Letters On The Page

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost  Isaiah 44:6-8  Romans 8:18-27  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  One way of looking at the parables of Jesus is that they are short stories. Some of the parables are explained, some are not. But just as a short story that is written by a gifted writer leads us into new insights and questions, so do Jesus’ parables. He uses familiar settings and scenes, but by the end of either the parable or His explanation, we may find ourselves feeling oddly uneasy. It’s as if Jesus is looking into our own crooked hearts and speaking right to us. He speaks the truth in love. Yet, his truth and his love are not always warm and fuzzy.  Last week’s parable of the Sower and the Seed is about the challenges of the seed landing on the good soil so that it can grow and mature. This parable is a teaching about God’s abundant grace in broadcast...

 

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer, IN Seventh Sunday after Pentecost  Isaiah 55:10-13  Romans 8:12-17  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. The theme of today’s lectionary is the Word of God and what the Word does. The Word of God is active. The Word moves outward. The Word is beneficial to those who receive it. The Word of God grows within us and changes us for the better.   Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the prophet Isaiah connects the life-giving benefits of water and snow upon the earth with the benefits of the Word. Water and snow bring the necessary moisture so that seed can grow and the fields and pastures flourish. The Word of God goes forth with purpose. The Word accomplishes that which it is supposed to accomplish.  As I reflected on the movement that Isaiah describes, in particular, downward and outward, I cannot help think of all th...

  Book of Concord Lutherans Over the past couple of years, President Harrison has made an appeal that we should aim to be “Book of Concord Lutherans,” and I have resonated with that approach and emphasis. Others, too, have positively embraced this description, although I’ve noticed – with some regret – that, at least in some cases, it appears to be interpreted and understood in a rather minimalistic fashion, as though our Lutheran Confessions were setting a low bar standard of theology and practice. I can’t help but view that reading of the Book of Concord as really missing the mark. It is no surprise that differences of opinion regarding what it means to be a “Book of Concord Lutheran” center on worship practices. As I mentioned recently, I’ve been even more aware of such divisions over the past few months, beginning with my study of Augsburg Confession XV for the April meeting of the Council of Presidents, and then persisting with some of the overtures assigned to my floor commit...

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 5   Jeremiah 28:5-9  Romans 7:1-13  Matthew 10:34-42 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Who do you trust? Who do you believe? Someone who told you something that you don’t agree with or like? Or someone that tells you what you want to hear? Adam and Eve faced that choice in the Garden of Eden. The LORD God put restrictions on the one tree in the garden. They could eat of any other tree, but THAT ONE. Along comes Satan in the guise of a smooth-talking serpent and he tells them what they want to hear. As the Bible tells us, they saw that the fruit was indeed good to eat. They took. They ate. We are living through the rest of the story.  Adam and Eve had the pleasure of making their choice in the idyllic setting of the Garden of Eden. The choice to believe their creator or this creature was clear. They followed the desire of their heart and believed ...

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison has served as LCMS president since 2010. The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison is the president-elect of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for a sixth term of office, which runs from 2026 to 2029. JUNE 24, 2026 LCMS.org Presidential election process concludes The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, having received more than 50% of the votes cast, is the president-elect of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) for a sixth term of office, 2026–2029. The election for the position of Synod president began last fall with an online nominating process, conducted by YesElections, that concluded Feb. 18, or five months prior to the start of the Synod convention, with a report to the secretary of the Synod. The resulting candidates for the office of president were the five ordained ministers who received the highest number of votes in the nominations process and who consented to serve if elected. The voting began, according to Bylaw 3.12.2.4, starting June 6 (six wee...