Letters On The Page

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost  Isaiah 44:6-8  Romans 8:18-27  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  One way of looking at the parables of Jesus is that they are short stories. Some of the parables are explained, some are not. But just as a short story that is written by a gifted writer leads us into new insights and questions, so do Jesus’ parables. He uses familiar settings and scenes, but by the end of either the parable or His explanation, we may find ourselves feeling oddly uneasy. It’s as if Jesus is looking into our own crooked hearts and speaking right to us. He speaks the truth in love. Yet, his truth and his love are not always warm and fuzzy.  Last week’s parable of the Sower and the Seed is about the challenges of the seed landing on the good soil so that it can grow and mature. This parable is a teaching about God’s abundant grace in broadcast...

 

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer, IN Seventh Sunday after Pentecost  Isaiah 55:10-13  Romans 8:12-17  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 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 theme of today’s lectionary is the Word of God and what the Word does. The Word of God is active. The Word moves outward. The Word is beneficial to those who receive it. The Word of God grows within us and changes us for the better.   Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the prophet Isaiah connects the life-giving benefits of water and snow upon the earth with the benefits of the Word. Water and snow bring the necessary moisture so that seed can grow and the fields and pastures flourish. The Word of God goes forth with purpose. The Word accomplishes that which it is supposed to accomplish.  As I reflected on the movement that Isaiah describes, in particular, downward and outward, I cannot help think of all th...

  Book of Concord Lutherans Over the past couple of years, President Harrison has made an appeal that we should aim to be “Book of Concord Lutherans,” and I have resonated with that approach and emphasis. Others, too, have positively embraced this description, although I’ve noticed – with some regret – that, at least in some cases, it appears to be interpreted and understood in a rather minimalistic fashion, as though our Lutheran Confessions were setting a low bar standard of theology and practice. I can’t help but view that reading of the Book of Concord as really missing the mark. It is no surprise that differences of opinion regarding what it means to be a “Book of Concord Lutheran” center on worship practices. As I mentioned recently, I’ve been even more aware of such divisions over the past few months, beginning with my study of Augsburg Confession XV for the April meeting of the Council of Presidents, and then persisting with some of the overtures assigned to my floor commit...