The Rev. Dr. Herbert Mueller Jr. (former first vice-president of the LCMS) died two Saturdays ago, on March 21. He received his Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 1979, and we honored him with a Doctor of Divinity degree (honoris causa) from CTSFW in 2012. “Herb has been known and respected for many things, but especially for his clear faith and pastoral heart,” President Rast said of Dr. Mueller. You can read the full obituary from the Reporter at https://blogs.lcms.org/2020/obituary-rev-dr-herbert-c-mueller-jr-former-lcms-first-vice-president.
You can listen to Dr. Mueller address the graduates at that 2012 commencement here: http://media.ctsfw.edu/Video/ViewDetails/3813. He begins speaking at the 3:20 mark. He speaks of both confession and outreach, pointing always to Christ who gives comfort to sinners. Near the very end of his 20 minute address, Dr. Mueller said this:
“One hot summer day, years ago, brought for me the fourth terrible funeral in the space of a week. I was tired of death, and I was tired of dealing with death. And it hit me as I looked in the anxious faces of the mourners around the grave, you know, Herb, these folks don’t care what you think. They want to hear what God is thinking. Your opinion, Pastor Mueller, counts for absolutely nothing right now. But this is what counts—and through my tears I began to read Jesus’ promise—’I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.'”
Thanks be to God. Amen.