| Sermon (audio) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Download Sermon | ||
| Download Bulletin | ||
Sermon for the Festival of St. Bartholomew
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 + Luke 22:24-30
There are some graphic depictions floating around out there of St. Bartholomew as he was being martyred, holding his own skin in his arms after being skinned alive. It may be that he died in such a gruesome way, but no one really knows, and honestly, it shouldn’t matter to us. It didn’t take long after the death of the apostles for Christians to begin glamorizing and sensationalizing the Church on earth, and especially the history of her apostles and bishops and clergy in general. It led to an unhealthy focus on men and their great achievements, even if those achievements were good and devout. How foolish. The kingdom of Christ has never been about exalting men. It’s about Christ. It’s always been about Christ, Christ and His humble service to us, Christ and His suffering for our sins, Christ and His resurrection from the dead.
That Christ, on the same night in which He was betrayed, taught His disciples a valuable lesson about what it means to be a Christian, and specifically, what it means to hold an ordained office within His kingdom, within His Church; what it means to occupy the office of the holy ministry. It means imitating Christ: serving as Christ served, and suffering as Christ suffered, for now.
We’re told that, on that Maundy Thursday, soon after Jesus had established the New Testament in His blood and instituted the Lord’s Supper, right after announcing to His disciples that He would be betrayed by one of them, they started arguing with one another—first, about who the betrayer would be. But then, they started arguing about which of them was the greatest, which one was the most important, which one should be able to give orders to the rest.
So Jesus very patiently instructs them about what it means to be office-holders in His kingdom. It’s very different than holding office in the secular realm. The kings of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them; and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors Now, understand, this isn’t a bad thing in itself. There is a secular realm, established by God, and God approves of it, even if He doesn’t often approve of how the office-holders carry out their office. In the kingdoms of this world, in the secular government, there are degrees of authority, some are higher, some are lower. There are kings, lords, rulers, governors, presidents, sheriffs, mayors whose office it is to rule, to govern, to give lawful orders, and to enforce their lawful orders, and to punish by the sword those who disobey. Those who rule well and give orders well and govern well in the secular realm are called benefactors—doers of good—and they’re generally rewarded in this life with glory and fame. Even those who don’t rule well often live in mansions and are treated with reverence and get to be served by others. That’s generally the way it is, and there’s nothing wrong with it, in and of itself.
But that’s the secular realm. That’s earthly authority and worldly power. Christ’s kingdom—the Church—is much different. You shall not behave this way, Jesus said to His disciples. Instead, let him who is greatest among you be like the youngest; and let the one who leads be like the one who serves. Christ has a kingdom that’s separate from the State. In it, He alone reigns as King, and He has, through His Church, set certain men into offices of authority in His kingdom. Like Bartholomew. Like the other apostles. Like their successors—all who hold the office of the holy ministry. But unlike in the secular realm, all office-holders in the Church are equal, with the same authority. Unlike in the secular realm, office-holders in the Church are not given the sword with which to punish, are not given the right to use force or physical threats to get people to do things. Instead, they are given only the Word of God, to preach, teach, correct, rebuke, encourage, to threaten sinners with God’s wrath, and to comfort the penitent with God’s forgiveness. Unlike in the secular realm, the greatness of the office-holders in the Church is not in exercising authority from above, but in serving from beneath, as Christ served.
For who is greater, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
How did Christ serve? He didn’t live in a mansion or have people waiting on Him hand and foot. Instead, He devoted His life to serving mankind. Serving, not by taking orders from people and doing whatever they wanted Him to do, but by giving His life to the people and for the people, by saying what they needed to hear, even when it hurt their feelings, even when it hurt His own popularity or caused Him to be hated. He served, not by the power of the sword, but by the power of the Word. He identified sin, and rebuked and condemned it. He showed the people God’s grace and love in sending His Son into the world to be a sacrifice for sin. He walked into the hands of those who hated Him and gave His life to make atonement for our sins. He did it all in service to mankind, which includes you and me. He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Now, Christ says to His dear disciples, “All those who hold office in My kingdom must serve, as I served; and will suffer, as I suffered. If you’re looking for earthly splendor, for a comfortable life, for the praise of men, then seek it somewhere else. You can’t have that in My kingdom.” Yes, of course, there have been countless priests and pastors in the world who have not been faithful to Christ’s Word, who have told lies in Christ’s name, who have sought earthly greatness, who have ruled from above instead of serving from beneath. To them, Christ will say on the Last Day, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” But those who serve and carry out their ministry well in Christ’s kingdom will have trouble, toil, and often ingratitude in this life. So be it. That’s the ministry that Christ instituted.
St. Paul’s life as an office-holder in the Church was a striking illustration of Jesus’ words. You heard in the Epistle of the service and the sufferings of Paul, together with his fellow ministers. The weakness of Christ’s ministers only serves to highlight the treasure of the cross of Christ and the power of God in gathering a kingdom to Himself, not by force or compulsion, but only by the power of His Word.
But, who would submit to such a life—to hold the office of Christ, to shun earthly glory and comfort, to live a life of humble service and to suffer in this ministry? Hear again the promise Jesus attached to this ministry: You are the ones who have continued with me in my trials. And I confer upon you a kingdom, as my Father has conferred it upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. You are those who have been with Me in My trials. You are those who have seen Me suffer as a result of My ministry. You know what it will be like for you. You get to be like Me. Like Me in My service. Like Me in My sufferings. But also like Me in glory. For all your trouble, toil, and earthly misfortune, you get a kingdom, the authority to reign—not separately from Me, but together with Me. But not in this world. Not here. Not now. Here you serve. Here you do not rule and reign and sit at the table. But there, in the next life, you will. You will sit with Me at My table. You will have thrones there, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
It was this promise that sustained Bartholomew and all the apostles in all their future hardships, and finally, in their martyrdom. It’s this promise that sustains all faithful pastors and preachers. And actually, it’s this promise that sustains the hearers of the Word, as well. Because, while not all Christians are office-holders in the Church, all Christians are clothed with Christ and called by the name of Christ. All Christians are called to serve one another in love. All Christians are children of God, and coheirs with Christ, and fellow sharers in the sufferings of Christ. As Paul said, not to the pastors in Rome, but to all the Christians in Rome, The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
So the promise to sit with Christ at His table is for all believers in Christ. The promise of an end to earthly shame and suffering and of an eternal banquet of glory and peace is for all who walk by the Spirit, who persevere in faith until the end.
Until the end, Christ continues to serve His whole Church through the mouths and hands of weak, sinful men. That’s what this office of the ministry is for in the first place, not to exalt the minister, but to step into the role of Jesus, to serve Christ’s holy people and to hold out to them the Word of life, the water of life, and the New Testament in the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. This office of Christ is the way He has chosen to serve you here on this earth, to teach you, to correct you, to forgive, comfort, and strengthen you. Don’t take this ministry for granted or allow the other items on your long to-do list bump Christ’s ministry down out of first place, where it belongs. Instead, rejoice that Christ wants to serve you and guide you through this life and feed your soul for eternal life.
Let us give thanks to God today, first for the service and the sufferings of Christ, our Savior, and then also for the service and sufferings of Bartholomew and of all Christ’s chosen ministers throughout the ages who have borne the office of Christ faithfully. The best way to thank God for these gifts is to make use of these gifts, to the glory of Christ Jesus, and to the edification of His holy Church. Amen.
