5th Sunday after Pentecost
Pastor Kenneth Wieting’s 25th Anniversary of Ordination
Text: 1 Kings 19, 9b-10
Rev. Dr. Edwin S. Suelflow
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“The word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ So he said: ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’”
In the name of Jesus, fellow Redeemed:
Talk about a discouraged preacher. Elijah, the great prophet of God, was totally depressed - in fact, he wanted to die: “It’s enough now, O Lord, take away my life.”
Kind of a surprising attitude for a man of God.
Remember what happened? Elijah had challenged the prophets of Baal – here are two bulls, he told them, one for you and one for me. We will each build an altar, place a bull on it as a sacrifice, and then we will call on the name of our God to send fire to consume the sacrificial animal. Which ever God will do this, will he hailed as the true God. The prophets of Baal accepted the challenge. They went first – built their altar, put the sacrificial bull in place, and cried out: “O Baal, hear us!” Nothing happened.
When it got to be noon time, Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal: “You will have to shout louder to get the attention of your god! Perhaps he is talking with someone - he’s busy - or maybe he is away on a trip - or is asleep and needs to be awakened.” So the prophets of Baal shouted louder, cut themselves with knives, ranted and raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice. But nothing happened - there was no answer - Baal sent no fire to consume the sacrifice.
Then it was Elijah’s turn. He called to the people to watch as he built his altar, and dug a trench around it, and had the people bring 4 barrels of water to pour over the wood and the sacrificial animal, and fill the trench surrounding the altar. Then he prayed: “O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that You are God and that You have brought them back to Yourself.”
No sooner had he finished praying when fire flashed down from heaven. It burned up the sacrificial bull, the wood, the stones of the altar, including the water in the trench surrounding the altar. When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and shouted: “Jehovah is God! Jehovah is God!”
Following this display of almighty power, Elijah told the people to destroy all the prophets of Baal - not a single one was to escape. How could the prophet be so depressed after such a public display of God’s power?
Queen Jezebel - notorious Queen Jezebel. When she heard that all the prophets of Baal had been killed, she was furious, and sent a message to Elijah: “You killed my prophets, and now I swear to the gods that I am going to kill you by this time tomorrow night.”
Now what? Elijah did the human thing - he ran away - traveled into the desert by himself until exhausted, he fell asleep under a juniper tree. But God still had work for His prophet. He provided bread and water to
sustain Elijah, as he continued to travel, coming eventually to Mt. Horeb, where Elijah hid in a cave.
It was here that the Lord came and asked: “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Oh, Elijah had an answer: “I’ve worked so hard for You, Lord, but the prophets of Israel have broken their covenant with You ands torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets, and only I am left, and now they are trying to kill me.”
It is said that of all the forms of pity, self-pity is the worst.
Now the Lord put it to Elijah - told him come out of the cave and watch. First there was a wind, so strong that it tore some rocks from the mountain side; then there was an earthquake; then fire passed by the entrance to the cave. After these phenomena of nature, the Scriptures relate: “But the Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire.” And then, after the fire had passed by, there came a still, small voice - the voice of the Lord directing Elijah in further service as God’s prophet - a simple reminder - Elijah, the burden of your ministry is to preach My Word - preach My Word.
After the incident in the cave, Elijah continued his ministry, relying on the instruction God had communicated to him. He anointed Hazael as king over Syria, he anointed Jehu as king over Israel, and he anointed Elisha as prophet to be his successor.
In the liturgy of the Church God is communicating with us in His ordered way, through His Word appointed to be read at the divine service. This is to be the focus, the center of attention, even when a special observance takes place during the service. The Word of God you heard today, relating the incident from the life of Elijah, finds application in your observance of Pastor Wieting’s ordination.
God told Elijah - follow, obey, preach My Word - I will give specific
instructions.
At his ordination, Pastor Wieting received specific instructions for his public ministry in the Church from the Word of God. These words of instruction came from the Lord Jesus Himself. As He commented on His suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus said: “Repentance and remission of sins is to be preached in My name to all nations.” What He told His disciples, applies to all Pastors - “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The Apostle Paul, writing to young Pastor Timothy, adds to the list of instructions: “Preach the Word!...convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” And to the Romans, Paul gave his own confession about the ministry: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes.” This is the burden of ministry for every faithful Pastor - preach the Word concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, carrying out God’s plan for the salvation of the world; announce the absolution, in public and in private, to those who come asking forgiveness in the name of Jesus; celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood at every divine service - the assurance that as we eat His body and drink His blood we have full forgiveness for all our sins. Remember the parable of the Great Supper where the servants were asked to go out ands invite the folks in the highways and the byways to come to the feast? The invitation was: “Come, for all things are ready.” The preparations for the feast before God’s throne were completed when Jesus announced from the cross: “It is finished.” Every faithful Pastor, on the basis of God’s Word, invites the folks to come and share in the salvation Christ has earned. He does what an older Pastor reminded me to do: just tell your people about Jesus.
It’s really quite simple. The power to build the church of Jesus Christ lies in the word of God; the power to save souls for the eternal life lies with the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God and the Sacraments. The faithful Pastor will continue to preach the Word and leave the results to God. For the Holy Spirit of God works through the Word of God, when and where it pleases Him.
Elijah felt he was all alone in the church, that his preaching was not producing results. But the Lord revealed to him that were still 7.000 faithful in Israel who did not bow the knee to Baal. In the church today people are enamored with numbers - the larger the congregation, the more successful the Pastor - so the folks in the church growth movement tell us. The smaller congregations must not be doing it right, otherwise they would grow. Elijah had to learn this, and we need to remind ourselves of the criteria the Lord uses in His Church. God tells us: “It is required in stewards - or Pastors - that a man be found faithful” - God doesn’t say a Pastor must have charisma, or be a great orator, or act like a CEO in the congregation - God says: be faithful stewards of the mysteries of My grace - My Word and the Sacraments.
By the grace of God, Pastor Wieting has had the privilege of serving as a minister in the church of Jesus Christ for nigh unto 25 years. Does he ever get depressed, or disappointed, or weary in his work, as Elijah did? He is human, like the rest of us, standing in constant need of God’s Word to sustain and strengthen him. And from personal experience he can attest to the power of God’s Word to sustain and comfort in time of bereavement and in time of personal illness.
And even as we recognize Pastor Wieting’s faithful service to the church, we recognize also the role played by his faithful help-meet, Barbara. She, too, is a gift of God to her husband and to her family.
In closing I would take the words of St. Paul, the closing verse of the great resurrection chapter in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15, and make them personal: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Text: 1 Kings 19, 9b-10
Rev. Dr. Edwin S. Suelflow
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“The word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ So he said: ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’”
In the name of Jesus, fellow Redeemed:
Talk about a discouraged preacher. Elijah, the great prophet of God, was totally depressed - in fact, he wanted to die: “It’s enough now, O Lord, take away my life.”
Kind of a surprising attitude for a man of God.
Remember what happened? Elijah had challenged the prophets of Baal – here are two bulls, he told them, one for you and one for me. We will each build an altar, place a bull on it as a sacrifice, and then we will call on the name of our God to send fire to consume the sacrificial animal. Which ever God will do this, will he hailed as the true God. The prophets of Baal accepted the challenge. They went first – built their altar, put the sacrificial bull in place, and cried out: “O Baal, hear us!” Nothing happened.
When it got to be noon time, Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal: “You will have to shout louder to get the attention of your god! Perhaps he is talking with someone - he’s busy - or maybe he is away on a trip - or is asleep and needs to be awakened.” So the prophets of Baal shouted louder, cut themselves with knives, ranted and raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice. But nothing happened - there was no answer - Baal sent no fire to consume the sacrifice.
Then it was Elijah’s turn. He called to the people to watch as he built his altar, and dug a trench around it, and had the people bring 4 barrels of water to pour over the wood and the sacrificial animal, and fill the trench surrounding the altar. Then he prayed: “O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that You are God and that You have brought them back to Yourself.”
No sooner had he finished praying when fire flashed down from heaven. It burned up the sacrificial bull, the wood, the stones of the altar, including the water in the trench surrounding the altar. When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and shouted: “Jehovah is God! Jehovah is God!”
Following this display of almighty power, Elijah told the people to destroy all the prophets of Baal - not a single one was to escape. How could the prophet be so depressed after such a public display of God’s power?
Queen Jezebel - notorious Queen Jezebel. When she heard that all the prophets of Baal had been killed, she was furious, and sent a message to Elijah: “You killed my prophets, and now I swear to the gods that I am going to kill you by this time tomorrow night.”
Now what? Elijah did the human thing - he ran away - traveled into the desert by himself until exhausted, he fell asleep under a juniper tree. But God still had work for His prophet. He provided bread and water to
sustain Elijah, as he continued to travel, coming eventually to Mt. Horeb, where Elijah hid in a cave.
It was here that the Lord came and asked: “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Oh, Elijah had an answer: “I’ve worked so hard for You, Lord, but the prophets of Israel have broken their covenant with You ands torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets, and only I am left, and now they are trying to kill me.”
It is said that of all the forms of pity, self-pity is the worst.
Now the Lord put it to Elijah - told him come out of the cave and watch. First there was a wind, so strong that it tore some rocks from the mountain side; then there was an earthquake; then fire passed by the entrance to the cave. After these phenomena of nature, the Scriptures relate: “But the Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire.” And then, after the fire had passed by, there came a still, small voice - the voice of the Lord directing Elijah in further service as God’s prophet - a simple reminder - Elijah, the burden of your ministry is to preach My Word - preach My Word.
After the incident in the cave, Elijah continued his ministry, relying on the instruction God had communicated to him. He anointed Hazael as king over Syria, he anointed Jehu as king over Israel, and he anointed Elisha as prophet to be his successor.
In the liturgy of the Church God is communicating with us in His ordered way, through His Word appointed to be read at the divine service. This is to be the focus, the center of attention, even when a special observance takes place during the service. The Word of God you heard today, relating the incident from the life of Elijah, finds application in your observance of Pastor Wieting’s ordination.
God told Elijah - follow, obey, preach My Word - I will give specific
instructions.
At his ordination, Pastor Wieting received specific instructions for his public ministry in the Church from the Word of God. These words of instruction came from the Lord Jesus Himself. As He commented on His suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus said: “Repentance and remission of sins is to be preached in My name to all nations.” What He told His disciples, applies to all Pastors - “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The Apostle Paul, writing to young Pastor Timothy, adds to the list of instructions: “Preach the Word!...convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” And to the Romans, Paul gave his own confession about the ministry: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes.” This is the burden of ministry for every faithful Pastor - preach the Word concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, carrying out God’s plan for the salvation of the world; announce the absolution, in public and in private, to those who come asking forgiveness in the name of Jesus; celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood at every divine service - the assurance that as we eat His body and drink His blood we have full forgiveness for all our sins. Remember the parable of the Great Supper where the servants were asked to go out ands invite the folks in the highways and the byways to come to the feast? The invitation was: “Come, for all things are ready.” The preparations for the feast before God’s throne were completed when Jesus announced from the cross: “It is finished.” Every faithful Pastor, on the basis of God’s Word, invites the folks to come and share in the salvation Christ has earned. He does what an older Pastor reminded me to do: just tell your people about Jesus.
It’s really quite simple. The power to build the church of Jesus Christ lies in the word of God; the power to save souls for the eternal life lies with the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God and the Sacraments. The faithful Pastor will continue to preach the Word and leave the results to God. For the Holy Spirit of God works through the Word of God, when and where it pleases Him.
Elijah felt he was all alone in the church, that his preaching was not producing results. But the Lord revealed to him that were still 7.000 faithful in Israel who did not bow the knee to Baal. In the church today people are enamored with numbers - the larger the congregation, the more successful the Pastor - so the folks in the church growth movement tell us. The smaller congregations must not be doing it right, otherwise they would grow. Elijah had to learn this, and we need to remind ourselves of the criteria the Lord uses in His Church. God tells us: “It is required in stewards - or Pastors - that a man be found faithful” - God doesn’t say a Pastor must have charisma, or be a great orator, or act like a CEO in the congregation - God says: be faithful stewards of the mysteries of My grace - My Word and the Sacraments.
By the grace of God, Pastor Wieting has had the privilege of serving as a minister in the church of Jesus Christ for nigh unto 25 years. Does he ever get depressed, or disappointed, or weary in his work, as Elijah did? He is human, like the rest of us, standing in constant need of God’s Word to sustain and strengthen him. And from personal experience he can attest to the power of God’s Word to sustain and comfort in time of bereavement and in time of personal illness.
And even as we recognize Pastor Wieting’s faithful service to the church, we recognize also the role played by his faithful help-meet, Barbara. She, too, is a gift of God to her husband and to her family.
In closing I would take the words of St. Paul, the closing verse of the great resurrection chapter in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15, and make them personal: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
7/16/2007
