Pastors' Conference Address- May 19, 2016

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Romans 10:21
Theme: Divine Forbearance

Dear Brothers, fellow stewards of the mysteries,

Who can measure the forbearance of God? Can the preacher probe this mystery? The scholar? The exegete? Is the minimalizing of God’s forbearance our primary angle as preachers to prevent laxity? Ah, yes, we know the proclivities of the flesh! If God is believed to have infinite patience what is to prevent casualness that begets apathy; apathy that begets negligence, negligence, contempt, and contempt, apostasy? Cheap grace is the mantra leveled at those who believe that faith is an active, mighty, living thing; Spirit-hewn through the promise of the gospel! We know well the concern of Erasmus!

“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people,”1 says the Lord God. How do we assess people’s receptivity to the divine word? Luther was well-known for not mincing words. “God’s Word and grace is a passing rain shower which does not return where it once was. And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever, for ingratitude and contempt will not make it stay. Therefore, seize it and hold it fast, whoever can; for lazy hands are bound to have a lean year.”2 As Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem He warned them of judgment because they did not recognize the time of their visitation.3 “Repent!” is the decree. The day of the last visitation we do not know.

Yet, we are not occupied with speculation but with things we do know. We deal with real people, with real struggles, with real needs. They have addictions, are troubled by conflict, are burdened by confusion; they experience loves, joys, heartaches, and sorrows. They ache for the freedom truth brings. They might not know it.

So, keep planting THE seed. His seeds are parcels of divine power. The Word doesn’t lose potency. Lotus seeds dredged from peat moss bogs in China were found to be more than 800 years old. They were displayed as artifacts in museums for decades more. When planted they germinated with nearly flawless efficiency. You can google it. The Word of God does not decay with time or circumstance. The seed can remain latent and sowing should be ceaseless. Last month God gave me the humbling honour of baptizing a 95-year-old member of the parish. For me it was a ten-year project. For his wife it was 70 years in the making; an extraordinary example of divine forbearance. What more encouragement does a preacher need?

Dear brothers, don’t wait around to be recipients of unmediated encouragement. The Spirit is an accomplice of the incarnation. God uses means. He uses feeble, faulty, fraternal brothers to support one another- empathetic reciprocity in the shared work of the ministry. Brothers be patient in listening, swift in supporting, genuine in admonishing, and lavish in forgiving one another. The word will not return empty. But the word doesn’t return to us; it returns to God. The harvest isn’t stored in our treasury of accomplishments but in God’s celestial repository.

“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people,”4 says the Lord God. How can the patience of God be measured? The father of the prodigal makes a suggestion. The colours of Christ come blazing through as the father makes a preemptive strike. The preeminence of grace comes to the fore. Compassion makes haste; running with adrenaline-fueled joy- ignoring custom, transgressing etiquette, foregoing dignity-the father embraces the son who was lost. The curator of the inheritance rushes to accept the undeserving heir- with open arms. Here the parameters divine forbearance become incarnational. Forgiveness came before the apology was spoken. What a blessed thing it is when the angst of a pending confession is slain by preemptive absolution! It is a sacred crucifixion. Those who possess it will cherish it for what it is. A resurrection always results preparing us for the bodily fulfillment of that apostolic word: “The dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive…” 5, well, you know the rest. He concludes, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”6

Brothers, take courage, you are stewards of the mysteries. What is baptism if not the charity of divine forbearance? The Spirit condescends to our filth and washes us with heavenly holiness. What is the Sacrament of the Altar if not the food of divine forbearance? The immortal Son nurses mortals who would suffer famine without His rich supply. We are both beneficiaries and ambassadors of these gifts. Be of good cheer brothers, God loves even pastors. The mystery of God’s patience is not locked away in the inscrutable recesses of the divine will. “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we are proclaiming.”7 It is the same word you have received. THAT Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

District Pastors’ Conference
19 May, 2016
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Romans 10:21
2 Luther’s Works, AE 45:352
3 Luke 19:44
4 Romans 10:21
5 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 6 1 Thessalonians 4:18 7 Romans 10:8