Pentecost-3-A
"Pray To The Lord Of The Harvest"
Text: Matthew 9:35-10:20
6-18-23
In the name of Him who is Lord of the Harvest, dear friends in Christ. Those of you who are 60 or older will remember the farm crisis of the 1980's. Trust me, it was no fun. Interest rates were 18-22%. Grain prices were down but input expenses were high. Yields were low. Land prices dropped and farm owners were over-leveraged at the bank. Many lost their farms. All that and numerous other factors made it a first-class disaster. But interestingly enough, if you could afford a combine and the fuel to run it, there was no shortage of operators to help bring in the harvest.
That was not the case when Jesus looked out at the field of souls in the world. He said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." In farming terms, harvest is a critical time to have workers because when the crop is ready it's vulnerable to weather and other conditions. If it isn't harvested in a timely fashion, some or all of it could be lost. A farmer might be able to survive the financial hit if that happened and start over. But in the field of souls, it's a different story. It's matter of eternal life or death.
That's why our text says when Jesus looked at the spiritual condition of the people, He had compassion. Christ didn't just feel sorry for them. No. The Greek word there is richer than that. It means that His inner parts like his heart, lungs, liver, and stomach were moved with emotion. Back then, like now, this was considered to be the seat of a person's emotions. It's like saying we love someone with our whole heart. Or, in this situation, we would say Jesus had a "gut reaction" to the spiritual pain and suffering He saw. He was deeply moved by it. In these earlier verses, He uses the metaphor of sheep without a shepherd. Then He switches to the grain harvest motif. But the point is the same for both. The souls of lost sinners were being neglected due to the lack of good, spiritual workers among them. They were being abused and taken advantage of by their religious leaders. There was no compassion for the lost souls who knew nothing of the promised Savior. But Jesus had a plan for fixing that. As you heard, He called 12 men to be His first seminary class. He taught and trained them. Then He sent them out into the harvest of souls with His divine power and commission. But He warns them that they aren't always going to be treated nicely. And yet, the harvest mission was to go on knowing the Holy Spirit was there guiding them. Jesus intended for the call of workers to continue in subsequent generations.
This message couldn't be more timely for us today because the conditions are very similar. The harvest of souls is out there and it's plentiful. But whether you know it or not, there is a shortage of church workers, especially Pastors. That's true in all denominations including the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Pastor Meyer is our Cherokee Circuit Visitor. There are 8 churches in our Circuit and 4 of them are currently without a Pastor. Thankfully, St. John, Germantown will soon install their new Pastor. But our Circuit is not unique in regard to vacancies. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the overall situation in our Synod is bleak. There were only 62 Pastors who graduated from our 2 seminaries in April. However, there are over 350 Pastors who retire every year. 62 to replace 350. I'm not good at math but even I can tell you that's a huge shortfall.
There is a plentiful harvest of souls waiting, both in our country and across the world. But the number of workers is dwindling. So what can we do about it? Well, Jesus gives us the answer. First of all, we need to repent for not having a heart of compassion for the lost and abused souls out there. If we truly recognized how critical this is then we'd have a deep, visceral reaction like Jesus. Just look around at our world and you'll see how harassed and abused these souls are as evil forces push all kinds of vile and perverse ideas onto our children and society as a whole. These souls need to know God has a better way. They need to hear the good news of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.
To accomplish that, the Lord established the office of the holy ministry. Like 2,000 years ago, He calls men to be workers in the harvest of souls. He does that through the Christian Church. I know some people think we "hire" our Pastors but that's not true. It's a Divine Call which God extends through the people of His Church here on earth. In the Missouri Synod we train Pastors at our seminaries for 4 years. From there they are called to various churches in our Synod to work in the harvest field. That's how our system works. Sounds pretty simple and straightforward, doesn't it? Then why do we have this huge shortage? Well, let's first ask whether you've been doing as Jesus instructed. Have you been praying to the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers out? It's probably safe to say that most of us haven't.
And yet, is that all that we're supposed to do? Just Q.@Y for our seminaries and students? Not hardly. Look at it this way. When we see someone genuinely in need of food or assistance, is it God's plan that you walk away with simply the promise to pray for them? No. The Lord wants you to also put action to those prayers. And here's how that applies to our Pastors and church workers: Our seminaries, universities, and students need more than our moral support. Quite frankly they need our financial support. But there's more. They also need our encouragement.
Perhaps an illustration from Pastor Meyer's life experience will help. He attended a Lutheran Day School, K-8th grade. Not once did anyone ever encourage him to consider going into the ministry. Not his Pastor, not his teachers, no one. In his adult life, again, no one encouraged him to become a Pastor. I should clarify that. No adults did. But a little boy named Adam did. Pastor was doing the opening service for the Sunday School each week which included a short message. One day, Adam told his mother, "Mom, Pastor is your Pastor, but Don is my Pastor." When Pastor Meyer was told what he said, he was floored. No one had ever considered him to be Pastor-material. But Adam did. That's honestly what got his mind thinking in that direction and the rest is history. So let me ask you: Have you encouraged any boys or young men to consider the ministry? Don't stop there! Pastor Meyer was 35 years old when he went to the seminary. Have you told any middle age men that you think they'd be good Pastors? And this need for encouragement is true for other church workers too. My whole point is that we can do more than just pray about the harvest laborers. We can encourage and support them.
Now brace yourself because here comes the part that may hit a sensitive nerve with some of you. Do you show proper respect to your Pastor as God's Called laborer? Do you honor him as God's representative and servant, sent to preach, teach, and administer the Sacraments to you? What about the Elders and other church leaders? And now the tough question. Do you pay your Pastor and church workers a fair wage that's commensurate with their level of education and years of service? Perhaps we do at Zion, but the sad truth is that in the rest of our Synod these workers are notoriously under-compensated. Think about it. Why should a young man pursue a Masters degree as a Pastor when he can go into a secular career and earn double the wages? Same thing goes for our teachers and other church workers. Oh, you've probably heard the argument before that a Pastor doesn't go into the ministry to get rich. That's true. But Jesus says, "the laborer deserves his food." In other words, he deserves fair, comparable wages. That goes for the other paid church workers too. If you say, "Well, we can't afford that!" Can you afford to not have a Pastor? Can you afford to not have teachers and other church workers? We have a shortage and this is part of the reason why. So together, we need to repent of these wrong attitudes towards God's harvest laborers.
Ah, but there's always two sides to the coin. Pastors and church workers are sinners just like you. They will make mistakes. Sometimes they will make BIG mistakes and some of them may even disgrace the holy office they've been called into. But that shouldn't surprise us. Just look at the list of disciples that Jesus called. Judas betrayed Christ and committed suicide in his unbelief. All the disciples deserted Jesus when He was arrested. They were filled with jealousy and selfish, sinful desires. And yet, Jesus called them to be His laborers. He can and does work through weak, poor sinners. And He continues to do that today. Pastors and church workers need to be corrected when they're wrong. They need to be called to repentance for disgracing their calling. And like you, they also need God's forgiveness as well as your forgiveness. They need your loving encouragement and positive criticism so that they can be faithful laborers in God's harvest field of souls.
But before any of us get a big head we need to acknowledge that this is the Lord's harvest. His workforce includes Pastors and church workers, but it also includes you. You have a role in the work in the field of souls. You do that by sharing your faith and inviting others to join you in being spiritually fed by God's Word and Sacrament here in worship Any soul that is saved through our efforts in the harvest field is not our doing. Pastor Meyer was privileged to Baptize his little granddaughter this morning. By it, God harvested another soul for His kingdom. But it's not Pastor's doing. The Lord did the work of creating faith, washing away sins, and granting salvation to her precious soul. Pastor was merely the hands and voice that God uses to accomplish it. As Jesus says, the Holy Spirit gives us the words to speak. He gives us His word to speak in Baptism which is what gives the Sacrament its power. He gives us His word to speak in our worship. He gives us His word in Holy Communion which gives this Sacrament its power to forgive sins and restore our souls. And He gives us His own powerful words to speak in our witnessing to others. So together, let's vow to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers. Let's pledge to support and encourage those laborers to God's glory and the eternal good of all the souls who are reached. And may God grant it for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!