Sanitation workers and pastors! Those were the heroes of my formative years. On Tuesdays I would sit on the curbside and await the rumbling truck. I could think of no better life than to ride, hanging on to the back of a truck, wind in your hair, the eclectic fragrance of everyone’s last week wafting freely. The orange jumps suits were just a bonus.

And Sundays, my other heroes would appear. First there was “Preacher Paul” Henderson. A large man with a large laugh and a large heart. He stayed up all night with my father on the night I was born. Even then I was a complex and complicated child with a challenging presentation for my 40-year-old mother’s first birth experience.

But the pastor during most of my childhood was Dr. Prue Kelley. He was a friend of children to be sure and had that rare combination of eloquent preacher and ubiquitous pastor. Curious as it sounds, he had an excellent gospel series of sermons using Charlie Brown and Lucy as illustrations. I still remember the small figurines perched on the edge of the pulpit. Dr. Kelley pastored for over 40 years and navigated significant pastoral challenges in both inner city and suburban churches.

Upon his retirement Dr. Kelley wrote about his experiences, The View from the Pastor’s Study. I remember one account of a deacon who came into Dr. Kelley’s office on a Monday morning and glibly declared that preachers had the easiest job in the world. “You only work one day a week, and only half of that day,” he chortled. Oh, that it were that simple!

Martin Bucer, in his book, Concerning the True Care of Souls noted Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12, “I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many.” Bucer goes on to comment that the grief, trials and sin of the congregation are a weight that humbles and wearies the under-shepherd charged with its care. Like the Lord who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” pastors and elders do the same. A work the congregation rarely sees or knows.

Pastoral care is weight-bearing work. Sometimes this involves physical demands. Often it makes emotional demands. And always it creates spiritual demands on the pastor and elders. For they indeed “grieve with those who grieve.” The Old Testament priest felt the weight of the people’s sin. His duties were consumed with them. Day in and day out he handled gallons of blood and tons of sacrificial beasts. He saw, more than anyone else, the perpetual and deadly effects of sin. And the cost to bear it. Then at the end of the day, he still had his own sin to deal with.

The weight-bearing work of the priest and in our age, pastors and elder, is well described by the author of Hebrews.

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God.

Hebrews 5:1-4

At first glance Leviticus 6-7 seems a superfluous repetition of the five sacrifices given to cover sin, guilt, atonement, restoration, and peace. Yet a more careful look reveals that while Leviticus 1-5 focus on the understanding and requirements of the worshipper, chapters 6-7 examine the sacrifices from the perspective of the priest and pastor. And thus, provide a brief primer on pastoral care. A duty that flows in two directions. First the care of the pastor for the people. And second the care for the pastor by the people.

Join us as we examine Leviticus 6:8-7:38 as we consider these two dimensions of pastoral care. We meet each Lord’s Day on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.