Letters On The Page

  Divine Service, Setting 5 - St. Luke, Rensselaer Pentecost 3 (Proper 8 )             1 Kings 19:9b-21       Galatians 5:1, 13-25              Luke 9:51-62   Collect : Lord of all power and might, author and giver of all good things, graft into our hearts the love of Your name and nourish us with all goodness that we may love and serve our neighbor; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.    O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.    Since we are so close to the Independence Day celebration, we are primed to celebrate the freedom that we have as Americans. So, when we hear the Apostle Paul declare “ For freedom Christ has set us free ,” we need...

Wednesday of Pentecost 2 Video of Wednesday Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer   Collect of the Day : O God, the strength of all who trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us Your grace to keep Your commandments that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.    The Epistle is from First John, the fourth chapter.                      1 John 4:16-21 16  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  17  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in...

  Harry Kavros. Observations of an Accidental Farmer - and a Mindful Reader. Paul Dry Books. 2024.  Kavros left Manhattan and his position of Dean at Columbia University for a new learning experience. He and his wife purchased and lived on a 22 acre farm that had fallen into disrepair. As Kavros cleans out a creek bed, cuts trees and branches with a chain saw, plants a thyme field to attract bees, raises Guinea and chickens, cleans the hen-house, and attends to his dogs; his minds takes him back to the literature that he read, digested, and taught over the years. His reflections, some only a couple of pages, some numerous pages, are all insightful and worthy of contemplation. His literary trained imagination and writing ennoble the quotidian nature of repetitive labor. I hope thoughtful farmers get a hold of this work. For those of us who toil in gardens, we too benefit from Kavros' talents. 

Video of Divine Service, St. Luke, Rensselaer Second Sunday after Pentecost   Isaiah 65:1-9  Galatians 3:23-4:7     Luke 8:26-39 Collect of the Day: O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding. Cast out all sins and evil desire from us, and pour into our hearts Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all blessedness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, Jesus gave them the succinct prayer that we call The Lord’s Prayer or The Our Father. I am grateful that the disciples asked that question of Jesus. But we should know that they already knew how to pray. They were simply asking Jesus for His recommendation. The reason I say that they already know how to pray is because they alrea...

Wednesday after Holy Trinity Collect of the Day : Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.  The Old Testament reading on this Wednesday of the Holy Trinity is from the prophet Isaiah, the sixth chapter.  Isaiah 6:1-7 6  In the year that   King Uzziah died I   saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train   of his robe filled the temple.   2  Above him stood the seraphim. Each had   six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.   3  And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the   Lord   of hosts; the whole earth is full of his g...

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer THE HOLY TRINITY Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31     Acts 2:14a, 22-36            John 8:48-59   The Sunday sermon  is from the website of the Lutheran Church-Canada.  You may find the original here:  https://www.lutheranchurchcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/05/Season-After-Pentecost-Sermon_The-Holy-Trinity_Year-C-Gospel.pdf

St. Barnabas, Apostle   Collect : Almighty God, Your faithful servant Barnabas sought not his own renown but gave generously of his life and substance for the encouragement of the apostles and their ministry. Grant that we may follow his example in lives given to charity and the proclamation of the Gospel; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.    The Epistle reading for the Feast of St. Barnabas is from the Acts of the Apostles, the 11 th  and 13 th  chapters.    (Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-3)  19  Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.  20  But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.  21  And the hand...

https://in.lcms.org/confessing-with-one-voice-in-response-to-the-modern-babel/   Confessing with One Voice in Response to the Modern Babel This past Sunday, on the Feast of Pentecost Day, both the one-year and the three-year lectionary featured the same Scripture Readings: Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-21, and St. John 14:23-31. That Holy Gospel is particularly precious to me, as it includes my confirmation verse, St. John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” I received those beautiful Words of our Lord from my father – who was also my pastor – forty-five years ago this past month. I was blessed to give the same verse to my eldest son, Zachary, when he was confirmed (now some 20 years ago). And I was recently blessed to see his eldest daughter receive the same verse from her pastor. The promise of such Peace is, of course, the Lord’s own answer to the prayer I wrote...