“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:30–31 ESV).

Here at the Seminary, we are more than a month into the academic year. This campus and many of its buildings carry within them 100 years of history. Visitors often comment on the beauty of our campus and note its historical character. This place feels substantial. It looks like theology has been studied here for decades, and it has. Juxtaposed with this history, our first-year seminarians appear younger to my eyes than ever before. Each year we rejoice and give thanks to the Lord that He has answered our prayers for more workers for the harvest.

Isaiah reminds us that our hope is neither in our history nor in our youth. Our hope is in our Lord and Isaiah’s Lord, none other than Jesus Christ. He is the only true hope for those who came before us and for those who follow after us. He is our hope as well.

Life is busy and frustrating. We grow anxious and exhausted. At times we stumble and fall. And yet, we wait. We wait for the Lord. “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,” Isaiah promised. Paul, too, addressed this waiting: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5 ESV).

The cross and empty tomb answer Israel’s waiting for the Lord. Jesus’ death and resurrection proclaim that God has come that we might walk in life and not death. Now, as we wait for His return, the Spirit grants us endurance through His Word and Sacraments, through the mutual conversation and consolation of fellow Christians, through the Gospel of our Lord.

May we find strength and endurance in the Lord as this year rolls on. May Christ’s love and forgiveness comfort us and lift us up on wings like eagles. May we run with endurance as we fix our eyes on Jesus. May the Living Stone, Jesus Christ, build us together in Him.

In Christ’s love,

Thomas J. Egger
President