(Jer.28:1-17;   Ps.119:29,43,68,79-80,95,102;   Mt.14:13-21) 

“Take not the word of truth from my mouth,

for in your ordinances is my hope.”

The word of truth is what Jeremiah speaks in the face of the lies of Hananiah. The false prophet declares in the name of God: “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from off the neck of the nations,” even as he “took the yoke from upon the neck of Jeremiah” – which he wore to symbolize the exile to which Judah was fated – and broke it “in the presence of all the people.” A dramatic action and a prophecy all would gladly consume. But a lie. To Hananiah, Jeremiah prophesies the truth: “By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!” as well as the false prophet’s own death, which comes in but a few months. And yes, it is seventy years the exile shall last, and not two.

And is it not the word of truth by which the Lord feeds the five thousand today? Using human logic the disciples suggest to Jesus that He “dismiss the crowds so that they may go to the villages and buy some food for themselves.” But it is with the word of truth Jesus states: “Give them something to eat yourselves.” How? they respond. “We have nothing here... but five loaves and a couple of fish.” How does the Lord multiply these loaves and fish? How can He feed five thousand with barely enough food for fifty? It is not possible except by the word of truth, which can move mountains. Is it not His looking up to heaven and blessing and breaking the food that causes it to be multiplied in the sight (and eating) of all? Does not the Father give the Son all for which He asks? Is His prayer not true?

Brothers and sisters, if the ordinances of the Lord are our hope, what can we not do? What food can we not multiply? What ailing hearts can we not heal? For trusting in Him and in His Word all is ours for the asking. But making our own words and our own desires our way in this world, what can we come to but death? What shall we find but an iron yoke upon our necks?

Yes, the yoke of the Lord is light, for it is formed by the word of God, and in its truth we are buoyed up unto heaven. And all our words are justified. And we are fed with the bread of life.

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O LORD, your Word is fulfilled in our midst,

and so your Son feeds us with His Body and Blood.

YHWH, take all falsehood from our hearts and from our lives; on your Word alone let us depend. For as we go according to our own thoughts, so we are lost, so we are without answer to the difficulties of life and fooling ourselves with the responses we devise. But trusting in you, what cannot be done; what do we lack? For you feed us by your own hand if we but remain obedient to your command and come to your Son.

In your Word is our hope, dear God – let it be spoken clearly to our ears and let us cling to its truth. Let us not fear whatever darkness may come to us in this land of exile, but let us know that your yoke is light and it frees us from the yoke of sin and all oppression.

Heal our troubled souls, dearest LORD, by the compassionate touch of Jesus. Let us know we are not alone but that you care ever for your poor flock even in this deserted place. You hand be upon us to bless us, and your Word be spoken to the ends of the earth.

(Jer.1:1,4-10;   Ps.71:1-6,15,17;   Mt.13:1-9)

“O God, you have taught me from my youth,

and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.”

So does the seed grow, and bear fruit in the sight of the Lord.

Our psalmist declares, “On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength.”  Indeed we are planted in our mother’s womb and we grow by the grace of the Lord.  And as our bodies grow so gradually from the womb of our mother, so our spirits, too, grow from the womb of our Mother, the Church, in whose womb the Lord plants us and nurtures us with His water, the Holy Spirit.  For it is the Lord who prepares the ground for our planting.  As He declares to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.”  So even before we are planted as seed the Lord holds us in His Hand, and that Hand of love shall never leave us.

And what does the Lord expect of the seed He plants and nurtures but that it sprout and bear much fruit?  What does He do but call us forth to proclaim His Word with our lives: “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak” – what He requires of Jeremiah He requires of us all.  As “the Lord extended His hand and touched [the prophet’s] mouth, saying, ‘See I place my words within your mouth!’” so He reaches out to us all, planting His Word within our hearts and expecting it to grow and blossom forth.  Into the light our works must come to reveal His heavenly presence.

“The crowd stood along the shore” as rows of plants in an ordered garden, and Jesus watered them with His teaching.  And in whom would His Word take root?  Who would grow unencumbered in His light?  Who would bear fruit unto the kingdom of God?  “Let everyone heed what he hears!”  Make the Lord your “rock of refuge” and He will “rescue [you] from the hand of the wicked” and nurture you with His Bread and the Word of Life.  And your “mouth shall declare [His] justice, day by day [His] salvation” as you come gradually and invariably – you know not now – to the kingdom our Savior prepares with His Blood.

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O LORD, let the seed we sow with you

bear fruit by your blessing.

YHWH, from the womb you call us; from our conception you bless us with your Word to nourish us and help us grow in your sight, that upon maturity we might praise your NAME and share your Word with all.  Help us indeed to grow each day in you and do your will with all our lives.

O LORD, may we bear fruit a hundredfold!  May we be planted in good soil, in the womb of your Church, that fruitful indeed we might be.  Touch our mouth with your hand that our tongue may be purified to speak of your glory and so serve to plant seeds of life in souls with ears to hear your voice.  Let us not wither and die in our sin or be choked by the cares of this world; keep the clutches of Satan far from us, and we will be your own children, declaring your salvation until your Son returns.

O LORD, we depend on you for our very lives, for the breath in our nostrils and the love in our hearts.  Shine your light on us this day and let our fruit be pleasing to you.