Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On November 3, 2013 I will be “Installed” as your pastor. I have found myself reflecting on what it means to be “Installed” as the pastor of Zion Lutheran Church. Bishop Bartholomew will ask some challenging and pointed questions at the Installation service during the “Address and Questions” rite. She’ll ask, “Carmine, in the presence of this assembly will you commit yourself to this new trust and responsibility, in the confidence that this ministry comes from God through the call of the church?” “Will you preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church?” “Will you carry out this ministry in harmony with the constitutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America?” “Will you be diligent in your study of the Holy Scriptures and in your use of the means of grace?” “Will you love, serve, and pray for God’s people, nourish them with word and sacraments, and lead them by your own example in faithful service and holy living?” “Will you give faithful witness in the world, that God’s love may be known in all that you do?” My response will be, “I will, and I ask God to help me.” God help me, God help us all! These questions are filled with the tremendous sense of weight that accompanies the responsibility of ministry. At this point I can’t help but think of my Ordination service where Bishop Riley and numerous other clergy laid their hands on me. The “Laying on of Hands” is a tradition that reaches all the way back to the early church in the Book of Acts (6:7) from the Bible. I do not think that there were ever weightier hands on my shoulders than the day when I was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament (Preaching, celebrating communion, and baptizing in God’s name).
The “Address and Questions” and the “Laying on of Hands” are of historical significance in that they set a precedent because they are biblically ancient. But even more than that, ritual actions such as these inform how we remember who we were as church throughout history. And, as the “Address and Questions” and the “Laying on of Hands” show, who we were as church is centered in the proclamation of the Gospel. The addressees of the questions, the recipients of the heavy hands laying on shoulders respond with the only thing that a person can reasonably say under the weight of God’s work, “I will, and I ask God to help me.” “God help me” is really the only response that anyone can muster when the weight of antiquity and tradition are placed squarely on your back. It is overwhelming to think about!
What is perhaps the most astonishing thing is bishop Bartholomew’s first question. I will repeat it here to refresh your memory, the question is, “Carmine, in the presence of this assembly will you commit yourself to this new trust and responsibility, in the confidence that this ministry comes from God through the call of the church?” That last part is the part that I want to focus on here, “through the call of the church…” That last part, “through the call of the church,” is YOU! The call to ministry comes through you, the church! God expresses God’s gifts to all humanity through YOU! That is, God’s grace is filtered through each and every member of this church. Think about it, what good would a pastor be without a congregation? What good would God’s grace be if there was no one there to receive it? What good would a prayer be if there was no one to pray for?
You see, the weight of the questions asked by Bishop Bartholomew, the weight of the hands that were laid on my shoulders, was, has been, and will always be a shared weight. It is shared between you to me. It is the weight of God’s work in this world that was shared with me through you, the church. It was your weight to share because the church is the “manger” of God’s grace in the world. Still, the weight of God’s work is too heavy to bear by ourselves.
Firstly, and lastly, we do not bear this weight alone. Ultimately, it is a burden shared between you and I and another, namely the One whose shoulders had splinters from the weight of a “rugged old cross,” the One who said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” The call to ministry comes through you, the church. And, after I have been Installed as your pastor, we will share the weight of God’s work, but we do not share this burden alone. Christ bids us, together, to, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When Christ and Christ’s work on the cross are taken into consideration, Jesus’ yoke is easy and our burdens borne together with Christ as the church are light. “Will we give faithful witness in the world, that God’s love may be known in all that we do?” And God’s people say, “We will, and we ask God to help us!” Amen.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Carmine Pernini
