Gatheirng Day 6&7: One Body, One Spirit, One Hope, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism and One God

“‘Cause there’s only one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.” –Lost and Found “One Body”–

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called–one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.’ …It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” –Ephesians 4:2-8; 11-16–

Gathering Day 6 was bitter sweet. In the back of my mind I knew that this was the last day that we would be working together in our Bible Study Rooms and next to last day working the Superdome. But I also knew that if there was anything I missed while at the gathering, now was the day to do it. So with that thought lingering in the back of my mind, we set to work ushering in the Bible Study groups. Today was by far the smoothest day of all, because most of the first session got there on time and practically all of the second session made it early to where we didn’t have to keep the side entry doors open. Also during the second Bible Study, I saw my friends from St. Paul Lutheran in Ft. Worth, TX, whom I had not seen since spring break. It was awesome, first because two of the students came up and gave me hugs while they were walking past and I also saw Bobby Walston (the college pastor) and Pastor Danner (the Young Adult pastor) as well as Jeff Saaivarria (the youth leader from The Summit out in Aledo). It brought a huge smile to my face when I saw all the youth that had come with them–maybe 50–and to see the faces that I recognized from my time out there. I also saw a pastor friend of mine from Beyond Imagination ’04, Ross Engel. Then seminarian Ross and I served on the dance to praise team together and I learned one good way to have fun as a seminary student was to attend the National Gathering.

So after Bible Study Jackie, Crystal, James, and I went up to the stage and met with Rev. Matt Hoerner for our final debriefing from Bible Study. That was an awesome experience, because he gave each of us a small gift for our service–a drink on him. That was so thoughtful and kind and we were surprised! So we accepted graciously and took our leave. I had to deliver a chair to the CPH booth and then we all headed to the Ugly Dog Saloon–a barbeque place. That was some good bar-b-q. Most of us from Team Oscar were there—both Matts, Jenna, Lyndsey, Jackie, Crystal, Becky, Phil, Deaton, Joe, James, and myself. Surprisingly, I do believe our entire group made it through a meal without anyone being hit with a “dart” in the game we were playing. However, Matt did say he would give Jenna a dollar to eat an onion. And trying to be funny, I told a corny joke or two.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, and then hit the swimming pool. We had managed to stay away from it all week, but couldn’t resist any longer. Matt, Deaton and myself began the endeavor attempting to see who could hold their breath the longest and Matt, due to his amazing physical stamina, won the competition. Slowly, the girls of the group appeared and we all had a fun time swimmin’ and splashin’ around the pool. One time a frisbee came flying to close to Lyndsey and I, after coming up from the water from being hit with a “dart”, was hit smack in the face with a red bouncy ball. That was hilarious. The timing could not have been better, and I sank underwater again to keep from laughing. Finally, it was time to head back up to our rooms to catch some last minute naps or take care of any pressing business before our next to last mass event: The National Gathering Worship Service.

“Wow!” is the simplest way to describe what took place. First of all, I remember worship night was the most orderly of all the nights up to that point as far as participants entering the Superdome. We were able to find seats for everyone with only a few groups that were late as compared with previous nights. The service began with the Invocation and then followed with Confession and Absolution. It is indescribable the feeling I felt listening to 25,000 of my brothers and sisters in Christ confessing their sins with me and then hearing the promise of that confession spoken by the pastor that “Because He died for you here, your sins are forgiven. As a servant of God representing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In between each part of the liturgy, there was a live re-enactment of the passion of Christ from His death to His resurrection. As I said, “Wow!” is the simplest way to describe this spectactle. We then remembered our baptism, and 25,000 Lutherans made the sign of the cross on their heads and on their hearts. 25,000 baptized Christians (and probably some non-baptized) people heard the Easter Gospel.25,000 voices as one saying, “He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!” 25,00 people singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, 25,00 people saying the Nicene Creed, and 25,000 people taking communion together experiencing the real presence of Christ’s body and blood proclaiming the Lord’s death and resurrection until he comes again. But though there 25,000 people did all these things individually, it was One body. One body in One Spirit believing in One Lord believing One hope through One baptism and proclaiming the truth of One God.

This one God is the creator of the universe, the Savior of the world, and the life giving Spirit–three persons, yet one God. “So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is god; and yet there are not three gods, but one God…the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.” (Athanasian Creed). We all as one body have different gifts, talents, and callings assigned us by God. Some of us are pastors and some of us students. Some of us laborers and some lawyers. Some are teachers, some are friends, some are farmers, and some sew and mend. But even though we have separate callings “we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” That work proclaiming what we believe and why we believe it.

After getting our boomwhackers set up, we left the Superdome on a high. We all split up and went to various activities and night spots. Joe went to the Lost and Found concert; Matt B., Deaton, and Phil headed back to the hotel. The rest of us headed off to Cafe Du Monde for one last round of beignets. Then, Matt B. , Lyndsey, Deaton, Phil, and a couple of other Oscars decided to stay up all night, for really, there was no point in sleeping as it was already 1 o’clock and there were plans for breakfast at IHOP the “next” day. I decided I should try to sleep as I had a 14 hour ride home. So I did just that. I went and slept and woke up late the next morning. I quickly packed my belongings and shoved them in the car and went to the convention center hoping to catch a shuttle. I was in good company, as the rest of the YAV Ushers (minus those that went to IHOP) were already there. We waited and waited some more. Finally we took a cab. It took us seven minutes to get there and that was seven minutes late, but it was all good. We lined up at the doors of the Superdome one last time for the final Mass Event. During the LCMS Youth Commissioning ceremony we took a couple of rows of people to help pass out boom whackers to everyone in the Superdome. This was no small task and we passed them out in two minutes and thirty seconds! The people who planned this expected it to take at least four minutes. God blessed us with the speed to distribute those quickly. After it ended, many of us took photos and pictures for posterity, and said our good byes. TEAM Oscar met for a final lunch at Pi, the best pizza place in New Orleans, and slowly one by one we all left. Matt Boness compared it to the end of each season of MTV’s “The Real World.”

I hope and I pray that each of us would continue on in fellowship with those we met in New Orleans. First, by proclaiming the truth of what we believe to the world. Second, by praying for each other daily. I firmly believe that those who pray for each other stay in touch longer and stay close despite distances. Third, by continuing to attend our own congregations and step up and serve in them encouraging our generation to come back and fill the church. The Word of God is not dead. It’s living and active! It penetrates to the depths of the soul and people need it! (Hebrews 4:12) So let’s show everyone what the living and active Word looks like and continue in what we have learned. Until next time, God’s peace be with you.