Letters On The Page

Link to article Living the Life of Repentance and Faith in Christ Jesus It is appropriate that Ash Wednesday this year coincides with the Commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther on the 18th of February, the 480th anniversary of his death. As Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten discipline of repentance, so did Luther’s Reformation begin with a focus on repentance, as articulated in the first of his Ninety-Five Theses: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” The very fact that the entire Christian life is one of repentance is a necessary reminder that it’s not something we turn “on” and “off” with the changing of the seasons. It’s not as though we exercise repentance during Advent and Lent, only to set it aside the rest of the year! But even so, there is a discipline and rhythm to the practice of repentance, which is deliberately intensified at times as a means of clarifying and strengthening our faith...

Walter Isaacson, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written . Simon & Schuster. 2025. The sentence that Isaacson declares as the greatest is the first sentence of the second paragraph of the American Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776.  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The author succinctly elucidates the sources, concepts, and intentions, behind the words: we; self-evident truths; all men; created equal; endowed by their Creator; certain unalienable rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Isaacson’s concise and clear explanations are a heuristic model for any introduction to the Declaration. Anyone can pick this book and learn why the Declaration is a truly unique document. I hope this book is used in civics classes in schools.  If the information stopped with the succinct explanation...

Video of Ash Wednesday Divine Service Ash Wednesday  Joel 2:12-19 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 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 text that is the basis for the homily tonight is Exodus 2:23-25.  23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. These words come at a transition point. On the one side is that Israel’s situation in Egypt has changed. Joseph and his brothers have died. His whole generation is but a memory. The crisis of the seven-year drought has slipped into the mists of ancient history. The pharaoh that rules Egypt now has an immigration problem. Israel has the best land an...

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer Last Sunday of the Epiphany Season: Transfiguration Exodus 24:8-18        2 Peter 1:16-21         Matthew 17:1-9 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 last time we heard directly from the Father was Jesus’ baptism. The voice declared from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” We note that when the Father interrupts Peter’s reaction to the Transfiguration of Jesus along with the appearance of Moses and Elijah, the Father makes the same statement as He did at Jesus’ baptism. Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, were not present at Jesus’ baptism. The Father’s declaration from the midst of the cloud is for their benefit, not Jesus’. We note also that our heavenly Father adds one simple sentence of exhortation to his declaration, “Listen to Him...

Wednesday in the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany 2 Corinthians 11:19-12:9    Luke 8:4-15   O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. In considering the mystery of salvation, we must begin with the assuring image that the Good News of God, that is Christ Jesus, is cast far and wide. We should have in our minds eye the old-time farmer who sows the seed through broadcasting. The farmer casts his seed with the hopes that every seed will take root and produce abundantly for harvest.    The Lord intends for the Good News of Christ to be widely cast. The Scriptures testify that God desires all people to receive Christ with faith. God sent Jonah the prophet into pagan Ninevah so that they could hear God’s Word. When Israel was allowed to leave their Babylonian captivity, many faithful Jews stayed. They witnessed their faith in ancient Persia, now Iran, for centuries.    Jesus...

  Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 58:3-9a 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 Matthew 5:13-20 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  Lent begins two Wednesdays from now with Ash Wednesday. Right before the imposition of ashes the pastor states that Ash Wednesday “begins a holy season of prayerful and penitential reflection. Our attention is especially directed to the holy sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. From ancient time the season of Lent has been kept as a time of special devotion, self-denial, and humble repentance born of a faithful heart that dwells confidently on His Word and draws from it life and hope.”  One of the traditional devotions and acts of self-denial is the ancient practice of fasting. As the practice of fasting is addressed in the Old Testament reading, and, as it is a common Christian practice, and, because Lent...