The Hammer of God – The Pastoral Attitude

In my previous post I shared a snippet of the Hammer of God related to the communion liturgy.  In the first novella we find a pastor who is maturing in his vocation.  Savonius begins as a reluctant academic, but eventually ends with a better understanding of Law and Gospel and how he applies/preaches this to the flock.

Here is another quote that immediately precedes the quote from the previous post.  At this point Savonius is saying the communion liturgy.

Here, nothing depended on himself [Savonius].  Here he was simply a steward, a nameless link in the long succession of hands which Christ had used throughout the ages to distribute His gifts to men.  For the first time he felt it a relief, rather than a compulsion, to be nothing but a servant of the church, without any contribution of his own, and with no other glory to seek than to steward the holy heritage honorably. (Pg 34-35, 1973 edition)

That is the pastor I want — a steward of the gifts God gives through His Word and Sacraments.  I don’t need a psychologist or an administrator.  I don’t need a motivational speaker or an academic.  I need the gifts God gives — and Christ uses pastors to do this.

Related posts:

1. The Hammer of God – Heaven on Earth
2. Higher Hymnody: The Gifts Christ Freely Gives
3. Soaked in Christ’s Blood
4. Piepkorn on Worship
5. Word & Sacrament – How Christ Makes a Christian