LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 98

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CLOSING ADDRESS

“Quis Separabit?”
Christi Crux Est Mihi Lux

Prayer: Not of ourselves but of Thee alone, O God, are
we strong and sufficient for every task and dauntless in every
battle. Bind us to Thy will for us by the strong bands of
Thy love in Christ, and bind us inseparably to one another.
Renew in us the mind of Christ, conform us to the image of
Thy Son, that we may work His will in this world and that
He may ever own us at one with Himself and with Thee.
Amen.

Text: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
Romans 8:35

DELEGATES AND FELLOW REDEEMED:

When, in 1187, news of the conquest of Jerusalem
and adjacent areas by infidel armies reached Europe,
it caused great consternation throughout Christian na-
tions. Almost immediately the Third Crusade was
organized by three great rulers in order to regain the
holy places and the Holy Land for Christ. Surrounding
each of the leaders was a band of noble and stalwart
knights. Recognizing that unity of purpose and unity
of effort were essential to success, they entered a cove-
nant and pledged loyalty to their leaders and to one
another, taking as their motto the Latin words QUIS
SEPARABIT? — “Who shall separate us?” They were
confident that nothing could separate them from the
love of Christ. His they were and Him they served.
On Him they could depend, and through Him they
would overcome. The strong bands of His love would
therefore bind them together and leave them one solid
phalanx, one inseparable and unbeatable host. QUIS
SEPARABIT!

It is not difficult to understand why these words,
drawn from the 8th chapter of St.Paul’s letter to the
Romans, should become the theme as we gather for
the final service of this convention. I give them as a
watchword and as a battlecry: QUIS SEPARABIT?
“Who shall separate us?”

For the space of 8 days in midsummer we have
gathered here because of a common love for our King
and Savior and a common concern to spread His
blessed kingdom. Together we have discussed and de-
bated many issues, some of vast importance, some of
lesser importance. In the course of these days some
profound insights were expressed, and others that were
less than profound. We have reviewed our efforts since
that last convention, and we have projected some future
action and formulated plans.

What does it all mean now that we have come to
the time for adjournment? What will it all mean — the
reports and resolutions, the plans and projections — as
we return to our individual battle stations in the army
of the living Lord? I stand before you almost over-
whelmed by the conviction, so strong it is, that all of
it is going to be quite meaningless and irrelevant unless
we see it in the perspective of our basic task and mission
as those who are SENT TO RECONCILE. And having
seen this clearly, who among us does not sense at once

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the need for us to draw more closely to one another,
to cling adhesively together, and to allow no person
and no circumstance to divide us? QUIS SEPARABIT!

This ministry of reconciliation to which we are
summoned begins where everything begins. It has its
origin in God and the work He did and the business He
conducted when He became one of us and lived among
us in the person of Jesus Christ, and by His life, death,
and resurrection redeemed us to Himself. St. Paul led
us to the very heart of it when he wrote: “God was
in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not
counting their trespasses against them.” You and I are
Swept up into this mission by the fact that God has
entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. We who
have been reconciled to God by the death of His Son
are now sent forth to reconcile. We are the earthen
vessels by which God means to carry the treasure of
His Gospel to all men everywhere. This is our task:
to be channels of God’s love in Christ so that in a world
of wars and riots, sin and guilt, sickness and death,
men can know that in Christ Jesus they may have
God’s own forgiveness, His healing, and His life.

Is this word of reconciliation stil] the need of our
poor world? We live in a sophisticated age, an age of
unparalleled scientific and technological advances. On
a recent space flight, for instance, a 50-Ib. computer
on board the spacecraft performed more than 13 mil-

Dr. W. Harry Krieger

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