Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Being a pastor in Christ’s Church is not child’s play. It is a serious task; one with eternal implications both for the man in the office and for the people under his care. For the job of a pastor is to be the caretaker and physician of people’s souls. And the pastor is held accountable by God for those souls under his care, as to whether or not he did what he was sent to do for them.
We see just such an accounting today in the Word of the Lord given to Ezekiel to speak against the priests of the Old Testament Church. The prophet writes: “And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.’” The priests had failed to do what God had sent them to do. Instead of feeding the flock of Israel, God’s chosen people; they fed themselves, not with the things God had given them, but with that which they demanded and took from the people. Instead of using their position to serve God and be a blessing to His people, they took advantage of it, seeking only to serve themselves.
