Spiritual Leadership

Our Bible texts for this day have some important things to say about spiritual leadership. I think this is an important issue for us today. For example, as our nation is considering redefining marriage to include homosexual partnerships, I find it interesting to see how Roman Catholic politicians who support such a move, trying to justify being “good Catholics” while rejecting their church’s teaching on this issue. They want to be known as leaders who are spiritual, who are spiritually connected, while contradicting their professed spiritual heritage. They basically want to have it both ways.

We are not much different when it comes to our own spirituality. We like to think that we can follow Jesus without having to sacrifice our personal comforts and pleasures. We too like to have it both ways. But you cannot have it both ways. You are either belong to Christ or you belong to this world. When the Day of Judgment comes, you will either be in heaven or in hell. There is no place in between where you can have it both ways. Jesus made it clear that you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money. We need to be clear about whom we are serving. We need to ask ourselves, “Are we serving God or are we really just serving ourselves?” How can we tell?

This morning we witnessed how God released Andre and Hohgy from spiritual slavery to themselves. Through Baptism God transferred them from a meaningless, self-serving, empty way of life to being His beloved children who have a wonderful inheritance to look forward to. It is also in our Baptism that God chose us to be His beloved children. As His children we are given a most holy and important task: To be His faithful servants, demonstrating His love to those around us. In Baptism we received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). In Baptism God released us from a life of spiritual slavery to ourselves and chose us to serve Him. This is how we received the call to serve God.

However, this spiritual truth is difficult to understand. It is natural for us to think of serving someone else as something unpleasant while we think it ideal when we can do something just for me and myself. For example, I prefer to do work that will see my bankbook grow. It is much more difficult to do something that does not result in a tangible benefit for myself. But as God’s Baptized children, we have been called to think differently about such things. Jesus taucht us that “Those who are last will be first and those who are first will be last.” In Baptism, then, we have been released from just serving ourselves, which brings us no lasting spiritual blessing, to serving our Creator who loves us, which brings us true and lasting joy and happiness. This is the first lesson for spiritual leadership. We cannot serve both God and ourselves. We must serve God alone and fully trust Him to provide us with everything else we need for our lives.

In our Old Testament lesson, God laments spiritual leaders who have failed His people, Israel. The religious and political leaders of Israel had neglected to follow God’s Law while tolerating pagan practices. They failed to teach the whole counsel of God. They failed to correct the erring. They failed to provide positive role models for their community to follow. As a result, God held them responsible for destroying His people and for scattering them.

They were defeated by the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires and driven into exile. Their temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. Without a temple they no longer had direct access to God and His grace. In exile it became very difficult for them to practice their faith. Nine of the tribes of Israel became extinct as they assimilated into their host culture, becoming physically “lost.”

At the present it seems that the church in Canada is entering a kind of “exile.” As an institution it used to enjoy a privileged position, being widely recognized as the educator of the nation. However, we who still follow the teachings of the Bible are now regarded with disdain and suspicion, as if we were subversive. Our Christian beliefs are no longer welcome in many parts of this land and those who practice their Christian values are becoming subject to persecution.

Why is it that we have become exiles within our own land? Last Thursday I spoke with an Anglican lady. She said when her pastor was asked whether he was going to preach on the subject of homosexual “marriage,” he replied, “I don’t know if I am allowed to.” Can you imagine spiritual leaders afraid to teach the Word of God because they might offend someone? The lady also complained that for the same reason her church no longer offers a prayer of thanksgiving before they serve their community meals in the park, because some non-Christian present might be offended. Here we have Christian leaders who are afraid that they might offend someone with God’s Word. I believe this is a patently Canadian reason why the Christian church in this land is presently entering into exile.

The reality is that God’s Word of Law is meant to be offensive, because before our Holy God we are all sinners. If my preaching fails to offend you, then I have failed to teach God’s Word. One of the purposes of God’s Word is to judge sin in our lives, and that, my friends, is offensive to our sinful human nature. There is no way we can avoid that reality. God gave us His law so that we might see our true sinful condition, that before Him we have no righteousness of our own and are all lost and condemned creatures. Without being personally convicted by God’s Law we cannot receive Jesus Christ who alone is our Righteousness. The reason we are in spiritual exile is that our land lacks spiritual leaders who will teach the Word of God for what it is. As a result the people of Canada are spiritually lost.

In our Epistle lesson, Paul compares the people of God to a building when he says that we are “God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” Through Baptism we have been incorporated into this spiritual household and as long as we remain on the foundation of God’s Word laid by the apostles and prophets and held together by Christ Jesus, we are part of God’s holy temple in whom His Spirit dwells.

If we have God’s Spirit, we have peace and rest. When Jesus was with His disciples, we are told in our Gospel lesson that he was concerned that they have the opportunity to go “to a quiet place and get some rest.” This is another important lesson for spiritual leadership. God’s kingdom is not a kingdom where we are slaves who have to work constantly. God’s kingdom is a household, a family and it is His first goal that His children have a place they can call “home” and find rest. We are “at home” wherever God’s Word is taught and believed. There we find our true “family.” There alone do we find true spiritual rest. You have come here to hear God’s Word and to meditate on it. You have come to be judged by His Word of Law and to confess your sins. You have come to hear His Words of Grace to you and to participate in the Body and Blood of Christ in His Holy Supper. Rested and refreshed with this spiritual food you are prepared to do your work.

As Jesus looked out upon the multitudes, we are told by the Gospel writer that “He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.” Having received compassion from the Good Shepherd of our souls, we are able to view others with compassion. This is the final lesson of spiritual leadership. We must first be quiet and rest. We must first allow God to serve us with His means of Grace. Only then are we ready and equipped to minister to fulfill the glorious calling we received in Baptism: To be free to serve those who are around us as His holy people.

Now may the grace of God our Heavenly Father keep your hearts and minds in perfect peace through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.