Beginning a ‘divine adventure’

On Saturday, 17 May, LM-A President Matt Anker delivered the Commencement Address to the graduating students of Concordia Seminary St Louis. During the ceremony he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity in recognition of his “outstanding service to the church”.

Ceremony Postponed

Originally, the Commencement Ceremony was scheduled for 7pm on Friday, May 16 in St Louis, following the morning Theological Diploma Service in the Seminary’s chapel. Astonishingly, a major tornado hit St Louis between the service and the scheduled ceremony. The storm swept across the seminary campus, uprooting large trees and causing other damage. Students, staff and the Lutheran Emergency Response Team worked through the afternoon and the following day to clear the debris so the ceremony could proceed on May 17.

Graduating class

Seventy-three students and three honourees were celebrated and recognized during the ceremony. This included 41 graduating pastors and eight deaconesses. Unfortunately, due to the postponement of the ceremony, not all graduates or their families were able to attend.

A warm welcome

The ceremony commenced with the processional hymn, ‘Thy Strong Word’. Seminary President Dr. Thomas J. Egger acknowledged all those who had worked so hard to clean up the storm damage, and those who were unable to stay on for the ceremony, before opening the ceremony with the Invocation and a reading from Hebrews 12:1-3. After a hymn, President Egger introduced President Matt, greeting him warmly as “a man I have come greatly to respect”.

Commencement Address

Speaking to the students and all assembled in the Main Quadrangle of the 186-year-old seminary, Pastor Matt said:

You are all about to begin a divine adventure that will unfold before you in the coming years and which you will look back on in astonishment as you see the twists and turns it has taken under God’s fatherly and divine providence. Having sat at the feet of faithful professors and heading out into a church body that, for all its flaws, remains a beacon of hope for confessional Lutherans worldwide, you can take these steps with confidence. For you do not embark on a journey of your own making or on your own authority – but you go as one who is sent by the Lord through His church. Ambassadors of reconciliation and bearers of hope.

Acknowledging that the call on these new pastors, deaconesses, missionaries and lay workers is ‘a wonderful privilege’, Pastor Matt noted that it was also ‘a dangerous and exciting and joyful and terrifying thing’. Going out into the world to serve the Lord, the students will be entering a battlefield:

And like any battle, the one you are engaging in will be exceptionally messy. The clear distinctions you’ve come to appreciate in the classroom, will come under constant challenge. The well-thought-through responses you have prepared for every challenge, objection and confrontation will not be received as you had thought. And the clear understanding of what rightly belongs to your call will be put to the test again and again. But as the Lord’s foot soldiers who have now completed your basic training, I want to encourage you that you have been well prepared because you have been grounded in God’s Word. Of course you know that ultimately the victory has been won by Christ, but that does not mean you will avoid injury. In fact as Bonhoeffer famously said, When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. And whether you like it or not, that’s what is in store for every one of you! Dying to self, and living to Christ that He may be made known and His gifts may be poured out abundantly for those you serve. It means the death of ego, of self-styled plans and ambitions, and of all that would get in the way of Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins. It means daily dying in repentance and rising anew through the forgiveness that is also yours as a servant of the Lord.

Pastor Matt spoke eloquently of his experiences in parish life where God worked through him, encouraging the graduates that they too would have the opportunity to change lives:

These are not moments for ego or self or grandeur, but moments of gratitude and rejoicing as God remains true to His promises made certain in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and enacted through jars of clay like you and me… Just think. As you lead the Divine Service, you do so in the presence of the host of heaven, and you get to place Jesus in the mouths of God’s people and pour salvation down their very throats! Preaching. Teaching. Listening and praying. Hearing confession and proclaiming absolution. Visiting and caring for the flock. It does not get any better than this because in these simple acts, God is at work. Inspiring repentance. Proclaiming forgiveness and cleansing. Restoring. Resurrecting and renewing. And you get to be part of that!

Closing his address, Pastor Matt said that wherever their service took them, the students should remember that:

While today rightly focusses on what you have achieved in these hallowed halls over the past years, what lies ahead is not about you. It is about Jesus at work in and through you for the salvation of those you are called to serve. So give thanks to God for what you have accomplished by His grace over these past years. Celebrate your success and anticipate your future with thanksgiving. But don’t fall into the trap of making it all about you. Serve in such a way that Christ is front and centre. Rely on the authority of His Word and not your own ingenuity. Drink deeply at the fountain of His Word that in gratitude you may live each day as His forgiven child. And as you live the forgiven life of one graced by Jesus, you will naturally decrease, Christ will increase and He will bring light and life to those you serve in His name.

Congratulations, Rev. Dr. Anker!

During the ceremony three honours were awarded.

Pastor Matt (centre) was made an Honorary Doctor of Divinity, for “outstanding service in church life.” He was particularly commended for his role as President of LM-A, working with confessional pastors and laity to establish a home for confessional Lutheranism in Australia.

The other honourees were Honorary Doctor of Letters, Dr. Christopher Mitchell, the general editor of the Concordia Commentary series at Concordia Publishing House (CPH) (on the left) and recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Dr. Gregory Seltz (right), who was recognised for his service as executive director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty, as well as Speaker of “The Lutheran Hour,” Lutheran Hour Ministries’ flagship radio program.

All images used in this report were used with permission from the Concordia St Louis Communications Office.