Letters On The Page

                                                         St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church, Rensselaer, IN                                                            Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Monticello, IN Pastor Jeff and Marie Zell at St. Luke Pastor Jeff and Marie Zell at Lutheran Church of Our Saviour Pastor Zell donating blood in fellowship hall of St. Luke.  St. Luke hosts the American Red Cross three times a year.

Charles Bukowski. Post Office: A Novel . 1971, 2002. Positive statements first. A well written book. Bukowski uses short sentences that flow beautifully from one to another. He provides just enough description of place, mood, situation, etc. to fully appreciate the different scenes and scenarios that are in the book. As one who just completed a brief stint in the Post Office as a processing clerk, I can attest that his description of the monotony and challenges of the work, management styles, and rules of the PO remain true. Bukowski captures well the impact of multiple years of this kind of work on the body and mind.  Negative statements: I did not like the main character who is also the narrator of this story. Henry Chinaski is a selfish, foul-mouthed, booze loving drunkard, cigarette smoking, race-track gambling, and womanizing man. He lives for the moment and is impulsive. He does honest work, complaining about it bitterly the whole time, to support an immoral life.  Yet, Bukowski&

2024 Epiphany 4 – Deuteronomy 18:15-20   1 Corinthians 8:1-13  Mark 1:21-28 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  It seems innocent enough. Jesus is recognized as an up-and-coming Rabbi. On the Sabbath, he is exactly where he is supposed to be as a man of faith.  He is with his faith community.  The leadership of the synagogue invites him to expound on the scriptures. So, we are told that he begins teaching.  We would not take any notice of what is happening here except for three things. First, the Old Testament reading. Second, the listener’s reaction to Jesus’ teaching.  “ They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes .” Third, of course, is the disruptive behavior of the man with the unclean spirit.  All three of these things add to the growing list of what we learn about who Jesus is during the Epiphany season.  In previous Sundays, the

 My son, sister and sister-in-law and their families sent me beautiful birthday cards.  They are a delight to behold. 

2024 Epiphany 3        Jonah 3:1-5, 10;        1 Corinthians 7:29-35;         Mark 1:14-20 Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.  Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Most of us are familiar with at least part of the story of the prophet Jonah.  The Sunday School type stories I have seen generally tell the story of Jonah’s call from God to go to Nineveh, his attempt to flee from God and His call, and then getting swallowed up by the whale or fish, his repentance, arrival in Nineveh and the people’s repentance.  What is usually left out is chapter 4 where Jonah is indignant and angry that God chose not to destroy evil Nineveh. Chapter 4 ends with God having the last word.  While Jonah has only four chapters, it has had a tremendous impact on the chu

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 1 Peter 1:24-25 https://lutheranreformation.org/history/the-motto-of-the-reformation/  

Kirk, Russell.  The Politics of Prudence . 2 nd   Edition. ISI Books, 1993, 2004. Introduced by Mark C. Henrie A third edition of  The Politics of Prudence  was published by Regnery Gateway in 2023.  Michael P. Federici wrote the introduction. You may read his introduction here:  https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/the-politics-of-prudence-introduction-to-the-2023-edition/ Federici’s introduction is a splendid introduction to the nineteen chapters that comprise  The Politics of Prudence .  In the flurry of reviews that accompanied the publication of the third edition, I read that if one wants to learn about Kirk’s foundational understanding of conservativism, the place to start is not the 1953 edition of  The Conservative Mind , nor the subsequent six editions. As one reviewer pointed out,  The Conservative Mind  is intellectually hefty.  He makes his students read  The Politics of Prudence as their entree into Kirk’s ideas.    Federici’s introduction focuses on the chapters within  The Pol

2024 Epiphany 2   1 Samuel 3:1-20; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51   Follow Me   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.   In John 10, Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd. His sheep know His voice and they follow Him. But, we know that it doesn’t start out that way. We may be claimed by God, we may be part of Jesus’ flock – but somebody has to teach us what Jesus’ voice sounds like. Somebody has to teach us that this distinctive voice is the one you listen to. Don’t listen to those other voices, listen to THAT one. Until we learn, we are easily confused.   In the lesson from First Samuel, we see how important a teacher is. And, we see that sometimes the teacher himself does not understand what is going on right away. Yet God chooses to persist. God’s gift of grace can come in the form of a certain tenacity, a certain persistence, until we get it.   How is Samuel called into the prophetic minist

 

 On January 7, I was installed as the Pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Rensselaer, IN and The Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Monticello, IN.   Rev. Dr. D. Richard Stuckwisch, President of the Indiana District - LCMS, installed me.   Rev. David Mueller served as Preacher Rev. Wayne Berkesch, vacancy Pastor of St. Luke and Our Saviour served as officiant for the Service of the Word. I presided at the Service of the Sacrament. I am grateful that so many people came.  Most of the LCMS Pastors in the circuit were also present.  Thank you to Lutheran Church of Our Saviour for hosting the installation.