Ordination/Installation of Zachary Klumpp
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Joshua 1:7-9, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Luke 24:44-49
“Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you...” Dear gathered saints of Gloria Dei and Redeemer Lutheran churches, this truth is set before you this very day. We are gathered guests - sinners saved by grace - here this day to rejoice with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving that the Father has seen fit to send His promise upon you by way of a faithful sheepdog - Pastor-to-be Zachary Klumpp. “This is the day the Lord has made…let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)
The promise of the Father is the sending of His Spirit - the Holy Spirit into the world for the sake of proclaiming the good news found in the blessing of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension as the Savior of all humanity. You, dear children of God, are guests in the very place this promise of God continues to be poured out and are recipients of the precious means that keep you as faithful. “Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you...”
To truly grasp what a blessing this promise of the Father is, you do well to recall the second promise made by God to humanity in handing down His verdict to the evil one: “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) In these words, God the Father first proclaims the Gospel promise that He will send a Savior into the ruined reality that sin had just brought into the world. The sin of pride - of the desire to be like God - caused Adam and Eve to bring the first promise of God the Father into reality - that promise? Death. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) As a result, each and every creature of God has a temporal death sentence that begins at conception and comes to fruition when God sees fit.
It’s in this reality that we find comfort as Jesus proclaims, “Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you...” Comfort indeed, but a tough confession and often hard go at life you must endure. A tough confession as it’s difficult for each and every one of you to come to terms with the totally corrupted nature that slithers deep within you. It’s the nature of your sinful flesh - of the original sin that manifests itself through prideful acts of sin day in and day out. You all are guilty of it, and there’s no getting away from it.
If you are unwilling to confess such truth, then you must face the reality that there’s no reason for you to be here. Further, there’s no reason for us to go forward with this ordination and installation. Candidate Klumpp has been sent to this place to fulfill a promise, but that promise pertains first and foremost to those who confess that they are, indeed, in need of such a promise. Or, to put it in more familiar terms, you confess that you are a poor miserable sinner.
Yet while God’s creatures are still sinners, God’s promise of the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church gives you the ministry of the one who died for you - Jesus Christ. And with that, God serves you the means that deliver the blessing of ongoing life and salvation for your weary soul. This is the purpose and function of the Church to which you have called this man. The church, as defined by the Augsburg Confession, is “the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught, and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”
Within the purpose and function of the Church, this man who will soon serve you in all faithfulness is charged to be the steward of God’s mysteries - of Word and Sacrament - as he, week after week, cares for and feeds your faithful souls. He will soon pledge to do this work diligently and faithfully. At its most basic definition, the work of the ministry - the work of this sheepdog will be to teach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments. And though he sits before you in stoic and confident posture at this very moment, I believe it safe to say on behalf of Candidate Klumpp that the weight of such a task - of serving the Church in the Office of the Holy Ministry brings a bit of anxiety. In fact, I believe it safe to say that not a pastor here this day would honestly admit that they are ever free from such anxiety. Not because they are necessarily weak or lack confidence in doing the task - but because, at the end of the day, this is the service of caring for souls. And it can be challenging. Yet into this, we hear again: “Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you...”
Blessed children of God, as you begin this relationship with your pastor, you would do well to remember God’s instruction. As Luther arranged for you in the Table of Duties, recall what The Hearers Owe Their Pastor:
The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 1 Cor. 9:14
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Gal. 6:6–7
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 1 Tim. 5:17–18
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 1 Thess. 5:12–13
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Heb. 13:17
Now, lest you feel this is one-sided, you will soon hear numerous words from God that instruct this man on how he is to serve the Church. But in all of this, one thing must be remembered, sin will regularly rear its ugly head. And when it does, in faith, you dear members of the church, and you dear soon-to-be Pastor Klumpp, must be willing to recognize the evil that will try to tear you apart for the sake of destroying the church. Resist that evil. It is not a battle of flesh and blood. So therefore, don’t ever believe that you have the flesh and blood reasoning ability to work through it on your own. Fall to your knees. Repent. And be quick to forgive.
“Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you...” The faithful church will embrace this truth and look forward to every opportunity to receive the blessings of such. Word and Sacrament are the means through which God continues to bless you with the gift of eternal salvation. You are gathered today - let not this gathering cease. Be regular in attendance of this servant’s continued proclamation of truth as he calls you to repentance, feeds you the blessing of Jesus’ life-saving body and blood, and assures you that you are forgiven for all your sin. Amen.