LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 94

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94

CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES

that our Lord Jesus would be glorified in all that was said
and done .
When aimless violence takes those we love,
When random death strikes childhood’s promise down,
When wrenching loss becomes our daily bread,
We know, O God, You leave us not alone .
Our faith may flicker low, and hope grow dim,
Yet You, O God, are with us in our pain;
You grieve with us and for us day by day,
And with us, sharing sorrow, will remain .
Because Your Son knew agony and loss,
Felt desolation, grief and scorn and shame,
We know You will be with us, come what may,
Your loving presence near, always the same .
Through long grief–darkened days help us, O Lord,
To trust Your grace for courage to endure,
To rest our souls in Your supporting love,
And find our hope within Your mercy sure .15
Passersby brought flowers, crosses, and other articles
that helped with the grief . In the days to come, more pictures
would be added . More candles would be purchased and remain
lit . This place of pilgrimage was not a memorial for the dead;
this shrine was a sign of life for the living, a sign of the living of forgiveness that leads to life, a sign of the bold, daring,
courageous, confessional living of the true and pure Gospel of
Jesus Christ in a pluralistic society . It was not a sign to highlight a parish named Redeemer; it was a sign of the Divine
Redeemer Jesus Christ who makes one people forgiven to
forgive others for the sake of the life of the world . It was an
urban Advent wreath with dancing lights round about an evergreen bush that was not consumed but yet marked the days of
anticipation of I am’s glorious return, when death would be
no more, when there would not be mourning or sorrow or pain
because the former things would have passed away .16 It was
an injection of the eschaton, a harbinger of hope and resurrection life in the midst of sadness and death . For there the world
had a chance to see Zion, the city of our appointed feasts, an
untroubled habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will
never be plucked up nor its cords be broken, where the Lord
our King will save us, and where no inhabitant will say, “I am
sick” because the people who dwell there will be forgiven their
iniquity .17 And that shrine of the Redeemer remained a sign
for time to come; it remained unscathed and intact for people
to visit as the immovable tent’s pegs were not plucked up or
pillaged but prominently and potently proclaimed the Prince
of Peace who had come to save us all .
“For the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to
Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their
heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away .”18 And, after the long time outside,
they did return to the church building, singing and talking
with neighbors along the way of all ages and cultures, reaching out in love to those whom Jesus died and rose to save .
They returned to the altar for prayer before leaving for their
2010 Convention Proceedings

homes that dim, wintry Wednesday evening . They returned
that weekend for worship as they returned each week, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen,19
more keenly aware that they were forgiven to be a forgiving
community, blessed to be a blessing, forgiven so that all families of the world would be forgiven and blessed .
One people forgiven through Christ to forgive in the community … in the world … in the cosmos . We are ambassadors
of reconciliation, messengers of mercy, people of pardon,
embodiments of the very Holy Meal we celebrate—living
signs of forgiveness, life, and salvation through Christ, with
Christ and in Christ for the life of the world . For Redeemer
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Bronx, New York, a parish of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod where “God’s
People Pray,” the witness did not stop there . It involved the
praying with gang members outside a school playground that
had been overtaken by drug lords as their gang colors marked
the scene of the slaying of one of their own crown princes .
Boldly engaging them during a makeshift vigil of their own
and helping them to air their grief and regret; hearing their
confessions and bringing them the forgiveness that is in Christ,
many of them have seen the light of Christ by the power of the
Holy Spirit—and that same playground has since been renovated and was recently rededicated for the neighborhood .
The witness when people leave Portals of Prayer devotional books and resources from the International Lutheran
Laymen’s League, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League,
and other agencies of the church in doctors’ waiting rooms so
that others can read and be blessed . It happens when parish
worship bulletins are passed along from person to person so
that the hymns and prayers from Sunday morning may be sung
and prayed every day of the week . It happens when teenagers
text each other during crises and catechetically share with their
friends in need, in their own vernacular jargon, the riches of
individual Confession and Holy Absolution, inviting friends
to confirmation classes and church services . It happens when
people wear prayer wristbands to initiate Law and Gospel conversations with others on buses and trains . It happens when
public officials are engaged by church leaders about marriage being the lifelong union of one man and one woman . It
happens when members of congregations give money to support and go on mission trips to assist others throughout the
world in times of disaster and need . It happens when schools,
afterschool programs, youth groups, senior groups, couples’
organizations, young adult organizations and others actively
seek to live together as one forgiven people so that the world
may see Christ and His love . It happens when the Church as
the Bride of Christ proclaims “love to the loveless was shown
that they might lovely be .”20
This is what our Lord has called us to be—one people forgiven through Christ to forgive in the community . It inspires
the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod:
In grateful response to God’s grace and empowered by the
Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of the
LCMS is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word
and deed within our churches, communities, and world .