Dear Pastor,

Perhaps you attended the ordination of a pastor this summer. What a blessed event! After the sermon, the ordination rite has these elements: ordination vows, prayers, the laying on of hands with words of blessing, the placing of a stole on the newly ordained, and his speaking of the blessing to his congregation. It is a solemn event that marks the beginning of a heavy responsibility. For many of you, the anniversary of your ordination happened recently. Mine fell on July 18. Today Paul’s words to Timothy speak to us about the heaviness of gospel ministry. It is a sacred burden. Paul invites Timothy to “share in the suffering.” Who would sign up for that? Where do pastors, who have signed up for that, find the grace to keep serving?

^2.1 Σὺ οὖν, τέκνον μου, ἐνδυναμοῦ ἐν τῇ χάριτι τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,  ² καὶ ἃ ἤκουσας παρʼ ἐμοῦ διὰ πολλῶν μαρτύρων, ταῦτα παράθου πιστοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οἵτινες ἱκανοὶ ἔσονται καὶ ἑτέρους διδάξαι.  ³ συγκακοπάθησον ὡς καλὸς στρατιώτης Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ.  ⁴ οὐδεὶς στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις, ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ·  ⁵ ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ἀθλῇ τις, οὐ στεφανοῦται ἐὰν μὴ νομίμως ἀθλήσῃ·  ⁶ τὸν κοπιῶντα γεωργὸν δεῖ πρῶτον τῶν καρπῶν μεταλαμβάνειν.  ⁷ νόει ὃ λέγω· δώσει γάρ σοι ὁ κύριος σύνεσιν ἐν πᾶσιν.

Translation: You then, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and the things you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be competent to teach also others. ³ Share in the suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ And if anyone competes as an athlete, he isn’t crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is right that the hardworking farmer receives a share of the crops first. ⁷ Ponder what I’m saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

We will use the elements of the ordination service for our outline.

The sermon: In many cases, the preacher at an ordination service knows the ordinand personally and can appropriate and apply God’s inspired word to the new pastor and his new flock in an informed way. Paul and Timothy also had a personal relationship. Paul taught Timothy with apostolic authority, and it was the same apostolic message we teach: ἃ ἤκουσας παρʼ ἐμοῦ. What a blessing when a seasoned minister of the gospel can speak God’s word at a new minister’s ordination!

The vows:  The ordinand solemnly swears to be faithful to the Word of God and to teach the whole counsel of God to the best of his ability. He has been trained in the Word; he is competent to teach others. οἵτινες ἱκανοὶ ἔσονται καὶ ἑτέρους διδάξαι. While we may smile at the garbled message in the phone game, in the centuries-old line of confessional Lutheran pastors, those who have read the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions vow to keep the message pure and to pass it on to the next generation intact. They promise to dedicate themselves to ministry, not being entangled in civilian affairs (ἐμπλέκεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις). They promise to compete like an athlete, according to the rules (νομίμως). They promise to be like a hard-working farmer (τὸν κοπιῶντα γεωργὸν). Every year at the closing service of the celebration of ministry retreats in San Antonio, the pastors repeat these solemn vows with the humble prayer that the Lord will enable them to keep them.

The prayers: God’s people are to pray without ceasing. We are always beggars in need of God’s help and blessing, but we pray especially during the big times in our lives. Ordination into pastoral ministry is one of those times. The pastor is about to begin his work of fellow-suffering: συγκακοπάθησον ὡς καλὸς στρατιώτης Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ. He will suffer for the sake of Jesus’ name, as a soldier under him, with all the other leaders and believers in Christ’s church. This man needs our prayers. The Lord hears and answers our ongoing prayers for him.

The laying on of hands with words of blessing: I have taken part in the laying on of hands with as few as four other pastors and as many as twenty. The more, the merrier. Paul says he taught Timothy διὰ πολλῶν μαρτύρων. “Through/by means of many witnesses” and “in the presence of many witnesses” are both acceptable translations. In theological training, time spent together is very important. Instructors are present as they teach, and their very presence reinforces the message. Having many pastors present for an ordination, speaking a word of blessing and placing their hands on their new brother in ministry is a memorable teaching moment for all God’s people. No incredible power or indelible character is transferred in this laying on of hands. It is a symbolic act that illustrates the fact that another pastor has been added to the ranks. The responsibility of caring for souls has been entrusted to him. He has this responsibility because he has been sufficiently trained and properly called. The ordination rite is a visible declaration of that, as pastors bless and encourage him with God’s Word.

The placing of the stole on the pastor: The stole is not handed to the pastor so that he might place it on himself. Rather, he leans forward, and the presiding minister places it over his head. It comes to rest on his shoulders and hangs down visibly in front. A yoke has been placed upon him, the sacred burden of gospel ministry. The stole itself is not heavy. Its physical weight does not cause the pastor to bend lower. But the burden of public ministry is now his to carry, every day of his ministry. And that ministry will include suffering—συγκακοπάθησον ὡς καλὸς στρατιώτης Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ—suffering with Christ, Paul, Timothy, and a very long line of public ministers.

The pastor speaking the blessing: One of the most striking parts of the ordination rite is the final blessing, pronounced by the newly ordained pastor to all who are gathered. The man who has spent years training for public ministry and who desires to be a blessing to God’s people, begins by blessing the Lord’s people. At this time, the pastor is blessing people whose faces he can see, but whose names and stories are unknown to him. He does know that they belong to Jesus Christ, that Jesus has put them under his care, and that Jesus wants to bless them through him. He also knows that the stole he wears means something, that the sacred burden of ministry has begun. There will be visible fruits as he labors in God’s field. As he spends time in God’s Word, those fruits will appear in his own heart and life.  As he pronounces God’s blessings upon others, those blessings come to him first, and he will be the first to see the fruits of the kingdom in the lives of others. δεῖ πρῶτον τῶν καρπῶν μεταλαμβάνειν.

What will give him the strength throughout his ministry to do what he has vowed on his ordination day? What motivates him to suffer, stay focused, follow God’s rules, and work hard? The answer is the same for you no matter what stage of ministry you are at: the richness of God’s grace, the beauty of your living Savior, and the certainty that those who share in his sufferings will also share in his glory.

Dear brothers, let’s ponder these things in our hearts and in our conversations with each other. As we do, the Lord will give us understanding in all things.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, we thank and praise you for the new pastors who have joined us in the task of pastoral ministry. Be with them, uphold them, and uphold all of us; through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.