Rev. Dr. Jonathan Blanke, Senior Pastor
Pastor’s Corner for September 6-12, 2026
So…That’s It, Is It?
(Psalm 32:1-7)
I remember once upon a time “inviting” a Roman Catholic friend to a worship service I was attending at home while visiting my family in Richmond, VA. That word “inviting” is in quotation marks because it wasn’t exactly what you would call an invitation. My buddy and I didn’t typically talk much about matters of faith. He just happened to be on his way back home to D. C. from Williamsburg and so stayed over at my parents’ house on a Saturday night. Since it was an unwritten rule that if you were spending the weekend at Bob and Lois Blanke’s house and expected breakfast on Sunday morning you would be in church later that same day, there we were. The service in question started, as our services at RLC often start today, with those familiar words, “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8). Then the liturgy, hymns, and sermon followed. Later on, as my friend and I were talking about what had just happened, he said: “So that part at the beginning, the ‘Confession’ … That’s it, is it? That’s all you do?” My answer: “Yup, that’s all we do.” I explained that a person could confess their sins to a pastor one-on-one and should admit wrongdoing to any other person he or she may have wronged. But such actions were not requirements to win God’s forgiveness. “Wow,” he said, nodding as he thought about it. I realized later something significant and personal about our family’s faith identity had just been communicated.
This Monday we celebrate “Labor Day” in the United States. Originating as a day to honor and celebrate labor, it would eventually become a public holiday…a day of picnics and parades and leisure. It is now often seen as signifying the end of summer or the arrival of back-to-school sales. But Labor Day weekend is a great time for Christians to consider what the Psalmist has to say about confessing sins in Psalm 32: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. … For when I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. … I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not cover up my iniquity; I said ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (32:1, 3, 5). Confessing our sins together at church or to one another or even in prayer when we are alone should never be a burden or just another job to be done. It is speaking out loud what we know is true. It accompanies the everlasting embrace that comes with the Father’s gift of sins forgiven and unconditional love for you and me, which is ours in Christ Jesus.
It is never easy to admit wrongdoing…especially when the consequences for past actions hang over us. But this Labor Day we again have the chance not only to celebrate the gift of our own vocations but to give thanks for the labor Jesus performed to set us free from the guilt of the past and give us hope for the future. HIS work through a cross and empty tomb is the reason we can find blessing—not burden—in confessing our sins before God and one another!
A very happy Labor Day, everyone!
Peace and joy in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan
Please note, the church office will be closed on Monday, September 7 in observance of the Labor Day holiday.
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.