(Jer.1:4-5,17-19;   Ps.71:1-6,15,17;   1Cor.12:31-13:13;   Lk.4:21-30)

“I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”

When God calls Jeremiah to prophesy “against Judah’s kings and princes, against its priests and people,” He tells him to “gird [his] loins” and commands: “Be not crushed on their account.”  For though his people “will fight against” him, they shall “not prevail over” him.  The Lord makes Jeremiah “a fruitful city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass” able to stand against attacks of any in “the whole land”; He preserves His prophet’s life despite any danger or threat.

In our gospel Jesus is likewise protected by God from any harm His people would inflict upon Him.  Here in the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus is called to prophesy against the faithlessness of the people; and though before He spoke His harsh word of truth they had “all spoke[n] highly of Him,” now “filled with fury” they drive Him “out of the town, and lead Him to the brow of the hill… to hurl Him down headlong.”  But the deliverance promised Jeremiah and sung of so beautifully by our psalmist is with the Lord’s only Son as it had been with His prophet, and “Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.”  Though they would not accept the deliverance He brings, He is delivered from them.

“O my God, [you] rescue me from the hand of the wicked”; you indeed are “my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety.”  O Lord, “let me never be put to shame,” but “in your justice rescue me, and deliver me.”  For you are “my rock and my fortress,” “my hope” who never fails to save.  May I walk through all the difficulties of this world, all the darkness of sin and temptation and suffering, with you at my side, therefore with nothing to fear.  Make me strong as your prophet, as your Son, for my life is in your Hand.

Brothers and sisters, soon all persecution will pass away with all the imperfect trappings of this desolate earth, and only God’s love will remain.  Let us be as He who “endures all things”; let us be of love.  And nothing of this world shall touch us as we pass through its midst, shielded by the Word of God, guarded by His eminent love.

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

Music: "Speaking of God" from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

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O LORD, blessed are the lowly ones,

for they shall be with you in Heaven.

     YHWH, make us your lowly servants that we might be blessed as your Son, blessed to be called your children. For you look upon the lowly and the poor with mercy; those who are bowed down you raise up. Help us always to be humble before you and make our boast only in your love.

     Your Son has come to call the weak of this world, those who are despised for their humility, those who seem certain to be cast aside for their lack of wealth and power in this life. But to shame the wise, to break the pride of those who are rich in their own eyes, you have chosen, O LORD, to bless the meek of the land with all graces – even your kingdom you give to us.

     And so, what care we for the persecution we must suffer for the sake of your Name? We thirst only for your presence and so do not mourn the passing of this vain world but only that we cannot come more quickly to your side. O let our heart be clean as your only Son’s, that we might look upon you, O LORD our God!

(Heb.11:1-2,8-19;   Lk.1:68-75;   Mk.4:35-41)

“Why are you so terrified?

Why are you lacking in faith?”

“Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see,” our brother Paul would have us know, and realize.  We all hope for something; there is ever something we all long to see.  The eyes are set in the front of the human head and always he is looking at what is before him, straining to see what is ahead.  And what is it we hope to see further along this road we tread?  What is our hope for the future – what is set indelibly in our hearts, calling us forward to tomorrow?  Are we as Abraham, who was “looking forward to the city with foundations,” to the city of God, and so was able to uproot himself from his city here on earth, “not knowing where he was going,” and dwell in tents?  Have we the same hope as he?

If we have his hope, we should have his faith as well, and more.  For what upon this earth is worthy of greater assurance than the coming of the kingdom of God?  Is there any firmer promise in which to believe?  And if Abraham and all the “men of old” were able to live by faith and so find God’s approval and His blessing, how much more should we be ready, how much greater confidence should we have, we upon whom the light which they only “saluted… from afar” has dawned?  To our eyes has been brought what they were kept from seeing; and so our faith should go beyond hope – it should be most real, utterly unshakable by the vicissitudes of this world.  For He is here, He who was “promised through the mouths of His holy ones, the prophets of ancient times.”

Brothers and sisters, it is time to “cross over to the farther shore” with our Lord.  What Moses could only view from afar is now present to us in the flesh of Christ: heaven is in our midst, and nothing should we fear… no room for doubt should we make.  In the words of our gospel we witness the disciples coming gradually to see Him who has entered their boat, who has power over all.  And their fear shall leave them soon, even as awe overtakes them.  And we must be the same, and more.  For upon us the Spirit has already come, completing the Trinity’s presence among us.  Nothing more is there to look forward to than our life in heaven, and nothing for our crossing do we lack.  Sure indeed should we now be.  And so, “rid of fear and delivered from the enemy” by Him who is all-powerful, “we should serve Him devoutly, and through all our days, be holy in His sight.”  Let faith find its fulfillment now in the lives we lead in His name.  Cast all fear away, and love.

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O LORD, you are able to raise us even from the dead –

let us put our faith in you.

YHWH, will Jesus not lead us to the farther shore, to the kingdom where you dwell?  Will not He who holds the wind and the waves in His hands and commands them by a word of His mouth, will He not save us from all that would keep us from you?  But are our hearts set on the Promised Land of Heaven as was Abraham’s and all the prophets’ of old?  Are we so willing to give up all the things of this world to find your eternal City?

O LORD, have we the faith that you are able to raise from the dead, that even death and sin and all the wiles of the devil and the trappings of this earth are in your power to command?  If so, then why should our hope ever be dimmed; why should we be afraid?

Save us, LORD, from our faithlessness!  Let us serve you in holiness all our days, our hearts set on the land to which Jesus would take us.

(Heb.8:6-13;   Ps.85:8,10-14;   Mk.3:13-19)

“I will be their God

and they shall be my people.”

“Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land”; for absolute oneness do we find with our Lord and God through the ministry of His only Son.  For the Lord has said of His new covenant, “All shall know me, from least to greatest,” promising: “I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts.”  There shall be no separation from His presence for those who believe; His “kindness and truth shall meet” in us as they have in Jesus.  Alleluia!

But yet does the time move toward perfection.  Though the new covenant be fulfilled in Jesus, it is still being fulfilled in the world and among those who dwell in the world.  We know this because the Lord says of the covenant to come, through His prophet Jeremiah: “They shall not teach their fellow citizens or their brothers, saying, ‘Know the Lord’” – there being no need any longer to teach the perfected – and also, “Their sins I will remember no more,” meaning that sin will no longer exist.  But Jesus upon commissioning the twelve apostles sends them out “to preach the good news” and “to have authority to expel demons,” and to this day there is need, and great need, for instruction in the Word of God and healing by the expulsion of sin in Holy Confession.  This ministry still in place, we know we have yet to reach perfection; we know we have yet to find absolute oneness with Christ and His sacrifice… and so, perfect union with the Father yet awaits us.

“He appointed the twelve as follows: Simon to whom He gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James (He gave these two the name Boanerges, or ‘sons of thunder’); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”  Upon these the new covenant is founded.  By their ministry it shall grow, taking root in the world and bearing much fruit.  And though Matthias must take the place of the traitorous Judas, there is no breaking the line that comes from these foundation stones: all of the coming kingdom is traced to them and from them, for they are anointed by the Son and by them God will make all His children. 

Brothers and sisters, “the Lord Himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase.”  In His Church as in His arms make your home, for His blessings are upon us and shall be fulfilled.

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O LORD, let us be companions of your Son

that we might be made one with you.

YHWH, as your Son is joined to you and the apostles to Him, so let us be joined to them that we might be joined to Jesus and you, and your promise might be fulfilled and your NAME be written on our hearts.  O let it be so, that all shall know you, that we shall be your people.

O LORD, let truth spring out of the earth as your justice looks down from Heaven.  Let the union of Heaven and earth accomplished in your Son be accomplished in us as we join ourselves to Him.  O let us walk in the way of His steps that we might find salvation!

LORD, forgive us our sins, remember them no more – cast all evil from us.  May the priests who stand in your Son’s place absolve us of all wrongdoing as we come on our knees before them.  Your power be upon us for good; by your Word let us be taught, till we are entirely one with you, living in your New Covenant, living in the flesh of Christ, as His holy Body.

(1Jn.5:14-21;   Ps.149:1-6,9;   Jn.2:1-12)

“He hears us whenever we ask for anything according to His will.” 

In our gospel, the waiters come to Mary; their misfortune is witnessed by her compassionate heart: “They have no more wine,” she tells her Son.  She knows what she is saying, she knows what she is asking… and Jesus knows, too.  And though He seems not prepared to answer her concern (you see, our concern is her concern, and she makes it His), yet she says to the servants standing by the words which perhaps best exemplify the Mother’s relationship to the Son – “Do whatever He tells you.”

Has Jesus a choice now?  Can He rebuff her request to “reveal His glory”?  It is a miracle she asks for the benefit of those in need, and the Lord cannot turn her down.  Do you see this?  Do you understand the significance of this scene, here at the very inception of Jesus’ ministry, especially those who doubt our Blessed Mother’s intercessory power with her Lord, her Son?  And do you think the power for finding answer to prayer with her beloved Jesus, the Son of God, is somehow shortened in ensuing days?  Does death conquer it?  Is she no longer the blessed of all generations?  Has this blessed generation come to an end?

“We know that He hears us whenever we ask” and that “what we have asked Him for is ours.”  This is our confidence in God’s compassion and love.  And we know too that the Blessed Mother stands beside our Lord and prepares the prayers we would offer Him, putting them into the words, the Spirit, we cannot express.  If we give them all to her, they will all be made effective, and we will taste of “the choice wine” which has been kept in store for us until these latter days.

Through this miracle at Cana “His disciples believed in Him.”  Here He offers them a sign of His divinity – here they find “discernment to recognize the One who is true... the true God and eternal life.”  And so the wedding feast truly begins.  And so we “praise His name in the festive dance” and “sing praise to Him with timbrel and harp.”  “The children of Zion rejoice in their king,” for He has answered their deepest prayer: here in our midst is the Son of God.

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O LORD, reveal yourself to us in your Son;

hear our petition. 

     YHWH, your Son has come and given us the grace to recognize Him. And so we have confidence to approach Him with our petitions, especially through His Blessed Mother. And we know that our petitions shall thus be granted and we shall sing praise to you in the assembly of all the faithful in your holy kingdom.

     From sin take us all, dear LORD, from that which holds us to this world. Your glory alone may we seek, the eternal life we find in your only Son. He is true, He is God, and if we are in Him we may rejoice in you. Increase our faith in Him this day; let our eyes not be blinded to His miraculous presence.

     O let us taste the water become wine! and the wine become the blood of your Son. Let us be inebriated with this fruit of the choicest Vine whose time has come and celebrate your glory in our midst. For by His flesh and by His blood we are wed to you, O God, and for what greater cause could we dance and sing? All sin He takes from us that life in you we may know.