Grace, mercy, and peace, be to you from God our heavenly Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In this weekend's Gospel lesson we hear Jesus say to His disciples that no human person can possibly have or do what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven; but God Himself has done everything possible to bring us into that kingdom.
And so we Lutherans believe, and teach, and confess, that it is the Holy Spirit who “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.” You and I have come here this evening to worship our Savior Jesus not because you and I decided to clear our schedules to come, but because the Holy Spirit has called us to come together in this place, at this time, for this worship service. He does that so that you can hear once again the Gospel of God’s forgiveness for us because of the perfect life, the suffering and death, and resurrection of His son Jesus; to remind us that we are His adopted children through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism; and to reinforce His forgiveness as we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper, that is also the body and blood of Jesus Himself, for the forgiveness of our sins. The Holy Spirit calls you together here at Calvary on a regular schedule to strengthen your faith; but sometimes the Holy Spirit has something more in mind – and tonight is one of those “sometimes.”
I guess that not many of you that are here this evening remember when the Holy Spirit brought the first Vicar to Calvary Lutheran Church. I can tell you that it was about 50 years ago, because that Vicar was my good friend John Telloni, now Reverend John Telloni, Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Massillon. He was here for a year, but the Holy Spirit kept bringing Vicars here year after year – almost two dozen of them! – while Rev. Dr. Albert Marcis served as both Calvary’s Pastor and the President of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. But when Pastor Marcis retired as the Pastor of Calvary, the era of Vicars came to an end, and the Holy Spirit began a new era of His ministry of the Gospel of Jesus here. The Holy Spirit brought not only the ministry of a new Pastor, Rev. Todd Biermann, but with him the calling and ministry of Mr. Jim Hurst to assist Rev. Biermann as the Deacon of Calvary. Mr. Hurst has been here ever since, the Holy Spirit using him to supplement the ministry of Pastors Biermann, Stone, and Dieterichs, and also using him to be the anchor to the ministry of Calvary Lutheran Church between pastors, and now for the past year.
I suppose at this point it might be good for me to explain a few words that we Lutheran preachers tend to throw around as if everybody knows what we mean when we use them (don’t ask me where we get all these words – some of their meanings are shrouded in the mists of time!)
Calvary Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Christian denomination, or church body, named The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In this denomination, “Reverend” is the title for a man who has received an approved level of instruction and training at one of our seminaries (those are graduate schools specifically for training pastors and certain other church workers). Graduates of a seminary might also have other titles, depending on their academic degree (like “Doctor”) or position of service (like "Professor" or "Chaplain"); “Pastor” is the proper title for a man who is serving as the head of ministry in a congregation. Sometimes, even if a man is no longer serving in such a position, people use the title anyway as a way to honor both his service and the position he formerly held (like our friend Pastor Hansell). It is the Holy Spirit who enlightens and sanctifies these men for this service to the church that the Holy Spirit calls and gathers.
And the Holy Spirit also gives us Vicars. In the regular course of study at our seminaries, a man would be a full-time student for two calendar years. Then there comes a year “in the field” where he learns first-hand many pastoral skills at a particular congregation, working closely with that congregation’s pastor. (If it helps you to think of him as something like a “student teacher,” feel
free. If it helps you to think of this as his “co-op” year, go right ahead.) During this time his title is “Vicar.” At the end of that year he would return to the seminary for one year to complete his study, then receive a “call” to some congregation to be their pastor.
In The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod a man may also learn to be a pastor by spending those first two years working full- or part-time in his home congregation (like Mr. Hurst here) while at the same time taking seminary courses online. During those two years his proper title is Vicar, and he is expected to work closely with his congregation’s pastor as his supervisor or mentor both in learning the teachings of the church, and in developing his pastoral skills. In some cases, as here at Calvary, the mentor is a pastor from a different congregation. This will be my role for Mr. Hurst for at least the next two years – and I am honored to have been asked to serve in this capacity for him! At the end of these two years, his “basic training” will have been completed, and he can be ordained to be the next Pastor at Calvary. (By the way, we call this the Specific Ministry Pastor prorgram.) So, long and short – after this worship service is completed Mr. Hurst’s proper title here at Calvary will no longer be Deacon, but Vicar (but if it takes some of you a while to get used to calling him that, I’m sure he’ll be patient with you).
But why do we do all that, in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod? Why are we doing all that, here at Calvary Lutheran Church? Simply, because it appears from God’s Word that it is the will of the Holy Spirit that if you want somebody to preach the comfort of the Word of God, to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, and to encourage you with the promises of heaven, that person ought to have a good idea what it is they’re talking about and why. So let’s think about this:
AfterJesus was baptized and tempted by Satan in the wilderness, one of the first things He did when He began His ministry was to invite twelve men to “follow Him” – because His intention for them was to “make them fishers of men,” right? That’s “boots on the ground” seminary training – that’s “learning by doing” or at least “learning while doing,” and that’s what the Holy Spirit has called us all to enter together this evening. Read through the Gospels, and you’ll read again and again how Jesus often took the twelve aside from the crowds to debrief a day’s ministry, answer their questions, and give them deeper knowledge of His ministry. That’s what you and I and Vicar Hurst and Pastor Hansell and SELC District President Vinovskis and others will be doing for the next two years. But wait! There’s more!
The Holy Spirit came with power onto the disciples on the first Pentecost Sunday, but in the course of time it became obvious to the Christians that the Holy Spirit was intent on growing the leadership pool so that it would both survive and expand after the first generation of Apostles. Deacons were chosen to guide the social ministry efforts of the early church, but the Holy Spirit gave other gifts even to Deacons – He gave the gift of preaching to Stephen, for example, and the
gift of teaching and evangelism to Philip. And then, of course, there was Saul of Tarsus, whom we know as Paul or Saint Paul.
You’ve possibly heard the story about how Saul, who was apparently a violent, driven young man, was knocked off his high horse by Jesus Himself onto the road leading to Damascus. You’ve probably heard that this encounter changed his life and set him on a completely new road, away from persecuting the Christians and on to fervently preaching about Jesus all over the known world. I wonder, though, if you’ve heard what happened after he recovered from his fall from his horse; here it is (from Acts 9):
26 When Saul [eventually] came toJerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
My focus here is not on the Jerusalem Christians and how they greeted Saul with fear and suspicion, but rather on Barnabas, who stepped up as Saul’s sponsor, mentor, and encourager.
Barnabas not only helped the Jerusalem Christians but even Saul himself to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit did indeed have a role for this man in the church, regardless of his previous life and experiences. My hope and prayer tonight is that, like Barnabas, the Holy Spirit can use me to encourage both Vicar Hurst and you, the people of God gathered by the Holy Spirit here at Calvary, as you continue together in this precious ministry of His grace.
But the Holy Spirit didn’t spend his entire “onboarding” budget only on Barnabas! Listen to this:
Acts 18:24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
Here's what I know about Vicar Hurst – By the grace of God and the activity of the Holy Spirit throughout his life, he already learned a lot about God’s Word and the Lutheran faith as a
child and teenager. The Holy Spirit taught him a lot at one of our Concordia Colleges. The Holy Spirit has taught him a lot more over the years here at Calvary, as he was getting ready to teach Bible classes or Youth Groups. The Holy Spirit has taught Jim a lot, as he attended Youth Gatherings or pastors’ meetings or helped out the Calvary pastors and people for over 20 years. And every time, and in every place, the Holy Spirit has brought Jim into contact with people like Aquila and Priscilla, who by their conversation, ministry, and friendship caused Apollos to learn new and better ways of thinking about God’s Word, ways that would help him to be even more effective in his ministry than he previously imagined. And over the last two months, as Jim has just about completed his first course at the seminary, he’s already seeing how the insights of professors, his fellow students, his wife Jennifer, you members of Calvary, and other pastors and I are helping him to refine his thoughts and his faith. And not just us – I’m looking forward to see him grow even further not only as he learns from other professors, but as he learns from godly men like Pastor Hansell (and President Vinovskis and ______________________) and looks forward to the day when things change once again, and he becomes Pastor Hurst. That day will come by Jesus’ grace that forgives us all our sins, and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies all of us into this congregation and into the one true church. I hope you members of Calvary will join me every day in praying for Vicar Jim, for Jennifer, for me, for Pastor Hansell and President Vinovskis, and for Calvary Lutheran Church.
Meanwhile, as always - the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep our hearts and minds through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Christopher Cahill, Pastor
Christ the King Lutheran Church, Lodi Ohio
Second Vice-President, SELC District of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
