hops. And this is the meaning: you
are not only to feed them, but also pay attention and be carefully
faithful where it is called for and there is need. And here he uses a
Greek word, _Episcopountes_,--that is, _being bishops_, and it comes
from the word _Episcopos_,--that is, rendered in Dutch, _an
overseer_, _a guardian_, who is on the watch or look-out, and takes
notice of what every one around him wants. Observe, then, how a
bishop and an elder are one and the same thing. So that _that_ is
false which they now say, that the bishop's office is a dignity, and
that _he_ is a bishop who wears a pointed hat on his head. It is not
a dignity, but a ministry; so that he who has it should oversee and
provide for us, and be our guardian, so as to know what is generally
needed; that when one is weak and has a troubled conscience, he
should then give help and comfort; when one falls, that he should
raise him up, and things of this sort; so that the people of Christ
may sufficiently be cared for, both in soul and body. For this
reason, I have often said, that if a proper form of government was to
be now established, there must in such a case be in one city as many
as three or four bishops, who should have the oversight and care of
the Church, providing for the general wants.

And here St. Peter touches on two points which might well appall any
one from taking the charge over a people. In the first place, there
are some to be found who are truly devoted, yet yield reluctantly to
becoming preachers; for it is a wearisome office for any one to have
the general oversight,--how the sheep live, so as to direct and help
them,--since there must be oversight and watchfulness night and day,
that the wolf do not break in; so that body and life must be devoted
to it. Therefore he says, _you are not to do it of constraint_. True
it is, that no one should force himself uncalled into the ministry;
but if he is called and required for it, he should enter it
willingly, and discharge what his office demands. For they who do it
from constraint, and who have no appetite and love for it, will not
properly discharge it.

But there are others, worse than these, who stand up before the
people and thereby seek their own gain, so as to feed their own
belly. These men are anxious for the wool and milk of the sheep; they
ask no questions about the food,--just the course of our bishops
now,--a thing that has become almost everywhere a scandal and a
shame