Father Hollywood hits the nail on the head in this post as he talks about the Office of the Holy Ministry. Here's what he has to say in part:
Little children instinctively seem to understand that the pastor, the
preacher, the one who is always talking about Jesus, the one who wears
churchly vestments, stands in the front of the church, and makes the
sign of the cross – is somehow inextricably linked to Jesus.
Maybe
this is why our Lord says we must become as little children to inherit
the Kingdom. When we get older, many of us no longer see a man in persona Christi,
but rather a hireling, a functionary, a guy with a job. We begin to see
the minister not for who he is and for Whom he acts (ontologically),
but rather for what he does (functionally) – and then we are quick to
posit that anyone else can do the same job. We begin to see ordination
as nothing more than a quaint little ceremony and the ministry as
merely a function that can be carried out by vicars, "lay ministers,"
DCEs, and lay elders. After all, lots of people are "ministers" who
have a "divine call" – not just "ministers of religion – ordained" (as
the bureaucrats would say).
preacher, the one who is always talking about Jesus, the one who wears
churchly vestments, stands in the front of the church, and makes the
sign of the cross – is somehow inextricably linked to Jesus.
Maybe
this is why our Lord says we must become as little children to inherit
the Kingdom. When we get older, many of us no longer see a man in persona Christi,
but rather a hireling, a functionary, a guy with a job. We begin to see
the minister not for who he is and for Whom he acts (ontologically),
but rather for what he does (functionally) – and then we are quick to
posit that anyone else can do the same job. We begin to see ordination
as nothing more than a quaint little ceremony and the ministry as
merely a function that can be carried out by vicars, "lay ministers,"
DCEs, and lay elders. After all, lots of people are "ministers" who
have a "divine call" – not just "ministers of religion – ordained" (as
the bureaucrats would say).
I've run into this problem from time to time, both within the LCMS and from without. I've really run into it now that I'm a worker/priest. Too often my Call at SHLC is viewed as "another one of your jobs" as if it was on par with what I do the rest of the week.
Read what Father Hollywood has to say. He says it much better than I do.
