The face of Christ. . .

We live in a time in which pastors wear their own face more than any other.  There are those who cultivate the cult of personality -- figures who become larger than life and who view the church as a stage and the sermon as their time in the spotlight.  There are those who cultivate a following like media figures and who live and die by the statistics of likes and hits.  There are those who have taken it upon themselves to redefine the church and her confession as if these things were matters of preference and appeal more so than truth.

Some thought this a Protestant matter, of rebels unfettered by tradition and liturgy and sacrament.  Some presumed that this was an American matter -- of people who saw the church in entrepreneurial terms and who delighted in their role as marketers of a product.  Some thought it was a modern problem, born of media and made possible by technology.  

I wish that it were just a Protestant matter or a simple issue of a few people out of control.  I want to believe that it is a fad that will go away.  But we all know better.  In fact, we are living at a time when the current Pope has himself subscribed to the idea that he is not a custodian of the sacred but a chisel to soften the hard edges of truth.  He delights in adding question marks where exclamation points were once placed.  He does not so much agitate for change as play with it, treating doctrines as if they were pieces of a game to be moved about a bit here and there.  In this he has shown himself no different from the Joel Osteens of this world or even the more local personalities who believe the man defines the office and not the other way around.

The truth is that there have always been singular personalities -- pastors, bishops, and confessors who have shown exemplary courage and ability on behalf of Christ and His Church. Most of them understood, however, that they were not the church but merely its servants.  Some of them earned the title of reformer and confessor while others were branded heretic and false teacher.  In some cases, the verdict is still out and in other cases the label placed upon them depends upon your perspective today.

In most of history, however, the vast majority of Christ's ministers were relatively anonymous.  In fact, to most it did not matter who they were.  They were simply custodians of an office bigger than themselves and on them was bestowed a sacred trust to preserve what had been passed to them.  Who they were did not matter all that much to the faithful, either.  While they had different gifts and abilities, they preached the same Gospel and administer the same sacraments as those who came before them (and, if the people were fortunate, as those who would follow them).  And they were content with that -- both the men who held the office for a time and those who looked to them as the face, mouthpiece, and hands of the Lord.  By the way, there are still those who labor in the same way for the Kingdom.  They are faithful pastors who esteem the office more than themselves and who seek faithfulness more than notoriety and reward.  God bless them and God bless those whom they serve in Christ's name.

Imagine that.  Imagine a ministerium in which it did not matter to the faithful who held the office because whoever it was would preach the same Gospel, teach the same doctrine, warn of the same errors, comfort the penitent with the same absolution, baptize with the same water empowered by the Spirit, distribute the same body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, comfort the grieving with the same hope of the resurrection and eternal life.  Imagine a church where it did not matter where you went, the familiar words of the liturgy would find their way onto your lips, the familiar melodies of the Church's song would beckon to your voice, and the same affirmation would redound:  The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.  Imagine a time in which pastors were not businessmen or life coaches or vision casters but pastors -- taking the things of God to the people and taking the things of the people to God.  It could be a great blessing if only the people would allow it and the pastors would be content with it.  Imagine if the people in the pews saw the face of Christ in their pastors and the pastors saw the face of Christ in their people.  For Christ is who the pastor serves and Christ is the shepherd of His people.