Rev. Dr. Jonathan Blanke, Senior Pastor
Pastor’s Corner for April 26-May 2, 2026
Pursued by God’s Mercy
(Psalm 23:6)
I enjoy asking people what their favorite Old Testament Psalm or part of a Psalm might be. What is mine? I don’t have only one! But if I had to choose, the last verse of Psalm 23 would certainly be on my short list. It is usually translated: “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That word “follow” is faithful to the straightforward meaning of this passage: Yahweh’s goodness and mercy goes where we go. But a translation a little closer to the original Hebrew is the word “pursue” or “chase.” We have a God whose goodness and mercy are not only reflected in His care for us throughout our lives. That same goodness and mercy also even pursue or chase after us when we lose our way and find ourselves going 180 degrees in the opposite direction! There are times we are sheep who need our Shepherd’s goodness and mercy almost in spite of ourselves.
But I’d even go one step further in talking about this verse to mention another reason why it’s one of my favorites: God’s “goodness and mercy” in Psalm 23:6 are personified. THEY are the ones who do the pursuing and chasing! That reminds me that there is One in whom we experience the goodness and mercy of God IN THE FLESH. That Person is, of course, our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. We often hear the encouragement, and so we should, that we, the “sheep” of the Good Shepherd, are to look up…that we are to keep our eyes on Jesus (see Hebrews 12:2). But isn’t it wonderful to know that even when we lose that focus…even when we wander off in the opposite direction…even when we follow the sheep in front of us and are in danger of wandering off the proverbial cliff…Jesus our Good Shepherd chases us down! He hoists us up on His shoulders and carries us home. It’s a good thing, too. Our lives depend on it!
Praise be to God that our Good Shepherd laid down HIS life for us, that he might take it up again as our resurrected and glorious Lord.
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
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.