Al Sabel - Transition
Notes
Transcript
On of the more interesting details of how God organized the ministry of the priesthood in ancient Israel is recorded for us in
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
The work of tending to the Tabernacle in the wilderness was extensive, complex, and laborious.
Especially when they had to take it all down, pack it for travel, carry certain items on their shoulders and then unpack and set it all up again when they reached the new destination.
All this, not to mention carrying out the all the proscribed sacrifices, ceremonies and other duties. All this was committed into the hands of the Preisthold.
Recognizing the toll all of this would take on those who bore that sacred burden - literally and figuratively, God limited the time of the heaviest duties to a 25 year term - from ages 25-50. In fact, for those who did the real heavy lifting, it was only from 30-50, a 20 year term of duty.
At the end of their term, at age 50, our text says:
And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
In other words, these having reached 50, were to step back from the heavier duties to refocus their attention on others duties : To minister to their brothers - still IN the tent of meeting - especially by “keeping guard”.
The idea of keeping guard there refers to watching out for the sanctity of the Tabernacle and later the Temple.
So they didn’t actually retire, as much as they shifted focus. They concentrated on one set one duties which supported those who were still engaged in the other duties.
And so we are here this morning to witnessing something of the same among us at ECF.
As most if not all of you know, Al Sabel has served here as an Elder with great faithfulness and distinction for many a year.
But before his tenure here, and even between stints here, he has done that heavy lifting in several other congregations as well. He has willingly accepted the weight of caring for God’s Church.
Due to some health considerations, Al announced some time ago that he would step out of the associate pastoral roll he filled at a most critical time in our Church life - back when I grew ill.
And I want to remind you it was at great personal cost to Judy and himself, that he came here, stepped into the gap and served selflessly and critically at ECF in a most critical season. Something for which I know I am , and hope you all are profoundly grateful.
It was not easy.
Most of what he did was not seen by other eyes. It was perhaps seen and felt most by me.
He took and felt the weight of the whole on his shoulders, while laboring with the others.
I do not know how to explain what that experience is like.
A true shepherd as opposed to a hireling has an inherent sense of duty toward the spiritual welfare of Christ’s flock, which they endeavor to carry out whether they are paid or not or recogognized or not. They just feel it, and respond.
And recently, when he told the rest of the Elders that he was needing to step away from his role as an Elder as well we understood. The desire hasn’t changed, but the theater of service does.
But this left us with a conundrum.
He had expressed his need to step out from the heavy lifting of the Eldership - but was not “retiring” per se, rather, like the priests in our text, would remain at-large, still ministering and serving as able.
He expressed that desire to us. He loves to pour into the lives of others.
But we wrestled with what to call that and how it would look.
Initially we tossed around terms like turncoat and traitor, then, to grand old man, duffer, and then again to more official terms like pastor or elder emeritus.
The problem we had with the latter was the emeritus implied retirement of sorts, and Al was not retiring, but rather - refocusing. He is stepping away from being an “elder” officially, but not, I repeat NOT ceasing to still be involved in shepherding the flock here at ECF as God gives strength and opportunity. He will still be guarding the sanctity of the Temple - Christ’s Church. Still ministering.
The best we could arrive at, if we HAVE to label that somehow is to call him “shepherd-at-large.”
Still a shepherd here, still assisting in the ministry - but free (which is what “at large” means) from the weight of the duties and responsibilities of Eldership.
And so we want to take a moment this morning to do 2 very important things:
a. Recognize Al for the years of faithful and fruitful service to us here at ECF in the Eldership.
b. Commission him in the pursuit of this new role. Still being a resource for the Elders to draw upon. Still preaching and teaching at times - as strength and circumstances allow. Still very much involved in his one-on-one shepherding of individual souls here at ECF as he has been, but freed from the day-to-day and week-to-week responsibilities as an Elder.
Truly a “Shepherd-at-large.”