From the Pastor’s Desk

For whom the bell tolls…

John Donne was a highly influential poet during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. An Anglican cleric, Donne was gravely ill during the year of 1623. He could hear the funeral bells for the church in town, and as he reflected on his possible death, he penned the poem “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Donne starts the poem by writing lines that have become very famous over the years: “No man is an island, entire of itself.” He felt the inter-connectedness of humanity should move men to sorrow and repentance over the common misfortunes that strike humanity.

Donne ended the short poem with the also famous line, “send not to know for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.” Donne knew that all man shared a common birth, namely from God. That is, we are all children of God and God’s creation. We should be moved to compassion over the sufferings of our fellow man.

Think of that terrible 9/11 almost 24 years ago. What American wasn’t moved by the great loss and destruction that was caused to New York? What American didn’t join their fellow Americans in sorrow over the loss of life? We were all moved to sorrow and empathy because we knew that we too in some manner shared in the loss.

Our common creation by God should move us to compassion over the loss and misfortune others feel. St. Paul also urged us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15). Paul urges us to rejoice with others and suffer with others not just because we all share a common humanity which comes from God, but more importantly we share in the new birth of the Holy Spirit through baptism and faith. For through baptism we are joined into one body, Christ’s body, the church.

And as Paul tells us in the book of Romans, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12.4-5). Just as each part of the body contributes to the greater whole, so we join together in love and service, knowing our gifts complement each other. And we remind each other, that we are joined together in a greater whole, the body of Christ, and therefore we should “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

In Christ,

Rev. David L. Putz, Pastor
Holy Cross Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Crawfordsville, Indiana

Good things are happening at Holy Cross!  Praise God for that.  When we keep Word and Sacrament ministry at the heart of what we do, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is sown.  As we share the Word, God gives the growth and we rejoice as humble stewards of the God who changes lives and hearts.  Help us always, Lord, to keep Your Word at the center of our life together under your Holy Cross!

Please continue to pray for our congregation and each other.  Don’t forget to visit our church website www.holycross-crawfordsville.org to find links for all our services on YouTube.