Letters On The Page

Found this in a pile in my office.  I do not know where I picked this up or who assembled it. I share this just in case you, the reader, would like to be amused....

  Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost           Isaiah 29:11-19       Ephesians 5:22-33          Mark 7:1-13 I imagine that most of us can tell a good story about needing something and discovering that it is “out of order.” We pull up to the gas pump. “Out of order.” Big sigh and something muttered under our breath.  We are travelling and pull off at a rest stop and think that a caffeinated beverage would be most helpful to keep us alert while we push through. Nope, not happening today, because there is an “out of order” sign on the machines. Big sigh and maybe something muttered under our breath.  In our modern world, many of us are affected when the computer does not work. But, it is particular demoralizing when we switch to another device and discover that it’s not the device, but the Internet is down. The Information Highway is taking a break. Out of Order. Perhaps more than a big sigh and perhaps a clear statement is uttered?  Speaking

 

Video of Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer 2024 Pentecost 13 - Proverbs 9:1-10   Ephesians 5:6-21   John 6:51-69 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.  This past Wednesday, the combined catechism class for St. Luke and St. John met for the first time in this academic year. Pr. Mueller and I were taking the catechumens through the first two commandments and their explanations found in the Small Catechism. For those of you who enjoyed memory work in the Small Catechism in years past, you recall that Pastor Martin Luther begins nine of the ten commandment explanations in the same way. “ We should fear and love God so that… ”  The explanation for the first commandment is this: “ We should fear, love and trust in God above all things. ”    What does Pastor Luther mean by the word fear?  We observe that today’s reading from Proverbs ends the way that the Introit begins: “ The fear of the LORD is the beginnin

Image Video of Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer 2024 Pentecost 12 1 Kings 19:1-8                  Ephesians 4:17-5:2                   John 6:35-51 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen.  Right when Elijah was ready to give up, the Lord gave him the gift of food. His life and work were not done. The Lord has more for the prophet to do, so he is given food to strengthen him for the journey ahead.  As Jesus describes who he is and what he can do, Jesus reminds his listeners that years ago, Israel was also ready to give up, and the Lord provided what they needed to live in the wilderness. Manna, the mysterious bread, appeared all around them every morning six days a week.  The food and drink that the Lord provided Israel during their forty-year sojourn in the wilderness is only to sustain them. It fills their stomachs and gives them strength for the day. The same with the food that Elijah receives.

James Patterson and Matt Eversmann.  The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading . Little, Brown, and Company. 2024.  Should someone attempt to persuade you that reading and books are a thing of the past, this inspiring collection of stories about the passion and experiences of librarians, bookstore owners, and booksellers, will serve as a fine rebuttal. The men and women that are the subject of these vignettes are all readers. Stories of all sorts transport them and those they provide books for into new ways of thinking, coping, and imagining.  They tell of how books entertain, inform, educate, and transform. They experience it themselves and see it in their patrons.  The communities that develop around bookstores and libraries strengthen the resolve and encourage these professional book people. All communities have their eccentrics and tensions.  Several of the librarians relate the intense struggle surrounding purchasing and keeping certain b

 I went out to the garden this morning to bury the compost. As I was digging the hole next to the sprawling cucumber plants something caught my eye. These two whoppers lay in wait for a picking! I had been looking for cucumbers but had not seen them. Well, they were stealthy and now huge. Fine candidates for refrigerator pickles. 

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri - Saint Paul   Click for service at St. Luke, Rensselaer 2024 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost                                                      Exodus 16:2-15                 Ephesians 4:1-16               John 6:22-35 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. That was quite a sight to behold watching the three Americans who were falsely arrested and incarcerated in Russia getting off the airplane.  We all give thanks to God for their return to United States soil and their families.  While we have the images of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva being welcomed by President Biden, Vice President Harris, and being hugged and kissed by their families, we are aware that the writer of the Epistle for today, the Apostle Paul, did not enjoy that blessed experience.  The Apostle Paul reminds us that he is a prisoner for the Lord.  He writes this letter to the churc