Rev. Dr. Jonathan Blanke, Senior Pastor
Pastor’s Corner for June 21-27, 2026
Of More Value than Many Sparrows
(Matthew 10:5a, 21-33)
Jesus often gave His followers an unvarnished true picture of what the future would hold. In our Gospel reading today, He tells them what the life of following Him would look like…what it would cost.
On this Father’s Day, I can’t help remembering my dad. I like to tell people that one of the most vivid memories I have of Dad that started when we were kids and extended into our adult years was how he would pull out the Bible and have a devotion at the end of the day every day…no matter who was gathered around the dinner table. Dad was not a pastor. He was not a Bible-thumping “fundy” who talked religion every chance he got. Mom and Dad would sometimes host parties for friends in the evenings that were ordinary events anyone, Christian or not, would have enjoyed attending. But when it was dinner time, all who had eaten were gathered around the table, and the dishes were cleared, Dad would pull out a Bible and a devotion booklet. It didn’t matter if our parents had friends around the table with us. It didn’t matter if WE had friends around the table with us. If you were in the Blanke household sharing the last meal of the day, you got the bread of life together with your daily bread. That’s just how it was.
This is why this year’s Father’s Day Gospel reading causes me to ponder the vocation of being a father. As Christian dads we are called to confess Christ in our homes, teach the faith to our children, stand firm when the world pushes back on us, and model repentance and forgiveness to our families. In other words, being a dad is costly. Being a dad will mean sometimes being unpopular. Being a dad may feel like you’ve been placed in the middle of a spiritual battleground. It will certainly feel at times like you’re inadequate. There will definitely be times when you fail.
But Jesus has a word of promise for his first disciples and for all of us who strive to disciple our families as parents: Our heavenly Father who sees and cares for even the sparrows sees us and those we care for! Jesus knows the pressures we face. He knows the fears we carry. His promise to acknowledge us before the Father despite our imperfect acknowledging of Him before others turns Father’s Day from a celebration of perfection into a celebration of grace and courage in Christ Jesus.
So this weekend as we celebrate Father’s Day, we have a chance not only to give thanks to God for dads…but to celebrate being children of our Father in heaven who loves us so. What comfort that we are of such value to Him. Thanks be to God!
Giving Thanks to God for Diane Hooper
This month we offer up the prayers of grateful hearts for our very own Resurrection Lutheran Preschool Director Diane Hooper who will be retiring after 28 years at RLP! Anyone who knows Diane knows that she loved the children of our preschool and always strove to do what was best for them and their families. We will miss her but pray she will enjoy her much-deserved time spent with her family (especially grandbaby James!) Well done, good and faithful servant!
Peace and joy,
Pastor Jonathan
Pastor Jonathan Blanke grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He received his Bachelor's degree from College of William and Mary in Virginia and attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned a Masters of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biblical Studies, Book of John. He served as a Vicar at Messiah Lutheran Church in Richardson, Texas.
The Blanke family lived in Japan while he served as pastor and missionary to Okinawa Lutheran Church and taught Biblical Studies at Japan Lutheran College in Tokyo.
Pastor Jonathan lived in southern Maryland from January 2014 to November 2019 and was thankful to have served as the Sole Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, Maryland.
He and his wife, Juli, have two grown children. In his free time, Jonathan likes to travel, "play around" on the piano, and enjoy the outdoors.
Click HERE to view a brief video from Pastor Jonathan.