One hundred years ago, our forefathers in the faith gathered to lay the cornerstone of the main buildings on our beautiful campus. Theodore Graebner wrote, “The ceremony took place on Sunday, October 26. It was a perfect … day, with light mists hovering in the quiet air and the oaks of the Seminary grove dressed in autumn colors. … Estimates of the crowd vary from twelve to twenty thousand … which joined in the singing, heard the address, and witnessed the ceremony. A number of addresses were made by officers of Synod and representatives of the institution, and the usual mementos deposited in the cornerstone. The receptacle was a lead box, which was then soldered and firmly embedded in the cement. Microphones brought the words of the speakers through amplifiers to every part of the crowd without loss of a syllable and, through the radio broadcasting station at the old Seminary building, with equal clearness to every part of the United States. It was, in a way the dedication of the great plant, Station KFUO, which had been completed the day before and was operating under a special Government permit.”

This description made me think, especially after our recent Theological Symposium on technology and the church. The cornerstone dedication was broadcast over our “new” KFUO radio station, which most people today listen to on phones or other mobile devices. So much has changed and will continue to change. But our true cornerstone, Jesus Christ, remains. Technology changes and the things we build need upkeep. But the Word of the Lord endures forever.

We gather each day in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus (a newer building), focused on the Word of God, to hear God’s precious law and promises. Concordia Seminary continues to be a place founded upon God’s Word where the Gospel of Jesus Christ flows as the lifeblood of our community.

As alumni, you continue to be an important part of the Concordia Seminary community as you serve our gracious Lord. But just like this campus, and all those who have gone before us, we are but transient servants of the unchanging Word of God. We are unworthy servants of our gracious, eternal Lord. And just like the disciples, we are not to be distracted by these wonderful campus stones, but to cling to the One who made the stones and who is coming soon to usher in His unshakable kingdom (Matt. 24:1-3). In Him we are living stones, joined together as God’s own people for God’s own purposes, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as our cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4; Eph. 2:19-22).

Peter reminds us that we are born again “not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:23–25 ESV).

So let us fix our eyes on Jesus, for Christ is our cornerstone. And let us thank Him for this place, for all who have come before us, for all who have gone forth from this place, and for all whom He has called together here this year, as we work together to prepare more servants of the Gospel and for His church. We pray that the Lord of the harvest will provide workers for tomorrow’s harvest fields until the glorious resurrection of all flesh.

In Christ’s love,

Thomas J. Egger
President