LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 92

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92

CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES

others could learn about the same Jesus Christ who had met
them, found them and claimed them as His children forever .
When it was time for the Wednesday evening Liturgy after
their class, acolytes kept their coats nearby as parishioners
were told as they entered the narthex, “Keep your coats on
today .” As some worshipers had already heard of the tragedy and others began to learn the stunning tale, they wanted
to embody the mission statement of their congregation:
“Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, by God’s grace, is
a praying community of service that receives, teaches, celebrates, and shares Christ Jesus .” Gathering as they had every
Wednesday evening after the 9/11 attacks, these were people
of sorrow who were acquainted with grief, who knew what
senseless and reckless acts of violence can do to families and
how social injustice was something that could not go blissfully accepted as one more statistic and one more news story .
Glory be to Jesus, who in bitter pains
Poured for me the lifeblood from His sacred veins .
Abel’s blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies .
But the blood of Jesus for our pardon cries .
Lift we, then, our voices, swell the mighty flood
Louder still and louder, praise the precious blood .2
Called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified by that one
Holy Spirit, one people were forgiven through Christ in Holy
Absolution during that Wednesday evening liturgy . One people forgiven heard Law and Gospel proclaimed as the Word
of the Lord was preached . One people forgiven received the
precious gifts of heaven in the Holy Eucharist in that Divine
Service . And one people forgiven through Christ were ready to
embody Redeemer parish’s name, to go as the body of Christ
to redeem that which had been lost—an awe for the sanctity
of life and the dignity of every human person—as they would
“go in peace and serve the Lord” in a bold and beautiful way
that Wednesday evening . “Go from your Father’s house … so
that you will be a blessing … and in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed .” The words from Genesis rang clearly
in their ears and hearts .
With coats, scarves, and gloves wrapped on their bodies,
the faithful followed the processional cross and their pastor,
flanked by acolytes with torches and banners as others carried the paintings, posters, flowers, and candles assembled
by catechetically trained confirmation students as the Liturgy
streamed down the center aisle of the church building, outside the narthex, down the stairs onto the very sidewalks of
the Bronx . Filled with His Body and His Blood, they were
one people forgiven through Christ to forgive in the community; forgiven so that others may learn what forgiveness
and justice are really all about . Singing as they went, this
impromptu parade processed down the polar avenues of the
Bronx amidst behemoth city buses, amber street lights, crazed
cabbies, and screeching trains, and yet this group attracted the
attention of the taxpayers returning home from a long day at
work, the shoppers purchasing food for dinner, the girls getting their hair braided, and the homeboys waiting around for
2010 Convention Proceedings

targets who could fuel their addictions . Reconciliation’s genesis in the Means of Grace extended far beyond the walls of
the sanctuary onto the sub–zero streets of the Bronx as they
were one people forgiven through Christ to forgive in the
community . “Marching in the Light of God,” these sinners
and saints were, as Jesus called them, “the light of the world”
letting their light shine before others so that the Father would
be glorified, a light in the midst of the dark and frigid winter
evening, a light to break open the arctic arteries of unsympathetic, coldhearted, thick–skinned, self–absorbed city slickers
and to bring the Light of Christ into their lives, proclaiming
the resurrection purchased by Christ and received by faith in
Him alone .
Now the Lord said to His people: “Go from your father’s
house to the land that I will show you … you will be a blessing … in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed .” 4
So onward went these Christian soldiers, marching off to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before .5 They were women
and men . They were children and the elderly . They were red,
brown, yellow, black, and white and they were all precious
in His sight . They helped each other cross from curb to street
and back to curb again amidst the unsalted, slippery slopes of
that bone–chilling night . They waited for each other because
they, as a synod, walked together as one people forgiven
through Christ to forgive as a forgiving community, even as
the younger ones could have walked faster and left the rest
behind . Certainly onlookers could have wondered what power
this motley crew could muster against the potent, congealed
masses of those urban gang commandos whose automatic
weapons and gang colors had often posed a threat to people
of all ages . And yet, that blue and red sea parted for the fearless faithful as the Mosaic rod of the processional cross led
the way and the Lord’s people walked through on dry ground
to the Promised Land where He was leading them . Following
the star who is Christ, these wise people could not enter the
house to break open their treasure chests . Instead, they could
only remain outside the multi–storied apartment building that
was wrapped not in bands of cloth but in plastic police tape .
Huddled on the street corner, a patch of grass with some old
green shrubs provided a reasonable backdrop for the proclamation of Law and Gospel about to be made . For they, as one
people forgiven, had become the very treasure chests of God,
filled with His Word in the Means of Grace, and they were
going to share how God’s claim on people was not restricted
to the inside of a sanctuary or the well–appointed Sunday bests
of a conveniently compartmentalized Christianity . His sacred
heart of mercy and His ever–extended nail–pierced hand were
reaching out to people even in these last days .
Standing at this grave and gate of death, the Holy Church
proclaimed that night, “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” He is risen
for you . He is risen for us . He is risen for the world . For today,
in this place, on this corner, in this city, in this community, the
forgiving, redeeming, life–giving Christ had staked His claim
yet again . The snow and ice would be signs of His flood–
like pre– and post–diluvian rule over all creation, a reign of