The Holy Ministry

a view from the parish 35
being appropriated in a new way so that confusion about the
Office of the Word and Sacraments is the net result.
At least the current ordination rites used in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church on this continent indicate that “officially” we
still have it right. Occasional Services: A Companion to Lutheran
Book of Worship speaks of “the ministry of Word and Sacrament.”
Lutheran Worship: Agenda puts it this way: “The holy
office of the public ministry in the one, holy, Christian and
apostolic church.” It appears, however, that these are about the
only places that the office is spoken of in such terms.
BIBLICAL EXCURSUS
The function of the Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament
was to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people of Israel.
We usually forget that while Israel had one tribe designated as
the priests of the people, as a nation they were still a priestly
people. Exodus 19:6 says, “You shall be to me a kingdom of
priests, and a holy nation.” It is this concept of the nation as a
kingdom of priests that the Apostle Peter picks up in his First
Letter: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, God’s own people, that you might declare the wonderful
deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light. Once you were no people, now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy” (1 Pt 2:9-10). The aspect of this passage that is
usually quoted to prove a “general priesthood” is that the new
covenant people are a continuation of the old covenant. The
church is the New Israel so that all that was said of ancient
Israel is now said of the church: no people, now God’s people;
once in darkness, now in light; once concerned only about
itself, now called to witness to the mercy they have received. As
ancient Israel was a nation of kings and priests, so the New
Israel is a nation of kings and priests. However, ancient
Israel—a kingly, priestly people—nevertheless had both a king
and priests. The kingly, royal and priestly quality of the nation
did not eliminate the need for kings and for a priesthood.
That is not to confuse the priesthood of the nation with
the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the Letter to the
Hebrews clearly teaches, there is but one Great High Priest who
entered once and for all into the Holy of Holies and gave his
own life as a sacrifice so that there is no longer any need for the
repetition of blood sacrifices. That was done once and for all
on the cross altar when our Lord died there as a sacrifice for us.
But that does not mean that the category of sacrifice is no
longer appropriate for the Christian. The Christian cannot
make a propitiatory sacrifice. Christ did that. But we are called
upon as the priesthood of God to be about the sacrifice of our
selves and our lives in his service. Romans 12:1 says: “Present
your bodies as a living sacrifice which is wholly acceptable to
God.” And while sacrifice is still a lively and important category
for the Christian, the office of priest is one that St. Paul sees
still going on in what he is doing: “On some points I have written
to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace
given by God to be a minister (the word here is leitourgov",
not diavkono") of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles in the priestly service
(iJerourgevw) of the Gospel of God so that the offering
(prosforav—a “sacrificial offering”) may be acceptable, sancti-
fied by the holy Spirit” (Rom 15:15-16). St. Paul views his ministry
of preaching the Gospel to be like that of the Old Testament
priest. However, now the sacrifice is not a goat or a lamb
or a bull or a ram. It is the Gentiles that are presented to the
Lord as an offering.
The language of sacrifice and priest is clearly delineated for
us as Lutherans in the Apology, Article XXIV, as Melanchthon
clearly shows the various species of sacrifice. The propitiatory
sacrifice for our sins is a non-repeatable act done for us by the
Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. But we are called upon to offer
the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. There is a
priesthood of God in this world. It is the New Israel. It is called
to offer the sacrifice of a life of service and praise to God in
thanksgiving for salvation as the undershepherd in the flock of
God leads the people as their leitourgov", bringing the offering
of the Gentiles as acceptable and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
THE CONFESSIONAL MATERIAL
With regard to the material contained in our Lutheran
Confessions, we first need to affirm that the Office of the Holy
Ministry is a divinely ordained office and has as its purpose the
teaching and proclamation of the Gospel and the administration
of the Holy Sacraments. The content, the work, the task of
the public ministry is the responsible public preaching of the
Gospel and the celebration of the Sacraments according to the
institution of the Lord. It is not the offering of an expiatory
sacrifice that earns forgiveness for the living and the dead. In
the preaching of the Gospel, the servant of the Word is to proclaim
not only the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ, but also
the Word of God as judgment. The Word preached, taught,
and proclaimed, is therefore rightly divided into Law and
Gospel, and the inclusion of both Law and Gospel is what the
Confessions are speaking about when they discuss the preaching
of the Gospel.
It does make a difference what you
call a person or a thing. The child’s
taunt that “sticks and stones may
break my bones but words can never
hurt me,” is, as we all know, quite
untrue. Words do count. They are
important. “Priest,” “minister” and
now “pastor” have been or are being
appropriated in a new way so that
confusion about the Office of the Word
and Sacraments is the net result.
The public minister of the Word is to equip the church for
outreach. God’s gift of the pastor/teacher to the church and
their preaching of the Gospel has the goal of the edification of
the church. This is not used merely in a figurative sense—edification,
building up. It literally means the building up of the