Letters On The Page

  Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer   Pentecost 21 – Amos 5:6-7,10-15          Hebrews 3:12-19               Mark 10:17-22 The prophet Amos pulls no punches. He is confrontational in his speech. He speaks directly and bluntly of a problem that is bringing spiritual ruin to God’s Chosen People. The sinful behavior that the LORD and Amos witness are not innocent deceptions. They are not little white lies that don’t hurt anyone. The powerful and wealthy are taking advantage of those who are beneath them in wealth and status and who cannot legally fight back. They refuse to receive God’s truth. They engage in bribery to conduct business. They manipulate the law and work the government against the less fortunate so that they can make more money. They have allowed their wealth and their endless need for more to become their idol. Their love for their idol is leading them down a path of manipulation and perversion that demonstrates no love or concern for their neighbor. In this

By Edal Anton Lefterov - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,    Icon of Christ - Pantocrator - Creator of the Universe Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer   2024 Pentecost 20 – Genesis 2:18-25    Hebrews 2:1-18        Mark 10:2-16 The Letter to the Hebrews is addressed to Christians who are being persecuted or under the threat of persecution. When you read through Hebrews, you realize that this is hardly an epistle at all. Rather it is a sermon encouraging the baptized to remain faithful to their confession despite the real distress they feel and the real danger that their faith exposes them to. An actual recognizable letter is not found until the final words in chapter 13.  We know that Hebrews is written and preached and disseminated to the wider church sometime before AD 70. The author of Hebrews speaks of the old covenant and the necessary animal sacrifices as if they are still happening in the Temple in Jerusalem. That came to a grinding halt when the Roman Army destroyed the Temp