Letters On The Page

17th Sunday after Pentecost   Isaiah 55:6-9   Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30   Matthew 20:1-16 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  Immediately before the Parable of The Laborers in the Vineyard, Jesus concludes his comments about the rewards of those who follow Him. Jesus transitions into the Gospel reading today with the saying: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” You will have noted that the Gospel reading today ended with similar words, “So the last will be first, and the first last.” In rhetoric, when a text begins and ends with sentences that say the same thing, this is called an “inclusio.” It alerts the reader and listener that what is included within the bookends is a significant point that should be remembered and contemplated further.  In a fallen, sin saturated world, where pride insists that one person or group is more important or valuable tha...

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost 16  Genesis 50:15-21  Romans 14:1-12  Matthew 18:21-35 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  From time to time, I am asked, “Why do we say the Lord’s Prayer so often.” The answer is that, first, this is the prayer that Jesus teaches. Second, we need regular reminding of the theology and wisdom embedded in the petitions. In these petitions, we ask God to shape us. As Christians, we are on the long path of repentance in addressing the corruption of our sinful nature. So, we need to ask God to make his name holy on our lips and in our hearts. We want to desire what God desires for us. He desires that by our words and conduct in all our days and nights, God will be glorified.  We regularly invite God’s kingdom to come and that His will be done in and through us because so much of what we decide is based on me and mine. Too easily, we forget that our whol...

 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Ezekiel 33:7-9  Romans 13:1-10  Matthew 18:1-20 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. I would like to know the age of the child that Jesus called to himself. In my mind’s eye I see a little boy of about 5 or 6. He must have been a child filled with curiosity fueled by a bit of innocent courage to be hanging around the men. Perhaps, he wanted to see Jesus up close? Jesus gave him the opportunity of a lifetime when he called the boy to himself.  Last week I finished Mac Barnett’s little book called Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children. Mr. Barnett is a children’s book writer. He is the 2025-2026 appointed Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. In his book Mr. Barnett describes some of the challenges that come with telling stories to children in a way that children will connect with them. In t...

  Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) Jeremiah 15:15-21   Romans 12:9-21   Matthew 16:21-28 In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Three Sundays ago, we heard that when Peter saw Jesus walking on water, he decided he wanted to be out on the water with Jesus too. He did fine until he turned his focus from Jesus to the storm around them. As Jesus reached down to lift Peter up, he scolded Peter, “ O you of little faith, why did you doubt. ” Last Sunday we heard Peter respond to Jesus’ query, “ who do you say that I am? ” Peter got it right! He said, “ You are the Christ .” Consequently, Jesus gave Peter an enthusiastic atta boy! “ Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. ”  Today’s gospel is a continuation of that conversation. Jesus immediately explains that he, the Christ, must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day. Peter’s reaction makes plain that he said the right words in his confession but he di...

Low Church? High Church? Whose Church? I’ve been rather bemused by the recent flurry of online discussion and debate in response to a recent YouTube video entitled, “Low Church Missouri,” from one of the professors at our St. Louis Seminary, Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann. It’s no surprise that the topic of worship practices and styles would garner such attention, as that has persistently been the case to varying degrees for the past three or four decades. What is equal parts amusing and frustrating in the present conversation is the way in which the terms are being used and understood, and the sort of misleading dichotomy that is consequently perceived. Dr. Biermann is absolutely entitled to his own observations and opinions, and I can certainly resonate with his nostalgic recollections of the past. My own childhood and young adult experience was largely similar to the sort of worship practices he remembers and describes. And I frankly track with some of his statements expressing a desire for...

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16)   Isaiah 51:1-6   Romans 11:33-12:8  Matthew 16:13-20 “Blessed are you” O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Two Sundays ago, we reflected on Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on water and Peter does too, until he takes his focus away from Jesus. When Jesus takes hold of Peter and pulls him up, Jesus scolds Peter, “ O you of little faith, why did you doubt? ” Today, we have the privilege of witnessing Jesus praise Peter with rich words. Jesus declares, “ Blessed are you !” The word “bless” and its cognates “blessed and blessing” occur regularly in the Bible. In fact, the word is used already in Genesis 1 on the fifth and sixth days of creation week. God blesses his creation to be fruitful and multiply.  In the 2009 Lutheran Study Bible, page 842, there is a helpful threefold definition of the word bless. When God blesses his creation on the ...