LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 87

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CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES

Pastor spoke softly, “Andrew .” No response . “Andrew,
look at me .” The boy raised his head .
Pastor continued, making the sign of the cross as he spoke .
“Andrew, I remind you that at your Baptism the sign of the
cross was made upon your forehead and upon your heart marking you as one redeemed by Jesus Christ . God loves you so
much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for your sins . As
your Pastor, I forgive you all your sins, including the sins of
uncontrolled anger and using sinful words, in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . Amen .”
“Andrew, should we pray that God will give you the power
to overcome these temptations in the future?”
“Okay .”
After praying, Andrew sat quietly, waiting for something
more . Finally he asked, “That it?”
“That’s it, Andrew . Your faith has made you well . Go in
peace .” And Andrew went back to class .
Two weeks later his parents approached Pastor . “What did
you do to our son? We tried everything to get him to stop cursing, but nothing seemed to work . He hasn’t done it once since
you talked to him .”
Pastor answered, “I simply absolved him and prayed with
him .”
Did absolution cure Andrew of all his sinful ways? No, he
still struggles with sin . But God’s forgiveness gave him something that the Law alone could not give—power to amend his
sinful life .
Praise God that this pastor remembered what to do!
However, a Lutheran teacher, two Lutheran parents, and a
Lutheran principal all failed to apply the Gospel in helping
Andrew overcome his sin . They forgot to proclaim God’s
forgiveness .
Is it any wonder that we have broken relationships in our
congregations, schools, or Synod? It is so easy to take God’s
Word of commands and promises for granted in the everyday conflicts of life .
How can we share the good news about God’s forgiveness
with unbelievers if we can’t remember to share God’s peace
with a brother or sister in Christ?

Life Together through Confession
and Forgiveness
Confession and forgiveness were not meant only for the
Divine Service . Our daily worship is to reflect a lifestyle of
reconciliation, seeking to be reconciled especially with those
in the household of faith . Reconciliation does not mean that
we agree with each other on all issues . Instead, it means that
we confess how we have sinned against one another in our
disagreements and that we forgive each other because Christ
has forgiven us . We don’t treat each other as the enemy, but
rather as a fellow member of the Body of Christ .

87

In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes
how the Christian ought to live in fellowship with saints and
sinners:
It is an ancient monastic custom that by fixed order in the
evening devotions the abbot begs the forgiveness of the brothers for all faults and defaults committed against them, and after
the brothers assure him of their forgiveness they likewise beg
the abbot’s forgiveness of their faults and defaults and receive
his forgiveness . “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath”
(Eph . 4:26) . It is a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship
that every dissension that the day has brought must be healed in
the evening . It is perilous for the Christian to lie down to sleep
with an unreconciled heart . Therefore, it is well that there be
a special place of the prayer of brotherly forgiveness in every
evening’s devotion, that reconciliation be made and fellowship
be established anew .6

Putting It into Practice
Paul urges us, “What you have learned and received and
heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of
peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9) .
There may be people here at convention who need to be
reconciled with others in this gathering . Some issues may be
recent, based on something said in a floor committee meeting or on the convention floor . Some situations may relate to
what was written and distributed prior to or during this convention . Others may have allowed the sun to set for many
days, weeks, or months on their anger, giving the devil a foothold . Corrupting talk, sins against the Eighth Commandment,
wrath, and malice may have not only sprouted but matured
into long–term resentments .
Then, there are other relationships that need reconciling
outside of this room—those with fellow members of our own
congregations, brothers and sisters from our circuits or districts, others within Synod, even family and friends .
Thus, it is fitting that during this week together at Synod,
we put into practice what the Scriptures teach . At the close of
business on Friday, we will gather together for a service of
reconciliation . This will be a corporate service in which we
will confess our sins to God and receive His Absolution . We
will take time to reflect on what our God has done for us as
we seek reconciliation from Him and from others .
But in preparation for that service, I urge you to follow
Jesus’ command from Matthew 5:23–24: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother
has something against you, leave your gift there before the
altar and go . First be reconciled to your brother, and then come
and offer your gift .”
Over the next two days, I encourage you to seek out someone here at this convention for reconciliation . In some cases,
you may only need to confess a recent offense and ask for forgiveness . In other situations, you may need to gently restore
the other person, letting them know in a loving way how they
have sinned against you, while also seeking their assistance
2010 Convention Proceedings