The joy in the journey of a used book

One of my pastors carries around a well-worn, taped-up prayer book to every study and meeting at our church. When he finally gets the gathered group to settle down and listen, we hear the words “Let’s pray”, and off we go alongside the wisdom of one of our forefathers.

O God, whose name is holy of itself, we pray that it may be hallowed also by us. To this end help us, O blessed Father in heaven, that thy Word may be taught in truth and purity, and that we, as thy children, may lead holy lives in accordance with it; through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.¹

Or maybe it is a collect tied to a Sunday in the church year, as this prayer for The Transfiguration of our Lord:

Christ our God, who wast transfigured upon the mountain, and didst manifest thy glory to thy disciples as they were able to bear it: Shed forth thine everlasting light upon us, thy servants, that we may behold thy glory and enter into thy sufferings, and proclaim thee to the world, O thou who givest light in the darkness and art thyself the light of men, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.²

The prayer book is a classic among Lutheran pastors, it is the Minister’s Prayer Book, put together and edited by Doberstein. I ordered a used copy off of eBay because I wanted to read and pray some of these prayers. I have found in my life the more that I hear the prayers of those who have spent many more years on this earth than I have, the more I allow God’s Word to shape my own personal prayers. Reading and praying through this book has been a joy.

But this post is not about the book. Well, it is a little bit about the book. It is more about the journey this book led me on.

You see when you order a used book, many times you are rewarded with getting to see the book in the eyes of the previous owner. And when my eBay shipment arrived, the journey did not disappoint.

This journey started with the owner’s name written on the inside of the front cover. It was the kind of penmanship that you don’t see anymore. It reminded me of my grandfather’s handwriting. The kind of script that comes with years of writing letters.

The next stop on the journey brought me to each ribbon in the book. One ribbon is placed in a spot full of prayers for congregational meetings, the next set in a section of prayers asking God to faithfully use the pastor well, and the final ribbon marking prayers to find joy in hearing God’s Word and receiving absolution.

Then there is the paper clip marking an encouragement from Wilhelm Löhe:

Let us dry our tears and put out our mourning lamps for the Sun of Christ is shining.

Finally, two pieces of paper fell out of the book as I was flipping through. Both of which I am sure were used as bookmarks. One was a poem, printed on a page torn out from another book called “If I had prayed” by M. Joyce Rader. The other paper was the original receipt of the book from The Bookstore Cooperative at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on December 8, sometime in the 1960s. The price was $2.75 at the time, which in 2022 dollars was $21.26.

At this point, I was hooked. I had to learn more about the owner of this book. So went to Google, typed in his name and Pennsylvania, hoping that just maybe I’d get to find a trail to learn about this guy. I even added Rev. to the search, assuming someone buying this book for pastors from a seminary in the 60s was probably a pastor.

And the first thing I found was the obituary. A catholic priest who died in 2006, served in 3 parishes and taught at a seminary. Beyond learning about his life, one traveling to this obituary finds out that this priest loved his people and they loved him. Storys abounding of the reverend walking alongside those in immense grief, encouraging parishioners, teaching everyone to love and share Jesus, and a common rejoice that their beloved pastor was now with Jesus. Each comment was a chance to get to know this individual, his love for his people, and his love for Jesus.

And then I realized I misspelled his name.

As I finished reading the comments in the obituary, something just didn’t seem correct as I was reading his name. You see, the original owner of the book has a German last name like mine, ending in two consonants. And I made the mistake that has happened my entire life when others spell my name, I left one of them off. This pastor went from Framm to Fram in a keystroke. And in so, he went from a Lutheran pastor who just celebrated 55-years in ministry this past year to a Roman Catholic priest who passed away in 2006.

Well, what a journey. And a journey that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t order this used book. And more so, a journey that only brought me joy. Joy in the opportunity to get to see how this prayer book served a pastor during his ministry, joy in learning about how one of Christ’s servants served his people, and joy in realizing that because of my typing mistake I was able to learn about two people, not just one.

This past Sunday, Laetare Sunday, “to rejoice”, reminded us that as we journey through these last three weeks of Lent, the journey is not long now. Easter is coming, the empty tomb is almost here. I pray that as you finish this Lenten journey, you are given times to pause for joy. Amidst all of the extra services, the commotion of the special music, the extra planning and events, I pray you can stop, see your Savior, and rejoice in His goodness for you and the good things He has laid in front of you.

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Does your church have deferred maintenance like A roof that needs to be replaced, a parking lot that needs to be repaved, or a furnace that is on its last leg? Lutheran Church Extension Fund’s (LCEF) Church Improvement Loan provides congregations up to $150,000 for projects to make necessary repairs, deferred maintenance, or energy-efficiency gains.³

If this is a need in your church, reach out to me: joe.willmann@lcef.org. I am happy to come out and visit your congregation to share how LCEF can help with such needs.

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Convention Devotions

At the 60th convention of the Northern Illinois District, attendees were blessed by many different devotions given by pastors throughout the district. These devotions are starting to be shared on the district’s YouTube channel. Here is the second devotion from Rev. Alex Merlo.

1. Luther-Steinhaeuser. Albert T. W. Steinhaeuser, “Luther’s Small Catechism as a Manual of Devotion,” Lutheran Church Review, XLV, 3 (July, 1926), 283.

2. Eastern Orthodox, in F.B. Macnutt, op. cit., pp. 121 f.

3. LCEF is a nonprofit religious organization; therefore, LCEF investments are not FDIC-insured bank deposit accounts. This is not an offer to sell investments, nor a solicitation to buy. LCEF will offer and sell its securities only in states where authorized. The offer is made solely by LCEF’s Offering Circular. Investors should carefully read the Offering Circular, which more fully describes associated risks. Lutheran Church Extension Fund-Missouri Synod (NMLS# 3444). Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee (MB.0006057). Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Law License (6037619). For more information on LCEF’s lending license go to lcef.org/state-disclosures/. The National Office is located at: 10733 Sunset Office Drive, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63127-1020.