Letters On The Page

Rembrandt - Return of the Prodigal Son  Video of Divine Service Fourth Sunday in Lent   Isaiah 12:1-6       2 Corinthians 5:16-21      Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 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 parable of the Prodigal Son is one of those biblical stories that has inspired myriad authors and artists. People can easily see others and themselves in this story. In the course of a lifetime some of us may unwittingly play the part of the three characters in different phases of our lives. We may have a few stories about time squandered, and after wising up, we might discover that we somehow become the righteous big brother, and, at another time, we may at some point be overcome with tears of forgiveness and love because the one who went away has finally returned. We really don’t care what they did, we are just relieved and thrilled to have them back...

Rembrandt - Abraham and Isaac - Public Domain      The following Homily was offered at three congregations in Indiana: Trinity, Goodland; Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Monticello; and St. John's Lutheran Church, Rensselaer.             2025-3-26 & 27 Wednesday in Lent                 The Testing of Abraham Genesis 22:1-18 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. There are traditions within some Jewish and Christian communities where certain Scripture passages and commentaries are withheld from the young until they reach an age of maturity. These same communities make similar decisions regarding encounters with great works of art in their forms of literature, visual, or music. The rational for such censorship is that the young will neither understand nor appreciate the deeper message and meaning th...

Video of Divine Service   Third Sunday in Lent    Ezekiel 33:7-20 1 Corinthians 10:1-13           Luke 13:1-9  People, as a general rule, in every age do not like unanswered questions. We do not like, not knowing, why something has occurred. If something terrible happens, we want to learn the cause because there must always be a cause. If we cannot discern the cause, then we will speculate. Perhaps, far too often, we bring God into our answer and speak authoritatively on His behalf. In the process, we forget to clarify that we are speculating, and we really do not know why this bad thing has happened.  The most well-known example of this is the endless speculating and accusations toward Job by his well-meaning friends. His story is told in the Biblical book of Job which is in the Wisdom section of the Old Testament. As you recall, Job is a successful independent businessman and a man of significant faith and conv...

March 19 & 20 2025 Lent - Third Wednesday/Thursday         Genesis 6 & 1 Peter 3:13-22 Words have power to tell stories, shape perceptions, affect the way we think and feel. I have found that the some of the most powerful words in the English language have the fewest letters. For those of us that have had the pleasure and privilege of taking care of little children, we are aware that the dynamics in the house change considerably when the child learns to say the word “no.” Two letters that inform us that the little darling has a different idea than we do. Please go pick up your toys. No. Please sit down. No. Come here. No.  Another strong word is the word “Yes.” Usually, the word “yes” is a welcome relief to the oppositional word. Yes, conveys agreement, affirmation, possibility, a promise, a direction, a future. Please take out the garbage. Yes. Will you marry me? Yes. In the Rite of Confirmation, the question is asked of the confirma...

Video of Divine Service Second Sunday of Lent  Jeremiah 26:8-15    Philippians 3:17-4:1              Luke 13:31-35 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Last Sunday, we reflected upon the bald temptations of Jesus by Satan. When Jesus was at the end of his fast and at his weakest physically, Satan came to tempt Jesus. We saw Jesus hold firm to His ultimate mission of the cross. Jesus chose the difficult path of obedience.  Three years have passed since his baptism and temptations. Under threat of imprisonment or premature death, Jesus remains committed to His ultimate mission of the cross. In chapter 9:51, Luke says that Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem. That is where He is headed. The time for His passion draws near. Yet, He will not be rushed. All along the way God’s Good News in Word and Deed is administered to ...

Joseph Epstein. The Love Song of A. Jerome Minkoff. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010 Fourteen short stories set in Chicago or Evanston that contain at least one Jewish person. Jewish culture is regularly referenced. The subjects addressed in these stories include friendship, marriage, money, immaturity, wealth disparity, mental illness and homelessness, monetary and career success, reputation, challenges of families in midlife, relationships between siblings but especially between brothers.  I enjoyed each story and found myself thinking about the characters and issues presented in the story for the next few days.

Lent Second Wednesday        Genesis 3:14-15 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  The Book of Genesis is a book of beginnings. The Bible begins with the Good News of God creating the universe, including us. Unlike some other religions, the appearance of the material world is a good and positive development. The Bible reveals that God creates out of love. He is pleased with what He creates. No mistakes are made. No do-overs are reported. When we read through Genesis 1, we cannot help but observe that God says the word “good” a lot. Each day, except for the second day of creation, includes a positive assessment of what God brough forth. God approves of his handiwork. For example, on the first day, the text says “ And God said, ‘Let there be Light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good .”  On the 6 th  day of creation, God brought fort...

  Hwang Bo-Reum. Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop.  Do most bibliophiles at some point or another dream of owning and operating an independent bookstore? The main character, Yeongju, is a lifelong reader, who came to a point in her life where she needed a significant change. She is recently divorced and also quit her corporate job that earned her a comfortable life but not much joy. She decides to open an independent bookstore that also serves good coffee in a neighborhood called Hyunam-Dong which is where the name of the bookshop comes from. Her goal is to make the bookshop a place for literary and intellectual discoveries and nurturing relationships.  The strength of the book are the conversations around themes of happiness, joy, fulfillment, role and limits of family expectations, friendships, necessity and limits of work, and identity. The book is set in Korea and written in Korean language. The books referenced are both Korean and English speaking authors. I was ...

John Scalzi. Starter Villain . TOR Publishing Group, 2023. I did not know what to expect when I picked this book up. The image of a cat in a business suit combined with the word "villain" in the title made me wonder if this book was an allegory about the secret life of animal criminals.  Criminals and animals are indeed a major part of the book's characters and plot, but it is not allegory. It is fantasy fiction. Some cats and dolphins are modified to have human-like intelligence, and via technology, communicate in English to the humans that they work with and for.  The main character is Charlie, recently divorced and downsized newspaper journalist who now substitute teaches in Barrington, IL. He is living in his deceased father's house. He unsuccessfully tries to secure a loan to purchase a neighborhood pub and restaurant in order to have a more interesting life as well as keep memories alive of his father. Charlie and his Dad often went to McDougal's for meals a...

Christ in the Wilderness - Ivan Kramskoi - Public Domain   Divine Service First Sunday in Lent First Sunday in Lent   Deuteronomy 26:1-11           Romans 10:8b-13        Luke 4:1-13 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  In the  Small Catechism with Explanation  that we use for Catechism class, there are additional questions and answers that help inquiring minds think critically and appreciatively about the Christian faith. One of the additional questions for the sixth petition of the Lord’s prayer, “And lead us not into temptation,” is this:  Does God ever tempt us ? This is a question that many a Christian have wondered. The answer that is provided for us is this: “ God does not tempt us to sin. However, He does at times test our faith in order to bring us closer to Himself and strengthen our faith.” ...

Ash Wednesday Divine Service    Ash Wednesday 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.  The reason we receive ashes on Ash Wednesday is because this is a season of repentance and renewal. In line with Biblical practices, by both our words and our actions, we are confessing to God and to one another that we recognize that we are NOT okay. We are sinners. We are sinners who are deeply grateful that from the cross our Lord Jesus Christ has conferred His righteousness and forgiveness upon us and has sacrificed Himself for our salvation. At the same time, in response to our Lord’s love for us, we want to grow and mature into the righteousness that Christ Jesus envisions for us. During this season of spiritual disciplines, we humble ourselves so that the Holy Spirit can continue to change us and renew us.  We recognize the truth of what Fulton Sheen says:  “ When we die to something, s...

Image from Wikimedia Divine Service Video   Transfiguration of our Lord               Deuteronomy 34:1-12              Hebrews 3:1-6               Luke 9:28-36   Reading about Moses’ final ascent unto a mountain took me back to the few times when I have been in high places and had the pleasure of seeing way out into the distance.  In Chicago, buildings formerly known as the John Hancock building and the Sears Tower, offer views of the city and Lake Michigan that were beyond my young imagination. I have also had the pleasure of being in the mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. But, what for me was mere fascination about the big city, Lake Michigan, and the mountains, was for Moses a view of the promises of God. From Mount Nebo, Moses saw where the past and the future would meet and dwell together. While I co...