Rev. Dr. Jonathan Blanke, Senior Pastor
Pastor’s Corner for May 17-23, 2026
“Seeing” Jesus
(Luke 24:44-53; Ephesians 1:15-23)
This week in worship is all about the followers of Jesus no longer seeing Him in the usual places and in the usual ways. Jesus’ first followers had gotten used to seeing Him while they were fishing, as they gathered for a meal, or as they received His teaching. They had witnessed—some, from a distance—His death on a cross. And who among them would ever forget seeing with their own eyes their Teacher and Friend resurrected from the dead! But today we remember how that all changed with Jesus’ ascension. Once the cloud had hidden Jesus from their sight (Acts 1:9) the disciples would no longer see the Lord they loved. Jesus would still be with them. But after His ascension they would now see Jesus with the “eyes of their hearts enlightened” (Eph 1:18)! Jesus had prepared them for that day by opening their minds to the Scriptures so that they might see Him in them (Luke 24:44-45). And God’s Word is still the key that connects Jesus’ followers to Himself after his ascension. It is the very place ordinary disciples like you and me “see” Jesus!
Ever run across a familiar Bible passage and felt that something you were experiencing in life at that moment made the verse seem personal or fresh? Maybe because of some life event you were led to intone a quite “Amen” to a “Hallelujah!” you ran across in a Psalm. Or maybe a measure of suffering that had only been an abstract thought up until the moment you experienced it made something you heard or read about it in the Bible suddenly become real. The eyes of our hearts “see” Jesus in the forgiveness spoken over us by a pastor, in the love of a friend who briefly alludes to a Bible verse in a prayer spoken for us, and in the shared bread and cup of Holy Communion that Jesus’ Word assure us IS His very body and blood. They are not just words. They are the promises of One who now sits at God’s right hand and to whom all authority in heaven and on earth now belongs.
This week the busy school years at Resurrection Lutheran Preschool and Resurrection Lutheran School each wind down the year with closing ceremonies. In the middle of life changes that come with kids growing up…the new vistas enjoyed on summer vacations…or the future possibilities we envision for ourselves or our families…the Jesus the eyes of our hearts continue to see goes with us!
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.