“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Back in Hamburg after instructing at Riga Luther Academy’s Summer Intensive in Lutherstadt Wittenberg this past week. At our “youth hostel” (Colleg Wittenberg), we bumped into a group of students from Concordia Ann Arbor, whom one of their professors, Dr. Charles Schulz, was leading on a tour of Germany. One student, Phillip Rice, came up to Dr. Bombaro and me and struck up a conversation as we were sitting in the courtyard that first evening. Currently a full-time substitute teacher at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Indiana, Phillip told us that he will begin his pastoral studies at Concordia Saint Louis Seminary in the fall of 2025. I asked him why he wanted to be a pastor. He told us the following story: Phillip and his family were on vacation in the American Southwest a few years ago when they pulled into a gas station on a Navajo reservation. A poor fellow came up to Phillip as he was putting gas in his car and asked him if he had anything to eat. Philip rummaged through some groceries in their vehicle and made him a sandwich. As Philip was handing it to him, a mangy dog ran up and stole the sandwich out of Phillip’s hand. Philip promptly made the hungry man another sandwich and gave it to him. Out of nowhere, the same dog ran up and was about to steal the second sandwich. Instead of scaring the dog away or perhaps throwing a rock at him, the man looked at the dog with a kind expression and gently gave him his second sandwich. Phillip and his wife exchanged glances. They were both thinking the same thing, as Phillip related, their eyes welling up: that was a perfect image of Christ’s grace: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. “That is the message I want to share for the rest of my life, showing people God’s grace in Christ—just like the hungry man on that reservation who gave his sandwich to a mangy dog who didn’t deserve it.” (Phillip granted me permission to share this story. From L to R: Dr. Bombaro; Phillip Rice; yours truly).
The Tiews in Germany 