On the Office of Apostolic Ministry
O, glorious office! [the office of the ministry] No matter how sick a person may be in his soul, the Gospel can heal him. No matter how deeply a person has fallen into the corruption of sin, the Gospel can pull him out. No matter how troubled, frightened, and afflicted a person may be, the Gospel can comfort him. Whatever the condition in which a person finds himself, even if he is convinced that he must perish because of it, the preachers can confidently oppose him, saying: “No, as certainly as God lives, He does not want the death of any sinner. You shall not perish; instead, you shall be saved. Turn to Jesus, who can evermore save all who come to God through Him.” And if one who lies near death calls out: “God, what have I done? Woe to me! Now it is too late! I am lost!” the preachers should call to him: “No, no, it is not too late! Commit your departing soul to Jesus. You too shall still be with Him in paradise today.” O, glorious, high office, too high for the angels! May we always hold it in high regard, not looking at the person who bears it and despising his weakness. but looking instead at theInstitutor of his office and His exuberant goodness. Let us turn to Him in faith so we can experience the blessings of which the preachers have spoken and, through them, be gathered together one day into the barns of heavens as a completely ripe sheaf. –CFW Walther
Question 33: What, then, is the office or work of the ministry of the church?
Answer: Sirach says, 38: 25-26: “The wisdom of a scribe (namely for the kingdom of heaven) requires opportunity for leisure; and it is necessary for him to be free of other matters, who wants either to obtain that wisdom for himself or impart it to others. For how can he deal with wisdom, who must hold the plow and drive the oxen, etc.?” The office of a minister of the church therefore is, that he diligently study the holy Scriptures and give himself to reading them (1 Tim. 4:13), moreover, that he labor in the Word and doctrine (1 Tim. 5:17), that he feed the flock of Christ and the church of God (1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28); that is, he is to serve the church with the preaching of the word and administration of the Sacraments and the use of the keys. As Origin aptly writes on Lev. 8: “These two are works of a priest: First, that he learn of God, by reading the Holy Scriptures and frequent meditation, and that he teach the people, but that he teach the things that he himself has learned from God. There is also another work, which Moses does: he does not go to war, but prays for the people, etc.” –Martin Chemnitz
