Fifth Sunday after Trinity

An Unworthy Undershepherd

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

When I put my vestments on before the Divine Service, I often pray Martin Luther’s Sacristy Prayer - it goes like this:
Lord God, You have appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I could
have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently
upon Your Word. Use me as Your instrument — but do not forsake me, for if ever I should be on my own, I would easily wreck it all.

One word that sticks out in the prayer is “unsuited” or, as other renderings of the prayer say, “unworthy.”

The gist is this, as I enter the Divine Service, nothing depends on me because of my unworthiness – my own sin and need to confess, along with my need to also hear God’s Word of peace.

As I serve as your pastor, I do so unworthily.

But, take heart with me that God uses what is unworthy in this life to declare to you, His children, His worthiness.

So come this Sunday, hear His Word of forgiveness, and receive a foretaste of the heavenly peace that awaits us all.

I rejoice to be with you!

Your unworthy undershepherd,
Pastor Rogness