poignant sweetness.
Along with the blessed opportunity to tend the sheep of the Good Shepherd, the shepherds of our congregations are also given to hear and receive the “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (St. Luke 2:10). Ministers of the Gospel are called, ordained, and sent to be angels (messengers) and shepherds (pastors), in order to make “known the saying that had been told them concerning” the Christ Child (St. Luke 2:17). But in order to bear that message to others, and to keep “watch over their flock” (St. Luke 2:8), the shepherds need to hear that same Word of the Gospel as joyous good news for themselves. And it is my hope and prayer that each and every one of our pastors will be able to embrace that gracious Word within their hearts, and find the comfort, peace, and gladness of the Savior they are privileged to preach to their parishes.
The truth is that even the best and most faithful pastors fall short in a variety of ways, not only at the busiest times of the year, but even when the demands are fewer. And no doubt there are times when we don’t rejoice as we should in the privilege of serving God’s people, but resent the labor and sacrifice the job requires. “We are unworthy servants,” we have to confess; even on our best day “we have only done what was our duty” (St. Luke 17:10).
Such good news it truly is – for the shepherds as for the sheep – that “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (St. Luke 2:11). The precious Gospel that you brother pastors are given to preach and proclaim is for you, as well. Christ the Lord is born to be your Savior, to forgive your sins and give you His Life in place of your death and damnation. He has not come to burden or condemn you, but to comfort and deliver you. He is born in the House of Bread and laid in a manger in order to feed you – to be your Food – as surely as you are given to feed His lambs and sheep with His Body and Blood in remembrance of Him. He is wrapped in cloths, at His birth and in His burial, that He might present Himself to you in peace, to be given and received in holy faith and holy love. Before you were ever called, ordained, and sent to be His earthen vessels, He became an Earthen Vessel for the sake of your Life and Salvation.
The tenderness of a pastor for the people entrusted to his care, such as I witnessed this past Sunday, is but an echo of the tenderness of our great Good Shepherd for all who are called by His Name, for His pastors as for all of His dear people. As Luther observed in his Christmas preaching, what could possibly be more tender than the Babe of Bethlehem? His Peace be with you throughout this busy Season, as you tend His flock by night as by day, in the confidence that He has come to be your Savior. And so has He made Himself known to you in order to save you, according to His tender mercies and His steadfast loving-kindness.