This past week I enjoyed the tremendous privilege of teaching one of the classes for this summer’s Christ Academy at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. It was my first opportunity to do so, and I really could not have been more pleased. Some of you may have seen pictures of the students assembled on campus, in which case you know what an impressive group of young people it was. Over ninety young men and women attended the two-week retreat, either in Timothy School (for the boys) or in Phoebe School (for the girls), devoting themselves to the study of the Holy Scriptures and Lutheran theology with a variety of professors, and immersing themselves in the rich daily worship life of the Seminary campus.
With such a large number of students, my class was divided into two sections, meeting back-to-back (each class for an hour) after lunch from Monday through Thursday. I had the special joy of teaching on the Liturgy of the Gospel and the true worship of God by faith in Christ Jesus. From the Bible and the Book of Concord I demonstrated how the Lord comes to us through the Liturgy (leitourgia) – the Ministry or Service – of His Word and Sacraments (Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV.80-81); and I explained that faith worships God by seeking the forgiveness of sins and all good things from Christ Jesus, laying hold of Him in those very Means of Grace, and then also by loving Him in the members of His Body (Apology V (III).33-34 [154-155]).
Although I was able to cover all of the main points that I most wanted to teach over the course of the four days we had together, I was also amazed and delighted by the many great questions from the students throughout those days (and often continuing after class). These are young men and women who are both bright and pious, theologically engaged, and serious about their faith. Some of the boys will likely become pastors in time, and some of the girls will become deaconesses; but all of them are already faithful members of the Body of Christ, confessing Christians, a credit to their fathers and mothers, pastors and teachers, and above all to the gracious Lord and Savior who has called them by the Gospel, by His Word and Holy Spirit, to faith and life in Him.
It was a particular blessing and joy, for me personally, to have my youngest daughter, my eldest granddaughter, one of my goddaughters, and several of my parishioners from Emmaus in South Bend as students in my class, along with the sons and daughters of many friends and colleagues. This was the third year in a row that my daughter (Katharina) and granddaughter (Sarena) have been in Phoebe School, and they have clearly loved the whole experience every time. Words fail me to describe the depth of my appreciation and gratitude for what this has meant for the two of them, and for so many other young Christian disciples of the Lord Jesus. I am so very thankful to the Seminary for providing this immensely edifying opportunity each year, and to the fathers and mothers who send their children to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s painfully easy these days to become cynical and callous about the world in which we live, and even about the future of the Church on earth. Surrounded by distractions, often distressed by this present evil age, and too easily discouraged by the demographic challenges that beset us, we are tempted to suppose that the Body of Christ is falling apart, slipping away, and dying. And to be sure, we are being put to death all day long for the sake of the Crucified One! That, too, is at the heart of our theology and our confession. Yet, in the very midst of death, the Word and Spirit of Christ Jesus are alive and well among us, bearing fruits to the glory of His God and Father in the hearts and minds, bodies, souls, and spirits of His beloved sons and daughters. That is what I saw and heard in the Christ Academy students this past week. And no matter where those young men and women go henceforth, they will be an encouragement to all their brothers and sisters.