Sermon for the Installation of Rev. Jeffery Frechette Sr.

The Church Season of Pentecost

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, LSB Proper 6, Three Year Series

The Installation of the Reverend Jeff Frechette, Sr.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Roseville, MI (June 15, 2008)

“he had compassion on them”

Readings: Psalm 100
Exodus 19:2-8
Romans 5:6-15
Matthew 9:35 – 10:20

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The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 9^th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:

Matthew 9:35-10:20 (NIV)

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, fellow Pastor’s, honored guests, friends, and family. Laurie, Emma, Jeffery, and my dear, dear brother in Christ, the Reverend Jeff Frechette...

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Jeff, or more appropriately, Pastor Frechette. Today is a day, that at times, you and your family thought would either never get here or couldn’t come soon enough. Tomorrow is a day that you will face with respect, fear, and trepidation. And quite frankly, if you’re not even a little bit nervous about what you will face in coming days, then you would certainly not be human. But you are indeed human, and you are worthy and well prepared for the awesome duty and responsibility of being an under-shepherd of Christ, and being the Shepherd of this flock here in this place.

Dear members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, I met your new pastor late one night as he came out of the chapel of the Fort Wayne Seminary. On that night, Jeff had just been assigned to serve his vicarage church, his one year internship, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Albion, Michigan. Jeff and Laurie, Emma, and Jeffrey were all smiles just like they are right now, ready to go on a new adventure. I was the “old” Vicar at St. Paul, finishing my year, ready to hand off the torch to this new guy. I had spent a year there, and I learned so much from those people those treasured saints of God. I was praying that the “new” Vicar would serve these people well. Little did I know at that time, at that very moment, history was repeating itself. For not so many months later I would have to admit, just like St. John the Baptist, that I was not even worthy to tie the sandals of this man’s feet. God had sent the right man, to the right place, at the right time, to care and have compassion for His people. For God saw His people and...

“he had compassion on them”

Today, God has sent the right man, to the right place, at the right time, to care and have compassion for His people here at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. In our Gospel lesson, “Jesus Christ went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”(v. 35) And on His journey of teaching and preaching, Jesus saw what others could not or did not want to see. He saw that His people were, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”(v. 36) And so Jesus gathered together those who He called from their vocations, their jobs, and Jesus called them into His service. Those twelve apostle’s came from various positions, one was a tax collector, some were fishermen, another was a Pharisee, literally men from all walks of life. And none of these men came with theological or academic credentials a mile long, nor were they sent out by Christ with any of those things either. The point is that Jesus called twelve men endowed with differing gifts, and He sanctified and purified their natural gifts and abilities for His service. In the same way Christ has called you Jeff, from your former career to serve, care, and to have compassion on His people.

And from our reading we know that the apostles were sent out with compassion and to do this they were given authority from Christ Himself. Jesus would say to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”(Mt. 28:18) This is the same authority, Christ has conferred to you Pastor Frechette. You are called and given this awesome authority and with it comes awesome responsibility.

In our Old Testament lesson, God gave Moses awesome authority and responsibility as He called Moses to speak to His people. And God, through the lips of Moses would tell His people that “they were a treasured possession” and that “they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”(Ex. 19:5) And so these people heard God’s Word from Moses’ mouth and scripture tells us that, “The people all responded together, ‘We will do everything the LORD has said.’”(Ex. 19:8) Here is a lesson of the difference between the promises of God and the words of man. For in these few verses we see that God’s promises are always kept, and the words of promise from men are all too easily broken.

Jeff as a Pastor, you are called to speak and to proclaim God’s Word to your people and to all who would hear. And you will hear them respond to you over and over again saying, “We will do everything the LORD has said.”(Ex 19:8) But the truth of the matter is that not a single one of them is telling the truth, and for that matter no human, whether sitting in a congregation, or whether standing in a pulpit can say they are without sin. For if they do, they “deceive themselves and the truth is not in them.”(1 John 1:8) But this indeed will happen, neither some of the truth, nor part of the truth, nor the whole truth or anything like the truth will always be told. And as a pastor, when this does happen, you will know that it is because all God’s people of their own will and accord are harassed and helpless from the forces of evil and satan himself. You as the Shepherd of this flock are called to defend the Gospel by having compassion on them, by “teaching them, by rebuking and correcting them, and training them in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16)

And I will say without hesitation that I know you to be a wonderful servant of God and of His people. The German word for this caring compassionate pastor is Seelsorger. The word Seelsorger does not translate well into English, we often translate the word as Pastor, but Pastor is not nearly enough to explain what it means. It means one who comforts and cares for the souls of God’s people. I know you will comfort and have compassion on the souls of God’s people here by proclaiming to them the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the Gospel reveals the ultimate care and compassion of God Himself. And as the good shepherd of this flock you will convey God’s compassion for the souls of His people when you preach His Holy Word. You will convey His compassion for the souls of His people when you forgive repentant sinners and as you teach and seek out those who would not repent. You will convey Christ’s compassion as you baptize with the water and God’s Word all those who have been brought to faith by God’s free grace. You will convey compassion as you administer the Sacrament of the Holy Supper of our Lord to those who come to be fed and to have their faith renewed and refreshed. You will have compassion on the souls of this flock as you read the scripture to those who are homebound, or in hospital beds, and even to those who are on their deathbeds. For in all these places you will not point to that which you have, but rather you will point to Christ the one who had compassion for His people. For Jesus Christ had so much compassion for His people, He cared for their souls so much, that He drank the cup which His Father had given to Him, and that was to die for us on the cross. And in that ultimate act of compassion Jesus gave His life for us so that our sins may be forgiven.

Pastor Frechette, Jeff my dear brother in Christ, my brother in the Holy Ministry, I and my family are extremely blessed to know you, and equally blessed to know your family too. Do not forget that your family is your part of your flock too. Take time, make time to feed them with your love, care, and comfort because they need you not only as pastor, but they need you as their husband and father too. May God grant you a long and blessed ministry in service to His people.

Dear members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in the Reverend Jeff Frechette and his family you have received a wonderful blessing from God who has sent you a compassionate Shepherd. Do not forget to have compassion on him too. Have compassion when he does things right, have compassion when he makes a mistake. Because he is a human, and deserves compassion and forgiveness too.

And I guess I will have to admit that I made just a slight error at the beginning of this sermon, because I implied that Jeff will begin his pastoral duties tomorrow. But, indeed they will begin in only a few moments as your new Pastor feeds this flock in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and as he prays for us and conveys God’s Word of Blessing upon us all. And all these blessings are through Jesus Christ whose care and compassion brings us into His kingdom for all eternity. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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