(Is.56:1-3,6-8;   Ps.67:2-3,5,7-8;   Jn.5:33-36)   

“My house shall be called a house of prayer

for all peoples.”

The Truth has come, and all nations are drawn to Him.

None is excluded in the House of God; His holy Temple is a place where all take refuge, where all find fulfillment, where all find joy.  He only asks that we heed His testimony, that we see the works which He performs and act in accordance with His holiness.  “Observe what is right, do what is just, for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed,” the Lord says to us all.  Set yourselves on right paths with Him who has come, and you will be readily accepted into His presence.

“Loving the name of the Lord and becoming His servants,” this is what brings us into His house.  No matter who we are, no matter where we are, no matter when we are, we will be brought “to [His] holy mountain and [made] joyful in [His] house of prayer,” if we follow His ways.  Exult in the light of the Lord, know that Jesus is the Temple to which your heart is drawn and your “holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on [His] altar.”

His justice is for all; His love extends to the ends of the earth.  David’s prayer is answered in Jesus: “May your way be known upon earth, among all nations your salvation.”  For now does He “rule the peoples in equity”; now “the earth has yielded its fruits.”  Now the blessing of our God falls upon all whose hearts turn to Him.

“May all the ends of the earth fear Him!”  Then will all be drawn into His house of prayer and know His love.  This day shall not be long in coming; come now to “the lamp, set aflame and burning bright” for all eternity.  Enter into the flesh of Christ.

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(Is.54:1-10;   Ps.30:2,4-6,11-13;   Lk.7:24-30)

“For a brief moment I abandoned you,

but with great tenderness I will take you back.”

We are “the barren one who did not bear,” the “wife married in youth and then cast off” by our God.  Once “forsaken and grieved in spirit,” blushing for the “shame of [our] youth,” now the Lord takes us home and promises us His love.  “My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken,” the Lord in His mercy assures us.  Though we be as those in the days of Noah, deserving of His destructive wrath, yet He takes pity on us, not only sparing our lives, but also promising to expand our space, to increase us in His blessed generosity beyond what we could imagine. 

“At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.”  Yes, our sin has made us sad; our separation from God has invited His wrath and made us less than what we are.  But though the Lord may punish in His justice, yet “His anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime His good will.”  David sings, “You changed my mourning into dancing,” for indeed great is His mercy toward us; tender is His touch upon us as He brings us “up from the netherworld” and places us at His side in the kingdom, as His holy bride.

And the Baptist makes the way the redeemed must walk.  Necessary is “the baptismal bath he administered” in order to realize God’s plan for the salvation of our lives.  He is the messenger who goes ahead of the Lord, preparing the path that leads to our being “born into the kingdom of God,” where our greatness cannot be measured for it will be in union with Him who is “God of all the earth.”  Indeed, we must turn from our sins to find our way to this unity; we must repent in tears and turn back to Him.  And He will be quick to rescue us, and we will be blessed to rejoice forever, to “break forth in jubilant song” at the graces poured forth upon us by our God in the forgiveness of our sins.

His tender Hand is near us, waiting to touch us.  Is it your will to be wed to the Most High God?  Then receive the baptism He requires and you will be made fruitful in the kingdom of God.

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O LORD, take us back to you;

may our hearts be prepared to receive your glory.

     YHWH, we must be cleansed in your baptismal bath, for you wish to draw us back to you from our sin; you wish to turn our mourning into dancing, but we cannot approach you, we cannot enter your kingdom if our shame still clings to us, if the dust of this earth remains upon our souls. We have been made barren by the evil our hands have done; we deserve to be drowned in the waters of the flood, to be cast to the nether world… but you look upon our desolation with mercy and seek to wed us unto you that we might again bear fruit, that we might spread out across all the earth. Bring your Heaven to this desert place, we pray.

     Weeping we have known. Abandonment we have suffered, O LORD. Let us now hear your voice crying out to us, calling us back to your loving arms. Our sins indeed please wash away. Never leave us again, we pray; assure us of your abiding love. Into your kingdom let us come with all your holy people.