Bloghardt's Reflector

“If now I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there… But I will find in the sacrament or Gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the Cross.” (AE 40, 214)

Open Letter To John

Posted On: August 22nd, 2005 at 2:11 am

"Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." (Phil. 1:15-18)

INI. The "some" there is me. When I look at the dreadful things that I do, say, and think, I sometimes wonder why on earth I am given to even open my mouth. Not to mention to open my mouth proclaim the Lord's words.

The only answer that holds for sure is: "The Lord put me here."

Pious pastors like Pr. Peperkorn always preach the Gospel for the salvation of their hearers. I marvel at his godliness and faithfulness on a daily basis.

I've looked inside of me. There's no godly Peperkorn there. What's even more frightening is that there's not even a Pr. Cwirla there (smile). There is only sin, unbelief, and death. I don't want even to start to think about the motivations behind why I preach. When I do, I end up with conclusions that cause repentance: arrogance, ego, glory-seeking, self-promotion, and everything but Truth.

Which reminds me of a great story (smile). When I was on vicarage, I wondered why on earth I was preaching. It didn't seem to jive with our Confessions that a non-ordained young man should be in the pulpit (Augustana XIV). I took comfort in the words of my professors, who told me that I was there to learn and learn and learn.

Then, I was called to St. Mark to be a pastor. (If you don't know, I was called to my vicarage congregation. They REALLY liked my wife. - (smile))

After ordination, the first time I got into the pulpit, I found one thought in my mind. Can there be an any more uber-pious moment in Bloghardt's life than right before he preached his first sermon? Was I praying a psalm? Was I thinking about the Cross? Nope, I could only come up with one-not-so-pious thought. The Hymn of the Day ended and in my mind was, "So THIS is why I was in this pulpit on vicarage.....He was gonna put me here..." And I gently tapped the side of the pulpit with my hand and said, "Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you...."

I have been called by our Lord to preach, so I open my mouth. I have been called by our Lord to teach, so I teach. I have been called by our Lord to administer, so I administer. How do I know? He put me here at my ordination. (smirk)

The great comfort is that it isn't ME doing anything at all - the Lord does it!. When the Office of the Holy Ministry does something, the Lord is doing it (instrumentum secundum).

Which removes everything about you, John. So, you are free. Either go to seminary or don't. But, leave the "why" you'll preach to the Lord Jesus. INI. Amen.

Edited on: September 06th, 2005 11:26 pm

Comments:

Re: Open Letter To John

Posted On: August 22nd, 2005 at 9:51 am by Rev Alex Klages
Yes, the eternal struggle inside the pastor between his piety and piousness, between the external calling and the internal motivation...

Keep on the struggle, Rev. Borghardt, and good advice for John!

Re: Open Letter To John

Posted On: August 22nd, 2005 at 11:32 am by john pawlitz
George,

Much appreciated, especially in juxtaposition to...hmm...spiritual gift cataloguing and the law binding the conscience. (Not that the law does not bind the conscience, but in the gospel there is freedom.) To put in terms of "opening the mouth" makes a lot more sense however. I was intrigued to compare your writ with [some of] the Last Words of David (2 Sam 23[:2]) "The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, his word is on my tongue." Anyways, thank you for a faithful exposition of this difficult concept.

I daresay that thinking law-gospel is a lot more difficult than talking law-gospel. And I am grateful for the reference to such rhetoric as "opening my mouth" or "his word is on my tongue" which compel us to regard the preacher as a piece of flesh through which the Lord works. Before I had the false interpretation that "opening the mouth" was simply speaking up for what you believe in...no. Would not the preacher be God himself--if he speaks "God's" words? No, I suppose it is the case that His Word burns inside-does it not?-and so the preacher must perform the act of opening a mouth, so that the Word can get out. Yet why was this so difficult for me--I don't know--but thanks for the letter.