Clergy Appreciation Month. Liturgical Differences. The Death of a Seed.
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist

Q: My calendar mentions October as "Clergy Appreciation Month." Where did this come
from and what do you think of it?

A: Even before I became a pastor, I always thought that faithful ministers of the Gospel should be
appreciated by the Church. Whether or not they need a particular month is another story. Often,
pastors are not appreciated by certain individuals or congregations, even if they are faithfully
preaching and leading the flock entrusted to them. Sometimes it is the faithfulness itself that
causes dissent, and they are not appreciated because they persist in speaking God's Word truly.
At other times, certain people (and I thank God this has not been common where I have served)
try to tell the pastor how to do his "job," even though they would never look to their pastor to tell
them how to do theirs.

If a pastor is a faithful steward of God's gifts, preaches and teaches the Word, baptizes,
communes, and gives Christ's forgiveness to His church, and lives in accord with the Holy
Scriptures (e.g., 1 Timothy 3:2-4 and Titus 1:9), then he is doing as God has called him to do and
he should be treated in accord with the Scriptures. Many pastors have as much education as
lawyers or doctors, yet they often sacrifice earthly wealth in order to give the true wealth of
heaven to the believers. Thus, the Bible says, "Let him who is taught the word share all good
things with him who teaches. (Galatians 6:6)" Also, "Let the elders who rule well be considered
worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)"
Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 to "respect those who labor among you and are over you in
the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work."
Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over
your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that
would be of no advantage to you."

How we show our appreciation may vary. That we show it in some manner is a given for
believers, just as we show our praise and thanks to God for all His other gifts. Perhaps simple
words of thanks and encouragement are among the finest expressions of appreciation, and are
certainly not restricted to one month of the year.

Q: Why is the Liturgy of the church celebrated in diverse ways?

A: There are two main historic Liturgies, growing up in Eastern Europe and Asia or Western
Europe and parts of North Africa. Many of the differences are cultural, yet both East and West
kept the Lord's Supper central to the celebration of the Lord's death and resurrection.

During the years, rite and ritual and even Holy Communion sometimes overshadowed another
important aspect of the Liturgy, the preaching of the Word. The Reformation returned the sermon
to a position of greater prominence than it had seen for centuries in the Western Church. The
Lutheran reformers also removed much of what had been added through the years, in order to
also highlight the Lord's Supper as pure gift, having nothing to do with human actions.

Other reformers, because of theological differences, emphasized or downplayed portions of the
Liturgy. Many of them finally abandoned it as "culturally irrelevant." This  happens in much of the
modern Church Growth Movement. Others thought it untrue to their concept of "primitive"
Christianity. While I don't want to dwell on either topic, a few words on each are appropriate.

First, the Liturgy is and should be separate from whatever culture the Church finds itself in, since
a culture is largely the product of sinful human invention. Second, the idea that the ancient
Christians had no formal order of service is false. Extremely early documents, some written while
many of the disciples may have yet lived, speak of an order that sounds like a simplified version of
what is heard and seen in Christian churches around the world to this day. Even the Scriptures,
especially the Pauline Epistles, point to order and ritual, much of it seemingly from either the
synagogue services or the Passover celebrations of Jewish homes.

Q: John 12:24 says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." What does this mean?

A: Jesus uses this example from agriculture, where the seed "dies" in the ground and then springs
up with new life, as an illustration of the Resurrection. In His death and resurrection, Christ
became the "firstfruits of all who will rise." He brings forth "much fruit" because countless
thousands have believed in Him, been baptized, and been saved.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality,
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