Sermon for September 28, 2025, Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

1 Timothy 3:1-13 (Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 21—Series C)

“A Noble Task”

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Enfield, CT

September 28, 2025

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text is the Epistle lesson recorded in 1 Timothy 3:

¹This is a trustworthy saying: If any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ²An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³not a drunkard nor violent, but gentle, peaceable, not a lover of money, ⁴managing his own household well, keeping his children in obedience with all dignity. ⁵(But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?) ⁶He must not be a recent convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷And he must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

          Jesus concluded His parable of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” with these words, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31 ESV). The phrase “Moses and the Prophets” was another way of saying “The Holy Scriptures.” The Books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—and the rest of the books of what we know as the Old Testament were God’s Word to His people of Israel. The Word of God creates repentance and faith in a person. In the case of Old Testament Israel, this faith held onto God’s promise of a Messiah, a Savior from sin and death, who would be the descendent of Abraham and the Son of David. Jesus said in John 5, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39 ESV).

          God’s Word—the Bible, Holy Scripture—bears witness about Jesus, points to Jesus, gives us Jesus the Savior. It is this very Word of God through which the Holy Spirit gives to a person saving faith and trust that believes in and holds on to Jesus as Savior and Lord. It is the Scriptures that deliver to us through the Gospel of Jesus’ life, suffering, death, and resurrection, the very forgiveness of sins and eternal life that our Savior won for us and for all people. The Apostle Paul declared in Romans 1, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16-17 ESV).

          It is the Word of God that draws us to this place again this day. The Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel and fills us with the holy desire to hear again God’s Word centered in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Word gives us again and again forgiveness of all our sins, eternal life, and salvation from sin, death, the devil’s power. Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” And Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’” Why this joy? Why the desire to be in God’s House? Because that is where our God has promised to meet with us in His Word and Sacraments so that He might serve us with His love and mercy by giving us the forgiveness of our sins and strengthening our faith so that we might love Him and our neighbors. That is why we, as the Confirmation Class learned last Monday, call this the “Divine Service.” God serves us with His Word and Sacraments, and we, His people, respond with joy in song and prayer for His gifts purchased for us by our Savior, Jesus Christ, and now given here to us personally by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

          It is just as God says in His Word, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 ESV). But in the verses just before, Paul asked a series of very important questions: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:14-15 ESV).

          By God’s design, faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior is created only through the Word proclaimed. As we read in the Large Catechism, “Although the work is done and the forgiveness of sins is secured by the cross, it cannot come to us in any other way than through the Word. How would we know about it otherwise, that such a thing was accomplished or was to be given to us, unless it were presented by preaching or the oral Word?”^[1] “It is God’s will that His Word should be heard and that a person’s ears should not be closed (Psalm 95:8). With this Word the Holy Spirit is present and opens hearts.”^[2]

          While Jesus Christ has commissioned His whole Church to make disciples by baptizing and teaching His Gospel Word, the Lord, through His Church, calls pastors and other workers into His ministry. Pastors preach as divinely authorized representatives of Christ as God speaks through His preached Word that is centered in the person and work of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Paul, speaking to a young pastor named Timothy, wrote in our Epistle text today, “This is a trustworthy saying: If any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” “Overseer” is one of the New Testament words for “pastor.” “The office of overseer” is the Office of the Holy Ministry or the Pastoral Office. Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls serving in this Office “a noble task.” Those who serve benefit greatly, but it is a task, work, which requires the full measure of a man’s energy and devotion. It is not a mere status to be enjoyed.

          Consider the qualifications of the man who might hold the Office of the Public Ministry: “An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard nor violent, but gentle, peaceable, not a lover of money, managing his own household well, keeping his children in obedience with all dignity. . . . He must not be a recent convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. And he must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.”

“Only qualified men may serve as pastors of God’s flock. We should honor and uphold the qualifications that God has set forth for those who would serve in the Office of the Public Ministry, always remembering that the pastoral office is a divine institution—a gift from God for His Church. The Lord Jesus has given this office and its qualifications because He loves us and always desires what is best for us. He Himself is our chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:14). He has laid down His life for us and gives us eternal life.”[3] 

Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are received through the hearing of the Gospel of Jesus in His life, death, and resurrection. Pastors are called to preach God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures, the Good News of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. But again, how will they hear unless someone is sent?

          When Jesus said in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” I don’t believe He meant just at that moment in history. It is a truth that remains throughout time. The number of Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod pastors and church workers continues to decline, especially as many LCMS pastors reach retirement age. Studies show that the significant number of pastors reaching retirement age will result in the number of pastors declining from 6,000 to 3,000 over the next 15 years. The same studies show a 50–70% decrease in commissioned workers (like Teachers, Deaconesses, Directors of Chrisitan Education). These retirements are happening as enrollment in church work programs and our seminaries continues to decline.

          “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” Jesus said, “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” “If any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” It is a noble task . . HIS task . . . for HIS Church. As we heard last Sunday in Ephesians 4, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12 ESV). The Office of the Holy Ministry is a noble task, and it is a challenging task. The Office demands much. And Jesus provides much. He gives pastors to His Church to proclaim His Good News message of His death on a cross for our sins so that people might receive from His Gospel the very forgiveness for all their sins and the precious gift of eternal life. Jesus died, rose again, and has ascended into heaven. Until the day He comes again in glory, the Lord of the Church raises up pastors and workers in His Church to proclaim salvation alone in the name of Jesus Christ.

          Today, we consider the great harvest of people who do not yet know Jesus by faith. We think about all the congregations and schools of our LCMS and all God’s people who need to hear the Word and receive Jesus’ Sacraments for the forgiveness of their sins. Today, we pray that the Lord will raise up for us in our LCMS more pastors and more church workers. And today, we act. What do I mean? Begin to prayerfully consider if a church work vocation is for you. Pray and ask the Lord how He might use you in His kingdom to share the Good News of Jesus. There are opportunities for younger and older men alike to learn more about the Office of Pastor. There are opportunities for women of all ages to learn about being a deaconess. There are also vocations of Lutheran school teacher, Director of Christian Education, and more.

          As you not only consider and pray about yourself, is there someone in our congregation who you think might serve well in the Lord’s Church? Maybe they are just now in Sunday School, but the Lord might use them in His service. Maybe your son or daughter, or grandchild, or nephew or niece? Maybe an older, wiser brother or sister in Christ who you think would make a great second-career servant in the Lord’s Church? When we have these conversations with people about being a pastor or church worker, these are conversations that the Holy Spirit can use to lead and guide a person into a church work vocation. And remember, to be a pastor or teacher or deaconess is about serving the Lord and His people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, so that repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in Jesus’ name throughout the world.

The noble task of the Pastoral Office is about Jesus. Our life together here in this congregation is about Jesus. The fellowship of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is, yes, all about Jesus and His love and grace toward us sinners. Christ gave His life for us on the cross so that we stand today forgiven and saved from sin and death. That is the joy that pastors and church workers proclaim. We pray that God will continue to raise up these servants in His Church. Amen.

     ^[1] Paul Timothy McCain, ed., Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis: Concordia, 2005), 435.

     ^[2] Ibid., 478.

     [3] TLSB, page 2073, note 3:1-7.