Utilizing lay lectors within the Lutheran Church has become a common practice, however I believe the practice is taking us places we don’t want to go, namely away from the prescriptions of God’s Word and towards less effective Ministry.
The author of the above named article writes “Sometimes as I listen to the Lector read the lesson or say to me ‘The blood of Christ shed for you,’ I forget that this is the same Bob or Ann or Jody to whom I was just talking in the hallway. Now it is someone larger, someone speaking with authority. Now is is someone connected to and offering me, the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. That is part of the wonder of serving as a Lector. It is a humbling experience to realize that God and the power of God’s Word of forgiveness and love is indeed present in and through your words...When the Lector steps up to the lectern next time think again who it is that is addressing you...it is God.”
Have we forgotten that God has established the Pastoral Office and through it has deigned to accomplish exactly what is described above? That it is the Pastor who is qualified, called and ordained (as Scripture defines these things) to do this work? That as the Pastor ministers within the forum of Divine Service, and in all the other pastoral duties which God has assigned to him, he is a re-presentation of Christ? Bob, Ann and Jody are not.
We must remember that pastoral actions are not merely “functions” which any able person may carry out. Rather it is an Office, established by Christ, to which only certain men are called (cf. Eph 4,11ff; John 20,31 and the other pertinent passages) and through which Christ promises His Own gracious presence among us.
It is paramount to remember that the public reading of Holy Scripture within the context of the Divine Service is not pro forma, nor is it merely to inform or remind what the Bible says. But through the called and ordained servant of the Word, Christ Himself is reading His Word to His sheep; such public reading of the Word is only one of many forms of Pastoral Ministry. It is no less unique to the Office than leading of the liturgy, administering of absolution, preaching, administering of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, choosing of the hymns, leading the prayers and so on. Further, the reading of Scripture -- especially within the context of the great Sabbath day gathering of Christ’s church -- is an art which flows from the Pastor’s intimate knowledge of Christian Theology, Pastoral skills and daily labor amongst the sheep. These things make it possible for him to read meaningfully, at times pausing at times stressing certain words or phrases which will effectively speak to those to whom he has ministered all week.
It looks easy!
It is not.
No doubt some Pastors have done less than admirably in their public reading of the Word due to lack of preparation. However that does not commission lay people (most of whom are completely un-prepared and have little skill in this area) to take over this portion of the Pastor’s Ministerial work. Brother Pastors, let us re-think what we are encouraging the sheep to do when we introduce the idea of lay readers into our churches.
The proper forum for lay people to “minister” (small “m”), as well as to worship God a la Rom. 12,1-3 is the world in which they live when they leave the sanctuary: that of family, neighborhood, workplace etc. There, by Christ-like love, they (and we) must be the “larger” than life representations of Christ to which the author refers above.
That is not to say that worship does not occur within the Divine Service. It does. However the in the Lutheran understanding, the Divine Service is PRIMARILY God serving us with the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Through these things we receive the spiritual resources we need to go out into the world and worship God for the other 167 hours of each week by the kind of life we live.
Since this is the case lay people should minister in the forum of the world and not aspire to perform uniquely Pastoral functions. Instead they should allow Christ to Minister to them through His called and ordained Pastors, for this is what He has established.
To allow the sheep (rather than the shepherd) to feed, lead and guide the sheep is tantamount to the Shepherd’s dereliction of duty. It springs from a less than clear understanding of the nature of the Pastoral office, is a gratuitous gesture towards egalitarianism and de-values what Christ highly values, viz. the Office which He established to carry on His work amongst men.
Here is what Martin Luther said about the Office in “A Sermon on Keeping Children in School” (1530) “Through the pastor’s work there are maintained in this world the kingdom of God, the name and honor and glory of God, the true knowledge of God, the right faith and understanding of Christ, the fruits of the suffering and blood and death of Christ, the gifts and works and power of the Holy Spirit, the true and saving use of baptism and the sacrament, the right and pure teaching of the gospel, the right way of disciplining and crucifying the body, and much more. Who could ever adequately praise any one of these things? And what more can still be said? How much he (the Pastor) accomplishes by battling against the devil, the wisdom of this world, and the imaginations of the flesh; how many victories he wins; how he puts down error and prevents heresy. For he must strive and fight against the gates of hell and overcome the devil. This too is not his own doing; it is accmplished by his Office and his word. These are innumerable and unspeakable works and miracles of the preaching office. In a word if we would praise God to the uttermost, we must praise his word and preaching; for the Office and the Word are his.
Rev. Dean Kavouras
kavouras@multiverse.com