(Eph.5:21-33;   Ps.128:1-5;   Lk.13:18-21)

“To what shall I compare the reign of God?”

Jesus Himself compares it to a mustard seed which grows so steadily into a “large shrub,” and to yeast which makes “the whole mass of dough” rise.  And Paul tells us of the marriage union that it “refers to Christ and the Church.”  These images should lead you, brother, to understand the glorious kingdom that is beyond all image.

“The husband is head of the wife just as Christ is head of His body, the Church,” and husbands should “love [their] wives, as Christ’s loved the Church,” giving themselves “up for her” as the Lord has done for us.  A wonderfully beautiful call; a marvelous image which is to bring the Lord so really into our midst: love between husband and wife – the love of love upon this earth, which indeed brings the fruit of new life.  “A man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cling to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”  Here is a word of truth incomparable to others in the joy it brings the ear and the heart open to its call.  For by it is promised great happiness to those “who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.”  Yes, the obedient man will find that his “wife shall be like a fruitful vine” and his “children like olive plants around [his] table”; great is the blessing upon those who wed in love, the true love of the Lord.

But a greater promise than this does this word bring, for in it is indeed “a great foreshadowing”; in it we see not only the fruitful love of man and woman, but of God and His people.  For does not Jesus leave His Father in heaven and cling to us?  Does it not bring the great knowledge that we shall be made one with Him and with His Father in heaven?  If “he who loves his wife loves himself,” does this not emphasize the absolute oneness of husband and wife?  And if such marriage foreshadows Christ’s love for us, can we not conclude that we will be as He is?

Oh to what glory we are called!  To be as the only Son of God, to be one with Him.  Indeed “we are members of His body” even now, certainly.  Has Jesus not asked Saul why he was persecuting Him, referring to His Church (Acts 9:4); and has He not said what we do unto the least of our brothers we do unto Him?  We are one with Him even now, but yet we are growing, yet we are rising.  And the immeasurable glory to which we come is beyond even the most poignant image to depict.  It is absolute fullness, absolute union with our Lord and God.  Alleluia!  “The prosperity of [the New] Jerusalem” is ours.

*******

O LORD, teach us to love one another 

that we might be joined to your Son 

and so enter your reign.

YHWH, may husbands and wives be truly one in your sight; let there be no separation between them.  For they are one as we are one with your Son, and why would we separate ourselves from our Lord?  Salvation is ours in Him and in our love for one another.  Let us be obedient to His voice and fear you and walk in your ways, and we shall grow unto Heaven. 

O LORD, you greatly bless those who fear you, who worship you alone and always do your will.  Help us to live according to your Word, particularly as it affects marriages.  For this day there is great separation between husband and wife, between man and woman; no sense of their oneness seems known anymore.  Set against one another do they not set themselves against you?  And living thus, how shall their love grow?  Then what hope have any of being fruitful in your sight and coming into your eternal presence?  It seems their children they would let die.  O save us from such destructive pride that we might love one another as ourselves, as you love us in your Son.

(Eph.4:32-5:8;   Ps.1:1-4,6,Eph.5:1;   Lk.13:10-17)

“There was a time when you were darkness,

but now you are light in the Lord.”

Brothers and sisters, remember always that “God has forgiven you in Christ.”  Once you “walk[ed] in the way of sinners,” but now you are as he who “delights in the law of the Lord.”  And so as God has shown His mercy to you, so should you do unto others; we must “be imitators of God as His dear children.”  As when Jesus saw the woman who “was badly stooped – quite incapable of standing erect,” for eighteen years afflicted by her infirmity, He had pity for her, called her to Him and “laid His hand on her” so that “immediately she stood up straight and began thanking God”… so should our hearts go out to all those in need, all those afflicted by infirmity and sin, that all might be as well as we have become, that all might praise God as we do.

“Make no mistake about this: no fornicator, no unclean or lustful person – in effect an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”  Brothers and sisters, how many of us have been guilty of the deadly sins of which Paul speaks today?  (And if not these, what others?)  How many of us have deserved to be barred from the kingdom?  In truth we must say that all of us have fallen short of God’s glory and found ourselves in desperate need of the salvation only Christ brings.  And so should we hold out no hope for those who commit such sins now, who are as we have been?  Certainly “there are sins that bring God’s wrath down on the disobedient” and put them in danger of dying; but do we instruct these to “have nothing to do with them,” do we offer light to those in such darkness… or do we presume their condemnation?

The Lord left not the stooped woman in Satan’s clutches, despite the “indignant” attitude of the leaders of the synagogue – whose own inability to stand erect is so much more difficult to cure.  No, the Lord saw a soul in need and reached His hand out to her; and should we not do the same with those we see suffering affliction, if not with a healing touch of our hand at least with the healing touch of devout prayer?  The well-being of others must always be our concern.  We must ever “be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving.”  For if our hearts stoop to jealousy and judgment as does the leader of the synagogue’s, what hope shall there be for us then of entering God’s kingdom?  We must ever be children of light, dispelling all darkness, if we are truly to be the “dear children” of our Lord. 

*******

O LORD, let us stand up straight before you,  

turning from sin and walking in your way at all times. 

YHWH, let us be as your dear children, kind and compassionate toward others, ever reflecting your glory.  Let there be no sin among us, not even the whispering desire for sin.  Let us live as your children of light – banish all darkness from us. 

Help us to walk in your way, O LORD, to be well instructed in your paths; for there are many who wander aimlessly and are easily subject to Satan’s wiles.  Let us be taught as the Jews of Jesus’ day and listen with attentive hearts to His words.  Indeed, like Him let us become, like a tree planted near the running water of the Spirit, and we shall prosper all our days, ever bearing fruit in your NAME. 

Make clear to all, O LORD, that sin is sin, that the idolatry of lust is a turning from you and the light of your truth and the love of your heart.  Keep us from certain death, from the counsel of the wicked, delighting only in your Law day and night.

 (Ex.22:20-26;   Ps.18:2-4,47,51;   1Thes.1:5-10;   Mt.22:34-40)

“If ever you wrong them, and they cry out to me,

I will surely hear their cry.”

In this simple statement by the Lord is revealed the essential nature of our God in His relation with His people.  It demonstrates certainly what He says of Himself, “I am compassionate,” for what is He telling us but that He has an ardent care for the poorest among us and the injustice they suffer?  But it also demonstrates the justice of God itself, for what does He mean when He says He will “hear their cry” but that He will punish the wicked for their heartless crimes?  He states clearly, if any should “wrong any widow or orphan… [His] wrath will flare up, and [He] will kill [him] with the sword.”

Now in the Church today we find an arbitrary and utterly deceptive and false separation of members into “liberal” or “conservative” camps, as if the Lord and His Church could be limited by either assignation.  The liberal hears “love God and neighbor” and ignorantly excuses himself from keeping the law; and the conservative grasps the law so tightly he squeezes the very life, the very love, out of it.  The Lord is neither liberal nor conservative, but may be said to be both – and that to the extreme in both cases.  First of all, He has come to liberate us from our sin, to free us from the sentence of death all justly deserved as much as the adulteress or the thief on the cross He forgave.  No one could be more liberal in His free giving of Himself and His love.  What compares to the shedding of His blood, and the free gifts we gain thereby?  Yet it must not be forgotten that the Lord Jesus is absolutely conservative in His teachings and in His ways; at all costs He preserves the truth.  For though He says that “the whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” of love of God and neighbor, He does not thereby do away with the whole law.  Indeed, He strengthens it.  Does He not say not a single letter, nor even part of a letter, will pass away until all the law is fulfilled?  Does He not tell us now that even to look at a woman lustfully is adultery and to be angry with another is as murder (see Mt.5:17-30)?  And will He not come at the end of the age and judge all hearts, separating the evil from the good and casting them into eternal darkness and eternal flames?  Though He “delivers us from the coming wrath” if we love Him, failing that, we cannot but be thrown into hell.

The Lord has two hands and either taken alone is ineffective, is, in fact, wicked, for either alone falls short of love and truth.  The Lord is absolutely kind and absolutely just: these two meet and kiss in Him.  And so they must in each of us.  We must be “model[s] for all the believers.”  Let it be said that from us “the word of the Lord has sounded forth,” that “in every place [our] faith in God has gone forth – that we have carried both His love and His truth to every heart we touch.  Then we shall rightly call the Lord our “rock” and our “deliverer”; then we shall exclaim, “Praised be the Lord” and be “safe from [our] enemies.”  Then He will hear our cry and save us, and all who truly love Him, for then we will be His disciples.

Written, read &chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "The Child and the Beast" from Remove the Mask of Lies, second album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, help us to love you with all our heart,

and to love others as you love them. 

YHWH, we must turn from idols to worship you alone, for you are the living and true God and deserve all the love of our heart, mind, and soul.  And we must love others as you love all, ever sharing your unending compassion with our neighbor.  For you hear the cry of the poor, and to that call we must attend or we are not loving you at all.

Whose compassion is beyond is beyond your own, LORD?  Whose love can approach your perfection?  For your love is founded on perfect justice, a justice we cannot fathom apart from your favor toward us.  Your justice cannot but punish evil, for if not, how could it protect the good?  How could the widow or orphan find your compassion if you did not destroy those who oppress them?

But even as you destroy the wicked, you do so out of love, out of mercy even toward those you destroy.  For how shall they turn from their sin and be saved if you do not chastise them for their wrongs, for the lack of compassion which separates them from you?  Your kindness be upon all this day, O LORD, that we might live in your love.

O zealous apostle

who traveled throughout the earth

driven by the fire of the Holy Spirit,

you labored strenuously,

rejoicing in poverty

and welcoming hardships

as you gave your very life

for the flock in your care –

pray the love of Christ

will urge us on to holy zeal

that we might approach your apostolic spirit,

desiring to inflame all men

with the fire of God’s love.

Concerned always and only

for the glory of God

and the salvation of souls,

may we fulfill our call;

as sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

with her same purity and commitment,

pray we give birth to Christ in souls

by the preaching of the Gospel

until all are formed in His image

in the heavenly kingdom.

(Eph.4:7-16;   Ps.122:1-5;   Lk.13:1-9)

“Each of us has received God’s favor

in the measure in which Christ bestows it.”

Paul reminds us today of Scripture: “When He ascended on high, He took a host of captives and gave gifts to men.”  Christ Himself “descended into the lower regions of the earth,” coming to the place where we lowly humans dwell, and then “ascended into heaven, that He might fill all men with His gifts,” that those to whom He comes here on earth might know the riches of heaven to which He draws us all.

“It is He who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to build up the body of Christ.”  Yes, He gave us these leaders such as Paul to guide us to all truth, but He no less has given us each a share of His heavenly glory and bestowed upon each of us the gifts that are our portion from Him.  None is without gifts, and none can fail to employ these gifts.  It is necessary that the Body of Christ has “the proper functioning of [its] members joined firmly together by each supporting ligament” if it is to grow in love as it is called to do.  All our gifts must be employed to the full; each must fulfill his role.

The Lord makes clear the call upon each of our souls to utilize the gifts He grants to each of His members.  Listen to the words of the vinedresser in His parable: “For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree and found none.”  Who is that vinedresser but Jesus Himself and who is that fig tree but we who claim to be His disciples?  And finding no fruit on the fig tree, what does the vinedresser say?  “Cut it down.  Why should it clutter up the ground?”  Why indeed should we drag down the Body of Christ struggling to grow in love in this world; if we are dead members, what place have we in His kingdom?  And unless we reform in the short time we are given, what shall become of our souls?

Brothers and sisters, do we not wish to “go up to the house of the Lord,” to rejoice in the heavenly Jerusalem, to “form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature”?  Then our tree must bear fruit in His name and serve to build up the Body in love; “if not, it shall be cut down,” and we shall be separated from the glorious presence of the Lord.  See the great graces and gifts the Lord showers upon you; pray for their fulfillment, for their growing more and more – “profess the truth in love” and the favors you have been given will bear their fruit, for your benefit and that of the whole world. 

*******

O LORD, let us not be cut down

 but built up as the Body of your Son. 

YHWH, let us make our home in you; in the Body of your Son let us find our place.  In your holy Church may we ever dwell, bearing fruit in your NAME.   To full maturity let us come, in Jesus who has come to us.

O LORD, in your House let us rejoice; let us find our peace in the New Jerusalem.  Within Her gates we are safe from every false doctrine, from every whim and fancy of man.  For divine wisdom rests in Her whom the Christ has formed by His own hands, in His own blood.  Since He has founded the Church and its servants, it is He who lives in it with you. 

But we must leave behind our sin if we are to find such perfection in Him.  We must reform our lives if we are to be made in the image of Christ your Son.  O LORD, let our lives not be empty; let us not come to a sudden end…  May we please you by our repentance and know your blessings upon us this day.  Let your Church and all its members grow and bear fruit in Jesus’ Name. 

O tireless preacher of God’s Word,

how well, how completely,

you called all men,

and especially the priests of the Lord,

to a life of holiness,

to shine the light of Christ;

with patience and sound doctrine

and the example of a blameless life

you sought to save souls

throughout the world

and bring them into the fold

of Holy MotherChurch –

pray this day apostles go forth

in the brightness of holiness

as light to the world,

drawing all men to God.

In such wisdom let truth be known,

the truth of our Savior Jesus Christ,

that every heart might call Him Lord

and proclaim the Church as His own.

Pray not a day pass,

not an hour upon this plane,

wherein His Word is not heard.

(Eph.4:1-6;   Ps.24:1-6;   Lk.12:54-59)

“Make every effort to preserve the unity

which has the Spirit as its origin

and peace as its binding force.”

Is this not what Jesus instructs the crowds in saying, “When you are going with your opponent to appear before a magistrate, try to settle with him on the way”?  Do not both Paul and Jesus speak of the love we must have one for another, even for those who may seem our enemies?  Again, in the House of God there is unity, there is peace.  Among His children there should be understanding, there should be grace.  We must make every effort to have no enemies – to hate no one, to bear no grudge against any – in this life or the next.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to live as one, “bearing with one another lovingly,” for “there is but one body and one Spirit” in Christ; “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” which we all share, and so we should live as children of the “one God and Father of all.”  On our oneness in the Lord our hearts should be set, and nothing should disturb the peace we find in Him.  We see so many other things, we understand so much of the world and its ways… why do we not understand this?  Why do we not know and practice God’s way?

“The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it.”  This David tells us: all are one under the Lord God.  But only those “whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,” “may stand in His holy place.”  We cannot “ascend the mountain of the Lord” if we are not made perfect as He.  And so the Lord warns us of the necessity of settling all our accounts here, now, while there is time – while we yet have breath and eyes to see – lest we come to the judge at the end of time with the darkness of sin upon our soul.  Now is His mercy offered forth, and we are called in turn to offer it freely to others.  Then will be grave punishment for sin, for failures to love and maintain unity.

“A blessing from the Lord” awaits us all.  He “that seeks the face of the God of Jacob” shall receive his reward.  Even now the Spirit of the Lord grants us a foretaste of such grace.  But we must be ever diligent to maintain it.  We must be ever ready to forgive one another if we are to remain in Him.  And so I ask: forgive me, brother; forgive me, sister, any wrong I have done you… and be assured of my forgiveness. 

*******

O LORD, help us to stand in your holy place,

as reflections of your peace and your love for all. 

YHWH, you are LORD of Heaven and earth and all is under your watchful care.  We are in you and in your Son and have your one Spirit at our heart’s core.  Let us live in peace!  Let us live as your children, holy as you are.

If we maintain not humility and peace in our souls, can we be said to be your own?  O LORD, if we settle not with our opponent here on this earth, how can we come unto your heavenly presence?  There can be no anger or hatred in us; indeed, our hands must be sinless if we are to enter your eternal kingdom and make our home in you.

And so, dear LORD, help us to forgive one another, to love all as you love them – let us be the race that seeks ever your holy face and never turn aside from such desire for utter love in your presence.  Forgive all those who sin against us, and please let us be forgiven in your sight.

          O great Pontiff

          who stood as a bulwark

          against the culture of death

          threatening to overtake mankind,

          who served to bring down the Enemy

          with the sacrifice of your life and your many works:

          under the Mantle of Our Mother,

          you gathered the youth of the world as one

          to hear your ringing exhortation;

          you enlightened minds

          assailed by doubt and despair;

          you taught men and women the language of love

          the Lord wrought into our very bodies…

          for you knew the power of the Cross

          and carried it till the end,

          finding light in the dark night of suffering.

          The gates of Hell could not stand

          against your invocation of the Spirit –

          pray we too shall open wide

          the doors for Christ

          and fear no evil as we entrust ourselves

          entirely to our Redeemer

          and His Divine Mercy.

 (Eph.3:14-21; Ps.33:1-2,4-5,11-12,18-19; Lk.12:49-53) 

“Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth?”

Strong contrast we find in our readings today.  Jesus speaks of the division He has come to bring by the fire of truth He lights on this earth – fire like a sword separating even the closest of family members one from another; whereas Paul speaks of “the breadth and the length and the height and the depth of Christ’s love” and the great oneness found in “the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.”  How does one reconcile this apparent contradiction?  Is the Lord of peace or division?

Brothers and sisters, there is no contradiction here.  Paul speaks of the “glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus” which exists “through all generations” and which we share “with all the holy ones” for whom “charity [is] the root and foundation of [their] life.”  As our psalmist proclaims, “Happy the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance.”  In the House of God is peace.  In His Church is the oneness of perfect love, and all its members “experience this love which surpasses all knowledge” and “attain to the fullness of God Himself.”

Then whence the division the Lord emphasizes?  The division exists here on earth, as He Himself states.  When the light of truth comes up against the darkness that is this world, when the holy ones of God meet up with the children of this evil age, there is necessarily division.  Despite the best efforts of the just to bring peace to all, how often is our offering of peace rejected – how frequently is Christ nailed to the cross.  So, though we yet hold love for all as the disciples of our living Lord, it cannot but be that many will cling to darkness and so find an enemy in the light.  And thus division comes.  Though in heaven and in the Church there is nothing but peace, the world breeds only division.

Brothers and sisters, “may Christ dwell in your hearts through faith.”  “May [the Father] strengthen you inwardly through the workings of His Spirit” as you undergo the anguish of the baptism His Son has known.  May He keep you in peace and “bestow on you gifts in keeping with the riches of His glory.”  For soon division will be gone and His peace will be all that is known.

*******

O LORD, how your love separates

the evil from the good! –

may we know the fullness of your love

 at work in our lives. 

YHWH, great is your glory, far above the ways of men – how can we grasp this surpassing knowledge, how can we know your all-encompassing love?  Though you dwell beyond our reach, in your kindness you stoop down to us, to share with us the great riches of your glory.

And so, what should we do but praise your NAME?  What should we do but thank you in song?  For you have looked upon us in our lowliness and delivered us from death and sin, and made us one with all your holy ones in your eternal kingdom.

But what of those who reject you, LORD?  What of those who spurn your love, who desire not the peace which surpasses understanding?  What can they do but fight against your Church?  And those may be of our own family.  Then where are we?  How shall there be peace on this earth among those who despise your gifts?  Give us strength to share in the baptism of your Son, in the fire we must endure on our way to Heaven; help us to conquer all division and stand always with you.

(Eph.3:2-12;   Is.12:2-6;   Lk.12:39-48)

“When much has been given a man,

much will be required of him.”

Yes, “more will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted,” and today we see two of the men to whom the most has been entrusted.  First, of course, is Peter, who queries the Lord and to whom the Lord addresses His question, “Who in your opinion is that faithful, farsighted steward whom the master will set over his servants to dispense their ration of grain in season?” knowing full well it is to the blessed Rock of His Church He speaks.  And Paul tells us how “through the gift God in His goodness bestowed on [him] through the exercise of His power, [he] became a minister of the Gospel.”  Paul has been “given the grace to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to enlighten all men on the mysterious design which for ages was hidden in God, the Creator of all.”  The Rock of the Church and its great Apostle – how much has been entrusted to these two men!

And what has been entrusted to these is entrusted to all who follow in their wake, to all “the holy apostles and prophets” to whom “the mystery of Christ” is “revealed by the Spirit.”  And so the same responsibility is upon them as well.  The Lord has promised, “With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation,” and how can the faithful find such life-giving water if the Lord’s priests and preachers do not offer it forth freely as it has been given them?  If they withhold the children’s food and their tongues cleave to the roofs of their mouths, how shall the Church be fed, how shall she be instructed in the way she should walk?  If the guardians of the truth are not vigilant, but rather begin “to abuse the housemen and servant girls, to eat and drink and get drunk,” feeding only themselves, their own bellies… what shall become of the Body of Christ?  And what shall become of those who have allowed the Lord’s House to be broken into?

“Sing praise to the Lord for His glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth”: that “God indeed is [our] Savior,” and all are called unto Him.  Brothers and sisters, we all share in the priesthood of Peter and the evangelical ministry of Paul, and so, “drawing near Him with confidence,” we must all “among the nations make known [the Lord’s] deeds.”  All have been given a measure of the Lord’s grace and power, and all are responsible for fulfilling the “master’s wishes” with regard to our call.  This is our gift from God, to share in His work of service, in His cross.  Let us embrace it as readily as have Peter and Paul. 

*******

O LORD, may we all be faithful stewards

of your manifold gifts 

and find our salvation in your Son.

 YHWH, you are in our midst and you call us all to your work, to service of your Church in your holy NAME.  Through your Son Jesus Christ we all may share in your manifold wisdom, in the salvation to glory wrought by His blood…  Let us give thanks to you and acclaim your NAME, serving you faithfully all our days.

LORD, it should be our joy to serve you; it should be our very food.  What greater gift could we hope for than to share in your promise and in your blessed ministry with Peter and Paul?  One are we in your Body, in the flesh of your Son, and freely may we come to you now with all our petitions and find you ready to answer our plea – what blessing is ours by your grace!

Let us draw water at the fountain of salvation, LORD; let us drink freely of the glory you offer forth.  Remaining ever faithful to your will, let us draw ever closer to you, till we sing your praises forever in your kingdom.

O true lover of the Crucified,

always you celebrated

the feast of the Cross

in the temple of your soul,

uniting yourself with the will of God

by taking upon yourself

the torments of the Lord

in a silent joy

and so finding the food

of sacrificial love

which sustains us in this world –

pray we shall be as Christ,

that we shall walk the path

He marks out for us,

and so in embracing the Cross

find true joy in the grief we suffer,

in the blessing of oneness

with our crucified Lord

and so with His Father in Heaven.

You who have been transformed

into your Beloved,

pray we shall join you

through the Passion of Christ.

(Eph.2:12-22;   Ps.85:9-14;   Lk.12:35-38)

“You who were once far off

have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

We who “were excluded from the community of Israel,” who were not of His chosen people upon whom His Spirit rested and so were “without hope and without God in the world,” now are “fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God” by the great grace of the cross of Christ.  Now, “in Him [we] are being built into this temple”; now all “have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

“He came and ‘announced the good news of peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near” – to us who were far off, we of the nations apart from “the covenant and the promise,” that the promise might be ours as well; but also to those who were near, those to whom the covenant had been given.  For those who were near were also far off; they too were blind to His presence in their midst and needed their eyes opened by the living Christ.  For though the word and the sacrifice were at their hands, far was He from their hearts, and so the blessed coming of the Messiah is for these, of course, as well.  He came, in fact, for them first of all.

“Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him.”  Gentile or Jew, it does not matter.  Now there is but one race: Christian.  Now there is but one Savior for all.  For now indeed there is “glory dwelling in our land,” and any who come to it become children of its light and are fitted into the House of the Lord.  “He proclaims peace” now unto all, that all might know “His benefits.”

And are we ready for His coming again?  Do we heed our Lord’s exhortation in our gospel today?  Do we serve Him constantly, ever keeping a place for Him in our hearts and at our tables, that when He comes the great promise He makes to His servants – “He will put on an apron, seat them at table, and proceed to wait on them” – we will know?  Will we be gathered into His heart and His home?  Brothers and sisters, “become a dwelling for God in the Spirit.”  Realize the blessing that is ours now through the cross.  If under its blessed shade we take refuge, if we heed the call to come from our former residences so distant from Him and draw near to the love of the Lord, then already we will sense “the master’s return” upon us, and holy light it will bring to our souls.

*******

O LORD, let us be built into your Temple

and become your dwelling place in the Spirit –

your light in our eyes, your peace in our souls,

your love in our hearts at all times.

YHWH, let us be prepared for the second coming of your Son; may the blood He shed make us one with you and with one another, that in peace we might wait for His return, that in your Spirit we might dwell even this day.  As your holy temple let us be, that we might know your call in our souls and do your will in all things.

You look down upon us in kindness, LORD, and so your Son you have sent.  He is Truth walking among us, leading us on the way of peace.  And so, your benefits we may know; our work may yield its increase – our lives may be made worthy of your coming kingdom.

O LORD, let our eyes be open, looking for your Son’s return; let our hearts be set on the promise He leaves us.  O let Him freely enter our homes and we be fed by His hand alone – please let us be joined to your saints in Heaven, forming one House in your NAME.

O heroic witnesses

to the faith,

O loyal followers of Jesus

who took up the cup

of torture and death

willingly,

with desire only to join your Lord,

with delight and joy

at the deadly blows…

your offering of body and blood

is unsurpassed

because it was one

with Christ’s own,

done with love for those

who killed you –

pray we shall so completely

embrace our call,

embrace the cross

provided us by the Lord,

that with your same thirst for truth

we shall lay down our lives for our brothers.

(Eph.2:1-10;   Ps.100:2-5;   Lk.12:13-21) 

“It is owing to His favor that salvation is yours through faith.

This is not your own doing, it is God’s gift.”

Brothers and sisters, salvation is no “reward for anything [we] have accomplished.”  It is nothing we make by our own hands, but comes only by God’s “kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

“God is rich in mercy.”  Here is the great truth; this is our great hope: “Because of His great love for us He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin.”  By our own hands we had but built up our condemnation and so “deserved God’s wrath.”  Like the foolish rich man, we thought we could take our refuge in the things of this earth, that in them we would “have blessings in reserve for years to come.”  But however much we “pull down [our] grain bins and build larger ones,” filling them with all the “grain” and “goods” of the world, we yet will have nothing; yet will we be empty and in need.  For our life is in His hands alone.  “He made us” and not we ourselves; “we are truly His handiwork,” and so, dependent on Him for all things.  And if not for His mercy we would yet be dead in our sin.

Brothers and sisters, we must not “live at the level of the flesh”; we cannot give our “allegiance to the present age and the prince of the air” and remain in the favor of God.  “Following every whim and fancy of our own” will but lead us down a dark road, and all the “piled-up wealth” we can amass will give us no light for the night ahead.  Truly we must realize that we are “created in Christ Jesus to lead the life of good deeds which God prepared for us in advance.”  Now that by His mercy He has saved us, has lifted us from the mire into which we’d sunk, it is ours to “serve the Lord with gladness” and “come before Him with joyful song.”

“In Christ Jesus [God] raised us up and gave us a place in the heavens, that in the ages to come He might display the great wealth of His favor.”  And should we not but accept this gift from Him “whose kindness endures forever”?  Should we not humble ourselves before our Holy Lord and “enter His gates with thanksgiving”?  All He requires of our souls is to accept the salvation He brings us, and to grow “rich in the sight of God.”

*******

O LORD, make us rich in your sight;

by the favor you have granted us

through the salvation wrought in Christ Jesus,

remake us in your image. 

YHWH, you made us and have remade us in the image of your Son who has died for us that we might be dead in sin no more.  Let us praise the great favor from you and live always according to your Word.

We have accomplished nothing, LORD, nothing but our own condemnation, nothing but distraction from you as we turn to the flesh and riches of this world.  As to the evil spirit we give our allegiance, we find your wrath upon us; we find the death we have wrought by sin.

But you are merciful, LORD, and call us through your Son to salvation from this darkness that has enveloped our souls.  You would indeed remake us in Christ; He would indeed restore us to our former glory and carry us to your kingdom.  O let us not set our hearts on the riches of this earth but seek only the grace that comes to us at your hands, in His blood.  Let us enter your courts with songs of praise this day.

O bringer of the Good News,

the light of the Gospel,

to many nations…

a thorough account you have given us

of all Jesus did and taught

and of the Holy Spirit’s work

among His disciples;

and so the Lord’s peace

may enter our homes,

and we embrace Him with Mary –

pray, dear physician,

that the Word of the Lord

may indeed come to our hearts

through the words you declare,

and we be healed by His grace

and illumined by His Spirit;

the glory of the kingdom pray we know.

Though He has been taken from our sight,

let us proclaim His presence

with great joy,

for He yet speaks to all our souls

in the words you have recorded,

in the fire of God that guided your hand.

 (Is.45:1,4-6;   Ps.96:1,3-5,7-10;   1Thes.1:1-5b;   Mt.22:15-21)

“I am the Lord and there is no other,

there is no God besides me.”

Oh brothers and sisters, how clear our Scripture today makes it that “great is the Lord and highly to be praised; awesome is He beyond all gods.”  Indeed there is no other God.  It is He who grasped the “right hand” of even the pagan king, Cyrus, “subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service.”  The heart of this king and all kings and all lands are in His hands – He alone rules all nations!  Do you see this?  Do you understand that if He calls this foreigner by “name, giving [him] a title,” that there is none that is beyond His reach, that is not under His eye?  By the Lord’s power this pagan has conquered the nations of the world.  And why?  Why does He arm him who knows Him not?  “So that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none beside [Him].”

Our psalmist sings so well of the singular power of the Lord God: “All the gods of the nations are things of naught, but the Lord made the heavens.”  Again I ask, do you see this?  All nations recognize Him who made the heavens and the earth; even these “tremble before Him.”  And so all are called to “tell His glory among the nations, among all peoples, His wondrous deeds.”  For all must be encouraged to “give the Lord the glory due His name”; all must be offered the honor of knowing the greatness of our God.

One of these nations who have come to knowledge of the one God we hear of in our second reading.  Paul calls the Thessalonians “brothers and sisters loved by God” for their “work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  He gives thanks to God the Father that this Gentile people has come to faith in Him “with much conviction.”  What has been proclaimed so long now bears fruit.  For even the millennium before our psalmist had called the “families of nations” to “bring gifts, and enter His courts,” to “worship the Lord in holy attire.”  None has ever been barred from adoring Him who is the One God and Father of all.  But now the Gospel comes not “in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit.”  Now the word is anointed by Jesus’ blood.  So now all nations indeed come before Him, giving “the Lord glory and praise.”

And when Jesus says, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” He does not remove anything from under God’s domain.  For even the things of Caesar are in God’s hands (as is the coin between Jesus’ fingers today), as the Son makes clear in His words before Pilate: “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above” (Jn.19:11).  And, “the Lord is King” and King is His Son, and “He governs the peoples with equity.”  Let all declare the glory of Him besides whom “there is no other.”

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "The World Is a Work of Art (Made by the Hand of God)" (1st half) from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, all the earth belongs to you;

let us run in the way you command,

ever giving praise to the glory of your NAME. 

YHWH, there is none beside you – you are the Most High God, the only God, the living God… and greatly should we praise you.  We should worship you alone, for you alone are worthy of worship.  O let us sing to you all the day long!

All the nations are in your hands, LORD and God; all kings run in the way you lead them.  There is none above your power or beyond your reach – the world is at your command.  As Jesus holds the coin of Caesar between His fingers, so all this earth is under your power, to be disposed with as you desire.

Send your Spirit into us, dearest LORD, O mighty God, that your power might come to us and conform us to your will, that we might labor each day for you and our poor work find your favor.  Let us test you not, O LORD, but trust in your goodness toward us and be obedient to your Word.

Praise you for your glory, LORD!  Let all souls give you due praise, that we might join with you who made us, that we might share in your surpassing glory.

O wheat of Christ

ground by the teeth of wild beasts

and so made His bread,

His leaven unto Heaven…

by such heroic witness

you became one with the Lord,

joining Him in death

and so in eternal life –

pray we shall find the strength and faith

to follow in your sacrificial footsteps,

that it will also be our sole desire

to die in Jesus’ name,

to be remade in His glory.

Teach us the way,

for it seems so dimmed

by the material things

the devil presents to our vision;

pray for us, blessed victim,

that our thirst for life in Him

will overcome any obstacle

and so our journey to His kingdom

be made straight by His grace.

His flesh and blood be our own this day.

O apostle of Christ’s Sacred Heart,

in mystic wonder you beheld Him

and let Him wash you clean

in the streams that flow

from His Heart divine –

pray indeed we shall unite ourselves

to Jesus and His love,

that we shall submerge

our needs and sorrows

in the abyss of His mercy

and seek perfection

in union with His Sacred Heart.

There let us find salvation,

reparation for all our sins;

there let us find heavenly joy,

the peace that surpasses understanding.

With you let us enter His presence,

let us be bathed in His light,

ever progressing toward His kingdom

till we are devoted entirely

to advancing His eternal glory.

Pray His will and His way be known in us

as we entrust ourselves to His love.

O mother of the unfortunate

and model of prayer and penance,

completely you gave yourself

to service of the Lord

and neighbor,

chastising your flesh

by constant fast and abstinence

and generously offering

your goods and your time

to all those in need –

pray we shall at least desire

to imitate your thorough devotion,

that our lives will be spent

not on things of this world

but for the reign of Heaven.

All we can do for others

let us do,

and let all be done for God,

that He alone

will rule our hearts and lives

and we will worship

Him alone,

dying to ourselves all the while.

(Eph.1:11-14;   Ps.33:1-2,4-5,12-13;   Lk.12:1-7)

“What you have whispered in locked rooms

will be proclaimed from the housetops.”

What we have whispered and what has been whispered to us, the teaching of the Lord, the truth of the Spirit, is destined to grow unto praise of God – to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.  What begins here in a small way in Jesus the Messiah, shall proceed in His disciples to all nations.  In the dark, first it is but whispered.  It sinks deep into the locked rooms of our guarded hearts.  There the truth finds a home, takes root, and grows.  And all the world shall know…  All the world shall know all that is spoken in your heart.

Brothers and sisters, “when you heard the glad tidings of salvation, the word of truth, and believed in it, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit who had been promised.”  In Him and in His truth whispering in your heart you found “the pledge of our inheritance, the first payment against the full redemption of a people God has made His own to praise His glory.”  Though a tiny spark at first, concealed in the dark, this flame has burned intensely, and now becomes the fire of praise unto God.  “We were predestined to praise His glory”; this was the Lord’s desire from the first moment He touched us with His Word.  And now His plan must be fulfilled.

As Jesus looks about in our gospel and sees “a crowd of thousands had gathered, so dense that they were treading on one another,” He realizes how the flame has already begun to grow.  And so He warns His disciples to be true to the Word He has labored to plant in their minds and hearts and souls.  He knows that they will be tempted by “the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy,” that they may be inclined to speak what will tickle the public’s ear in order to gain their approval and support.  Thus does He say, “Do not be afraid”: do not be afraid of what the truth may bring or that you might be killed for speaking it.  Remain true to what I have whispered to you in our locked rooms, for the Word must go out to the ends of the earth.  Their mission upon them, He calls His friends to fulfill it.

And so let all our voices resound with the praise of God who has saved us, for “praise from the upright is fitting.”  “Exult, you just, in the Lord… for upright is the word of the Lord, and all His works are trustworthy.”  Now all must know that “of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full,” so fail not to “chant His praises,” to proclaim His truth to all the world.  It is here we are called to do so.

*******

O LORD, let us not fear to praise your glory

before all the world.

YHWH, we are called through your Son to declare your glory, to sing your praises in the light of this day.  May we in faith and sincerity fulfill this call and come at last into your kingdom.

You are our LORD, you are our God, and all things are known to your eyes.  Life and death are in your hands, and only in you do we find the promise of the Holy Spirit fulfilled – only in you and by your Son will we inherit eternal glory.  Let us be your true disciples that, though we die for your cause, we may ever have life in you.

Praise you, LORD, for your goodness to us, for your watching over us and providing your Son to save us and your Spirit to lead us to your glory.  Let the truth you have spoken in the depths of our hearts be proclaimed openly to the ears of all men that the devil may be overcome and all your poor sparrows find their home in you.

O teacher and Mother

who served to reform your sisters

and the lives of all Christians,

you led all souls

along the way of perfection,

which is Christ Himself –

pray his love may fill our hearts

that union with the Father

we indeed may find;

inspire us by your teaching

to seek Him

who makes His home in us…

and pray we shall have your courage,

your faith in the face of trials,

as we work to bring Him to others

and so suffer under His Cross.

Pray we shall know as you

the joy of such persecution,

which brings us only closer to God,

our spirits wed to His surpassing peace.

O pray, dear Mother,

we shall be entirely forgetful of ourselves

as we remember His presence in our lives.

(Eph.1:1-10;   Ps.98:1-6;   Lk.11:47-54)

“It is in Christ and through His blood

that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven.”

Oh, brothers and sisters, “so immeasurably generous is God’s favor to us.”  He “has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens!”  In Christ we are chosen “to be holy and blameless in His sight, to be full of love… to be His adopted sons.”  In our midst the Lord fulfills the plan “to be carried out in the fullness of time: namely, to bring all things in the heavens and on earth into one under Christ’s headship.” And He does all this by the shedding of His blood.

“God has said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of these they will persecute and kill.’”  “From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who met his death between the altar and the sanctuary,” to the blood of Christ, who died within the sanctuary – who is the sanctuary and whose blood is poured out upon every altar until this day – the sacrificial blood of the martyrs has been poured forth.  And all the blood shed until His time, and all the blood shed by His faithful until His Day… all is the blood of the Christ who redeems us all who shed that blood by our sins.  And we should but desire to add our own blood to fill up what is yet lacking in the sacrifice of the Lord, that all the chosen may enter His kingdom.

Brothers and sisters, no longer is “the key of knowledge” kept from us; we now have access to enter into His reign.  For “God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery” of the plan of His salvation.  And it speaks to us in Christ’s blood.  And in His blood we should rejoice; we should “praise the divine favor He has bestowed on us in His beloved.”  For “the Lord has made His salvation known: in the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice.”  And His justice is this: that though the devil accuse us rightly of our sins, though the blood of the prophets be on our hands, though none is worthy of the kingdom and all should be justly thrown into hell – yet “all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God,” yet there is One who has died in our place to wash us clean from our sins, to measure off the justice due us… yet the devil’s hope for our condemnation is thwarted by the One who loves us immeasurably.  And so we can enter in and “with trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.”  And so we may know fully the blessings of Christ’s blood.

*******

O LORD, the blood of your Son be upon us this day

to redeem us from our sin

and bring us knowledge of your glory.

YHWH, thank you for sending your Son to redeem us from all our sins and make us one with Him and so with you in the heavenly kingdom.  Your salvation this day is known to all by the blood He has shed on the Cross – may all hear His call to repentance, that all might sing in your presence.

O LORD, every spiritual blessing you offer to us through the sacrifice of Jesus.  O that we might be holy as He, holy as you, and praise you joyfully for your love.  Let us not linger in jealousy, in envy of His goodness and truth, but listen to His words that chastise our hearts, that we might be made pure for Heaven.  The key of knowledge is ours in your Christ; the wisdom of the ages comes to us through Him – let us but long to follow Him to your glory.

In His blood indeed we are saved.  Though our hands have shared in the shedding of that blood, yet it is the source of our salvation, if we but turn to you in love.  Praise you, LORD, for your favor toward us!

O slave become Shepherd

of the universal Church,

firmly you defended her teaching

and recognized that all sins

may be forgiven

by the Lord through her;

then after serving faithfully

at the helm of Peter’s bark,

you died and were buried

with your martyr brothers,

whose grave you so treasured –

pray we, too, remain firm

through all the difficult trials

and temptations of this world,

that our death may be as blessed

as your own

and we come to rest safely

in God’s arms.

O that by such incorrupt faith

and unshaken courage

we too shall be raised from the dust,

from our humble origins,

to sit with our Lord in His kingdom.

(Gal.5:18-25;   Ps.1:1-4,6,Jn.8:12;   Lk.11:42-46)

“Since we live by the spirit,

let us follow the spirit’s lead.”

“Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent”; these indeed follow not the spirit’s lead but the dictates of the flesh.  And all their “licentiousness” and “drunkenness,” all their “hostilities” and “envy,” shall but lead to their doom.  For “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!”  When they die – as already they are dead – the grave alone shall be their home, with the tortures that are found there.  But “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires” and so know the “fruit of the spirit” and not the flesh.  “Love, joy, peace” and all the precious gifts are theirs in this life, and shall remain with them forever.  The Spirit leads us to such blessing.

As for the Pharisees in our gospel today, they prove themselves children of the flesh and not the spirit, for though they “pay tithes on mint and rue and all the garden plants,” though they are so careful about the details of the letter of the law, their worship is in vain for they do all “while neglecting justice and the love of God,” thus tearing out the very heart of the law of God they presume to follow.  And so their path is the one which leads but to the grave.  They clearly are even now dead, “like hidden tombs over which men walk unawares.”  Here are “the insolent” the just must avoid.  Here are those who build pretense of holiness but have nothing of the spirit inside.  And so their decaying souls shall crumble from within, and “like chaff which the wind drives away,” so shall their remains be scattered like dust by the truth of the Spirit, which exposes and destroys all lies.

“The way of the wicked vanishes,” brothers and sisters.  It cannot stand, for there is no foundation, there is no truth on which it rests.  It is but empty, illusory, passing.  But we who claim to be sons and daughters of the living God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and following the lead of the Holy Spirit, must have nothing to do with the fruits of this way.  Our worship must be true, must be genuine, must be that in which the flesh is crucified and the spirit allowed to breathe, that none of us will be crushed under the burden of sin but all be set free to walk in liberty now and forever.

*******

O LORD, let us not be counted among the wicked

but have your love and your truth burning in our souls.

YHWH, let our worship be genuine, let our hearts be set on love of you.  Let us follow the Spirit’s lead; your way of truth be our own this day.  Meditating on your Law, let us live it and bear its fruit.

Apart from you let us never be, O LORD, never separated from your love.  Crucified let our passions be, that we shall share in new life with your only Son.  Your joy and peace be with us always; keep us forever from jealousy and outbursts of rage.  In the Spirit let us make our home, never turning to what comes of the flesh.

Far from the paths of the wicked please keep us, LORD, that we shall not live our lives in vain; day and night let us think of you, and we shall be ever blessed.  O that we might bear your fruit all our days, that our leaves might never fade…  Keep us always close to you by your chastising word of truth.  Then the water of your Spirit will nourish us well and our sin will be known no more.

(Gal.5:1-6;   Ps.119:41,43-45,47-48;   Lk.11:37-41)

“Any of you who seek your justification in the law

have severed yourselves from Christ

and fallen from God’s favor!”

Brothers and sisters, “it is in the Spirit that we eagerly await the justification we hope for, and only faith can yield it.”  The works prescribed under the testament of old have had their day and their time is passed.  Circumcision, the central act of the law, along with the temple and its sacrifices, has been rendered useless.  Physically there may yet be benefit to this practice, and so it is employed widely, but spiritually it is now without merit.  All that is of the old law has been subsumed by the new, and to set our hearts on what is now dead will leave us but as empty and dead ourselves.

Now there is baptism in the name of the Lord.  Now there is Jesus and His Body, the Church.  Now there is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  With these in our midst all else pales, for these are set upon the Rock of eternal life; these are founded in the Spirit which does not pass, nor can be destroyed – and these are known only by faith.  Truly, “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor the lack of it counts for anything; only faith, which expresses itself in love.”  Now that love has overcome the law, now that it has fulfilled it, why should we be concerned with the cutting of flesh?  It is our hearts that must be circumcised.

What is inside is what matters.  Jesus has said this repeatedly and He declares it again today to the Pharisee who is so preoccupied with physical washing, with the need to “cleanse the outside of the cup and dish.”  This is slavery!  Indeed it is born of an attachment to the things of this earth and places our neck under its yoke.  If we do not “give what [we] have as alms,” if we do not open our hearts to love of the Lord and love of neighbor, all the scouring of our skin will be utterly useless – in this way we shall never touch our souls.  We must have love, we must have faith, and do the outside things only as necessary.

“Let your kindness come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise.”  Though I am no longer under the law of old, yet I see how weak I am, how reliant on the works of faith, and how ignorant and blind to your presence I can become.  And so I pray that you “take not the word of truth from my mouth.”  I pray you enter my house and recline at my table, and that my heart will be set on love of you above all… and that all things else will but serve this love.  Let me not fall from your favor, from your love.

*******

O LORD, help us to cleanse the inside of the cup

that by faith and love

we shall come to new life in the Spirit.

YHWH, you call us to love what is within, where you live, where you make your home.  But we are distracted by what is without, so shallow is our vision.  Help us to see as you see, to desire what is in your heart.  Then truly we shall be set free to walk as your sons.

O living God, your love instill within our souls; your truth alone let us speak.  Let us not be concerned with the works of the law, with the cutting of flesh and the washing of hands, but with the accomplishment of your will.  And so, to save ourselves from such empty worship, let us give all things to you.

If we had but faith, O LORD, then our vision would be clear, our hearts would be set on you alone, and all things would be ours.  Let us but seek our salvation in the keeping of your Word, and you will care for all else.  Make us clean in your sight!

(Gal.4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1;   Ps.113:1-7;   Lk.11:29-32)

“At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh

will rise along with the present generation,

and they will condemn it.”

Paul’s words to the Galatians today sound much like a parable: “Abraham had two sons, one by the slave girl, the other by his freeborn wife.”  He himself states pointedly, “All this is clearly an allegory: the two women stand for the two covenants.”  But though Hagar may be seen as the mother of all “children [born] to slavery” and Sarah may be compared to “the Jerusalem on high,” which is free, the allegorical significance notwithstanding, both Hagar and Sarah were flesh and blood human beings who walked the face of the earth along with the father of their children, Abraham.  So, though the life of anyone may be seen in an allegorical light, it does not mean the life itself is but an allegory.

And yet the scholars of our day would turn the life of Jonah into a mere allegory – as they would, it seems, with Jesus.  They say that Jonah did not exist, that the book written of him is but a story, a parable.  And so they say that the Lord would compare Himself to a parabolic figure: “Just as Jonah was a sign for the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign for the present age.”  And so they say we will be judged by fictional characters.

The Lord’s words remain ever true: “This is an evil age.”  It is given a sign, the greatest of signs, and it denies it.  It seeks further sign with a heart only to deny once more.  Why?  Because it has no faith.  And without faith one cannot reason; without faith one can see nothing.  Truth remains ever hidden from one’s eyes.  And so those with empty minds stumble blindly through their theorems, the products of a diseased imagination.  And so those without faith seek at every turn to tear down the faith, which ever eludes their clawing grasp.  But they shall be judged.  What shock will be theirs when the ones they have sought so vainly to make into fictional characters stand before them to condemn them to death.  Perhaps then they will see.  Perhaps then there will be an end to “the yoke of slavery” they would place upon the “freeborn” children of God.

Beware the faithless soul, dear children.  Remember only, “From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the Lord to be praised.”  Indeed, “high above the nations is the Lord; above the heavens is His glory,” and He shall lift you “lowly from the dust” to be with Him.  As He tears down those who exalt themselves and reveals their children to be so vain, then He will bring your fruits to light and you will bear many.  The works of all will be exposed on that Day. 

*******

O LORD, how great you are

and how great is your gift to us,

for your Son has freed us to walk with Him –

let us repent at His word.

YHWH, we are your freeborn children for whom your Son has died; in Him we find new life.  In the blood of Jesus is found the New Covenant, a covenant which unites us with you in glory.

Praise you, LORD, for such a great gift!  Thank you for the grace that comes to us, your once wayward sons.  Though we have been barren of children, empty of any fruit as we wandered far from you outside the walls of Jerusalem, yet you have looked upon us with mercy and called us to your side.  Help us to reform our lives that the fullness of your gracious gift might be known to us on the Day your Son returns to judge all souls.

Yes, LORD, the lowly ones you raise from the dust to sit with you in heavenly places, to know your great blessings in the kingdom on high.  Free our souls to praise you for your glory.  Set free from slavery to sin we shall share in the joy of the New Jerusalem and declare your wonders forever.

          O humble and joyful Shepherdof loving Mother Church

          who desired so

          to bring her balm of mercy

          to a confused and bitter world,

          that it might become more fully human

          by imbibing of the fountain

          of her life-giving doctrine

          and so discover the love and peace

          it so desperately seeks

          in vain ideologies

          that pass like mist

          in the light of the Lord Jesus Christ –

          pray we all find our dignity

          in Christ and in the Church

          He founded for our salvation;

          pray the eternal Truth

          She teaches in His Name

          will not be obscured by Satan’s wiles

          but take root in the soil of Christian love

          and be welcomed by all souls

          who desire to possess a smile of joy

          in the presence of God.

 (Is.25:6-10;   Ps.23:1-6;   Phil.4:12-14,19-20;   Mt.22:1-14)

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts

will provide for all peoples

a feast of rich food and choice wines.”

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”  It may be equated with “juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines,” with “calves and fatted cattle ready to be eaten.”  A great banquet is the kingdom of heaven!

But, of course, though we speak here of food and eating, we know that it is not this we should thus seek on this earth, for these things are but of the earth and are only used to help us understand the heavenly fruits which are ours in the kingdom of God.  Paul makes this clear in his attitude toward food and the provisions that are of this world: “In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need,” and it truly matters not to him whether he is rich or poor in material things; all that matters is that we “can do all things in Him who strengthens” us – all that matter are the “glorious riches in Jesus Christ.”  Food and feasting are but metaphors for the things that in this world are unseen.

However, it is so that “the feast is ready” even here on this earth.  It is true that the Lord “spread[s] the table before” us even in this world, even “in the sight of [our] foes.”  He does not leave us poor humans alone without real food to strengthen us for our journey.  But this food is spiritual fare; His Body and Blood are not juicy and rich to our taste, to our bellies, but to our souls.  This food nourishes the Spirit He has planted within us, and helps it ever to grow.  Though real as our own flesh and our own blood, yet it truly is of heaven, and lends the glory of God to this bone of His bone.

“God will fully supply whatever you need,” brothers and sisters; have no fear of being in want and no anxiety to build up abundance on this earth.  He indeed is beside you always, giving your soul blessed “repose.”  Make it your aim to “dwell in the house of the Lord.”  Then “on that day” He reveals His kingdom, you will “rejoice and be glad,” saying, “Behold, our God, to whom we looked to save us!”  Then you will enter His presence forever.  Prepare your soul for the wedding feast of heaven.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "The Readiness Is All" from Bearing the Birth Pangs, tenth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, prepare us well to come into your House,

to enter into eternal life with you,

our God and Savior. 

YHWH, you spread the table before us, a feast of your kingdom.  Rich food and choice wines are ours even this day in the Body and Blood of your Son.  Let us offer you due praise and thanks for all your provisions for our journey to you.

And when we come finally into your kingdom, LORD, where death has been destroyed and we stand in the light of your presence, our hearts shall leap up in absolute joy… and we shall remain with you forever.

But let our wedding garment be prepared this day.  O LORD, let us find the purity we need to stand in your presence and rejoice in your glory.  For yet our hearts are not set wholly on you – forgive our continual rejection of your grace.

You are at our side, dear LORD; you bless and guide us as we walk this dark earth.  Help us to cling to you in trust and faith, and our place beside you will be assured.  Glory to you, O LORD!

We must “seek to serve Him constantly” as does our Blessed Mother, as does our Mother, the Church, in faith.  Then truly we shall be “descendants of Abraham, His servants, sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!”  And we shall rejoice to see His Day.

*******

O LORD, may we hear your Word and keep it in faith,

like Abraham, like Mary,

that we might inherit eternal life in Jesus your Son.

YHWH, because of our faith in your Son, we become as your children, indeed, as He is before you.  You bless all who come to you through Jesus, all who do your will.  And what should we do but rejoice for such grace, for this wonder you perform in our midst.

It is Israel that bore your Son; at Mary’s breast He did suck.  But it is not for this the nation is blessed, nor she who carried Him in her womb.  It is your people’s obedience you seek, and so any may become as your Chosen by listening to your Word and keeping it in their hearts.  As Mary let us be, LORD, giving you our lives.

All of faith are descendants of Abraham.  All are blessed who are baptized in Christ.  He it is who justifies us in your sight, LORD, and makes us sons of the Most High.  Glory to you for the grace upon our souls in Jesus’ Name.

O caretaker of souls

who sought so diligently

and with wisdom and love

to reform the Church

and all her members,

beginning with those in higher office,

and so were persecuted

by men who would not be healed

of their disease –

pray that all will be taught

the true doctrine of the faith,

from early childhood

to adult vocation;

may all know to what they are called

as Christians in this world.

And may that Word go forth

to the ends of the earth,

that the faith will be propagated

in all lands and in all hearts

and the Lord’s holy discipline

serve as treasured guide

for all who would come

to the kingdom of Heaven.

O shepherd of a faithful people,

you shed your blood

with your brothers

as a holy offering unto the Lord

after drawing many souls

into His fold;

beheaded for your success

as Christ’s evangelist,

still you lead faithful souls

to God –

pray we shall be so ready

to lay down our own lives

for the propagation

of the Word of God,

and that on our journey

we shall be protected

from all the snares of the devil,

that nothing shall prevent

our standing at Jesus’ side

both in this world

and the next.

(Gal.3:7-14;   Ps.111:1-6;   Lk.11:15-26)

“All who believe are blessed along with Abraham,

the man of faith.”

But those who do not believe cannot be called “sons of Abraham,” in whom “all nations shall be blessed,” for they have not the faith of the father of many nations.  For those who do not proclaim the Lord’s “renown for His wondrous deeds,” but rather say of His “gracious and merciful” acts: “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that He casts out devils,” there is only a curse.  They curse themselves and scatter their own salvation to the winds by the evil thoughts of their hearts.  “The reign of God is upon” them, and they say it has come from hell.  Have such as these faith?  Have they even eyes in their head?  Then how shall they be saved?  How shall they be called Abraham’s children?  Rather, the devils will return to them “to find [their] house swept and tidied,” prepared by the emptiness of their hypocrisy for these to take up eternal residence there.

“He has given food to those who fear Him…  He has made known to His people the power of His works.”  All those of faith see that this is the Messiah and “give thanks to the Lord with all [their] heart in the company and assembly of the just.”  All these are blessed.  They live in a house guarded by “a strong man fully armed,” and their “possessions go undisturbed.”  For the devil cannot break into the house of God, and he has no key to enter; but the Lord breaks down the doors of the evil one and all his weapons are removed from his hands.  And so we are free…  We are free because the Lord has redeemed us, and in His house we are protected from sin.

Brothers and sisters, the Savior has been “hanged on a tree… that through Christ Jesus the blessing bestowed on Abraham might descend on the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, thereby making it possible for us to receive the promised Spirit through faith.”  This faith itself is redemptive.  In this faith is the blood of Christ.  It is this blood which fills our hearts and makes room there for the Holy Spirit to come in.  There no devils can enter, for our doorposts have been anointed by Him.  And so, what can such souls dwelling in this house of faith do but sing out with our psalmist, “Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights”?  What can we do but declare His “majesty and glory” as we see that “His justice endures forever” and His justice is founded in love?  For by our faith He has made us whole; we who once grumbled against Him are now sons of Abraham.  He has taken all our sin away, and it shall not return again.

*******

O LORD, your power is only for good;

let your Spirit be with us this day through faith,

that we might be saved.

YHWH, if we have not faith, we have nothing but emptiness, and thus make a place for the devils to dwell.  But if we have faith in you, your Spirit fills us, and into your house we do come.  Make us temples of your Holy Spirit!

Your Son has died, O LORD, that we might have life, that we might be set free from the course sin has wrought upon our souls and enter into your kingdom as your blessed children.  Why should we not believe in your love for us?  Why do we doubt the salvation you provide through your Son?

Let us rather rejoice in your glory, LORD, in your goodness to us.  Let us sing your praise with all the strength of our souls, thanking you with all our hearts in the assembly of your holy ones, among your saints in Heaven.  To such glory you do call us, away from the darkness of this place…  Let us but have faith in you and we shall be as your sons.

(Gal.3:1-5;   Lk.1:69-75;   Lk.11:5-13)

“I can’t get up to look after your needs.”

Does Jesus ever speak these words to us?  Does He ever deny our petitions, failing to bring them to His heavenly Father?  Do we ever find ourselves empty-handed when we come to Him “in the middle of the night”?  Does He ever tire of serving us, of saving us from our sins?  Then neither should we turn our back on our brother’s needs; neither should we fail to hear his cry and give him food.

Brothers and sisters, is it not “you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was displayed upon the cross?”  Have you not seen for yourselves the miracle in which we have found “salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all our foes”?  And so should you not “serve Him devoutly and through all [your] days be holy in His sight”?  If we do this, if we wake in the night to answer the needs of those who call, if we make ourselves available always as does the Lord, then even as we rise from rest Jesus will be with us – in this very action we will know His salvation present in our hearts.  For as we lay down our lives, as we die with Him in service of others, the light of His resurrection already becomes present to our eyes.

Though the burden is made light by the Lord, this way is not easy – but we should not tire of imitating Him.  Does Paul tire of teaching and preaching the faith, of correcting his wayward children who seem so foolishly to stray?  Just as the heavenly Father would never give His son “a snake if he asks for a fish, or hand him a scorpion if he asks for an egg,” so the Apostle, too, knows the needs of his flock and works constantly to feed them with the Word of God.  Though it weary him no end, yet he ever pours himself out as a libation for their sakes.  He is ready for heaven, ready to die and unite with God, yet he gets up in the night, yet he remains present to his children, to provide the food that is due them.  And we must be the same as this Apostle.

A great assurance the Lord gives us: “Whoever asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; whoever knocks, is admitted.”  If we “have faith in what [we] heard,” we shall indeed find “that God lavishes the Spirit on [us] and works wonders in [our] midst.”  For He is faithful and forgets not His promise to us.  Yes, “He has raised a horn of saving strength for us in the house of David His servant,” and our Savior is ever present to answer all our needs.  But who shall carry out His Word?  Who shall know the cross of Christ and its redeeming grace in their own flesh?  Who shall serve Him and be thus as His children?  Those who rise to look after others’ needs, they shall be bone of His bone. 

*******

O LORD, you give your Spirit

to those who have faith in you,

 to those who call upon your NAME – 

hear our prayer this day.

YHWH, give us this day the Holy Spirit to be with us and guide us to the salvation wrought by your Son, Jesus Christ.  Leave us not alone on this plane, hungry and apart from you.  Help us to pray, to knock upon your door with faith, knowing it is your good pleasure to answer our needs.  Then we shall serve you devoutly all our days and be holy in your sight forever.

If your Spirit is with us, LORD, there is nothing else we need, for then you, too, are with us with your only Son.  And we will be founded firmly in your Church, safe from all our enemies and nourished by your Bread.

We are not able to give good things or do good works on our own, dear LORD.  We need your help and guidance; we need the Spirit that comes from you to bless us with your abundance.  We shall wither quickly and die without your assistance – come to us this day with your Spirit that we might be your children.

O Mother of prayer

and of this prayer

in which we meditate on the life

of our Lord and Savior

through your blessed intercession,

it is through you

we gain victory in Christ;

His life, death, and resurrection

become fruitful in you,

and united with you,

and so with Jesus,

we repel our enemies.

O dear Lady,

our saving Lord comes not to us

except through you:

He is born in you,

He dies with you at His side,

and He raises you to life

but to draw us all unto Himself,

that we might walk in light with Him

even in this world –

pray, yes, pray for us!

you through whom all Christians come.

(Gal.2:1-2,7-14;   Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15;   Lk.11:1-4)

“He who worked through Peter as His apostle among the Jews

had been at work in me for the Gentiles.”

And that same Spirit, that same God, that same Lord and Creator is at work in all His holy apostles, and is the Father of all who call upon His Name.

“Father, hallowed be your name.”  You are great and you are glorious, and you bless all your children, your children of light.  From every nation you call us by the power of your Word.  You send out apostles as you sent out Paul, to the ends of the earth.  You gather all your children together at your one table to feast upon your Body and your Blood, and you speak to the heart of all creation.  We your people you call to pray; your disciples you teach to call upon your Name.  To the depths of our souls you breathe your Spirit, and so you make us your own.  Like you we would be, O Lord!  Like you, dear Jesus, in your devotion to our Father.

Help us, O Lord; teach us to forgive, teach us to love.  Teach us not to draw away from others, but to join with all who heed your call.  Let us always be “straightforward about the truth of the Gospel,” always breathe it and speak it with all our lives – with all our strength let us love and welcome all, especially the poor.  And let us present ourselves to your “recognized pillars,” to the leaders of your Church.  Let us not go off on our own, with our own thoughts, pursuing our own goals, but let us be ever obedient unto those in whose hands you have placed your teaching ministry… let us lay down our lives “for their scrutiny” as has even the Apostle Paul.  For none can work without your approval, without the blessing that comes in “the handclasp of fellowship” your Church extends.  And so, in your Church, under its guidance, and in absolute love of all, what shall we then lack?

“Praise the Lord, all you nations, glorify Him, all you peoples!”  For the Lord comes to you now – He teaches you His sacred way to the Father of all.  Heed but His Word; speak and do but His work.  Love always Him and all His people and you shall know how wonderfully “the fidelity of the Lord endures forever”; His children you shall indeed become, and He shall work through you as He has Peter, as He has Paul… as He has His only Son.  Say amen to His Spirit.  Amen.

*******

O LORD, you are our one Father

 and we are your one children in Jesus your Son –

let your kingdom come.

YHWH, make us your faithful and holy children, honoring always your blessed NAME and doing always your will.  Let your kingdom come through us; let your Word go forth to the ends of the earth.

Obedient to the authority of your Church let us ever be.  Let us never turn from you, LORD, by veering from the path of the apostles.  In union may your whole people stand, in the truth your Spirit speaks.

Yes, let us be one in the true faith, LORD, in your will and in your way.  Forgive us all our sins and give us the grace to forgive all who sin against us, that we might partake of your food together at the table you set for us.

This world is a place of trial, we know, LORD, but you save us from all trial by your presence in our midst.  Let us never be separated from you or one another but ever set our hearts on serving you by bringing your Word to all our brothers.

O crown of contemplation

whom none excels

in solitude,

in knowing the presence of the Lord

alone in a cell,

apart from the world –

a simple chapel pray we find

in the chambers of our heart

that we might chant His praises

all the time

in the quiet,

in His sight.

Let us ever work

to discover

His breathing in our souls,

that one with Him

and with our brothers

ever we might remain.

Obedience is all we need

and He will lead us there;

then no questions will persist

as we dwell in perfect peace.

Pray such grace upon all souls.

(Gal.1:13-24;   Ps.139:1-3,13-15,24;   Lk.10:38-42)

“The time came when He who set me apart before I was born

and called me by His favor

chose to reveal His Son to me.”

Paul speaks of his conversion to the faith today.  But before he changed and became the Lord’s great Apostle, he tells us, “I made progress in Jewish observance far beyond most of my contemporaries, in my excess of zeal to live out all the traditions of my ancestors,” and that he “went to extremes in persecuting the church of God and tried to destroy it.”  Now, isn’t Martha as Paul was?  Is it not her own zeal for observance of Jewish tradition which makes her so anxious and blinded to truth?  We hear that she “was busy with all the details of hospitality,” a venerable Jewish custom and requirement of the law; but does not her own “excess of zeal” for this observance lead her even to persecute the Church of God, as it has with Paul?  For is her sister not as the Lord’s Church, as His holy Bride seated at His feet?  And what does Martha intend to inflict upon her when she asks in her presumption, “Lord, are you not concerned that my sister has left me all alone to do the household tasks?  Tell her to help me,” but by such public humiliation to draw her from the blessings of Christ into her own anxiety?  But as Paul has heard the call of the Lord, so now Mary does as well, and nothing shall remove such favor from her.  And instead of the drawing of Mary from the Lord, it is the Lord who calls Martha from her chores to listen to the voice of God.

Martha shall heed the Lord’s call, we know, for it is she who shows such great faith at the tomb of her brother Lazarus, she who hears the Lord’s most wonderful revelation: “I am the resurrection and the life.”  And so she, like Paul, like her sister, finds herself chosen by the Lord.  And so must we all, brothers and sisters!  So must we all.  We all must know the call of Him who “formed [our] inmost being,” by whom our “soul” and our “frame” were “made in secret, when [we were] fashioned in the depths of the earth,” in our “mother’s womb.”  We must all come to that place where He will speak to these very depths of our being – where only He probes – and know the “wonderful” call of the Lord, that as it was said of Paul, “He who was formerly persecuting us is now preaching the faith he tried to destroy,” so it will be said of us that all doubt and fear we have left behind and the Lord’s will is our only occupation.  We must hear His voice and we must speak His NAME, or all we do will be in vain.

“My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar,” O Lord.  And so I pray that all my rest will be taken in you and all my work you will bless.  Bring us all to the quiet place within our souls, where you speak in silence, where your will is revealed to waiting hearts… let us be seated always before you. 

*******

O LORD, it is you who have formed us,

and you formed us to love you;

let us listen to your voice and do your holy will.

YHWH, how shall we find ourselves at your feet, dearest LORD?  How shall we become as Mary, our hearts set on you alone, knowing your presence deep in our soil as we listen to your holy words, as we marvel at your flesh before us?  In your Son let us make our home, that your Word might be instilled in our soul.

In silence let us sit, O LORD.  And in peace let us rise and do your will.  As we travel even to the ends of the earth, bringing your Word forth, let us remain ever seated at your feet.  Oh never leave us! though much work we do for you.

Be our blessed guide, LORD, at all times.  Hold us in your arms as you knit us in our mother’s womb, and we shall never be apart from you, and anxiety shall never distract us from your eternal presence.  You who have made us, you who know all our thoughts and ways, please see that it is with you we remain, ever speaking your holy NAME.

O apostle of mercy,

the mercy of Christ

poured freely upon all souls

for the salvation of the whole world,

especially the worst of sinners…

you suffered with our divine Lord

that souls might indeed be saved;

with His Passion you were intimate,

blessed with fellowship with Jesus

and His Mother

and vision of their presence –

pray a measure of your penitential devotion,

a drop of our Savior’s holy blood,

might fall upon our hearts

and make us fruitful as you in His cause;

pray we shall be blessed

with deeper awareness of our wretchedness,

our misery,

that we might know

the infinite majesty of the Lord

and immerse ourselves and all souls

in His measureless mercy.

Let all sins be atoned for in Him!

(Gal.1:6-12;   Ps.111:1-2,5,7-10;   Lk.10:25-37)

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?”

Do you really want to know?  Do really seek to hear of the Gospel of Christ?  Do you really desire the Word of God, which is “reliable forever and ever, wrought in truth and equity” and which “came by revelation from Jesus Christ?”  If so, listen to what He speaks to you today; do not go on “so soon deserting Him who called you in accord with His design in Christ” – be not as the priest and the Levite who, coming upon the man “stripped” and “beat[en],” “saw him but continued on.”  For He shows Himself to you this day.  He lies before you like “the man who fell in with the robbers,” and He calls you to love.

You know what to do, brothers and sisters, just as the lawyer knew so well the Shema, the great command to love God and neighbor.  The answer to the question of “who treated the man with compassion” is obvious.  We see the love of God, we know the love of God, and we know that we are called to practice the love of God.  “Then go and do the same,” Jesus says.  “Go and do the same.”  Here is the Gospel in short, in this short phrase: love others as I have loved you.  Lay down your life; die to yourself and live for God and others if you wish to inherit eternal life.  Such inheritance comes only after such death, and love is all that will bring you there.

“If anyone preaches a Gospel other than the one you received, let a curse be upon Him!”  This exclamation by Paul is also one of love.  For to love does not mean “to win man’s approval,” “to please” or “ingratiate” oneself to others that all might speak well of us who have spoken well of them – to love means to speak the truth, for only by such truth is love preserved.  There is no Gospel but the Gospel of love spoken by the mouth of the Lord, one which calls us not to an easy compliance with the world, a nod of the head and a sidestep around the wounded bodies before us… it is that which calls us to lay down our lives along this road of ours.  This is what is from God, shown most clearly by the death of His Son.

Brothers and sisters, “holy and awesome is His name” and His call.  “His praise endures forever” in our mouths for “He has ratified His covenant forever”; and the love of Jesus is all we need to know.  Can you do all the Samaritan has done for the stranger?  Then everlasting life is indeed close to your heart.  Follow in His way. 

*******

O LORD, your Word, your Gospel,

is that we should love,

that we should love you and others –

let us hold to your Word and so live in your truth.

YHWH, praise you, our LORD and our God!  Help us to follow your Word and your way.  For you are great and worthy of praise, and we must be as you.

Your love is unbounded, O LORD; it reaches to the ends of the earth and to every soul.  All you would care for in your love, and you call us to do the same.

Let us be your hands and your voice, LORD, in this dangerous place.  Let us have hearts for healing and spirits for speaking your truth, that all souls might indeed be saved by your holy Gospel.

If in silence we stand as souls go astray, or if we avoid the needy man in our way, what, O LORD, shall be our fate – shall not a curse be upon us?  And so, let your love and your truth be fulfilled in us that we might preach without fear and serve without hesitation, that we might accomplish your will.  Let us love you first of all, and all souls as you love them.

O image of Christ,

simple, humble, and pure,

indeed you bore the marks of Jesus

in your own body

and in your own soul;

wed to lady poverty,

you embraced loving chastity

and boasted of nothing

but the Lord alone –

pray, dear brother,

for all children of God,

for all your wayward brothers

distracted by the wealth of this world,

that we may be so blessed by the Spirit

to serve the Lord and our neighbor

as completely as you have done.

May our lives, too, be prayers

rising as a fragrant offering

unto the Lord our God

as we reflect His image in this world.

Pray our hearts be set upon Jesus

that we might follow

in His blood-soaked footsteps in joy.

 (Is.5:1-7;   Ps.80:9,12-16,19-20,Is.5:7;   Phil.4:6-9;   Mt.21:33-43)

“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you

and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

“Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.  My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press.  Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.”  Of course, this “vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are His cherished plant; He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! for justice, but hark, the outcry!”  And so the Lord promises to “take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!  Yes, [He] will make it a ruin.”

Jesus’ parable in our gospel today echoes precisely Isaiah’s “song”: “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.”  But now the prophecy is brought to fulfillment; now the rotten grapes come to maturity, and so the ruin of the vineyard will be complete.  For in their rejection of the Son the hope of Israel is lost: none further has the Father to send them; herein they utterly spurn His love.  How shall they be turned to producing good fruit if He who is the source of all goodness they destroy in their souls?  There is nothing left but to remove the vineyard from them.

“A vine from Egypt [the Lord] transplanted; [He] drove away the nations and planted it.”  But for its unfaithfulness He has “broken down its walls.”  Indeed, in a scant few years after the crucifixion of the Messiah the temple in Jerusalem will be utterly destroyed – the worship upon which the faith of the Lord’s people is founded will be no more.  And it shall not return.  But even as this temple built by hands the Lord lays waste, He yet answers our psalmist’s plea to Him: “Look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted.”  For as He destroys, so He builds; as Christ is killed, so His Church is planted.  And it shall grow unto eternity.

The fulfillment of all prophecy, the New Jerusalem, is in our midst now.  In the Catholic faith the worship at Jerusalem comes to maturity.  And though many would see it removed – and perhaps by man’s reason one might say for its sins it should be – though many come in their presumption to build anew… there is no call from the Lord for any of this, and these man-made structures will also fall to ruin.  What God builds now He builds on a foundation which lasts forever, against which even the gates of hell shall not prevail.  Only on the day of judgment, only when the kingdom has come, will this House be needed no more – for then all that will be will be His Church.

So, “brothers and sisters, have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, make your requests known to God.”  Truly does the Lord’s “face shine upon us” in this holy Temple, and it shall not be moved.  See that you not remove yourselves from it but “keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen” in its confines.  Listen to His Word spoken to your hearts, and receive well the broken Bread of this holy sacrifice and the Blood of this heavenly vine.  And bear fruit in His name.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Fatherless Children" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, restore this vine

that we might bear your fruit in peace. 

YHWH, the vineyard you planted in Israel had to be broken down, the temple in Jerusalem destroyed, but the Church you have built in the blood of Christ shall endure till the end of time.  Let us make our home in its confines.

The peace of the New Jerusalem is ours, O LORD, by the grace wrought by your Son; the New Covenant let us embrace that we might flourish as your vine.  O let us bear fruit in your sight!

Break not down the walls of this House, LORD; let us not be disobedient to your call.  Though we have killed Jesus on a cross, let us now turn back to you.  For you will have mercy on your people and restore us in your love.  Give us new life and we will call upon your Name, never forgetting your presence in our midst.

O LORD, may your House be built this day even unto the heavens; in your presence let us make our home, serving you faithfully at all times.  The Body and Blood of your only Son as our food and drink, let us be grafted to your vine.

“The revelation of your words sheds light,” O Lord, “giving understanding to the simple.”  Let us hear what you wish to teach us this day.  That which “prophets and kings wished to see… and hear” you reveal to us at this time – that the power of your Word casts out sin and Satan, and that your own glory you share with your little ones on earth.  Bless us here with your gifts, O Lord.  Remove from our hearts all fear.  Let us know with certainty that you have destroyed the evil one, and draw us now inextricably to your kingdom.

******

O LORD, let our eyes see you, 

that we might not sin against you but do your holy will. 

YHWH, you are great beyond compare, the LORD of Heaven and earth; yet you share your greatness with your children, delivering power into their hands. 

How can we bear to see you, LORD?  How can such wonder be known to our eyes?  Make us repentant of our sin and innocent before you, then we shall be able to receive your great gifts. 

LORD, even Satan and his minions are subject to us, for they are subject to you and we are yours alone.  Help us ever to trust in you, and that our names are written in Heaven.  For if it is upon Heaven our sights are set, then we shall find no trouble upon this earth; we shall be subject to none of the wiles of the evil one. 

We have been afflicted by you, O LORD, afflicted as Job by the scourges of Satan.  It has seemed to us that you left us abandoned, but this was to teach us of your loving presence and just how close you are to our souls.  Open our eyes to see you this day, and all your many blessings.

O messengers of God

sent to protect and guide

we poor humans

on our way to the heavenly kingdom,

you whom He in His grace and wisdom

has appointed to carry us home,

lest we dash our foot against a stone –

keep us ever in the way of the Lord;

stay close to us,

remaining always at our side,

for we are but weak and sinful men

so prone to be led astray.

We entrust ourselves into your hands:

bring us to look upon the Father’s face.

For you behold Him always,

you stand loyally in His light,

and we, how shall we gaze upon Him

without your hand to guide?

Cover us with your wings,

protect us from the heat of day

and temptation’s sway

till we stand with you

in the Lord’s eternal reign.

(Job 38:1,12-21,40:3-5;   Ps.139:1-3,7-10,13-14,24;   Lk.10:13-16)

“I put my hand over my mouth.”

When the Lord speaks, what can we be but silent?  When He chastises us for our pride and sin, we can only be ashamed.  No defense have we before Him who holds us and all the world in His mighty hand and who comes to us with His redeeming love.  We can but bow before Him.

The Lord has “commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place”; He has “entered into the sources of the sea [and] walked about in the depths of the abyss” – He has “comprehended the breadth of the earth” and the highest heavens.  And so, if we “take the wings of the dawn, if [we] settle at the farthest limits of the sea,” He is there.  If we “go up to the heavens” or “sink to the netherworld,” He is present.  He is present everywhere, and everywhere we are, we are subject to His hand.  For He has “formed [our] inmost being”; He has “knit” us all “in [our] mother’s womb.”  And He alone knows “the dwelling place of light” and “the abode of darkness,” and to which place our souls shall come.  There is nothing we can say before the Creator and Judge of all the earth except, “I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works,” as we humbly give thanks to Him who scrutinizes all our ways.

And when He comes to us with His love, when He has wrought forgiveness in “the miracles worked in [our] midst” by the grace of the only Son… when redemption for all our sin He offers by a merciful hand, what must we do but accept it?  For how shall it be for us on “the day of judgment” if we reject the Word of God walking among us and speaking to our hearts?  It cannot but “go ill” with us if we fail to reform our broken lives when the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth stands before us with love in His arms, blood pouring from them as He hangs upon a cross.

Should not our hands be over our mouths at such a sight, brothers and sisters, at such a witness of undying love?  Should it not convict us of our sin and make our hearts burn with a spirit of repentance and cry silently to God as our prideful tongues cleave like stone to our palate?  What hope have you if you yet dare to speak before Him?  Rather, bow your heads and fall to your knees and beg the forgiveness of Him who has made you and who loves you to the heights and depths, with all the breadth of His Spirit.

Lord, like Job, I have “no more” to say; I am yours.

(Blessed silence before the Lord may we all come to know.)

*******

O LORD, it is you who made us and you who save us;

let us not be hurled down to the realm of death

but raised up to dwell with you. 

YHWH, what should we do but repent in sackcloth and ashes before your majesty?  What can we be but silent before you?  For you are all-powerful and all-knowing, and we are but your creatures.

What place has pride before your glory, LORD?  How can we be so foolish as to assert our will and our way before you whose ways are not known to man, whose will is so far above and beyond our own?  It is you who have made the world and all it holds; it is you who have formed us in our mother’s womb.  And would we presume to instruct you?  And would we be obstinate in following your commands?

O LORD, though we are nothing, but dust of the earth, yet you love your humble creatures as you love all you have made.  For you have made us good.  Have pity on us poor sinners and help us to heed your Word which comes to us through your Son and His apostles.  May we find ourselves at home in your sight, in your heavenly kingdom.

O little flower of Jesus,

with great innocence and humility

you loved the Lord

and prayed for His Church

and especially His priests;

in all the little things of your day

you gave yourself to God’s service,

and so your work reached

to the ends of the earth –

shower roses upon us from above,

where you now sit with Jesus;

teach us to walk your little way

that we might join you

with our Savior.

Pray we too might find His love

and live in His heart

as deeply as you;

pray all souls shall indeed be saved

by the blood He shed for our sake.

And pray that families

will be blessed as your own

with children who heed so well

the call of the Lord.

(Job 19:21-27;   Ps.27:7-9,13-14;   Lk.10:1-12)

“I know that my Vindicator lives,

and that He will at last stand forth upon the dust.”

“The hand of God has struck me!” Job exclaims as he begs pity from his friends who “hound [him] as though [they] were divine,” reminding him unendingly of the Lord’s justice and ever accusing him of having sinned against his Maker.  Job defends himself and wishes “that with an iron chisel and with lead” his “words were written down.”  And truly his prayer is answered, for here are his words “inscribed in a record… cut in the rock [of Scripture] forever.”

And what has this poor soul to say?  Reflecting David’s own call for pity from the Lord and his own desire to know his God – “Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks” – Job declares, “My inmost being is consumed with longing”; his heart, too, is set upon God.  And as David proclaims in great hope, “I believe I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living,” so Job makes known, too, his faith and hope in the Lord: “My own eyes, not another’s, shall behold Him.”  What testimony from a man in such travails!

And in our gospel we see that his (and David’s) hope is not in vain, for here now stands the Lord forth upon the earth, Himself having taken the form of our dust and multiplying His presence among us as He “send[s] workers into His harvest.”  And He comes to bring peace; His disciples declare, “The reign of God is at hand.”  And every “peaceable man” receives now this gift of grace from the Lord Most High, this realization of His presence before us.  No longer does He hide His face.

And now we wait again, for the Lord to return once more to our towns; now we long for the Day when with our “flesh [we] shall see God,” when we shall gaze upon Him forever and know His everlasting peace.  Now He comes to heal us; now He sends forth His Word and His workers to prepare His way… and so now we should make straight His way, for His reign is upon us. 

May He never have cause to “shake the dust” of our town from His feet – may He never regret having come among us.  But let us, brothers and sisters, “wait for the Lord with courage” and perseverance, with a blessed hope born in faith.  Let us with Job know that our Vindicator lives and He shall not be long in coming… indeed, He is already here.  “Be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.”  Welcome His Spirit into your home. 

*******

O LORD, stand forth upon the dust;

send out your workers into the harvest,

that we might know your peace,

that we might enter your reign.

YHWH, let your peace rest upon this house; let our eyes be blessed with seeing you this day.  Help us to have courage as we wait for your Son’s return – believing hearts form in us that we shall never be removed from your presence.

Your reign, O LORD, is indeed at hand.  It has walked amongst us in the form of your Son.  And it continues to go forth in the apostles you send to bring your peace to every land.  O let us be welcoming of your Word, and help us to bring that Word to every waiting soul.

If we have but faith, O LORD, we have all we need.  Though in darkness we sit, yet such hope gives us light, and we know that we shall see you again.  Though we go forth with nothing, empty of the things of the earth, in you we have everything – the great abundance of the Spirit is ours.

To you alone let us hold, LORD, knowing you will not cast us off, knowing your pity deep in our souls…  Let your rich harvest be gathered into your rooms.

O great interpreter of holy Scripture,

seeking the wisdom and power of God

you listened

to what the Lord says

in His Word

and so served to dispel

ignorance of Christ;

from your hermitage you came

to serve the Church just so,

to enlighten the minds of the faithful –

pray the Lord shall send forth today

the light of His wisdom and grace

upon those who turn to the pages

of the Word of God in prayer,

that He may be understood in truth,

that Jesus may walk amongst us again…

that knowing the Christ

we may become more like Him

and live according to His instruction,

as a lamp burning brightly in this world

to draw all men to the Lord

and the salvation of their souls,

which He so deeply desires.

(Job 9:1-12,14-16;   Ps.88:3,10-15;   Lk.9:57-62) 

“Why, O Lord, do you reject me;

why hide from me your face?”

The cry of our psalmist certainly reflects that of Job, who in his travails asks, “How can a man be justified before God?” who realizes that the Lord “does great things past finding out” and that “should He come near [us], [we] see Him not.”  But it also reflects Jesus’ treatment of those who might follow Him, and could easily be their cry as well.

“If I appealed to Him and He answered my call, I could not believe that He would hearken to my words.”  Such a seemingly hopeless attitude may be understandable in one suffering such a plight as Job.  For he is as “the mountains [removed] before they know it”; he is shaken as “the earth out of its place.”  He is as one suddenly confounded by God, who is “wise in heart and mighty in strength.”  Before such power how can he speak, or expect to be heard?  And so, rightly in silence he must remain.  Certainly he could cry out to the Lord, “Will you work wonders for the dead?…  Do they declare your kindness in the grave, your faithfulness among those who have perished?” and in justice be saved from “the land of oblivion.”  But the test Job undergoes passes beyond justice to the suffering of the innocent before the mighty power of God.

And what of those who would be Christ’s disciples spoken of in our gospel today?  To them why does the Lord speak so severely?  Why does it seem they, too, are unable to come before His face – why does He seem to reject them?  Is He not of love, this Son of Man, unlike the judgmental God?  Does He not welcome all with open arms?  Then why such sharp words to those who approach and those He calls to “come away and proclaim the kingdom of God”?  The Lord does not reject them, but puts them to the test as He has with Job to see if their hearts are truly set upon Him alone, as indeed they must be.  It is, of course, for the great glory to which He calls them that all His disciples are chastised so vehemently.

Think not that He rejects you, brothers and sisters, when He hides His face from you.  Know that you are never hidden from Him, and that should He remove Himself from your presence, it is only to grant you clearer vision of His face.  None is more blessed than Job for none has known so fully the awesome power of God and given himself over to it so completely.  None but Christ and His followers, who give up all things, who suffer all persecutions innocently, silently, in order to know the surpassing might and tender mercy of God.  Indeed His “wonders [are] made known in darkness,” for then they most clearly shine.

*******

O LORD, let us follow your Son, even unto death. 

YHWH, we must give up all things to follow you; it must be your will alone we have in this world.  Even if you should put us in darkness, yet we should defer to your judgment, to your power over all things for good. 

Your Son is severe with those who would follow you, LORD, who would be as you are, as His disciples.  For what a call this is!  And how ready must we be to enter its demands.  Your reign far surpasses anything we know, anything we come to rely on in this world, and so the passing of this world – and even our own lives – we shall not mourn but learn to entrust all our cares to you. 

If the sun and the mountains are moved by you, LORD, how much more should we put ourselves in your hands.  Our trust should be so complete that we accept even your seeming rejection.  Hear our prayer and come to save us! that we might walk with your Son in your way. 

O mighty messengers of the Lord,

ministers of His will,

bringing His word and His power

to all poor souls on earth,

you serve to lead us unto Heaven…

you who do the bidding of God,

you who are first among those

who stand around His throne

and sing His praise,

you who are so faithful

in defending His Kingship

and keeping us from harm –

cast the devil from our midst,

instill the word of Jesus’ coming

in our hearts,

bring His healing to the lost sheep,

and see that we join you

on His holy mountain on high;

carry us in your arms

to the place the Savior prepares for us

with you and all your army in His presence.

Brothers and sisters, we must declare with Nathanael, “You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel,” but we must do so as He does – in absolute honesty and utter faith.  We must believe without guile and declare without hesitation that Jesus is Lord.  To do so and to see the angels ascending and descending upon Him, our hearts and our eyes must be pure.  Let us pray that we shall come now to vision of heaven, where His angels and His saints do reign.

Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney.

Music by Roger Fortney; used by permission.

*******

O LORD, give us eyes to see your angels

ministering to you,

and hearts to receive their blessed help.

YHWH, like flames of fire your angels surround you and your holy throne.  These myriads of spirits attend you, ministering to you day and night in the place where there is no night, where light shines seven times as brightly as the sun.  O may we join them in singing your praises and in doing your will upon this earth!  With eyes unveiled let us look upon your glory and unite with your angels in Heaven.

If only we had hearts without guile, O LORD; if only we were your true sons and daughters.  Then we would declare freely that Jesus is your Son and our King, He whose dominion is everlasting, whose glory is one with your own.  Then would the devil be cast from our souls, driven out from among us by your power at work in your angels.  Then would we worship in joy in your holy Temple all our days and become children of your blessed light.  O may your angels be with us always!

O simple and devout layman,

husband and father and clerk,

suddenly you were forced to flee

your homeland and family

with your missionary companions,

but death for the faith

each one of you met

without wavering

upon disembarking in a foreign land –

pray, O blessed martyrs,

our faith shall be strong as your own,

that should we be called

to witness even with our lives

to the faith which gives us life,

we will be ready

to enter eternity

with Christ our Lord and Savior.

If tortures threaten our bodies, too,

intercede for us for grace,

that the face of Jesus alone

we shall look upon that day.

O faithful ruler

whose devotion served

to bring your death,

though you loved all your subjects,

caring especially for the poor,

and loved God and His Church above all,

your care and your faith

caused you to be killed

by those so jealous and selfish –

pray for us, good king,

and for the rulers in our midst,

that they will be inspired as you

with a self-effacing humility

and a desire for the truth of God’s way,

giving their lives in service

of the Lord and His people,

not seeking their own gain.

Pray the Mother of God

guide all leaders

and they turn to her in obedience,

that the will of the Father shall be done

and to this world His kingdom come

by the blood of His only Son.

(Job 1:6-22;   Ps.17:1-3,6-7;   Lk.9:46-50)

“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb,

and naked I shall go back again.”

In the beginning and in the end, we have nothing: and so should be our attitude toward all things we are given – that they are not our own, that we do not possess them… that they shall pass from us unto eternity again.  As shall we all.

In our first reading we begin to hear of Satan’s temptation of Job, of whom the Lord’s own words witness: “There is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil.”  But Satan in his jealousy responds, “Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?” and recounts all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on His “servant.”  The adversarial angel then wins from God permission to tempt Job by removing all his blessings.

And the persecution is strong.  All in a day Job loses all his multitude of livestock, his servants, and his children.  Four messengers come, each with catastrophic news, each the sole survivor of the tragedy of which they speak, and each following the previous “while he was yet speaking.”  In a moment all but his life is taken from Job.  But Job proves God’s assessment of his character true by proclaiming, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” thus properly putting all things in God’s hands, and praising His glory even in such tragedy.  We are told, “In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.”  He is as the child Jesus sits beside Himself in our gospel today.

Satan has failed in his effort to get Job to curse God; he will not do so even at his wife’s prompting.  But Job, so Christlike in his suffering the abandonment God’s Servant knows so fully upon the cross, shall fall short of the Christ in one respect: this innocent child will not be able to keep from decrying his state or withstand the accusations of others that he must be guilty of sin.  He will not be able to suffer in silence, not opening his mouth to defend himself (taking this unwarranted persecution upon himself to redeem others, as Jesus has done) but will declare his “just suit” to the Lord, begging Him to “attend to [his] outcry,” saying with David in our psalm: “Hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.”  He shall not be able to keep from stating his innocence, from saying, “Though you test my heart, searching it in the night, though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.”  And in this way Satan shall break him; in this manner he shall fall short of the perfect humility of Christ.  (Though the Lord shall justify and reward his faithful servant in the end.)

Brothers and sisters, do not act with jealousy, as even the disciples seem to today in trying to stop one “not of [their] company” from healing in Jesus’ name.  Do not even think among yourselves of who is the greatest.  This is an abomination before God.  Have the attitude of Job toward all things – that they are but gifts from the Lord and that we are nothing in ourselves.  Then you will be like His little child and so know His blessings forever.

*******

O LORD, naked we came forth  

from our mother’s womb,  

and naked we shall go back again –  

our lives are in your hands.

YHWH, let us be as an innocent child sitting patiently at the side of your only Son.  Though the foe come to test our hearts, by your grace let us prove ourselves worthy of your blessings.  Let us never sin against you in word or in deed but place all things in your holy hands and accept whatever befalls us. 

O LORD, let us never be jealous or proud; let us never imitate the sin of Satan, who would see your children falter, who would strike any against whom his envy might rise.  Let us but seek to serve you in all humility and so know the great joy of being as your Son.  From all wicked thoughts release our souls that we might walk with you. 

Hear our prayer for mercy, LORD; though we be not perfect, you can make us so.  Let it be our sole desire to be pure before you, that we shall never know your wrath or be cast from your sight.  Take all things from us, but only spare our life.  Please never leave our side.

O blessed help of the poor,

slave to widows and orphans

and all those most outcast

and in need,

the least of Christ’s brothers

you indeed gave your life to serve,

completely spending yourself

in their assistance

and leading your own brother priests

to do the same…

and so Christ Himself you waited upon

day in and day out

upon this earth –

pray that we, too, shall be like Jesus,

filled with compassion

for the needs of our neighbors,

sharing their poverty

as we empty ourselves as the Lord has done.

May all our prayers and desires

lead to such charity for the plight of others,

that we might fulfill with you

our Savior’s call to the Cross

and come, therefore, to the riches of Heaven.

 (Ez.18:25-28;   Ps.25:4-9;   Phil.2:1-11;   Mt.21:28-32)

“Tax collectors and prostitutes

are entering the kingdom of God before you.”

Why?  How can it be that such sinners gain such privilege, such grace?  Is it for their sins?  Shall we all become as they?  We should be like them, but not in sin – in repentance.  For it is because they have “turned away from all [the] sins that [they] committed” that they are saved; it is because they are “tax collectors and prostitutes” no more.  And so we are all called to turn away from the sin which each of us surely has.

David sings beautifully of this in our psalm: “The sins of my youth and my frailty remember not,” as he begs the Lord for His kindness.  For all that we have done in our ignorance and our weakness we should seek the Lord’s mercy, for He assures us throughout our readings that “He shows sinners the way” when they come humbly before Him.

When the first son in Jesus’ parable responds to his father’s request for him to work in the vineyard, “I will not,” what does this son do but sin against his father? – just as each of us sins against our heavenly Father when we turn from His will to blindly follow our own.  But what did the son show when he “afterwards changed his mind and went” but his contrition and repentance at his insubordination, thus illustrating the manner in which our consciences should lead us from our own disobedience?  And as Jesus makes clear, it was this son who “did his father’s will” and so will be blessed by him.

Our reading from Ezekiel makes this theme of turning from sin and finding blessing even clearer.  It states in certain terms of the wicked man that “if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life.”  With such assurance, why should we delay our own conversion, which must be effected day to day?

St. Paul presents the attitude we must have before others and God in order to find the Lord’s grace.  He states: “Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,” and then gives the clear example of the most humble of all, the Lord Jesus Christ, who “emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness.”  He so “humbled Himself” that He became “obedient even unto death, death on a cross.”  And so should we be proud?  Should we harden ourselves in our sin, or rather turn and empty ourselves of all that is not of Him?  The salvation repentance finds is indicated also in the fact that, because of Jesus’ humility, “God exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name.”  So let us not hesitate to join the tax collectors and prostitutes among us who bend the knee before Him; let our “tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,” and we shall know His reward.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Where's My Brother?" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, turning away from all our sins

and humbling ourselves before you,

let us but do your holy will. 

YHWH, help us to turn from our sins and do your holy will.  May we be obedient as your Son, who gave His life to save others.  Let all souls repent of their wickedness and walk in His way, that all might find salvation in His Name.

If we could but be humble before you, LORD; if we could but admit our failings, our selfishness and pride, our blindness to your call for our lives… then we would be blessed by you and become your faithful sons.  Break our hardened hearts that we might love, that we might look upon you who are love itself.

O let us be empty, LORD, of all we would possess, of all that we would grasp with our own hands.  Let us indeed be blessed to recognize our sinfulness and find your mercy and forgiveness.  You but want for us to turn to you that you might embrace us as your own.  May your compassion be known in our hearts this day.

O highly honored martyrs

whose tomb drew many pilgrims

and brought about many miracles,

you laid down your lives as one in the Lord,

taking up His bitter and saving cup

of suffering

all for your faith in Him and His Church,

and so, precious in His sight

was your death in His name –

from beyond the grave

pray for us this day,

that the healing blood of Christ our Savior

be poured upon our souls,

that we too might be raised by His sacrifice,

redeemed by the death He endured;

for He has overcome the world,

and you with Him in His blood.

Pray that we who are so weak of faith

may by the Lord’s grace and your intercession

bear witness to Jesus by our own deaths

upon the Cross with Him.

(Ec.11:9-12:8;   Ps.90:1,3-6,12-14,17;   Lk.9:43-45)

“The dust returns to the earth as it once was,

and the life breath returns to God who gave it.”

“As a watch of the night” is our life, passing unnoticed while souls slumber.  “You make an end of them in their sleep,” Psalm 90 prophesies (as we hear the same verses of this same psalm for the second time in three days); indeed man lies unaware of his coming death, ignorant of the day which passes.  For though in our youth we “follow the ways of [our] heart, the vision of [our] eyes,” and seem to “ward off grief” at will, yet “the next morning [we] are like the changing grass”; so quickly does our flower fade.  And so little of this do we see.

In our gospel the Lord speaks again to His disciples of His imminent death, and so, really, the death we all must undergo; but though He makes a clear point that they should listen carefully, saying, “Pay close attention to what I tell you,” yet they seem unable to hear His words.  Our gospel tells us, “They failed… to understand this warning; its meaning was so concealed from them they did not grasp it at all.”  He repeats what He has said before in no uncertain terms, and yet they are deaf to His word; yet they are blind.

How like us all the disciples are.  When confronted with the coming of death how easily we shut our eyes.  Though it draw upon us inevitably, how desperately we hold to the vanity of these passing things, unwilling to hear of the day when “the sun is darkened… and the strong men are bent… and the sound of the mill is low.”  “Man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets” – so Qoheleth paints the image of the time when “the clouds return after the rain.”  How compelling his verses are, and how ominous… and of this darkness we must hear.  It is not wise to remain blind to the passing of this life, or with it we shall die when it ends.  Though none of this should touch our souls, yet we must learn to let the body go.

O Lord, “you return man back to dust, saying, ‘Return, O children of men,’” yet you hold each of us in your loving hands.  And so we cry unto you this day, “Return, O Lord!  How long?  Have pity on your servants!”  For we wait with expectant hearts for Him who has risen from the dead to come to us again.  Let your Spirit breathe upon us now and turn this dust into the image of your Son.  May it be your Day which comes to us, even as we die.

*******

(Ec.3:1-11;   Ps.144:1-4;   Lk.9:18-22)

“He has made everything appropriate to its time,

and has put the timeless into their hearts.”

Yes, “there is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens”; and there is a time for time to cease and the timeless to come to the fore – a time for the things above the heavens.  And that fullness of time has come upon the earth, for the Son of Man has known His “time to be born”; and in man’s discovering “the work which God has done,” no time for vain toil is there anymore.  The time has come to make Him our “refuge and [our] fortress,” our blessed “rock” of truth.

“One day when Jesus was praying in seclusion and His disciples were with Him,” the time had come for Him to “put the question to them”: “Who do you say that I am?”  And now it was Peter’s “time to speak,” to declare the faith of the Church: “The Messiah of God.”  And though it was not then time “to tell this to anyone,” for the Son of Man had yet to know His “time to die,” soon the time would come for the Son to rise, and then there would be no more “time to be silent.”

That time has come upon us now, brothers and sisters.  Now is only “a time to plant” and “a time to build” – a time to raise the kingdom of heaven here on earth, a time to labor to complete God’s Church.  For timelessness now has its time; life eternal overtakes us.  And so we have only “time to love,” having broken the wheel of sin by the sacrifice of Christ and so come out from under the shadow of hatred.  No return to the vanity of the things of this world is there for us, for we must do all as if doing nothing.

It is true: “Man is like a breath; his days, like a passing shadow,” but it is also so that the Lord “take[s] thought of him.”  And in this earthen vessel He has placed the Spirit of life – and that Spirit is now known in full in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is “time to embrace” Him and know the “time of peace” He breathes eternally upon His creatures, letting all shadow pass away as we walk in His holy light and proclaim His holy name.

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O LORD, your timelessness let us know in our hearts,  

that we might overcome the world through your Son. 

YHWH, in the fullness of time you sent your Son to die at our hands that we might be raised up with Him.  And now that He has died for our sins, a new time has come to your people – a time of salvation. 

All time pointed toward Him and all time flows from Him, and all time is in Him who is all that is.  O LORD, let us make our home in Him and in His resurrection. 

You are timeless, O LORD and God, and so how can we poor creatures so bound to time, so subject to the dust of this earth, come to know you who are beyond the heavens?  We could never have discovered your hand at work among us if you had not sent your only Son to redeem us and reveal to us your glory.  And so, let us embrace this gift you offer that we might mourn and weep no more but rejoice ever in your presence, despite the Cross that comes.  Let us be raised on the Cross with Him that we might be raised unto His eternal reign.

(Ec.1:2-11;   Ps.90:1,3-6,12-14,17;   Lk.9:7-9)

“See, this is new!”

Here is He who is “new under the sun.”  For it is not so that “John has been raised from the dead,” nor that “one of the prophets of old has arisen”: He has not “already existed in the ages that preceded us.”  He is the Christ! He is the Messiah!  He it is who has come to “fill us at daybreak with [His] kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.”  In Him the dark of the night veiling our eyes is banished from our midst.

O Herod, drowning in your debauchery; O Qoheleth, pursuer of your passions in all their vanity, why do you race to catch up with the sun as if it should stand and wait for you?  What makes you think you could hold the wind in your hand?  Why would you see end of the rivers’ path to the sea?  Why do you toil so blindly, taking your refuge in created things and frustrated when you cannot control them to your own ends, when they betray the peace you seek?  “Back to dust” you shall indeed return, and the sun and the wind and the sea still stand; and above them all does reign our God, for whom “a thousand years… are as yesterday, now that it is past.”  In Him you should have taken refuge.

Herod, do you too now begin to see the ends of your debauchery; does its emptiness now overtake your soul?  Do you remember the words the prophet delivered to your ears?  What is the cause of your curiosity, and will you listen now to the voice echoing through your halls?  The kingdom of the world crumbles before our eyes and no “profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun,” unless it is the Lord who “prosper[s] the work of our hands for us.”  Dead we are and alone will ever be in our profligacy, the emptiness upon us.

Qoheleth, your words are proven wrong: it is not so that “there is no remembrance of the man of old,” for we read your thoughts with diligence today; and three thousand years after your time you teach us still of the dark vision of life without the Christ.  And of Him who has come after thee there is great remembrance, and more than this, for His breath is now upon us.  In Him is “the ear filled with hearing” and the eye “satisfied with seeing,” for now truth and light do walk with us, even under the sun.  And though our body “by evening wilts and fades” as of old, our soul “at dawn springs up anew.” For “the gracious care of the Lord [is] ours” and He “teach[es] us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.”  And this wisdom is true; this wisdom is new: this wisdom bears us light to transcend the vanity of a worldly life and come to the kingdom of heaven. 

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O LORD, your Son is He who makes all things new –  

let us live and work in the light of His presence. 

YHWH, your Son is new under the sun; into our midst He has come.  May we be more than anxious to see Him: may we be made new in Him. 

In days past, LORD, the world and men toiled in futility for their sin against you, for their separation from you.  You were ever new and ever calling us to life in you, but we labored in vain, going our own way – the way of darkness that leads to death, the way that is indeed apart from you.  Return all souls to your light, your life, known to us now in your only Son. 

You reign over all, LORD our God, all of time is but a moment to you and all the world is as a speck of dust.  Have pity on us, LORD, for we are quick to wilt and fade.  At daybreak may we rise with Jesus and walk in the light of your new day, dwelling forever in your reign, living and working always in your presence. 

O holy priest

who bore the wounds of Christ

in your hands

and in your ministry,

who served the Lord so greatly

in casting out many demons

in your confessional,

and whom He thus blessed

with miracles of the Spirit –

pray for us of lukewarm faith

who falter day to day

in following our dear Jesus’ path.

So close to Him you were

in His suffering and His love;

so far are we

from His Cross and so His grace.

Pray we shall be strengthened to approach Him

and find healing for our weakness,

the frailty of our souls

which keeps us from knowing the Christ

and laying down our lives for Him

as He calls, as you have done…

O pray His blood be upon us!

(Prv.30:5-9;   Ps.119:29,72,89,101,104-105,163;   Lk.9:1-6)

“Take nothing for the journey.”

How can he who takes nothing with him for his journey be provided for?  Does not such action contradict the wisdom of the king who asks in his book of Proverbs – “Give me neither poverty nor riches”?  Is it not poverty the Lord recommends to His disciples?

The evangelical counsel of poverty practiced by the religious communities and striven for by all true members of the Christian faith is not the same as that which our author of Proverbs wishes to avoid (no more so than the riches he would keep far from himself are those of the heavenly kingdom).  For those whom Jesus sends out never find themselves “in want,” the want which would lead the desperate to steal and so sin; rather, the only “want” His disciples have is for an increasing understanding and practice of the word of God.  And the poverty they practice is meant to feed this hunger for the greatest of food.

Proverbs itself gives us answer to the means by which the Lord’s disciples taking “no bread, no money” are fed: “He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”  The Lord is always our food.  Cannot He who “endures forever,” whose word is “firm as the heavens,” care for the small needs of His creatures here below?  Will not he who labors for Him have all he needs to accomplish his work?  Certainly!  For though the disciples take nothing, it does not follow that they have nothing – for they have the Lord with them, and that is everything.

Indeed, it is because the first of the wise king’s requests of God – “put falsehood and lying far from me” – has been answered in them that this second is accomplished.  “Remove from me the way of falsehood,” our psalmist echoes, and for the Lord’s disciples this has been done.  They “add nothing to His words” as “from every evil way [they] withhold [their] feet”; and so “the law of [His] mouth,” which resounds from their own mouths as they “proclaim the reign of God,” “is to [them] more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces” and feeds them abundantly.

The Word of the Lord will be received by those who seek His truth, and in turn feed the speaker as it does the hearer.  So let us be wary of “being full” of the things of this world, lest we find no room for God, and let us make our psalmist’s declaration truly our own: “Falsehood I hate and abhor; your law I love.”  Then all things will be provided for.

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