The BreadCast

(2Sm.1:1-4,11-12,19,23-27;   Ps.80:2-7;   Mk.3:20-21)  “They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan.”  For David's leading his men in mourning for Saul, it might have been said of him what was said of Jesus: “He is out of His mind.”  But even to the end David proves himself sincere in his respect for God's anointed, even slaying the man who claims to have dispatched the king upon Saul's request (after he had dealt himself a mortal wound).  David is not anxious to claim the throne for himself, as so many around him suppose he should be.  Like Christ, he does not grasp at what is his, but continually humbles himself before his Lord and God, and waits and accepts the will of the Father. And so David weeps and fasts for the man who forever sought his life.  And so he is given “tears to drink in ample measure.”  And so he cries with the Israelites, “fed with the bread of tears” at the death of their king.  Jonathan, David truly loved.  He was indeed better to him than any brother or any lover.  For him his tears are understandable.  Jonathan repeatedly saved David's life, to the point of provoking the wrath of his father against himself.  But there is no explanation for his love of Saul, other than the Lord loved him and had blessed him.  And so, David's love is as the love of God.  His tears fall from on high. And what shall we say of our gospel today?  Jesus and His disciples are so pressed upon by the crowds of people, they made it “impossible for them to get any food whatever.”  We should remember this situation when we consider the Lord's family coming to “take charge of Him.”  We should understand their concern for His health when we interpret their statement that “He is out of His mind.”  They mean not that He is insane, but that He needs someone to look after His temporal needs, lest He tax Himself overmuch. But the Lord's strength, like David's love, also comes from on high – it is not earthly.  And His work is His food, and the Father will take care.  His mourning and weeping and fasting and dying for us is blessed by His Father, and will bear fruit unto His kingship in heaven.  If He did not live by the standards of heaven, there would be no hope for our salvation, for why should He die for sinners such as us, other than it is the Father's love? ******* O LORD, your love for us goes beyond reason, beyond the death we deserve for our sin. YHWH, your Son must be out of His mind for loving us as intensely as He does.  Why should He so forget Himself for those who have betrayed Him, those who have sought His life?  We ask this day: Why did David mourn over Saul, and why does Jesus die on the Cross? He spends Himself for our sakes, obedient to your will in all things, sacrificing Himself for those you would save.  And He cares not that those for whom He prays, those whom He heals by a word from His mouth, shall turn upon Him on the day you have assigned.  He desires only what you desire, dear God: that your wayward children shall not perish. As for a brother He gives Himself; members of your family He would make us.  With us He has been fed with the bread of tears, and from these He comes to rescue our souls.  O LORD, let us not drown in the surrounding sadness!  Let us rise from our fall with Him.

(Gn.21:5,8-20;   Ps.34:7-8,10-13;   Mt.8:28-34) “When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him.” Ishmael is the model of the afflicted man calling out to the Lord and being heard in all his distress.  His very name means “he whom God hears” and indeed we see clearly today how, though “it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear [Abraham's] name,” nonetheless, the Lord has pity on Ishmael and his plight – his rejection by the mother of the promised child and his wandering in a trackless waste – and declares that of him a “great nation” shall come.  Indeed he is left to die by his mother, so desperate had their situation become; but upon the child's crying out, the Lord hears and sends His angel to assist them and assure them of the boy's future greatness. Ishmael is a son of Abraham; though born of a slave woman, yet “he too is [Abraham's] offspring,” and so for this the Lord takes special care to watch over him.  For God has chosen Abraham to be the father of many nations and does not wish to see His blessed patriarch distressed.  We have already seen how God has heard the prayer of Abraham for Lot; now we see the same regarding Abraham's concern for Ishmael.  We must, brothers and sisters, understand whence our own blessing comes.  We are spiritual sons of Abraham, of Moses, of David… but most particularly we are children of Jesus and His apostles, the Church.  A far greater intercessor have we in the Son of God Himself, so let us not be afraid to cry out to Him in our need.  For if God heard the prayers of Abraham, how much more will He hear the prayers of His Son?  And if God watched over the kin and offspring of the blessed patriarch, how much more concern does He have for the children of light born of the blood of Jesus Christ? Our confidence must be sure in Him, for He cannot help but hear our prayer.  Indeed, our gospel tells us that when “the demons kept appealing to Him,” even them He heard and granted their plea.  If the Lord hears such as these, how can we even begin to doubt His presence to us?  Now let us not be afraid to come to Him.  Let us not be like the inhabitants of that Gadarene territory who found the Lord too much to bear and “begged Him to leave their neighborhood.”  Let us not think in our hearts coming to Him we will die, that His light is simply too bright.  No.  He calls us as children to take refuge in Him.  It is His desire to bless our days.  Turn not away from Him, for as David sings for us, “Those who seek the Lord want for no good thing”; He hears and answers all our cries. ******* O LORD, you have power to bless and to save; you have pity on every poor man, and so, let us not be afraid to cry out to you. YHWH, you cannot help but answer our cries; your Son cannot turn his back on those in need, those who plead for His mercy.  For you are love and mercy itself, and your compassion knows no bounds.  And so, the son of the slave girl you bless, and even respond to the demons' request. And will you not hear us when we call to you, LORD?  Should we doubt your concern for our well-being?  Every afflicted soul you would save from distress, if he would but your mercy seek. For this grace let us praise you, LORD; let us not turn away from you in fear.  For our sins you would wipe away, remembering them no more.  Be with us now and let us grow in you.  Let us remain with you forever, your blessing upon us all our days.  O let us prosper in your love, in your holy presence.

(Gn.18:16-33;   Ps.103:1-4,8-11;   Mt.8:18-22)   “While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the Lord remained standing before Abraham.”   “Then Abraham drew nearer to Him…” A marvelous scene.  First, as Abraham walks along with the Lord, we hear the Lord's thoughts.  The Lord wishes to share His plans with him, not to act apart from His blessed one.  He tells Abraham of the imminent destruction of Sodom, knowing he will be concerned for his kinsman, Lot.  The Lord then stops and stands still, granting Abraham opportunity to speak.  In great humility, but with the strength provided by God, he petitions the Lord.  And the Lord is pleased to hear him.  He is pleased that Abraham recognizes the justice of God, and He is satisfied with his fear in approaching Him: “I am but dust and ashes!” exclaims Abraham, and comes to each question with trepidation, pausing in silence before each to hear in that silence the Lord calling him to ask further.  The Lord hears and answers his prayer to spare Lot. Evident in this scene is the psalmist's words: “Merciful and gracious is the Lord.”  How patient and kind and forbearing.  How He desires that we draw near to Him and share in His will.  And how forgiving is He: “He pardons all your iniquities…  He redeems your life from destruction.”  For Lot He shall spare from that evil land; indeed, to all who repent He shows His favor.  His promise is sure. But we must come to Him in the humility of Abraham.  We must not approach Him as does the scribe in our gospel, proclaiming so boldly and so foolishly his willingness to follow Jesus, yet knowing nothing of the glory of God and what following Him entails.  Nor must we come so shakily as the disciple who makes excuses.  Upon hearing of the difficulties, he attempts to put off following Christ for a time…  There is but one time with God, and it is present, and it is now.  We must come to Him in humility and find the strength His grace provides as He draws us to Himself. There is a time to speak, brothers and sisters – a time to speak and a manner of speaking.  It is not right to speak until the Lord stops to listen.  We must wait on Him and His grace.  One does not burst into the court of a king unannounced proclaiming his loyalty to Him who sits on the throne.  One waits until called and then pours out one's heart, trusting in the compassion of the Lord. It is His desire to share with us all His works.  It is His pleasure to hear our good prayers.  But let us realize to whom we speak and come in true faith and humility; and He will hear and answer all our petitions, and we will become sharers in His promised glory.   ******* O LORD, in the Day of Judgment you will spare those who walk with your Son. YHWH, how kind and merciful you are, for you stop to listen to our prayers; you desire to share with us your plans.  What are we but dust and ashes?  And yet you make us your own sons and shower your blessings upon us.  Be so kind as to answer our call to save all those in need. Your Son you send to us, LORD, to walk among us and lead us to you, our Father in Heaven.  And so, all things of this earth we must leave behind if we are to walk in His way, if we are to rest with you in the heavenly kingdom. But we are weak, dear God, so weak and so blind.  We know not what it is you ask of us, and are afraid to come to your side.  Draw us unto you, LORD, in your kindness; in your compassion help us to approach you with our plea.  Without your help we shall not find the salvation you wish to share with us poor creatures.  Without your grace we cannot follow your Son. 

(Gn.18:1-15;   Lk.1:46-50,53-55;   Mt.8:5-17)   “Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do?”   Our theme again is faith.  Do we believe as Abraham, as Mary, as the centurion?  Only such trust will save us. In our first reading the Lord appears to Abraham.  We have here the marvelous scene of faith being born, being conceived.  Abraham sits patiently, waiting, praying – expectant of the Lord's return to confirm His word to him.  Then, “looking up, he saw three men nearby.”  There is the Lord before him.  His reaction is one we all must learn to follow: he does not hesitate an instant.  He runs to them, bows before them (even to the ground), and begs them to stay with him that he might serve them.  With haste he has food prepared for them, “and he waited on them under the tree while they ate”; his eyes “like the eyes of a servant on the hand of his master” (Ps.123:2), he watches their every move to be certain they are well pleased.  (In addition to this quote from Psalms, one cannot help but think of Jesus' words to the church at Laodicea in the Book of Revelation (3:20): “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”) As Abraham sits there gazing at the Lord, He speaks to His servant: “Where is your wife, Sarah?”  Here comes that which Abraham has been longing to hear.  His heart leaps up, and the Lord states His promise in no uncertain terms.  Now Sarah laughs.  But Abraham is no longer laughing.  The Lord tests him with the question, “Why did Sarah laugh?” to show to Abraham that he no longer thinks the promise too marvelous for the Lord to fulfill.  The Lord repeats the promise.  Abraham believes to the depths of his soul; He knows the word spoken to him is of truth.  And he shall take his wife in fruitful embrace. How appropriate to hear Mary's Magnificat in our daily bread, she who is the handmaiden of the Lord, who believed the words of the angel and so found the greatest blessing of the Lord and the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.  How like Mary, the model of all the faithful, has her father Abraham come to be. And, of course, our gospel finds Jesus marveling at the faith of the Roman centurion, greater than any He has found in Israel.  It bodes well that all of faith shall be found at table in the kingdom of God, but we must heed Jesus' warning that “the natural heirs will be driven out.”  For we are the heirs of the Israelites.  As Catholics we now hold the covenant.  We have the apostolic succession, the sacraments, the teaching – all the gifts are ours.  But have we the faith necessary to gain entrance into His kingdom; are we prepared to come to His table and dine with Him who feeds us with the food of everlasting life?  Do we believe?  This question the Lord puts on all our souls.  How shall we answer? ******* O LORD, let us be quick to serve you and you will make a place for us in your kingdom. YHWH, instill faith in our very souls, the faith of Abraham and Mary, the faith the centurion shows even though he is not of your people.  And we shall bear fruit in abundance; and your mercy shall be known to the ends of the earth. Though our hearts be old and withered, O LORD, though we be beyond the age of giving birth, yet you come to us in your mercy and make us fruitful in your NAME.  And so, what should we do but praise you?  How ready we should be to obey your commands! Look upon your servants in our lowliness.  We are not worthy to have you come under our roof, yet your Son you give to us as our very food.  We indeed should feed you, O God, but it is you who provide for our needs; by your hand we are fed each day at the table of sacrifice – we who have been so far from your face, you heal and bring near by a word from your mouth, and so we praise you in joy.

(Gn.17:1,9-10,15-22;   Ps.128:1-5;   Mt.8:1-4)  “Can Sarah give birth at ninety?” Abraham laughs to himself as he asks the question; and indeed many scoff at the idea today, or simply choose to reason the possibility away.  And can a leper be made clean in an instant, just by a touch of Jesus' hand and the words “Be cured”?  Is the arm of God, who created the universe, somehow shortened to such miracles?  Why do we think it so?  Wherefore our lack of faith? God appears to this ninety-nine-year-old man and tells him whose wife is barren, in the words of our psalm: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table.”  And Abraham laughs.  (As will Sarah, too, upon hearing such news – thus the name of their child Isaac: “he laughs”.)  It's an understandable reaction.  Who would not find the thought humorous?  But Abraham does something more than laugh: he also “prostrates himself” before the Lord, face to the floor.  How many of our modern scoffers would do such as this?  It is human to question, to doubt; but it is godly to humble oneself in faith.  There is a world of difference between a laugh of wonder and the scoffing of the skeptic.  The latter shall remain barren, never finding the living water that would make him fertile and fruitful; the former by his fear of the Lord opens himself to His favor, to His blessing – and such life-giving breath of blessing will make him bear fruit abundantly. This humble faith is perfectly evident in the leper as well, and is indeed the catalyst of his healing.  We are told the leper “came forward and did Him homage” – falling on his face like Abraham – and said to the Lord, “If you will to do so, you can cure me.”  First he shows humility, he shows fear of the Lord; then he expresses his faith.  Simply put, he believes in the power of God.  And so he is healed.  He is made whole, more whole indeed than the Pharisees and priests who stand by calculating how this can be. God does not come to the proud.  He does not show Himself to the self-righteous.  He cannot.  They refuse Him at every turn.  To the humble of heart, to the poor in spirit, the Lord is present – and His blessings they receive.  And miraculous are they beyond what the eye can see.   Amen. ******* O LORD, free us from all our disease by a word from your mouth, as we bow humbly before you.  YHWH, by a word from your mouth the barren womb bears fruit; by a word from your mouth we are healed.  Our reproach, our leprosy, is taken from those who come to you in faith, who bow before you in humility.  Only in this way are we saved – only in this way are our lives of any worth. In wonder we look upon your works, O LORD, in wonder and thanksgiving.  How can we not give you praise for your blessings upon us?  If we fear you and the hand you stretch forth to redeem our souls, we shall indeed know your blessings upon us through all generations. Laughter you put into our mouths, dear LORD, as we look upon your hand at work.  What joy you bring to the tired soul by your grace living amongst us!  Though we seemed at the point of death, though disease had taken hold – you have freed us to walk with you… in all our days your will is done.

(Gn.15:1-12,17-18;   Ps.105:1-4,6-9;   Mt.7:15-20)   “Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.”   In our gospel today, Jesus teaches us, “You can tell a tree by its fruit.”  And what can we tell of Abram but that he is a bountiful tree, faithful and strong.  Indeed, in his faith is his goodness, and in his children, who reach down even unto this day, his blessed fruit is known. What holy, gentle conversation the Lord has with Abram, coming to him in visions to speak to his soul, to thus nourish this tree which He has planted upon the earth.  And how faithful Abram is, patiently awaiting the growth which comes from God.  Here, my friends, is the Lord's relationship with man exemplified.  This is how we should be with our God… seeking the Lord, asking Him the questions which are upon our hearts, believing Him as He speaks to us – as He surely does.  For such is our God to us: coming to us in our fears, reassuring our souls, remaining ever faithful to us as He brings to maturity the fruit He has planted in our spirit.  No doubt we should have of His blessing.  His promise is sure. And so with our psalmist we should celebrate; we should “glory in His holy name.”  For we are “descendants of Abraham,” partakers of the faith brought to fulfillment in Jesus, fruit of the tree of life.  And the Lord “remembers forever His covenant.”  This grace we have been given shall never leave us; the life within us shall remain.  And in our days, through our time, as we partake of our daily bread, the Lord continually speaks to us and blesses us, bringing our fruit to maturity as we progress and grow in His Name.  And we shall look upon our children's children.  Our own trees shall indeed bear fruit in His light.  We must but remain faithful to Him; we must but keep diligent as Abram who, though “birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,” stayed by his holy sacrifice.  We shall see the false prophets of our age come to naught; we shall see these trees “cut down and thrown into the fire.”  And we will see and know the rebirth of true doctrine: our Church we will witness in all its heavenly glory.  “Fear not!” the Lord says to Abram, and so He speaks to us.  Our descendants shall be numerous as the stars.  With all the children of God we shall rejoice.  Keep faith in your hearts.   ******* O LORD, how fruitful indeed is Abraham, whose spiritual children surpass the many nations born of his loins. YHWH, let us be fruitful in your sight.  Come to us and reassure us of your presence with us, of your blessing upon our souls, that we might enter into the Covenant you made with Abraham and be fruitful in faith as he.  O let our descendants be as the stars in the sky. O LORD, make us as your chosen ones, serving you constantly on this earth, and we shall rejoice forever in the glory of your kingdom with all your saints in light.  Steadfast let us be in doing your will, in keeping the wolves at bay.  May the sacrifice we offer be holy, and we be acceptable in your sight. Your voice make known to us, LORD; let us hear and answer your call.  A faith so simple and profound provide your disciples – make us as children before you.  And as we seek you so, let us find you....  May the blood of your Son course through our veins, and so we bear fruit all our days in your holy NAME.

(Gn.13:2,5-18;   Ps.15:1-5;   Mt.7:6,12-14;)   “How narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it!”   In our first reading today, the way Abram walks with God is contrasted with the path Lot chooses for himself.  Though the road seems wide and clear, this gate leads to damnation, and indeed, as our gospel states, is one which is chosen by the traveler himself; whereas the narrow path is one which is found in God. Lot and Abram could no longer dwell together; their possessions were too great and the tensions were too high among their servants.  Taking “no reproach against his neighbor,” acting as the just soul spoken of in our psalm, “Abram said to Lot: ‘Let there be no strife between you and me,'” and put the whole land at his disposal, offering to take what remained.  So “Lot looked about,” Scripture tells us, to see what pleased his eyes, and then “chose for himself,” again the words of Scripture, that broad expanse of land which he thought would be fruitful for his needs.  And where does this decision he takes by the sight of his own eyes lead him?  To the depraved, to the reprobate, to the dogs and swine – to the infamous land of Sodom, whose people “were very wicked in the sins they committed against the Lord.”  To such we are led by our senses. Once Lot is gone, how is Abram led to his destination – are his feet led by his own eyes as well?  No, the Lord comes to Him as guide.  It is He who tells him to “set forth and walk about in the land.”  It is again God and his faith which serve as his light.  And what promise there is by way of this path!  But what difficulties one must face to attain it. When Abram arrived at his destination, “he built an altar to the Lord.”  (In what contrast is this altar to the unholy sacrifices offered at Sodom.)  The altar of Abram signifies both the faith of this just man and the sacrifice necessary to walk with God and find the life to which He leads us.  We know that Abram's path will be particularly rough, as will be that of his descendants.  There will be slavery and wandering in the desert, and once come into the land of promise, it shall not remain with them.  Indeed, it is only we now in the Spirit following the coming of Christ for whom that promise is fulfilled.  And yet do we struggle.  And yet every day must we examine our conscience and reform our lives to prepare ourselves to enter that gate which is so narrow.  No sin will it accept.  No foolish pride can exist in our hearts if we hope to enter life.  The way is rough, but what blessed protection the Lord gives by His guidance; and we “shall never be disturbed” by the trials of this world but come thereby to the sure promise of heaven.   *******  O LORD, the wide road of the world leads to damnation; the narrow gate of the Cross of Christ takes us to Heaven.  YHWH, let us be just, as Abraham, and as faithful to your Word.  Not by our own eyes let us set forth, but led by your command.  Your narrow way let us follow, the way that leads to life. The just man thinks only the truth in his heart, and does not slander his fellow man.  He is a man of peace who takes up no reproach against his neighbor but gives him preference of place.  This is what it means to treat others as we would be treated, for when we give others such deference (as Abraham does for Lot), you, O LORD, defer to us… and we are truly blessed.  For no one is as just as you. Let us come to know your justice, LORD, and we shall be kept from the dogs and swine.  Through the narrow gate let us enter and not the gate that is clear and wide, and we shall be preserved from all evil – for you will be at our side.  And though the Cross does enter into our lives, it only serves to bless us with passage into your Promised Land.

(Gn.12:1-9;   Ps.33:12-13,18-20,22;   Mt.7:1-5)   “The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him.”   There is a plank in our own eye; there is but a speck in our brother's.  This is what the Lord sees.  And this is what we see if we fear the Lord.  If we fear the Lord, we remain humble before Him.  If we fear the Lord, we will be released from judgment.  If we fear the Lord, we indeed will be as Abram, following His blessed commands.  “Abram went as the Lord directed him,” our first reading tells us so aptly today.  He left his father's house at a word from God and followed wherever God led, his path illumined only by faith.  He walked not by his eyes but only by his faith in the Lord's promise to him; the Lord became his eyes and he trusted himself and all his family and all his possessions to these eyes which watched over him.  In darkness and in quiet he sets out, the Lord as his only light and His voice as his only guide.  Such faith, such blessed faith and humility. Such faith must we all have, brothers and sisters, for it cannot be otherwise but that the Lord calls each one of us to such faith, to such trust; He calls each of us from our “father's house” to walk with Him alone and find our way in His presence.  Do we fear Him?  Do we love Him?  Are we humble before Him?  If so, we will know the path upon which the Lord leads us; we will hear His voice speaking quietly in our ears and in our hearts.  And we will follow Him.  And He will bless us and fulfill His own call for our lives.  He will remove the plank from our eyes and grace us with the ability to remove the speck from others'.  He will be our wisdom in teaching, our strength in serving.  We will not go forth vainly in our own power, but will know His hand guiding us in all we do, for all will be done in His Name.  Then great things will be accomplished in us.  Then we become sharers in the promise of Abraham. The Lord is our God.  He watches over.  He judges.  He leads.  All healing and all grace and blessing come from His hand and not our own.  Our eyes see only what is before us; His illumine the universe.  But we may share in His vision, we may partake of His presence, if we have faith, if we humble ourselves before Him and go as He directs. And as He blesses us so with His guidance, as we find ourselves coming into His kingdom, let us not fail to build an altar to His Name, let us remember to praise Him for His grace.  And we shall find our path sure; and in time we shall come “by stages” to eternal life. ******* O LORD, let us not judge, but love; let us go as you direct us. YHWH, who can see as you see, who has vision so pure?  Only he who repents of his sin and obediently follows your way, walking in harmony with his brother.  If we are not humble, we are blind, for your power is not known to us.  We shall remain in darkness forever if we do not come to faith in you. Let us be faithful as Abraham; let us reflect his obedience to your Word.  Let us listen this day to your Son and turn from hardness of heart and judgment of others that your kindness may be upon us, O LORD.  If we are not kind and forgiving, neither shall we be forgiven, but rather bring condemnation upon our own souls – O let us repent of such blindness! Save us, O LORD, from the death of sin, from vain pride; preserve our souls in this land of famine, in this foreign place.  Let us leave behind the idols of this age and build an altar in our hearts to you.  You are our God, you alone.  Help us to leave all behind to find your way, walking humbly with one another.  Then our eyes shall be opened.

(2Cor.12:1-10;   Ps.34:8-13;   Mt.6:24-34)   “Seek first His kingship over you, His way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides.”   The call to treasure in heaven continues.  What care we for the things of this earth?  What is money, what are food and clothing to us?  Indeed, they must not be our concern.  And what matter to us is our bereavement of these things and other like afflictions which the world may inflict upon us.  We are called to be like Paul and be “content with weakness, with mistreatment, with distress,” yes, even to boast about such weaknesses in the flesh, because we know that when the world attacks us, Jesus comes to save us.  “In weakness power reaches perfection,” for when we are afflicted we share in the very “power of Christ,” which is all we can depend on in such times, and which comes to us without fail.  Thus even our persecutions become cause for rejoicing and proclaiming with David, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” There is a weakness we should avoid, however.  The beatings which come to us from outside us are indeed an opportunity for celebration; but the weakness of being distracted by the cares of the flesh and its pleasures is not to be ours.  The Lord speaks lovingly to such weakness in us in our gospel today, gently calling us away from such preoccupation, for He knows, and states quite clearly, that such distractions will keep us from the gates of heaven.  “You cannot give yourself to God and money.”  We cannot be divided in this way.  Our hearts must be set on the holiness of God, trusting even the needs of the flesh to His care, in order to come to vision of heaven – in order to know Christ the Lord and the Father to whom He leads us.  Jesus is not concerned for these things and neither should we be.  Whether we have or not and in what measure should not matter.  We must find the vision of the Lord which rejoices even in our utter bereavement of all things of the earth.  Indeed, we cannot come to heaven until we die.  “Running after these things” will only kill the life of Christ in us; it is death to such concern which will bring us the true life of heaven. All that we need will be given us, brothers and sisters, if we set our hearts on Christ.  The Lord is not blind to our needs.  He sees all and is ever near to assist us in all our troubles.  “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”  We shall “want for no good thing” if we but seek His face.  Readiness for heaven must now be with us.   ******* O LORD, how weak we are as we struggle in this world, the Cross placed upon our backs – but O the power of your grace at work within us! YHWH, what a blessing it is to share in the sufferings of your Son, for then we share in His glory – it is then He is with us; it is then your angel watches over us. What need we fear of the persecutions of this world if you are at our side?  And if we put our trust in you, will you not provide?  What is food and what is clothing, what are all the riches of this earth but things that pass with the dawning day?  But you do not pass away.  You hold all these things in your hand.  And so, if in our weakness we find ourselves in need of assistance, you are ready to help us.  Indeed, this is your great pleasure, O holy LORD. Help us to depend on your grace, LORD, for nothing can come to us except as a gift from your loving heart.  We shall indeed prosper on this earth and come quickly to the glory of Heaven, if we but take our refuge in you, if we but learn to trust in your care.  Thank you for your goodness, which is always with us.

(2Cor.11:18,21-30;   Ps.34:2-7,18;   Mt.6:19-23)   “Store up heavenly treasure, which neither moths nor rust corrode nor thieves break in and steal.”   It is clear where Paul's treasure lies, and where it does not lie.  In the litany of the sufferings and afflictions he has endured as a “minister of Christ,” we understand without question his utter lack of concern for the things of this world.  How could it be otherwise with one who sacrifices himself so completely, readily bearing “labors” and “beatings” at every turn?  He gives not only all his possessions, but his very body for the cause of the gospel.  This is where his treasure lies – in Jesus and in His word – and he lays down all of this earth to see that blessed Word planted in the souls of all and grow to eternal life.  Beatings and stoning and hunger are as nothing to him; it is “anxiety for all the churches” which causes him the greatest pain. And now, though the moths and rust of this world could not touch him and he remained untroubled by the thieves who waylay ships at sea, there is another kind of thief who is attempting to break in and steal, to steal that about which he is concerned the most.  False prophets have come along to influence his flock, and this corruption of the Word he cannot bear; so in this emotional diatribe he in effect calls on the Lord to open the eyes of the churches.  And it is not only those at Corinth who need to be roused from their stupor of nodding approval to the voices of all who come speaking high-sounding words in God's Name: we today and everywhere must heed the call to be on guard against the thieves who would break into our souls.  How strong and knowledgeable must we be in our faith, now with a history of Church teaching behind us – but how weak we often are. Paul's words were as caustic salve healing the wounds of his people.  I pray they may be so now in calling us to right Church teaching.  Each day we hear from those preaching the comfort to be taken in earthly treasure as they bow toward the god of this world – let us stand with eyes of holy light and speak of the unfading glory of heaven.  On this may our hearts be set and on the word of Jesus, that all our afflictions will be as so much dust blown away by the wind, by the Spirit of Truth.  In Him let us take our refuge.   ******* O LORD, the darkness of this world is deep indeed; but we are not overcome by it, for we do not live in it but in the light of Christ. YHWH, let our light not be darkness; let us not set our hearts on the things of this world but on the things of Heaven.  Attached to this earth we would perish in sin – let us be aflame with the Spirit. Why should we care if we must be beaten, if the threats of thieves surround our souls?  The dangers of the world are as nothing, for what can they take from us but this mortal flesh?  Our affliction comes only in seeing others fall into sin; our only fear is for their immortal souls, and our own.  O LORD, let all stay close to you. May all your children extol your NAME in the heavenly kingdom.  May we all shine forth your light, even now while here on this dying earth.  Let its corruptibility not touch us, LORD, as we set our hearts on doing your will.  Be the light that shines in our eyes and our minds and we shall never go astray but through all trials increase in faith and come at last to eternal joy in your presence.

(2Cor.11:1-11;   Ps.111:1-4,7-8;   Mt.6:7-15)   “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”   And what we need is to be holy as He is holy.  And it is this we ask for in the Lord's Prayer.  We simply seek to be like Him, and that all obstacles to holiness be removed from us.  And like a loving father He meets our needs. And Paul is a father to the community at Corinth; he loves them “with the jealousy of God Himself.”  He has given them in marriage to Christ and is solicitous that the wedding chamber not be corrupted by false doctrine.  “Super apostles” have come among them who “win a hearing by the sheer multiplication of words,” rattling on like empty wind and taking money from Paul's children for the sound and the fury they bring.  But they signify nothing by all their skill; they are but ravenous wolves amidst the flock. Paul says of himself, “I may be unskilled in speech but I know that I am not lacking in knowledge”; and how his words echo Christ's own, that we should not get lost in mere words.  And how like a father knowing and caring for the needs of his children is Paul.  In our psalm, too, is reflected the Father's “gracious and merciful” nature which Paul shows to the Corinthians: “Sure are all His precepts… wrought in truth and equity.”  This knowledge of God is what must be conveyed, and it is this Paul offers the people.  And like a caring father who provides sacrificially for his children, Paul refuses to take return from them for his work: his work among them is a labor of love for which he seeks no recompense.  By this they must learn how freely God gives to those who seek Him and be purged of their notion that it is those whom they pay, and greatly, who care for them.  Indeed, the Father knows always what we need, and gives it freely to those who simply come as repentant children.  He exacts no cost and requires no dramatics to receive His presence and His love. Forgive my folly here, but why do you turn to the icons and idols of this glamorous age to find the peace you seek, when in His Church the Father waits to answer all your needs?  Do not be led astray by the powerful-seeming images which surround us in this day; come to the Lord of all, and before Him in silence kneel and pray:    “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us. Subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one.”     Amen. ******* O LORD, you know what we need and provide our food, the Bread He is, through the apostles. YHWH, let us not be seduced by our pride – it is not by our own words and our own will we shall come to Heaven.  It is you who must inspire us; we must but be your humble servants.  Then great deeds will be accomplished in us, for it will be your work alone that we do. You, O LORD, are faithful and just to all who call upon you in truth, to all who have faith in your enduring love.  Those who share your mercy with others are blessed with freedom from all cares, for in your mercy the evil one finds no place.  Let all souls pray to you and know that you desire to give us all we need. You are not blind, O LORD, to our plight; we know nothing of which you are unaware.  And so let us not reach out our hands to the fruit of disobedience – let us not seek in ourselves or in those around us the glory that comes only from you.  Then we shall remain in your Garden forever, doing the work for which you made us.  Then we shall be wed to your Son.

(2Cor.9:6-11;   Ps.112:1-4,9;   Mt.6:1-6,16-18)   “Keep your deeds of mercy secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”     In the ground, hidden and secret, the seed is planted.  From the womb of the earth it sprouts, and gives its yield.  We plant the seed; God provides the seed.  And it is through His power that anything which we plant grows and increases.  So it is with our generous acts, as well as our prayer and fasting. “Happy the man who fears the Lord… His generosity shall endure forever.”  For “He who supplies seed for the sower and bread for the eater will provide in abundance; He will multiply the seed you sow and increase your generous yield.”  Trusting in Him, we shall know His blessings; and greater blessings than these shall we know and shall others know, who praise God for the gifts He provides.  Wonderful it is to behold God's ever-increasing generosity; more wonderful yet to participate in it.  It is a fountain welling up to eternal life, in which we are cleansed and made of light. But let us take to heart the warning of the Lord this day: “Be on guard against performing religious acts for others to see.”  The world does not see God, it cannot know God.  Thus God is termed “hidden” and “secret.”  And though we are to make God known to the world, we cannot do so unless we exist where He is.  In the recesses of our heart, in the quiet, we shall find Him.  In the center of our being we must place Him.  Closing the doors of our rooms, entering the stillness of our souls… kneeling there we shall find Him.  And He shall hear us, and He shall reward us with the blessing of answered prayer, of fruitful yield in His Name.  If we do not remain with Him there in secret – even in the midst of the city, even among the distractions of this world – all our actions will be in vain.  It does us no good to gain the whole world and lose our souls; and all our good deeds are empty show without Him who is goodness at their core. “He who sows bountifully will reap bountifully.”  Let us know the blessing of bearing fruit in God.  Let us give generously, knowing that for all the good we do, the Lord will provide yet more seed for us to sow, and we shall reap in abundance His heavenly blessings.  If we do all without fanfare, but quietly, humbly, secretly trusting all to His care – the blessing of His presence we shall keep with us, and we shall see our works and our prayers bear fruit in the kingdom of God.   May God bless all humble souls with His bounty. May He reveal Himself to their hearts.   ******* O LORD, let us give all we have, and give always from the heart, and we will be giving with you… and you will increase our yield. YHWH, let us cheerfully give to you all we have; all we have is from you and so it is but justice that we place all in your hands.  You will multiply our offering if in sincerity we sacrifice it to you. In secret let us keep our deeds of mercy; hidden in the depths of our soul, let them grow by your Spirit.  In the stillness you reside, and so, there we shall find you.  There you shall hear and bless our prayers.  O LORD, let our prayers rise up to you! Help us to trust in you, dear God, and in your generous love.  You wish to bless us with all that is good but cannot do so unless we believe in your goodness, unless we reflect your grace and mercy in our lives.  We are called to live with you and remain with you.  Let the light of faith dawn upon us this day. Then we shall fear nothing; then we shall live in awe of your presence, LORD.  Your glory dwelling in us and shining through us, we shall be greatly blessed.  Then we shall give freely to all!

(2Cor.8:1-9;   Ps.146:2,5-9;   Mt.5:43-48)   “Love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.”   Our psalm today begins with praise of God and the proclamation of the happiness of those “whose hope is in the Lord,” for it is He who “gives food to the hungry” and “raises up those that were bowed down.”  Freeing captives, giving sight to the blind, protecting strangers… such is our God and Father.  And in our gospel Jesus tells us, “You are sons of your heavenly Father,” and “you must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  We must be His image, doing the things He does. Paul presents Jesus, the only Son of the Father, as our model in generosity.  In his gentle reminder he states: “For your sake He made Himself poor though He was rich, so that you might become rich by His poverty.”  He also presents to us the Macedonians, whose “overflowing joy and deep poverty have produced an abundant generosity.”  And Jesus makes clear that our generosity, our “sharing in the service” of God, must extend beyond our friends.  The Father makes no distinction – “His sun rises on the bad and the good, He rains on the just and the unjust” – and so we are challenged “to know the grace of God” completely by giving our love to all, even as Christ's arms are open to everyone as He hangs on the cross. How is it that poverty produces such generosity?  And how can we share in both with our God?  The poverty of which the Apostle speaks and which Jesus exemplifies and calls us to follow is the emptying of self of all which is our own, and in the very act of emptying, of giving, is generosity itself.  Whether it be a man of riches handing over his money or a man of great love performing acts of kindness, he who has is divesting himself of that which he has to enrich another.  We remember that when the woman touched the hem of His garment, Jesus perceived power had gone forth from Him (Mk.5:30).  Here is that emptying of love to heal the other.  And on the cross, of course, Jesus emptied Himself completely… and so He died. Should we be afraid, brothers and sisters, of sharing so completely in Jesus' love?  Do we think that if we give to others, we will have nothing remaining for ourselves?  Is Jesus hanging on the cross the end of the story?  No, brothers and sisters, we should not be afraid.  We must see, indeed, that the more we give, whether of money or of love, the more we are bound to receive.  Do you think that God does not see your generosity?  Do you not realize that He rewards those who are His children?  Do you think Christ still hangs on the cross?  Come to the holiness of God, brothers and sisters; there is no greater grace on earth.  Give of yourselves entirely, love even your enemies, and you shall know in ineffable wonder the surpassing love of God for all.  Such is our call and our joy. ******* O LORD, let us be perfect as you are perfect, loving as Jesus on the Cross – we will not know you otherwise. YHWH, how shall we be made perfect as you are perfect; how shall we love as Jesus on the Cross?  You alone are generous in giving.  You are only of love.  Help us to be unsparing as you who have given us your only Son. It is you who provide seed, you who provide bread.  We can produce no nourishment for our lives or the lives of others by our own hands.  All is yours, but you will give abundantly to those who seek to love as you.  All we need we will have, O LORD, and more, if we empty ourselves of all we own. O make us ready to give all over to you, to love as you do!  Let us not be afraid to share our very lives even with those who would kill us.  To them let us give more freely, for they need your love all the more.  You cannot but help love all those in need, LORD, to feed the hungry, to give sight to the blind, to set captives free… and we who hope in you, what else can we do but reflect your eternal glory?

(2Cor.6:1-10;   Ps.98:1-4;   Mt.5:38-42)   “When a person strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the other.”   “Now is the acceptable time!  Now is the day of salvation!”  Alleluia!  And how do we know the salvation of the Lord except by the cross.  This is our joy.  These “difficulties, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, and riots”; the “hard work, sleepless nights, and fastings” – these crosses bring us immeasurable joy, for through them we share in the suffering of Christ and so also in His resurrection glory.  Thus the Lord can encourage us not to seek to avoid such suffering; thus He instructs us to be prepared to suffer over and above that which comes to us – for He knows that as we give of ourselves in this ready way, as we lay down our lives without hesitation, we shall find ourselves in the hand of God, we shall come quickly to join Him in heaven.  With Paul, we must “present ourselves as ministers of God, acting with patient endurance amid trials,” and His salvation will be made known in us.  And we will rejoice with Paul in all our sorrows.  And we will be able to exclaim with him, “We seem to have nothing, yet everything is ours!”  For the fullness of Christ will reside with us. Give.  Give, and do not count the cost.  How hard it is for us to freely give of our possessions, much less of our very lives.  Are we ready to “give to the man who begs” from us?  Are we prepared to care for others' needs?  Or do we hold tightly to our possessions, calling them our own?  And what of the possession of our pride and the protection of ourselves from injury?  What of our judgment of others?  Are we ready to give these up so completely?  Can we turn the other cheek to those who do us wrong, offering the pain to God and finding great comfort there, or do we need to strike back against the offending party, exacting the retribution due us according to the law?  Do we indeed live by the law, or have we transcended the law: do we now live by the Law of love?  Are we a new creation in Christ? It is not easy to lay down our lives in such a way as Christ calls us.  The world ever mocks the absurdity of this sacrifice.  But we who are in Jesus should know the absolute truth of Paul's words and Jesus' instruction.  If we are to be Christians, we must know the joy and freedom that come from suffering all with Him who is our salvation.  He is all that matters.  If we have Him, we have all things.  Come to this truth, brothers and sisters; leave behind the fears wrought by attachment to the things of this world.  This world is of sin, anyway.  As we lose our possessions for Him, He gives us all the more.  As the body dies, the spirit comes to life.  What the devil would take from us, let us give him, for he cannot touch the life that is Christ: our souls are in the hand of God.  And, as with Job, all will be restored to us, and more, in the day of the Lord.  So, “wielding the weapons of righteousness with right hand and left,” let us learn always to turn the other cheek to our persecutors.   ******* O LORD, grant us the grace to endure all trials in patience and with love, that we may give witness to your salvation at work in us. YHWH, your salvation has come to us, and it comes in the form of a Cross; in the suffering and death of your Son we are set free to rejoice in you.  Though we seem to have nothing, though we be beaten and robbed, yet Jesus is with us, and with Him everything is ours.  O let us accept the salvation that He brings this day!  Let us be patient amid all trials and we will know your presence among us. Help us, dear LORD, to walk with your Son on the way of the Cross.  He is struck repeatedly; He is stripped and forced to carry the burden of our sin.  We beg you not to turn your back on us, though we have turned our backs on Him.  Help us to do what we are unable to do – to give witness to the truth and love of the Christ… to endure all as He has done. O to be disciples of Him who saves us!  O to know His holy innocence and unending life!  O to sing with joy to you, dear God, in the unbreakable Spirit of your Son.

(2Cor.5:14-21;   Ps.103:1-4,8-9,11-12;   Mt.5:33-37)  “The love of Christ impels us who have reached the conviction that since one died for all, all died.” How strong is Paul's “yes” for the Lord.  With what ardor does he cry out: “The old order is passed away; now all is new!”  How purely he is led in the Spirit to call to our very souls, “In Christ's name: be reconciled to God!”  He has no need to swear by earth or heaven of his conviction that Jesus died for our salvation.  He is indeed a new creation and can but speak of that which he knows to the depths of his soul; driven by the miracle of his own reconciliation to God, he desires naturally – by the supernatural grace at work within him – to draw others to “become the very holiness of God.” Paul sings out with our psalmist: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being bless His holy name.”  He cries out with David: “He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your ills.”  This is the truth which impels him, which he cannot but preach – that our sins are forgiven in Christ the Lord and we need but to come to Him to be raised up to new life.  This is His ministry of reconciliation; this is the message entrusted to him… and he must appeal for God's holy will to be accomplished in us. Let me join in his shout, let me state so unequivocally – let us all be convicted with Paul of the love God has for us, of the death He has died for us… of the new life we have in Him.  Yes, let us indeed shout it from the rooftops, let us cry it out for all to hear.  Many are on the path to destruction, many are dying in their transgressions; all are inclined to the condemnation the devil has wrought in our lives, and all must be encouraged, all must hear the exhortation to turn from their sins.  May we give our “yes” firmly to God and our “no” firmly to the devil, that others might know in our very lives of the holiness of God and the glory to which He calls us. “Merciful and gracious is the Lord”: this the world must know.  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He put our transgressions from us”: this the sinful heart wallowing in the darkness of doubt must hear.  The blood of Christ must be shown to all.  Let us not hesitate to speak the great truth of God's salvation through Christ the Son.  Let us not fail to live His new life every day of our lives. The Lord calls.  The sound of His voice is unmistakable.  All our sin is dead in Him; through Him we are raised to life.  May this Word go forth to the ends of the earth, and may we help carry it there. ******* O LORD, by Jesus' grace let us be reconciled to you – let us say Yes to Him and No to the world. YHWH, let us be reconciled to you.  Let us be a new creation through Christ your Son and give our ‘yes' ever to your will.  Sure of soul let us be, of the salvation you bring in Jesus and His messengers.  He has died for our sakes that we might be raised with Him.  O let our transgressions be far from us this day! What kindness you show to your wayward sons, O LORD.  None of us has been found worthy of your kingdom, but in Jesus all our sins you wash away that we might stand in your presence.  May all hear the call of the Apostle to our souls and be reconciled to you in Jesus' Name.  May all know the grace and mercy you offer freely forth. Make us simple and make us sure; let us in all things do your will, giving our ‘yes' to you and our ‘no' firmly to the evil one.  Then to Heaven we will come, LORD, to dwell with you upon your throne – O let us enter the New Jerusalem as your sons and daughters impelled only by your love.

(2Cor.3:15-4:1,3-6;   Ps.85:9-14;   Mt.5:20-26)  “See the splendor of the gospel showing forth the glory of Christ.” Today the gospel is preached: Jesus, the image of God, has come among us, “glory dwelling in our land,” and removed the veil from our understanding so that now we “are being transformed from glory to glory into His very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.”  The words of life are spoken by the Lord; the Holy Spirit comes amongst us as light to illumine our minds and lead us beyond the bounds of the law to the kingdom of God itself.  And we must live in that light, we must make it our own, becoming children of the light of the Spirit of God, “that we in turn might make known the glory of God shining on the face of Christ.”  He has indeed come amongst us, salvation is at hand, and we must become perfect as the Father is perfect, as Jesus who is the pure reflection of the Father is perfect – we must allow the Spirit to remove any taint of darkness from our souls. Jesus tells us, “Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.”  Here He means that the law may lead us out of Egypt, it may serve to release us from the bonds of this world of sin, but this guard we have while treading this earth is not enough to bring us into the promised land, into the heavenly kingdom to which we are called.  And as long as we concern ourselves only with fulfilling the minimal requirements of the law  (not to murder, not to commit adultery…), we will continue to suffer; we will remain unfulfilled.  Jesus calls us to greater than that: He calls us into His very light of perfection in the presence of the Father.  This call is implanted upon the soul of each one of us, and as long as we ignore it, as long as we veil our minds to the depth and the breadth of this call to perfection with Christ… as long as we say, “Well, I haven't killed anyone,” and stop there… so long we will remain unsatisfied, so long will the fires burn – so long will we be in prison paying the last penny. Jesus is calling you now, brothers and sisters; Paul and all the true preachers of Holy Church are calling you now to remove the veil from your eyes, to come into the Lord's light – to cease to make excuses for your sins, however small they may seem – to seek perfection in Christ… to find the kingdom of God.  The Spirit will aid you in your journey; He will be with you every step of your walk on the way of perfection, be assured of this.  The Lord does not call us to Himself and then leave us alone to struggle vainly.  He is with us through all our trials.  But we must come to Him and live in His light of purity, and shine that light for others to see.  ******* O LORD, your kingdom comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, who purges us of sin and makes us shine with His radiance. YHWH, your glory shines now in our midst in the face of Christ, and He calls us to that same glory by the Spirit that is within us.  Let your light shine in the darkness of this world; let us make known your glory by our words and actions. In the way of salvation we walk, insofar as we follow the commands of your Son and His love.  He calls us to dwell with you, O LORD, to reconcile with one another and be perfect as you are perfect – to find our holiness fulfilled.  We fall short as long as we limit ourselves to the principles of the law; your glory is far beyond the basics of the law, and it is to your glory and your love Jesus calls us. What a gift is ours in Christ!  Union with you, dear Father in Heaven!  Let us not be blinded by the god of the present age, by unbelieving minds, but let the veil be lifted from our faces to gaze upon the glory of your Son and so be transformed into that glory by the Spirit upon us.  Alleluia!

(2Cor.3:4-11;   Ps.99:5-9;   Mt.5:17-19)  “Not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of a letter, shall be done away with until it all comes true.” Jesus comes to fulfill the law and the prophets.  The law watches over us while we are here in this world.  It guards us and puts to death the sin that is inherent in our earthly nature.   There is great glory in this blessed protection, as is witnessed in our psalm today – “Holy is the Lord, our God” – because it acquaints us with God's justice and, as said, watches vigilantly over us to maintain our standing in the presence of God.  But the law does not bring us to the fullness of God's love; it does not bring us into the heavenly kingdom and “the glory that endures.”  Moses brings the Israelites to the banks of the Jordan, but he does not cross over with them.  He looks out over the Promised Land from his place on the mountaintop, but does not enter therein.  It is Joshua who leads the people into the land promised through Moses (as even he does in today's Office of Readings).  And so it is Jesus who brings us to the heavenly kingdom by His law of love. In speaking elsewhere of the glory of love (1Cor.13:8), Paul tells us that prophecy shall fail and tongues shall cease but love is eternal, favored well beyond any other gift.  Prophecies speak of earthly matters and the law is for our earthly nature, but love speaks of God and heaven.  We must be very careful to heed the words of Christ and realize that as long as we are in this world and subject to the sin that our flesh brings, the law has a prominent place in our lives and cannot be jettisoned prematurely – as many advocate by their lack of diligence to its precepts, presuming heaven before its time – yet we must always remember that it is the glory of heaven and not of earth to which Jesus calls us, and that there the law will be fulfilled; there we shall be made perfect in the light of God. The law is “destined to pass away” only insofar as it is fulfilled, and therefore it never really passes away but is subsumed by a greater law.  Let us continue to glory in the chastising hand of God and in the service of purification the law provides us.  Let us come by its means to the flesh of Christ, and by the grace of God enter fully into Him.  Jesus is our Promised Land, brothers and sisters; with the law as our guide, but above all with faith in our hearts, let us come into His holy, eternal, loving presence.  We have the manna of the Eucharist to share this day; tomorrow we shall feast in fullness on the Bread of Life that is Jesus Christ.   ******* O LORD, your commands must be fulfilled or they shall remain, along with our sin. YHWH, you are holy and your glory surpasses all that is of heaven and earth.  Though we are your creation and you are present to us, though you are with us even in the law you gave to Moses, and though we need your law to purge us of all evil, to put to death the deeds of the flesh… yet in such death we are not fulfilled.  We must come to join you in your glory; we must find life in you. And so, O holy LORD, your Son walks among us, not to destroy the law or contradict the prophets who call us from our wayward path, but to fulfill their voice by the very presence of the Word.  Now your holiness has taken flesh, and so at your mountain we can worship in Spirit and in truth.  Now we may enter your kingdom. It is in Jesus we are saved from the death the law brings; it is through Him we find the ministry of the Spirit and so the glory that passes not away.  This glory is your very presence speaking to us and shining upon us, dear LORD.  O let us call upon your NAME and dwell with you forever!

(2Cor.1:18-22;   Ps.119:129-133,135;   Mt.5:13-16)  “God is the one who firmly establishes us.” “Light of the world” and “salt of the earth” – this is what we are by the power of God.  It is by Him we are “set on a hill” to give “light to all in the house”; it is we who preserve the integrity of creation.  It is a holy call and a demanding one, and we should not waver in our resolve to follow the Lord and fulfill His work and His will; for it is indeed His will that we show His goodness before the eyes of men, and so “He who anointed us and sealed us” will always strengthen us for our task – by Him who holds the entire world in His palm, our own work will be made light. But heed the words of our readings: we must always give our “yes” to God.  Having put our hand to the plow, we cannot turn back.  In fact, we should say with the psalmist, “I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for your commands”; so great should be our love for God and for His life-giving words that ever do we thirst more greatly for the love and the light He brings us through our walking in them.  His discipline is redeeming and freeing; and as we drink in its light, as we find ourselves becoming one with Him and with His Son who has shown us clearly and completely the way of perfection, we become the light He is.  And we cannot but shine that same light to others, directing them to Him who establishes all holy souls in His blessed kingdom. What joy should be ours as we find ourselves becoming one with God as His children of light.  What absolute exhilaration is evident in Paul's preaching to the Corinthians, as well as in our psalm.  The source of such excitement is his firmness in faith; the Spirit is speaking in his heart and he is not afraid.  Indeed, he takes his very life, his daily bread, in proclaiming it. Have we such faith in our hearts, or have we somehow gone flat?  Can we proclaim our unwavering trust in the Lord, or is our light still shaded by doubts and fears?  If our love for God is true and our love for one another is real, we shall be firmly established – our light shall go forth. Let us pray to Him that from the light of His words we shall not be distracted.  The light of His presence is all that matters.  Shine forth His light to the world.  ******* O LORD, may the Spirit of Truth be with us to guide us by His holy light. YHWH, your promises have been fulfilled in Jesus and in Him you firmly establish our place before you, the Holy Spirit in our hearts.  You call us to be salt and light to this world, to be the disciples of your Son.  Help us to be steadfast in that call, that the light of the Spirit might go out to the ends of the earth. We are anointed with the Christ and have His life within us.  He it is who walks before us, making our footsteps firm.  We must follow in His way and give our ‘yes' entirely to you.  O LORD, let us not waver in our weakness but ever keep your commands and so radiate your goodness to all men.  Make our witness sure and true; let us ever remain in the light of your presence. O LORD, let all praise be given to you from hearts filled with your glory.  With open mouth let us ever yearn for your Word.  In wonder let us stand before you, worshiping ever in your kingdom as your holy children.  Let your countenance shine on your servants; transform us into your light.

(2Cor.1:1-7;   Ps.34:2-9;   Mt.5:1-12)  “Blessed are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs.” Here is the core teaching of our faith.  Here are the beatitudes, the call to sweet humility which flows like blessed honey from the lips of our Savior.  And that teaching is that the humbled shall be exalted, that those who mourn and sorrow for the lack of love we find in this tainted world and who strive to bring that love to the hard heart of man shall be blessed, are blessed, for they share in the sufferings of Christ, who wept for the sins of His people, who, looking out upon them from the cross cried: “My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Why has this world made in the image of Christ turned so against Him, and when shall it return to the love of God?  And we who cry with Christ, even for our enemies, even for the most despicable criminal, we shall know the joy He finds – like the repentant thief, we shall be this day with Him in paradise. “Just as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the consolation,” St. Paul so concisely states.  One can hear him brimming with joy as he speaks of the comfort we find in the Lord in all our afflictions, and the grace of sharing that consolation with others.  This is our great possession.  This is the kingdom of God within us: to see through all trouble and affliction, to conquer it in Jesus' Name – to find such strength even while here on earth to overcome all evil and come to heaven.  “Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you…  Be glad and rejoice.”  How marvelously the Lord exhorts us to come to the glory of heaven, to overcome the dark with light.  For light it is where we dwell, and this light is unconquerable. Let us make room for Him in our hearts, brothers and sisters; let us give place to Him in our lives.  Let us even in the simplest ways show heaven's glory here on earth.  If we are lowly and we are true, our light cannot help but shine.  And for those who seek it our lamps will shine, and we shall illumine one another.  Let sweet humility be your treasure and the Lord's peace your goal in life.  The angel of the Lord is around us to save us.  Nothing of this earth shall touch us.  Let us lay down our lives to destroy death's bonds. ******* O LORD, it is the cross of suffering with Christ that brings us great joy. YHWH, blessed are we when persecuted because of our love for you, because of our desire to be as your Son, for enduring all the sufferings this world brings we find great joy in your presence.  You console the afflicted who call out to you, for you are the refuge of all who suffer for your sake. O LORD, let us be holy as you are holy; let us be made whole in your Son.  If we must sorrow and mourn to be conformed to your Son, to be purged of all sin and join Him in your kingdom, let it be so.  Let us take our strength in you; in you we find refuge.  Reward in Heaven is all we desire – to you let us come by way of the Cross of your only Son. Bless you, LORD, for the goodness you show to us, for the joy you bring us in our suffering for you.  You deliver us from every danger, and so we stand firm in hope, consoled by the promise in the words of Jesus.  Let us remain ever blessed as we set our hearts on serving you.

(Tb.12:1,5-15,20;   Tb.13:1-2,6;   Mk.12:38-44)  “Almsgiving saves one from death.” We must give alms, yes; and the greatest of alms is the gift of ourselves to God. In our gospel we hear of perhaps the most famous example of almsgiving: the poor widow who gave her two copper coins to the temple treasury; and in our first reading we complete the Book of Tobit, he who is himself a great biblical model of almsgiving, and who is here instructed by the angel Raphael on the merit of giving alms.  Yes, the widow gives generously all her money, without hesitation and without a thought.  Unlike those who give from their surplus, “she gave from her want, all that she had to live on.”  She holds back nothing.  And at the prompting of Tobit, Tobiah offers half of all the many riches gained from his journey to his guide, Raphael (not realizing he is an angel with no need of these things).  As Raphael reveals himself to Tobit and his son, he extols the great merit of almsgiving, which he states is better even than prayer and fasting.  He wishes to tell them of the value of almsgiving, it is true, but he wants Tobit to know that his generosity has been witnessed by God and that it has saved him from the death he had asked for.  Raphael lets Tobit know, too, that he has been tested by God (in being stricken with blindness) to prove that his generosity is genuine.  It must be shown that his virtue is not vain as the scribes', who “recite long prayers for appearance' sake” to cover the fact that they “devour the savings of widows.”  Does he have the heart of the poor widow in his generosity, or does he just like to parade around in the robes of such virtue? The key to the merit of all our almsgiving is found in Raphael's initial response to Tobiah's offer:  “Thank God!  Give Him the praise and the glory.”  All our good works must be done for the praise of God as witnesses to His glory.  “Before all men, honor and proclaim God's deeds, and do not be slack in praising Him,” the angel exhorts us all.  And it is this praise of God we must give first before any treasure of the world.  This praise of God and telling of His Name is the greatest of almsgiving.  Do you think it is the two coins which save the widow, or can you see the heart for God from which they are offered?  Do you think the widow is giving her coins for show, or is it obvious to you that it is her love of God which drives her to this act?  We can easily surmise that this woman's life is one of prayer to God, a genuine prayer unlike the vanity of the scribes, and it is this which most pleases God and saves her very soul; for she is empty of all else but Him.  And of all the many acts of kindness Tobit has performed, all the dead he has buried and offerings he has given, perhaps none is above his obedience to the angel's final command:  “Write down all these things that have happened to you.”  For by his laying down of his life and the Lord's marvelous grace working in it, more than two thousand years later, we still receive the spiritual gifts contained therein; his praise of God with “full voice” still comes to our ears and gives us hope that we too might be raised up from any vanity in our own generosity and see the face of God. Let us praise the Lord with all our lives and give all our selves to Him.  Let us live to praise the Lord. ******* O LORD, let us praise you with full voice; let us give all we have to you. YHWH, you call us to give alms that our souls might be saved.  By our generosity you shall know us, if it is in union with you.  For all must be done in your NAME and for your praise, or all is quite worthless.  Indeed, a little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness; and so, whatever we give without giving glory to you is given in vain, but if we give a penny (which is all our lives are worth) in praise of your goodness toward us, how blessed we shall be! LORD, all you do is for our good, whether you scourge us or raise us up in your mercy, for all is done to bring us closer to you.  Until all our lives are in your hands, your angel you send to test us and to heal us, to turn us back to you – all empty show be taken forever from our souls that we might dwell humbly with you in glory. Let us not care for the riches of this world even should they increase, but set our hearts on praise of you alone… and the doing of your will with all we have and are.

(Tb.11:5-15;   Ps.146:2,7-10;   Mk.12:35-37) “The Lord gives sight to the blind.” Now in His teaching Jesus truly begins to open the eyes of the people.  We have witnessed this week His fielding their questions regarding theology and the law, but He now takes a step further, revealing to them and to us the Truth itself – that He Himself is the Son of God.  “The majority of the crowd heard this with delight.”  Many eyes begin to open, many hearts begin to see… but will they remain so joyful when Jesus reveals Himself to them completely (on the cross)? And of course, our first reading speaks principally about the opening of Tobit's eyes, as he who has been blind these four years is healed by the fish gall acquired through the intercession of the angel Raphael.  But the reading is really about more than this: it shows the love of his parents in their longing for Tobiah's return.  Notice that as his eyes are opened, Tobit exclaims, “I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!” as he weeps with his arms around him.  And at the very beginning of the reading we find Anna, his mother, “watching the road,” looking desperately – she has been there for weeks – for Tobiah to return from his journey.  When she sees him, she, too, throws her arms around him, and says, “Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!” as she sobs aloud…  It is not so much the fish gall that has cured Tobit's blindness, for the light of his eyes, that which causes them to see, he himself ascribes to Tobiah his son.  And it is not so much seeing Tobiah that brings such absolute joy to his mother, as it is being with him again, knowing that he is alive – for she had seriously feared him dead. Brothers and sisters, are we like Anna and Tobit?  Do we watch vigilantly for the return of the only Son of God?  We proclaim that our eyes have been opened to know Him as our Savior, but is He truly the light of our eyes?  Even today do we make seeing Him and knowing Him the life that brings breath to our souls and makes our hearts beat?  Are we the “oppressed,” the “hungry,” the “captives” – those who are “bowed down” of whom our psalm speaks – who will thus know His “justice,” His “food,” His “freedom”… His “resurrection”? We must love dearly our Holy Catholic Church, for it is essential here on this earth, where it is the keeper of the Father's vineyard; but we must remember Jesus goes beyond religion, beyond theology and laws.  For He is more than these.  He is what sets us apart from any other religion, for He is a person, the second Person of the Trinity – God.  Let us open our eyes and our hearts and follow Him with our lives, knowing He is our only Son, our hope, the light of our eyes.  For He who is the Son of Man is also the Son of God. ******* O LORD, open my eyes that I might praise you forever. YHWH, it is you who give sight to the blind, you who set captives free.  Your Son is indeed light to our eyes and salvation for our very souls.  Give us new life that we might praise you all the day. You keep faith with us, O LORD, for though we wait many days, though we must hope even in the darkness, you do not disappoint our expectations – you do not take back your Word.  Your Son has come among us now and revealed your glory to our eyes.  He who lived before us has been born into our midst and died for our sakes.  Now His enemies become His footstool.  Now His reign has begun.  And those who have longed for His coming rejoice in praise of your holy NAME. O may He return soon to us!  For blindness besets us yet while we dwell upon this plane.  Send your angels to bring Him back to us, O LORD, that forever we might look upon His face.  Give us courage now; raise up the souls that are bowed down.  Alleluia!

(Tb.6:11,7:1,9-14,8:4-7;   Ps.128:1-5;   Mk.12:28-34)  “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two great commandments rest all the Law and the Prophets.  By them we shall be “not far from the reign of God.”  In them the Lord leads us into His bridal chamber, where we shall be made one with Him in glory forever.  Here on earth we dimly mirror the love of the Lord for His Church in our marriage of husband and wife; in this, love of neighbor is known in its most intimate and complete way.  But always love of God must precede love of any creature, for it is “those who fear the Lord” who are happy, who “eat the fruit of [their] handiwork” and see their children prosper.       Tobiah has such love.  Such strength of love does he have in his heart for Sarah that he hesitates not at all even in the face of death.  Seven have died before him, but he gives fear of this not a thought.  And it is not in his lust that he takes such great strength; he is not led foolishly by his eyes and his loins.  It is indeed his fear of the Lord, the love for his God and his desire to keep His commands, in which he finds unwavering hope.  Even from his marriage bed does he rise to invoke the name of God, demonstrating his “noble purpose.”  He recognizes that God first must be praised, and that it is He who gave Adam his Eve. Jesus loves us just so, brothers and sisters, and even greater than this is His love for His bride.  He heeds fully the command of God regarding His Church: “Take her and bring her back safely to your father.”  He comes to us, as it were, on a long journey, the angels of the Lord blessing His steps, and seeks without fear His rightful wife, who has languished so long surrounded by death.  This death He takes upon Himself, facing it with faith and prayer alone to show us the love God has for us, and that we must have for one another.  And wedding us unto Himself, He redeems us from the death we have known and makes us so fruitful in His Name.  Yes, brothers and sisters, we must love the God who has loved us so, and love one another the same. May God bless all marriages; May they witness to the love the Lord has for His Church. Amen. ******* O LORD, if we but love you and our neighbor, all will be well; we will approach the kingdom of Heaven. YHWH, you are love and love is stronger than death; so those who love you shall conquer death and live forever in your love.  O let us but love! The demons are ever round about, dear LORD, working to take the life from us, the life that is rooted in you and blessed by you – the life which you yourself are.  Let us have your angels to guide us through the darkness of this earth to your unending light; teach us to love you with all our being, to keep nothing back from you.  By our trust and in our prayer may we be saved from all evil.  If we but praise you with all our heart, you will certainly hear our plea. No lust let there be in any marriage bed, O LORD, but may every husband take his wife with you and your purpose in mind.  Then shall all be blessed; then shall all creation praise you… then shall love be known to the ends of the earth.  Then shall all the devils flee and your kingdom come to be present in all souls.  Let us take our place in Heaven with you and your Son!  To Him let us be wed.

(Tb.3:1-11,16-17;   Ps.25:1-9;   Mk.12:18-27)  “He is the God of the living, not of the dead.” Rich readings.  First of all, we see the striking similarity between the story woven by the Sadducees to thwart the wisdom of the Lord and the situation in which Sarah finds herself.  In both cases, seven – the number representing fullness – husbands have died.  In one the wife has also died; in the other, she wishes for death.  And in both there have been no children, no fruit, no new life.  Death in its fullness is throughout today's readings, as even Tobit begs to die. In addition to death, our readings are also clearly about prayer.  In our first, Tobit and Sarah pour out their hearts in tears before the Lord whom they so love.  Our psalm is the lifting up of the soul in prayer to God by the humble.  And the Sadducees questioning of Jesus is also a kind of prayer, though one which comes from a hardness of heart, inauthentic and insincere. And what has the Lord to say of death; what is the answer to these prayers?  We often hear that God always answers our prayers, though often in ways we do not expect.  Such is the case here.  Neither Tobit nor Sarah will get the death they seem to seek; instead, Raphael – the angel whose name means “to heal” – “was sent to heal them both.”  And the Sadducees, “who hold there is no resurrection,” will not find confirmation for their creed which clings to death as the end of all.  Yet all will be answered according to the disposition of their hearts, and in this sense all receive exactly what they seek, for the Lord looks upon the heart.  The prayer of Tobit and Sarah is not really to die but “to be delivered from such anguish” – it is healing they seek, and this they shall find.  And the Sadducees, who do not really seek an answer of the Lord regarding resurrection, whose hearts are closed to the life-giving power of God, will likely not hear the words of Christ… and so by their ignorance come to adhere more firmly to their creed of death.  We do get what we ask for.  As our psalm tells us, the Lord “teaches the humble His way.”  The compassion and kindness which are synonymous with God are known to those who trust in Him; but “those shall be put to shame who heedlessly break faith,” for the compassion of our Lord finds no place in them.  For them there is no hope, no life, no resurrection from the dead… and they shall not know how God answers prayer. Brothers and sisters, let us pour out our hearts before our Lord and God, and know His healing grace, and find His everlasting life.     ******* O LORD, though we wish to die when amidst the persecutions of this race, let us be resurrected with you. YHWH, hear our prayer and save us from the insults of your enemies.  Let us not be overcome by darkness or by sin.  You are our God and you answer all our pleas; let us not be put to shame. You look upon the heart, O LORD, and listen to our true desires.  Every prayer you cannot help but answer according to the faith by which it is offered.  You give us what we ask for, not in our words but by our intention.  And so, you thwart the insincere prayer of the wicked, but are merciful to those who are humble before you. And you protect us, LORD, from every attack of the devil.  Those who break faith heedlessly shall not triumph over your righteous ones; they shall be turned back by the power of your Word.  For in life alone you dwell – in you there is no death – and so those whose hearts desire life in your presence shall rejoice… even as those who do not believe fall helplessly into the earth.

(Tb.2:9-14;   Ps.112:1-2,7-9;   Mk.12:13-17)   “The heart of the just man is secure, trusting in the Lord.”   Today in our reading and gospel we find just men put to trial and testing.  Our Lord is steadfast before the devious inquiry of the Pharisees and Herodians, answering them with a wisdom greater than Solomon's; for what can Jesus, who is Himself the Word made flesh, do but take refuge in the Father with whom He is one.  And so wisdom is His to answer His foes, and He is unmoved, indeed moving with “amazement” those who would trap Him. The heart of Tobit does not remain as secure.  We see in his anger that his trust in the Lord has been shaken.  He has always been just, generously giving to those in need, taking the plight of his people to heart.  Indeed, it is after performing a good work – “fatigued from burying the dead [I] went to sleep next to the wall of my courtyard” – that his trial comes upon him.  Here is a man who has done all he could to help his fellow Jewish exiles suffering persecution at the hands of the Ninevites, and now he is stricken with blindness. But the Lord does not leave him alone; He does not cast him out.  For two years his needs are cared for by Ahiqar, and then his wife is able to work to meet their expenses.  And successful she is over and above expectations.  Yet he is prodded into anger by her good reward.  His response (in the words of St. Dorotheus, from today's Office of Readings) “breaks the cover on the passionate anger within him,” an anger, an unease, he has likely been harboring for some time.  It is an anger, we can surmise, that comes from the helplessness his blindness has brought upon him.  He is no longer in control of his fate, but must depend on others for survival.  And though the Lord provides, he finds it too difficult to trust in this provision.  (He may indeed be particularly resentful that it is now his wife who provides for him, taking the role he believes in his heart he should play.) We can certainly understand Tobit's frustration over his condition.  Few but Jesus would stand up well to such trial.  But Jesus is our ideal.  It is to be like Him that we are called.  We shall always need to do battle against the sins that are ever with us, but as St. Dorotheus says of the Christian, “The more perfect he grows, the less these temptations will affect him.  For the more the soul advances, the stronger and more powerful it becomes in bearing the difficulties that it meets.”  Let us set ourselves to trust in the Lord and so ever find security in Him. We must place all in His hands, even unto death, and then we shall be free.    Let not the things of Caesar weigh upon you; you belong to God and not the world.   ******* O LORD, only you can make us secure – let us trust in you and not in money. YHWH, with the things of this earth let us not be concerned; let us know that we are in your hands.  To you let us trust our very lives, and we shall not be disturbed. The forces of the world close in on us, enticing us to fear and anger.  But if we stand strong in the faith, the Spirit will be with us to save us.  In you, O LORD, let us remain. The just man delights in your commands; the upright shall ever be blessed.  Let us indeed remain steadfast, LORD, that we might look down upon our foes. And though persecuted for righteousness' sake, if afflicted for doing what is right let us not resent our fate, but continue to look to you to cure our blindness.  Your Son, O LORD, has suffered the Cross though innocent – why should sinners like us complain? It is hard, LORD, and we do often break, but help us to return to you this day and stand before our accusers with the same faith your Son so peacefully displayed.  Let us give ourselves entirely to you.

(Sir.51:12-20;   Ps.19:8-11;   Mk.11:27-33)   “When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom. She came to me in her beauty, and until the end I will cultivate her.”   Oh how Sirach speaks of his love, of the wisdom that is the light of his life!  He is “resolutely devoted to her” and does “never weary of extolling her.”  To his teacher he gives “grateful praise,” for he treasures her sweetness above all things. “I will ask you a question.  If you give me an answer, I will tell you on what authority I do the things I do.”  So does wisdom speak.  So does the Lord inquire as to what is in the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees and priests.  But there He does not find wisdom's radiant beauty; there He finds nothing, for these leaders are so empty, so pitifully vain.  Rightly do they say, “We do not know,” for there is no light in them – only the dark connivings of the world's greed and pride. And can wisdom answer him who has no ears?  Can she speak to those who do not listen to her voice whispering in their souls?  She does not engage in useless activity and cannot wed herself to those whose spirits are impure, whose hearts are not set on her fruits.  “In cleanness I attained to her,” Sirach happily declares, for he “purified even the soles of [his] feet” to find her.  But these men who weary so easily of her “great instruction,” who would so readily look upon the riches of this world, how can they taste her sweetness?  How can they gaze upon her infinite beauty…? And so the Lord turns away from them.  He cannot tell them “on what authority [He] do[es] the things” they see displayed so powerfully before their eyes, for their eyes are blind and their hearts are turned against Him.  They do not wish to know the answer to their question; they do not truly seek wisdom.  And she does not come to those who do not desire “her secrets.” “The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.”  In silence, in obedience, in humility and purity you will hear the Lord speaking.  And He will guide you to all His grace; and His name alone you will bless and praise.  What great profit you shall find if from your innocence you cultivate wisdom until the end of time.    ******* O LORD, open our eyes and minds to your light, that by the power of the Spirit we might be formed by wisdom into the image of your Son. YHWH, send your wisdom upon us; let her make her home in us.  May we be distracted by nothing of this world as we seek her diligently and with a whole heart.  You will be faithful in giving her to us if it is she we truly desire. The Pharisees could not know your wisdom, LORD, because your wisdom they did not really want.  They cared only for their positions and their goods and what people would say or do to them, and not at all for the truth.  And so the truth escaped them.  Wisdom will settle in with none who do not have an open heart. O LORD, we recognize the authority of your Son, that all wisdom and power are with Him; indeed, that He is your only Son.  Let us delight in His words and give Him grateful praise for all He has taught and done for us.  More precious than gold is the light He brings to our eyes and to our minds, and the love that through Him makes its home in our spirits.

(Sir.44:1,9-13;   Ps.149:1-6,9;   Mk.11:11-26)   “They are as though they had not lived, they and their children after them.”   This line from Sirach could refer well to the Jewish nation symbolized by the fig tree “withered to its roots.”  For “never again shall anyone eat of [its] fruits”; its temple now destroyed shall never be rebuilt.  And yet Sirach speaks not of those who have perished in sin, and so are never to be known again in the sight of God, but of “godly men” of Jewish ancestry who, though “there is no memory” of the particulars of their actions in time – as there is with the great patriarchs and prophets of old – yet are of the race of those “whose virtues have not been forgotten”: the memory of their goodness lives on in the heart of God, and “through God's covenant with them their family endures.” The covenant is removed from the hands of the Jewish people.  This is indicated clearly in our gospel today not only in the withered fig tree, but in Jesus' driving out those who had made their station in His Father's temple.  These shall be replaced by the Lord's appointed servants, and the Church shall be built where the temple once stood.  But this does not mean that the godly deeds of the godly men under the covenant of old are forgotten now that the New Covenant has been instituted; nor does it mean those in His Church are beyond reproach. Let us look more closely at the Lord's interaction with the fig tree, for it can teach us much.  First, Jesus “felt hungry” – He desires our souls.  Then He saw “a fig tree some distance off” – far removed are we from His sacred presence.  He is attracted by its “foliage” – it has the appearance of fruit and life.  But “when He reached it He found it had nothing but leaves…”  There is no fruit upon it to satisfy His hunger; and so for its uselessness He curses it to dust.  As He has done with the faithless Jews, so will He do with the faithless among us. But “it was not the time for figs,” you say, as if to justify your emptiness.  My brothers, in the Lord's kingdom it is always time for figs – we in His Church are ever called to bear fruit in His name, in season and out of season: our souls are required of us this very day.  And if we satisfy not God's hunger for our fruits of prayer and charity, if we too have polluted His house with acts of “buying and selling” instead of the worship demanded of us… if we have gilded the temple to attract the eye but are utterly barren within, what shall He say when He enters our temple area?  What action shall He take against those who serve as thieves of His love?  They shall indeed be blotted from His Book of Life. But those who “put [their] trust in God,” those who serve Him in spirit and in truth, shall not be forgotten by the Lord, whether their names are known in this world or not.  “For the Lord loves His people, and He adorns the lowly with victory.”  It is not the “acclamations from the crowd” in which Jesus puts His heart, but in doing the will of God.  And so all who are like Him shall secure with Him their place in heaven.  “Let the children of Zion rejoice in their King,” for none “in the assembly of the faithful” is forgotten.   ******* O LORD, let us trust in you and rejoice in you… let us bear fruit in your NAME. YHWH, we pray that we shall be remembered by you, that we shall not be cast out of your Temple for making it a den of thieves, for failing to worship you as we ought.  Though we not be remembered by the world, though we perform no great deed worthy of history, yet let us find room in your memory, in your heart – in your Book of Life. The humble you look upon with favor, LORD.  The godly of any age you bless.  You will not remove your favor from any who remain faithful to your Word.  But those who abuse their power, who take for granted your grace upon their souls, these you cannot but cast from your presence as you overturn the tables in which they trust. Let us bear fruit for you, dear LORD, fruit that will last unto Heaven.  May our prayer be made in fidelity and sincerity that we may come to praise you in your kingdom with all those of holy heart.  May our glory never be blotted out.

(Sir.42:15-25;   Ps.33:2-9;   Mk.10:46-52)   “As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord fills all His works.”   “How beautiful are all His works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision!”  “Can one ever see enough of their splendor?”  Yet how blind is man to their glory!  How much we need to receive the Lord's vision. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; by the breath of His mouth their host”; “at God's word were His works brought into being.”  And so, bathed in His grace what can heaven and earth be but a wonder to behold?  Then why is it we see only darkness?  Why are our eyes so blind to His presence in all the creatures He has made only for good?  Is it not that we say “I see”?  Is it not that we tell ourselves, “There.  Now I have God in my hands.  Now His ways I understand”? My poor friends, you can never plumb the depths of God's works, for “even God's holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the Lord.”  It is He alone who “plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; [your] innermost being He understands.”  And He sees as He looks into your soul that you are blind, that you do not see Him as He is… and He longs to call you up closer to Himself.  “The Most High possesses all knowledge”: He remembers the past, He sees the future – the moment is in His hand.  And you yourself He would hold in His hand and move according to His will, if only you would let Him. Come to the Lord like the blind man you are; do not let the scolding of the world hinder your plea to His compassionate heart.  “You have nothing whatever to fear from Him!” for He eternally asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” seeking always to grant you sight.  Then when you feel His touch upon your eyes, be as Bartimaeus and “immediately… follow Him up the road.”  For on that road your vision will ever be increased.  On that road you will learn to “pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness”; you will share in His wisdom and wonder as you “sing to Him [your] new song.”  On the road our Savior trod you will find “the strength to stand firm before His glory.” Rise and walk with Him in faith this day.  “He gathers the waters of the sea in a flask”; “not a single thing escapes Him” – and so He is certainly not blind to your needs.  To His glory He calls you: shine with Him now more brightly than the sun. ******* O LORD, give us the vision to see the beauty of all your works, your presence in everything. YHWH, how blind we are to your glory shining in our midst!  How we fail to recognize Jesus on the road He travels to you.  Why do we not cry out?  Why do we hesitate to proclaim our blindness?  Are our hearts not made for your glory? No one can recount all your wonders, O LORD; we cannot penetrate the heart of all being.  But if we but trust in you, if we but ascribe to you the awesome power and almighty wisdom that are yours alone, then the beauty of your works will become known even to our poor eyes… and we will be able to sing your praise with the stars and the sea and all you have created. At your Word, by the Breath of your mouth, all was made: you spoke and it came to be.  Let us but call out to your Son for pity, LORD, and the glory of your Creation we shall live and see.

(Sir.36:1,5-6,10-17;   Ps.79:8-9,11,13;   Mk.10:32-35)   “Take pity on your holy city, Jerusalem, your dwelling place.”   The prayer of the wise man is good, but I see that the same answer the Lord gave James and John when they asked to sit “one at [His] right hand and the other at [His] left” in His glory, could be given to Sirach: “You do not know what you are asking.”  For neither knows the implication of their request – neither can see that it will only be fulfilled in a painful death. In our gospel Jesus is leading the disciples “on the road going up to Jerusalem,” a crowd following behind.  There He will “fulfill the prophecies spoken in [His] name.”  There He will “fill Zion with His majesty, [His] temple with [His] glory.”  But the keepers of the keys of the temple “will condemn Him to death”; they will thereby destroy the Temple itself.  In this way only will the “prophets be proved true.”  In this way only He will “deliver us and pardon our sins.”  In this way only will He “with [His] great power free those doomed to death.”  For the prophets have said that the Servant must suffer.  The prophets have said that the Son must die.  There is no other way that “three days later He will rise.”  There is no other way for Him to redeem those condemned to die. This must sink into our hearts; this we must understand, we who run so freely from the cross, who think it is a facile thing to “inherit the land.”  The Lord will indeed have pity on our souls; He will indeed answer “the prisoners' sighing” and forget “the iniquities of the past.”  But Heaven is attained only by those who drink from His cup; the glory of God is known only by those who share in Jesus' “bath of pain.”  No other way will we be cleansed of our sins.  No other way will we be made ready.  The cross is the path to the New Jerusalem, and we must walk it with our Lord. And so, be not lazy about the work He has set before you; fail not to “serve the needs of all.”  If you think of yourself and some vain reward, you will never find the blessing which awaits “those for whom it has been reserved.”  His “compassion come[s] quickly to us” if we but share in His blood. ******* O LORD, your Son has come to die that we might be freed from the death of sin; on this path of sacrifice let us join Him. YHWH, you are the eternal God.  We are but sinful men.  And so, how shall we come into your kingdom?  Only by the bath of pain, only by drinking from the chalice of your Son – only by His death on the Cross. He will be condemned to death.  He will be spit upon and mocked.  He will indeed be crucified.  It is we who lead Him there, we who by our sin and selfishness push Him along the road to Calvary.  O LORD, have mercy on our souls! Hear our sighing in this dark prison; let us live in exile no more.  Bring us back to your holy dwelling place… your glory may we somehow know.  We call out to you from the ends of the earth, LORD; have compassion on our cries. Your prophets will be proved true: your Servant will suffer a terrible death.  Give us the courage to walk with Him, LORD, to share in the sacrifice He makes.

(Sir.35:1-12;   Ps.50:5-8,14,23;   Mk.10:28-31)   “The just man's sacrifice is most pleasing, nor will it ever be forgotten.”   Peter is moved today to voice his fear that all that he and his fellow apostles have offered, even their very lives, will not be enough to secure the kingdom of God.  But Jesus reassures all who serve Him: “I give you my word, there is no one who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or property, for me and for the Gospel who will not receive in this present age a hundred times as many… and persecution besides – and in the age to come, everlasting life.”  None should fear that their sacrifice will be wasted, “for the Lord is one who always repays,” and repays in full, multiplying whatever gifts we offer beyond our expectations. “But offer no bribes, these He does not accept!”  You will never be able to extort graces from the Lord, and so should always come without expectation of return.  Make all your sacrifices as “freewill gifts,” for only that which is given “generously” and “in a spirit of joy” does He smile upon.  Bring your gifts to the altar expecting nothing but the cross, in this find your return, and the glory of the resurrection shall indeed be yours.  You must learn from those whom the Lord rebukes, though their “holocausts are before [Him] always” – only “he that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies” the Lord, and so you must find joy in your cross. Oh how “the just man's offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.”  “He who observes the commandments” and “gives alms,” he who performs “works of charity,” who “refrain[s] from evil” and “avoid[s] injustice”… oh how this man “pleases the Lord”!  For his life is as a “sacrifice of praise,” an offering of peace and an atonement for sin, which cannot but reach to the throne of God.  Yes, “to him that goes the right way [the Lord] will show the salvation of God.”  Of this you can be assured.   ******* O LORD, the more we give you our lives, the more we are blessed, for the more we are of you. YHWH, what is it you desire from us but to be generous as you are, to share all your gifts with others?  None is more generous than you; none could give a greater number of blessings here on this earth and in the heavenly kingdom.  Yet, do we trust in you and in your generosity, in the great wealth that only you possess? All things are in your hands, O LORD.  Let us learn this simple lesson.  All things are in your hands and you give them freely and abundantly to those who serve you faithfully.  Though there be a cross we must bear in this world, how light it is made by the graces you pour upon us, by the love you share with all your disciples. And so, let us give alms, let us be just, and let us do all with a cheerful countenance; and we shall reflect your glory in this world and carry even now your presence in our souls.  LORD, to the end let us follow in your way and offer ever a sacrifice of praise, and your blessings will be forever upon us.

(Sir.17:19-27;   Ps.32:1-2,5-7,11;   Mk.10:17-27)   “Jesus fixed His gaze on them and said, ‘For man it is impossible but not for God.'”   With these incisive words and particularly with this intent look, Jesus “encourages those who are losing hope.”  His disciples are “completely overwhelmed” at His statement: “It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God,” and to keep them from falling into despair at the impossibility of such a proposition, He seeks to teach them that “with God all things are possible.”  For truly none can be saved but by the grace of God. “As Jesus was setting out on a journey a man came running up, knelt down before Him and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to share in everlasting life?'”  How like “the penitent [for whom] He provides a way back” is this man on his knees before the Lord today.  And even after the Lord seems to rebuff his advance, how he persists, begging further word from the Master with the reply to Jesus' listing of certain commandments, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my childhood.”  Please tell me more, he seems to cry out.  And so “Jesus looked at him with love,” a love that is beyond the bounds of this world and beyond the bounds of the law – a love that makes all things possible, even the attainment of the kingdom of God, even for us wretched sinners.  “How great the mercy of the Lord, His forgiveness of those who return to Him!”  “Happy is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered”; for among the dead we would be if not for His divine mercy. But oh “how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”  Though wrought with the Lord's grace, how difficult it is to accompany Christ on His journey.  For our hearts are not on His love but on the things we must give up, and so, how readily we turn away in sadness.  It is indeed out of love Jesus calls the rich man from his possessions to His side; this is indeed an immeasurable grace pouring forth from the heart of God… but who among us can accept it?  Who among us truly seeks everlasting life? “God watches over the host of highest heaven, while all men are dust and ashes.”  While “the thoughts of flesh and blood” are obscure, as the wise man tells us, and his possessions of even less consequence; while the sun itself “can be eclipsed” and all things of the earth are passing… yet the kingdom of the Lord endures and holds promise of shelter for the contrite spirit of a humble man.  For dust may pass easily through the eye of any needle, and we can be united with the vision of God; for us too all things are made possible, if we humble ourselves in the ashes – if we fall sincerely at the feet of the Lord, and accept His word.  ******* O LORD, help us freely renounce all of this world. YHWH, please help us to inherit eternal life; though we must die first, though we must give up all things of this world, let us not look at what is lost but what is gained, being forever with you in Heaven. Why should we prefer the riches of this life to life everlasting; why should we not want to be at Jesus' side even here where we stand?  It is a fool who desires passing things to those that last; LORD, give us the wisdom and courage to do what is right. You would let nothing stand in our way to you, LORD; all blindness and sin you would drown in the sea.  You would not remember our transgressions against you or our failure to heed your call… let us turn again and kneel before your Son.  Then we shall praise you with all the living on high. It is not death we should fear or the renunciation of our goods.  Let us rather fear disobedience toward you and the loss of the kingdom.  O LORD, truly let us be cleansed of the guilt of our sin, that with clear eyes and open hearts we might follow you.

(Acts 28:16-20,30-31;   Ps.11:4-5,7;   Jn.21:20-25)   “I wear these chains solely because I share the hope of Israel.”   The hope of Israel indeed wears chains.  The Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the nation, is fixed to a cross.  This is the call of all who follow Jesus – to die. But, Peter is prompted to ask as he walks with Jesus and the Lord explicates his dual call to serve as leader of the Church and to die for his faith, “What about him?”  What about John, who follows them?  The question pertains not simply to whether or not John also must suffer a martyr's death, but principally – as the principal call of Peter is to feed the Lord's flock – to why Jesus does not call John to serve as His first of priests, standing in His stead, for it is clear to all that John is “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Jesus responds, “Suppose I want him to stay until I come,” suppose He does not want John to pour himself out as a libation on His holy altar… that should be of no concern to the Rock of the Church.  Jesus calls whom He wills to what He wills for His blessed purpose.  And John is not called to die, or to lead. John is, in fact, the only one of the Twelve who does not suffer a martyrdom of blood.  He does remain until a very old age.  His martyrdom is white, that of suffering a long life.  And in several ways he remains ever with the Church on earth, in a sense, as the Christ's beloved Church.  It is he to whom the Blessed Mother is entrusted, she who is with us always to nurture us here on our journey.  And in our gospel today, the principal call of John is most evident: he is called to “witness to… the things that Jesus did” and to “record them.”  “It is he who wrote them down,” he who is the great Evangelist – he whose words remain with us even today as we read his gospel throughout the most blessed season of Easter.  And, of course, it is he who, in his old age, while exiled on the island of Patmos, will receive the great vision that has become the Book of Revelation, thus telling us so thoroughly not only of Jesus' life on earth, but also of His life in heaven. In our first reading, Paul is “allowed to take a lodging of his own.”  Though “a soldier was assigned to keep guard over him… with full assurance, and without any hindrance whatever, he preached the reign of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”  What Paul does in earthly chains for two years – for soon he, too, shall be martyred for the faith – John does, in a sense, endlessly, or at least until its natural end. “The Lord is in His holy temple…  His searching glance is on mankind.”  He calls all to the martyrdom He chooses.  Let us each wear the chains He provides, each find the place in the kingdom to which He leads us, knowing always that “the upright shall see His face.”   ******* O LORD, however much we speak of you, there is more to tell; you far surpass our poor witness, O hope of Israel. YHWH, if we must stay here in rented lodgings, let us witness to you with our lives.  If today we must die, let our blood be shed upon your altar of sacrifice.  Whatever we do, whether we live or die, let it be done for you. We do not know how long we shall dwell upon this earth, O LORD.  We do not know when we shall die and come with you to Paradise.  But we know that your call is upon our souls, that while here we wear your chains and before us is set your Son's Cross.  And we know the source of both the chains of this life and the death we must die is the hope we bear in our souls, the hope of entering into your reign.  And we know that your reign is alive in us even this day. Peter is the first of priests, sacrificing himself in the place of your Son upon your holy altar.  John, your beloved, witnesses to you with his love and in the words he speaks to us.  If we must stay and write, O LORD (vision of you upon our souls), or if we must bleed and die, let all be done for you who dwell on high… and let us join you in your Temple.

(Acts 25:13-21;   Ps.103:1-2,11-12,19-20;   Jn.21:15-19)   “When you are older you will stretch out your hands, and another will tie you fast and carry you off against your will.”   And so the Lord “indicate[s] the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God.”  And by his laying down of his life, this leader of the apostles shall indeed feed the Lord's sheep. After “they had eaten their meal,” when there was nothing to distract them – as the apostles gazed at the wonder of the risen Christ before their eyes – the Lord quietly speaks to Peter in the hearing of all.  Three times Jesus inquires of His blessed Rock, calling him by his earthly name to assume the name heaven has assigned him.  Three times the risen Lord asks, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” and three times Peter must publicly declare his love for God above all things, three times negating his previous denials.  It is a simple scene, but beautiful, and remarkably weighty.  Not only does Jesus place the care of the Church into this poor apostle's hands, but He speaks clearly of the sacrifice His Rock must make, teaching him what love of God and care for His people entail… nothing less than death. And of Paul's death for the Lord we continue to read.  Though the Apostle does not himself appear in our first reading, he is spoken of clearly.  Two things we learn of him: first, he is a “prisoner” “kept in custody”; second, the reason for his arrest – he differed with the Jewish leaders “about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed is alive.”  In his imprisonment is Paul's death and in his profession of the risen Lord he shows his love for God and the people.  Here he clearly follows in the steps of Jesus, fulfilling his call from the Lord. And, brothers and sisters, the call to death, the call to love of the Lord and care for all His children, is all our own.  What the Lord speaks to Peter He speaks indeed to all the apostles seated there on the shore in Galilee; and He speaks the same in our hearing today, calling all who would follow Him in the same way.  And follow Him we must.  It is only by this same sort of death that any of us will come to life; it is only sharing in His cross that we will find the resurrection.  We cannot see the risen Lord, nor rise ourselves, if we are not willing to die for Him and with Him. But do not fear: “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”  Neither Festus nor Felix nor King Agrippa nor the Jewish elders can judge Paul, for he is only in God's hands.  And so, though we be dragged to certain crucifixion, the world holds no sway over our souls – the life the Spirit provides and the strength He instills cannot be destroyed.  Let us stretch out our hands freely to embrace our blessed Lord and “all His benefits” receive through our sharing in His sacrifice of love.   ******* O LORD, may we declare our love for you by laying down our lives for you who are above all. YHWH, you rule over all from your throne in Heaven, and so, though brought before the rulers of this world, what need we fear?  Though to death you call us all, we have your blessing to protect us and your Church to feed us along the way.  With your Son's Body and Blood you feed us, and so, again, what need we fear? It is a blessing to witness to your Name and your Son's resurrection before the powers that be in this world, for then by your grace we serve to bring your kingdom forth to take its place amongst all.  Thank you, O LORD, for this gift you give us, to share in the work of your Christ. And thank you, LORD, for your call to Peter and His obedience in laying down His life, His following in the path upon which Jesus leads us, that we might know the way we should travel and have the Church's protection, the food you give us at the hands of the apostles all through our earthly life.

(Acts 22:30,23:6-11;   Ps.16:1-2,5,7-11;   Jn.17:20-26)   “I set the Lord ever before me; with Him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.”   Yes, “the Lord appeared at Paul's side” at night, in prison, after his testimony and the near riot it caused in Jerusalem.  He comes to encourage him, to strengthen him for further trials; and through all Paul shall remain strong. “Keep me, O God, for in you, I take refuge,” David prays, and sings of the confidence his heart and soul find in the Lord, his “allotted portion and cup… who hold[s] fast [his] lot.”  He knows deep in his spirit that the Lord “will not abandon [his] soul to the netherworld, nor will [He] suffer [His] faithful one to undergo corruption.”  And certainly, the same faith Paul exhibits; the same trust in the Lord, Paul holds in his own spirit.  He, too, is not disturbed, though he finds himself “on trial now because of [his] hope in the resurrection of the dead.” And whence comes such confidence?  How can a man so attacked, a man so beaten and cursed, be so without fear?  Does not Jesus answer this question in His prayer to the Father, which we are all blessed to hear?  Here He prays that we be one in Him even as He is one with the Father.  Here He asks that our “unity may be complete.”  And if our unity is complete with the Father and with the Son, as well as with one another, what, brothers and sisters, have we to fear?  If the love of God which the Father “bore [the Son] before the world began” is in our hearts now, what can disturb them?  “That your love for me may live in them, and I may live in them” is Jesus' prayer to the Father for us all – and do you think the Father does not listen, does not answer His Son?  He would have us in His company where He is, gazing upon His glory – and this is where Paul dwells.  And so he cannot be moved. “You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.”  The Spirit brings us now that of which David sings, that which Paul knows, that all might know the glory of God, that all might be one in Him, and so, safe from all harm.  As Jesus is resurrected from the dead, so shall we all be.  What have we to fear?  We must but set Him before us always.  ******* O Lord, let your love live in us that we might make your Name known with faith and courage.   YHWH, in you we take our refuge, and so we pray that you keep us ever close by – with you at our right hand we shall not be disturbed.  Please answer your Son's prayer that we be in His company where He is, with you in eternal glory.  You will not abandon our souls to the nether world, and so, encourage us as you have Paul, with your presence at our side.  In your Spirit may we find confidence to bear witness before all. Jesus has been resurrected from the dead and with Himself He would bring us to your glorious presence.  What need we fear with His power upon us?  Why should we be afraid when His Spirit is with us, showering on us your love?  In you we should but rejoice for the eternal protection you give us in your holy NAME.  To life we shall come even this day, O LORD, for we have believed in your Son and so share in the glory of His resurrection.

(Acts 20:28-38;   Ps.68:29-30,33-36;   Jn.17:11-19)   “O Father most holy, protect them with the name you have given me.”   In our gospel today Jesus prays to the Father, “who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens,” to “guard [His disciples] from the evil one.”  And the parallels continue between His and Paul's parting words, as the Apostle warns his own disciples, “When I am gone, savage wolves will come among you who will not spare the flock,” and therefore exhorts them to “be on guard.” It is the Lord's earnest desire of the Father that we His disciples “be consecrated in truth.”  If truth be with us, if the Holy Spirit He promises to send be ours, the “careful watch” Jesus has kept “as long as [He] was with [us]” will continue.  In fact, Paul's instruction to the elders of Ephesus to “shepherd the Church of God, which He has acquired at the price of His own blood” – blood the Lord is about to shed in our gospel – will be realized, and His apostles will become themselves those who care for the safety of the people of God.  “I consecrate myself for their sakes now,” Jesus says, offering Himself, His blood, as sacrifice for the Church; and Paul commends his disciples to this same Lord, “to that gracious word of His which can enlarge [them], and give [them] a share among all who are consecrated to Him.”  In His name all are saved. “Awesome in His sanctuary is God, the God of Israel; He gives power and strength to His people.”  David sings mightily of the majesty of God, whose “voice resounds, the voice of power,” and calling all to “confess the power of God!” indicates how we share in that great power.  In declaring of the Father, with Jesus and with Scripture, “Your word is truth,” that truth in essence becomes our own; we are thereby consecrated to it.  And so Paul can exhort those he has placed in positions of power: “Keep watch over yourselves, and over the whole flock the Holy Spirit has given you to guard,” for he knows as long as (like Paul) they do not “set [their] hearts on anyone's silver or gold,” as long as they work tirelessly to “help the weak,” to serve the Church, they shall indeed be sharing in the power and authority of God. Brothers and sisters, we “do not belong to the world” but to God and to His truth.  His Spirit is with us to guide us and protect us here on our journey through death to life.  As we humble ourselves in prayer before Him, He hears and answers all our needs.  Remain in Him this day.   ******* O LORD, shepherd your flock in the truth; keep all falsehood from us. YHWH, let us be consecrated in your Word, in your Word of truth, that we might share in your might and power, that we might be protected by your Name.  As your Son sends His apostles forth, so these apostles send others forth, all sharing in the power that comes from you by the Spirit upon your Church.  May we all be one with your Son as He is one with you, and so may we all do your will despite the persecutions of this world. We do not belong to the world, O LORD, but to the One who has left this world to come to you in your kingdom.  Help us to follow where He leads by your power from on high.  Your Spirit fall upon us this day to give us strength to accomplish the work you set before us.  From your sanctuary come to us and with us here remain, that we shall never turn from you along this narrow way.  From generation to generation let your Word go forth till all your children are consecrated in your truth.

(Acts 20:17-27;   Ps.68:10-11,20-21,33;   Jn.17:1-11)   “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son that your Son may give glory to you.”   A day of departures.  A day of final words and commendations.  Paul bids farewell to the leaders of Ephesus, declaring his faithfulness to them; and Jesus prays to the Father in the hearing of the disciples, calling the Lord's blessing upon them. “The Holy Spirit has been warning me from city to city that chains and hardships await me,” Paul confesses as he makes his way to Jerusalem; Jesus now has the cross directly before His eyes, having supped for the last time with His disciples.  “Never did I shrink from telling you what was for your own good, or from teaching you in public or in private,” Paul reminds his disciples; while Jesus states to His Father: “I have made your name known to those you gave me out of the world.”  “I have never shrunk from announcing to you God's design in its entirety,” Paul declares; “I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do,” Jesus says to the Father.  And as Paul hopes, “If only I can finish my race and complete the service to which I have been assigned by the Lord Jesus, bearing witness to the Gospel of God's grace” –  not caring for his own life or any suffering ahead –  Jesus' only concern as He moves toward His own death and His return to the “glory [He] had with [the Father] before the world began” is that the Father will bless His disciples, for, as He says, “It is in them that I have been glorified.”  These who remain in the world, as has Paul, are those who bring His glory forth, even as Jesus has revealed the glory of the Father. The hour of death has come but “God, who is our salvation… controls the passageways of death” because He “bears our burdens.”  The Lord Jesus Christ has borne, and will bear, all the temptations the devil can mount – the greatest of these illusions being death – and has conquered them all.  And now His disciples follow in His footsteps, like Paul, who has “served the Lord in humility through the sorrows and trials that came [his] way.”  By this sacrifice the Lord “restored the land when it languished,” and now all are called to “repentance before God and… faith in our Lord Jesus” to know that redemption.  This life that comes from His death is the glory of the Lord that goes now forth. ******* O LORD, we must leave this world to come to you, but you control the passageways of death – let all be done in your Name. YHWH, what do you desire of us but sincere repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus?  We glorify you by glorifying Him, by keeping faith in Him and witnessing His Gospel to all.  May we ever preach the kingdom as has the Apostle Paul and so complete our mission here in union with your Son. O may we come to eternal life!  May we truly know you and your Son.  May we share in your glory as He has prayed.  O LORD our God, may we make your Name known to all, never shrinking from your call upon our souls, and leave this place blessed by you.  Keep us ever in your truth and love until the day we join you in Heaven. The hour has come, O LORD.  Your Son has been glorified by you, returning to the glory He had from before time began.  And now in us He seeks to be glorified, to continue the work of eternal life here on this earth.  Death is not far from any of us; may we die in you and so be freed from all the chains of this world.

(Acts 19:1-8;   Ps.68:2-7,33;   Jn.16:29-33)   “You will suffer in the world. But take courage!  I have overcome the world.”   “An hour is coming – has indeed already come – when you will be scattered and each will go his way, leaving me quite alone.”  Yet the Father is always with Jesus, even as He faces His imminent execution, and Jesus is with us by the power of the Spirit through all the trials we face. “In me you may find peace,” the Lord assures us, bearing out the words of David's psalm: “The father of orphans and defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling.  God gives a home to the forsaken; He leads forth prisoners to prosperity.”  Such the Father does for the Son, who is brought from being utterly forsaken and alone upon the cross to the absolute fruitfulness and glory of heaven; and so the Son does for His sons, as from His place in the kingdom He delivers us the same grace of salvation and prosperity in His name. In the Lord Jesus, Paul finds his peace and his inspiration, fearlessly defending the Gospel in all synagogues “with persuasive arguments”; and this same fire of the Holy Spirit he imparts to the disciples by Baptism “in the name of the Lord Jesus” and by laying his hands on them.  In these, as in us all to this day, God's grace and power go forth: “The Holy Spirit came down on them and they began to speak in tongues and utter prophecies.”  More than just repentance for sins, this Baptism in the Spirit prepares all to do the work of the Lord despite any difficulties in the world.  It convinces us of the divinity of Christ and causes us to declare in truth to our Lord, “There is no need for anyone to ask you questions.  We do indeed believe you came from God.”  And it enables us to prove such complete faith and trust in the One the Father has sent. When the Baptism of the Lord comes upon us, God's “enemies are scattered”; all doubt and fear are driven from us “as smoke is driven away… as wax melts before the fire.”  And though we need be refined in the crucible that is our earthly life, yet at every moment God is near to preserve the grace and peace He has planted in our souls, to see that our faith does grow.   Lord, be with us always.  Send your Spirit forth. Let the ends of the earth be convinced of your loving presence and the salvation it brings to all hearts.   ******* O LORD, let us be baptized in the Name of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit that even in this world we shall live in your peace. YHWH, when the Holy Spirit comes down upon us, our enemies are scattered, driven away like smoke, and we conquer the world.  His fire burns up every evil and we can but rejoice in your presence, singing praise to your Name.  O let that holy fire be upon us even this day! In the world there are indeed many troubles, many temptations which would cause us to be scattered, separated from you.  But Jesus has indeed overcome the world, O LORD; by His death He has put to death all the wiles of the devil, and so in Him we may take great strength.  Through belief in Him the power of the Holy Spirit is upon us. Dearest LORD, let us not be scattered but indeed by your Word upon us scatter all those who hate you.  Help us fearlessly defend your kingdom that all poor souls might make their home with you.

(Acts 18:23-28;   Ps.47:2-3,8-10;   Jn.16:23-28)   “He went about establishing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.”   In our gospel today, Jesus again assures the disciples, “Whatever you ask the Father, He will give you in my name,” He tells them of the time when He will no longer speak to them “in veiled language,” but “shall tell [them] about the Father in plain speech.”  A most fascinating quote is His statement, “I do not say that I will petition the Father for you.”  So great is our oneness with Jesus because we “have believed that [He] came from God,” that now as He returns to the Father, we go there with Him; and since we are thus with the Father through Him, He need not ask for us of the Father, but we ask ourselves.  When Jesus declares, “The Father already loves you, because you have loved me,” He is telling us that we are indeed one with Him in the Father's love, and so, of course, the Father hears all our prayers. In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear of Apollos, who was “a man full of spiritual fervor.  He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus.”  His love for the Lord is most evident in His “express[ing] himself fearlessly in the synagogue,” in his “vigorous” preaching of Jesus as the Messiah.  He also shows himself to be a humble man, very acquiescent to Priscilla and Aquila, who “took him home and explained to him God's new way in greater detail.”  As strong as he was, and as much as “he greatly strengthened those who through God's favor had become believers,” he was very willing to learn of his weakness.  And so he becomes a model of faith and of the oneness with God we find in the Spirit through the love of Christ.  And so his words are like prayers which never fall short of the glory of God.  And so the Father answers all he has in his heart. “He is supreme,” brothers and sisters.  The Lord Jesus now sits on the throne of God in the highest heavens.  And we who believe in Him become one with Him, and so, one with the Father of all.  And thus do we find all our prayers answered; thus do we find all our work blessed.  Thus do we find ourselves moving as one with the will of God by the love the Father shares with all of us through our faith in His Son.  As great as Apollos and Paul and all the apostles are, we can be, if we but believe that Jesus is God and so share in the Father's love, and so hear the Holy Spirit speaking plainly to our hearts. ******* O LORD, Jesus is your Christ; He reigns with you over all the nations – thank you for sending Him to us that we might be united to you. YHWH, you are King of all the earth, reigning in highest Heaven, and Jesus is the Messiah you send, one with you and born for us that we might be one with both of you through the power of the Holy Spirit.  As your Son returns to you, He brings us with Himself; insofar as we love Him and believe in Him, you love us and so unite us with yourself.  What can we say of so great a gift but, Alleluia!  Praise you, LORD! May the Name of your Son be preached with zeal to all towns, to every soul that longs for salvation, that none shall be left without instruction but all realize the glory to which we are called in you.  With you, O Most High God, may we be joined by the grace found in your Son. All we desire may we ask for this day in the Name of your Son.  And so, O LORD, all shall be as you desire – all will be gathered together as your children.

(Acts 17:15,22-18:1;   Ps.148:1-2,11-14,Is.6:3;   Jn.16:12-15)   “It is He ‘who gives' to all life and ‘breath' and everything else.”   “His majesty is above earth and heaven,” brothers and sisters.  And so our psalmist today encourages all in the heavens and all on earth to “praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted.”  “From one stock He made every nation of mankind to dwell on the face of the earth,” and it is “in Him we live and move and have our being.”  And so should we, “His faithful ones,” not offer Him praise? Brothers, be not ignorant as the men of Athens who thought “the God who made the world and ‘all that is in it,' the Lord of heaven and earth,” as “something like a statue of gold or silver or stone, a product of man's genius and his art.”  Could man with all his intelligence make the sun or wind?  Then how can it be that he might contrive the Creator of these?  Such groping in darkness for the God who is “not really far from any of us” shall not be tolerated forever.  For the time has come to turn on the lamp which lights the room and let all shadows flee.  He who is going to “judge the world with justice” is among us now; it is He whom God “has endorsed in the sight of all by raising Him from the dead.”  And it is faith in Him to which we must come. Jesus promises the disciples that “the Spirit of truth… will guide [them] to all truth.”  It is He who “will not speak on His own, but will speak only what He hears.”  He receives from Jesus, who possesses “all that the Father has,” all that He announces to us.  And Paul is His mouthpiece today, speaking not what he has invented by his erudite learning and fanciful imagining, but rather proclaiming the truth he hears the Spirit inspiring in his soul and burning in his heart. We shall not get to heaven on stairs we make with our soiled hands; they cannot but crumble under the pressure of time and the weight of truth.  Only by obedience to the Spirit who inspires all, shall all find the presence of the “God Unknown” to hearts of stone and minds as fleeting as a wisp of smoke.  “He calls on all men everywhere to reform their lives,” for their scoffing at truth shall bring them alone to a dark room, where there shall be no breath of the Spirit.  But we who know all wisdom comes from God, living in its light are made His children. ******* O LORD, may we know your glory in the Word announced to us by the Spirit Jesus sends. YHWH, the light of wisdom you alone shine by the Spirit of Truth come through your Son.  You are exalted above earth and Heaven, and we cannot approach you by our minds or the work of our hands – only by faith will we come to know your surpassing glory. O LORD, let your glory be announced to all that all might praise you in whom we live and move and have our being, that all might thus come to know themselves by realizing we are your offspring.  If we do not see you, how blind we remain to everything, hopelessly groping in the dark for truth and light.  We cannot make truth, we cannot make you, for it is you who have made us.  May we heed your call to reform our lives, dear LORD, that we might come to understanding, that guided by the Spirit we might come to faith in you and praise your Name forever with all your children in the heavenly kingdom.

(Acts 16:22-34;   Ps.138:1-3,7-8;   Jn.16:5-11)  “Immediately all the doors flew open and everyone's chains were pulled loose.” “Your right hand saves me,” David sings unto the Lord this day in our psalm.  Mighty indeed is His power, and so we should “worship at [His] holy temple, and give thanks to [His] name,” for He has “built up strength within [us]”; by the power of the Holy Spirit He has set us free from our prisons, from the chains of sin. “When I called you, you answered me,” David sings.  And how the Lord answers Paul and Silas as they call unto Him in song of their own.  “After receiving many lashes they were thrown into prison, and the jailer… put them in maximum security, going so far as to chain their feet to a stake.”  Yet what do we find these apostles doing in the deep of the night? – “praying and singing hymns to God as their fellow prisoners listened.”  And God hears their prayers; they bring “a severe earthquake [which] suddenly shook the place, rocking the prison to its foundations” and setting all those inside free of their chains. Can we have a clearer sign of the Holy Spirit's presence and power than this?  Well, yes, because as wondrous as earthquakes are, the truest sign of the Spirit came this night when the jailer “and his whole household were baptized.”  The earthquake and the flying open of prison doors may have opened his heart to hearing the word of God, but his wholehearted acceptance of “his newfound faith in God” is the Spirit's great work.  For what is of greater importance, the stone and steel of a prison cell shaken and cast to the ground, or the salvation of the eternal soul of man? The Lord Jesus has promised to send the Spirit as Advocate to plead our cause and prove us right about our faith in the One who saves from sin.  In justice and in truth He goes to the Father, and from His exalted throne He sends forth the Paraclete to prove His presence with us still; and by the grace and power of the Holy Trinity at work in our midst, “the prince of this world has been condemned” and the prison he built to contain us destroyed. “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart.”  Let us sing to Him, brothers and sisters.  Let us join with David and Silas and Paul, and all the redeemed of the Lord, and “joyfully celebrate with [our] whole family,” with all the children of our God, our everlasting faith in the Father, Son, and Spirit.  From prison we have been released; with the Savior we are risen.  His Spirit is upon us now. ******* O LORD, may we believe in your Son and so be saved from our sin, entering your House with songs of praise. YHWH, you have saved us from certain death, death at our own hands because of our sins.  To our very foundation you have shaken us and served to make us new men.  May all be baptized in your Name! Send your Spirit forth, O LORD, to shake this place in which we dwell, that we might be released from our prisons, from dwelling in our self-made hell.  The chains of this world are easily broken by your power come from above; let us turn quickly from our sin and acknowledge your power and might, and we shall be saved – we and all our household. No fear let us have of the world's efforts to chain your Word, O God.  Despite all, let us sing your praise, knowing the devil has been condemned, and the Spirit will never die in us.  And whatever darkness may surround us this day shall soon pass, and with your angels we shall sing your praise in your eternal kingdom.

(Acts 16:11-15;   Ps.149:1-6,9;   Jn.15:26-16:4)   “You must bear witness.”   The Spirit will come and call to your hearts to speak of the name of Jesus and His salvation.  As He prompts you, you must speak the truth in love, you must go as He calls – you must bear witness.  And sometimes the word you speak, and you yourself, will be accepted with the faith and great hospitality as known in Lydia (who is said to be “one who listened,” for “the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying,” and who generously invited Paul and his companions, foreigners traveling to distant lands, to “come and stay at [her] house”); and other times those who “know neither the Father nor [the Son]” will “expel you from synagogues,” will cast you violently from their midst, and “anyone who puts you to death will claim to be serving God!”  It does not matter.  The Word must go forth, in season and out. How few true witnesses there seem to be today, for in the time and place in which I stand certainly the Word of God is out of season.  False witnesses with strange gospels abound, but the tongue of the apostles is tied, and what is spoken seems to land upon deaf ears.  Those who have no conception of the Holy Spirit and so know neither Father nor Son are emboldened to speak as messengers of Jesus, though the Jesus they know is not the Christ and what they speak but serves to lead the sheep astray.  And where is His Church?  Will no one stand to speak of His love? Today instead of “sing[ing] for joy upon [our] couches… the high praises of God… in our throats,” the houses in which we dwell seem to swallow our souls, and we are left mute in the face of destruction.  And it is hard to say that our faith is shaken, for who can find any faith at all?  Neither persecution nor glad acceptance do we find, for we speak no word to challenge the world. Let us pray to the Lord, brothers and sisters, that He will send laborers forth, that even in this time of lethargy upon His Church, new life is beginning to grow.  For until the end of time the Word must go forth; before then it shall not have reached its goal.  However well the devil may fool us into complacency, we must know that it is always time to preach the Word, for ever will hearts be seeking Him – and ever hands seek to destroy Him.  “The Lord loves His people, and He adorns the lowly with victory.”  This call to the humble must be heard by all. ******* O LORD, let us stand strong in doing your will, praising your Name, come what may.  YHWH, help us to go forth in the Name of your Son, to speak His Word to the world, to bear witness to truth as He has.  For though we be persecuted and even killed for serving you, there will be those who will listen and be saved. Ready our hearts for what may come, O LORD, that we shall not fear in the hour of darkness, on the day the power of the evil one asserts itself.  Help us to realize his power is as nothing and those who do his bidding shall pass like the fading grass.  Only those who hear and heed your voice will stand on the last Day. The faithful will rejoice in you, LORD, and sing a new song to your glory come into our midst by the grace of Christ and the power of the Spirit.  We shall praise you forever in your eternal House.  Even now in prayer we come to dwell with you.

(Acts 16:1-10;   Ps.100:1-3,5;   Jn.15:18-21)   “I chose you out of the world.”   What is the world but heartache and sin; from this the Lord would release us. Jesus tells His disciples: “You do not belong to the world,” and yet, as is most evident in the journeys of Paul, to all the world do the apostles go.  The Master tells them, “You [will] find that the world hates you”; even so, they preach to a world which has no respect for the name they proclaim, who “know nothing of Him who sent” them.  The inevitable persecution they do not fear, the death their work brings they do not flee, but face all in complete readiness. Indeed, Paul is our example of the commitment we all must have to doing the Lord's will in this world.  With great fervor he travels from land to land and, praise God, “through all this, the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers.”  He transmits the Lord's Gospel message to all waiting ears and perseveres through all trials.  For there are those throughout this earth who will listen to the Word that “the Lord is God; He made us, His we are,” and that Jesus is His Son – and Paul cannot help but strain forward to find these hearts which long to “come before Him with joyful song.”  So great is Paul's desire to bring the word of the Lord to those who have never heard it before that he must be restrained by the Holy Spirit.  Twice today in our first reading he is prevented from entering and preaching to lands for which it is not time, finally being called in a vision to those who awaited him.  Paul and the apostles' readiness to do the Lord's will is related clearly in Luke's statement, “After the vision, we immediately made efforts to get across to Macedonia, concluding that God had summoned us to proclaim the Good News there.” We must go where we are called and move as we are led by the Spirit of Jesus the Christ.  Into the world He leads us all to bring His light forth.  Though never of the world, we must encourage all the world to “sing joyfully to the Lord,” to “serve the Lord with gladness.”  By our words and by our lives we must show that we are “His people, the flock He tends,” and others will be drawn from the clutches of a world that hates the truth and into the protecting arms of God. ******* O LORD, let your Word go forth to all the world that all might be saved from the world and come to you. YHWH, should we not rejoice that the world hates us, that it persecutes us and the Word we speak, for does this not show that we are of Jesus, that we are one with Him in following in His way?  And is this not the path by which fruit is born, fruit that will last unto Heaven?  Is this not the way souls are saved and come to rejoice in your kingdom? Help us to remember this, LORD, to remember and desire only to do your will, to follow in the way Jesus leads and bring His Word, His Spirit, to the ends of the earth.  Make your apostles as zealous as Paul to bring the Gospel to all who are open to receive salvation, to know the blessing of being your children. May all souls be grafted onto the tree of your Chosen people.  Let your Church increase in faith and numbers, LORD, until the return of your Son.

(Acts 15:22-31;   Ps.57:8-12;   Jn.15:12-17)   “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”   Do not Judas and Silas fulfill the Lord's command to “love one another”; do not they lay down their lives for the Lord when they bring word “to the brothers of Gentile origin in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia” of the apostles' decision regarding those who have “upset [them] with their discussions and disturbed [their] peace of mind”?  Do they not carry the love of the Lord in their persons as well as in the letter in their hands? And are these not made friends of the Lord even as the apostles and elders, even as those who come to them?  Jesus says to His disciples in our gospel, “I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from my Father.”  And now in the same way these disciples “go forth and bear fruit” as the Lord has commanded by making known to the children of the nations “the decision of the Holy Spirit,” the whole Truth of God's love, thus drawing them into the friendship of Christ. The apostles and elders, who call themselves “brothers” of those of Gentile origin, “have unanimously resolved to choose representatives and send them” to witness of the Lord's love for them; Paul and Barnabas are called by the apostles, those “who have dedicated themselves to the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ” – there is left no doubt of the strength of the decision that is made and the authority by which it comes.  And so “there was great delight at the encouragement [the letter] gave,” for it and those who read it hold indeed the love of God, the absolute truth of the Holy Spirit, by whose power they have been freed from the burdens being imposed upon them and brought into the fold and friendship, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Alleluia! “I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord, I will chant your praises among the nations.”  With David, the Gentile disciples “sing and chant praise” to the living God who is “exalted above the heavens” and “above all the earth.”  The Spirit of the Lord is upon them now by the love that has been laid down before them, and now they too are called to lay down their lives in the Lord's love, as are we all, that friends of Jesus, sons of the Father, may ever be drawn into His holy fold.   ******* O LORD, your love is all we need – help us to worship you with our very lives. YHWH, let us all live in your love and rejoice in the blessing of the Holy Spirit; let us dwell with you in the glory that is above all the earth.  Obedient to your Word, to the rightful authority of your Church, we follow in the way of the Spirit and find ourselves as friends of your Son. You do not make the way difficult for us, but quite simple.  You simply call us all to love.  To lay down our lives for one another, even as Jesus has done, may seem impossible to our corrupted hearts – but in you all is made very easy, for your yourself are love.  O LORD, help us to walk in the footsteps of your Son and so bear the fruit of eternal love. It is clear, dear God, that you desire all to share in your great blessings.  You long to give us all we ask for.  You wish for us peace of mind and heart, and you know this is found only in doing your will, for your will is only love.  Let us heed your command to love, and so chant your praises in the kingdom.

(Acts 15:7-21;   Ps.96:1-3,10;   Jn.15:9-11)   “We are saved by the favor of the Lord Jesus.”   We are told of the Council of Jerusalem, convened to determine if the Gentiles need be subject to circumcision and the Mosaic Law, “After much discussion, Peter took the floor,” and that after he had finished speaking, “the whole assembly fell silent.”  What is there to say after the Rock of the Church has spoken?  And how marvelously his declaration mirrors Jesus' own simple command to His disciples, “Live on in my love.” I am certain that before he stood to speak in the midst of the din of argument that pervaded this first assembly of God's people, Peter heard the words of Jesus speaking to his heart: “Simon, son of John, feed my sheep.”  He remembers his call and the Spirit the Lord has placed upon him as keeper of the keys of heaven.  He remembers, too, the vision the Savior of mankind brought to his mind, instructing him not to discriminate in his sharing of the Word of God.  He therefore reminds his brothers that God “reads the hearts of men,” and particularly of how “He showed His approval [of the Gentiles] by granting the Holy Spirit to them,” just as He had done to those gathered in this assembly.  God “made no distinction… but purified their hearts by means of faith also.”  And would they then place undue burden upon what God has wrought by His own hand? Yes, Peter in his pronouncement sings of the “new song” of the Lord and by doing so encourages all to “sing to the Lord; bless His name.”  He hereby “announce[s] His salvation,” that His glory might be told “among the nations; among all peoples, His wondrous deeds.”  Here he demonstrates how the Lord “governs the peoples with equity.”  The righteous judgment that James makes, now shared in harmony by all assembled, is none other than the judgment Peter has proclaimed – which is none other than Jesus' own word for all to keep the commandment to live in the Father's love that all our “joy may be complete,” that all may be gathered into the Father's kingdom. Scripture says of the House the Father builds here on earth, of Jerusalem, His Church: “From its ruins I will rebuild it and set it up again, so that all the rest of mankind and all the nations that bear my name may seek out the Lord.”  What was the house of David now shelters all the nations – the old Jerusalem has become the new City of Peace held in God's own hand, His Holy Spirit breathing upon its members and giving them life.  By the favor of Christ has this been accomplished; let no man shorten the arm of the Lord.   ******* O LORD, may all peoples be saved by the love your Son bears to us. YHWH, it is by faith you have purified our hearts, and it is to love you call us.  It is by the Spirit we are saved and drawn into your holy kingdom. O let the favors of your Son be upon us, dear God!  His love beat in our hearts and course through our veins.  Yes, let us live in His love and so remain in your joy forever. Your commandments are not burdensome, O LORD, but lead only to freedom, absolute freedom in the light of your presence.  Help us not to take unnecessary burdens upon our shoulders, burdens that would keep us from you and your love.  Let us never quench your Spirit at work in our lives. Work your wonders in our midst, dear LORD, and may we cooperate fully with them, that forever we might sing your praise and bless your holy Name with all our brothers and sisters.  In faith may all souls seek your face, and so find it by your grace.

(Acts 15:1-6;   Ps.122:1-5;   Jn.15:1-8)   “I am the vine, you are the branches.”   And within Him we must remain; nurtured by the Church He has planted we must always be.  We must have His blood flowing in our veins and His Word inspiring our souls.  There can be no separation from Him and from His teaching if we are to bear fruit abundantly, as is the Father's desire. Paul and Barnabas bear fruit abundantly.  As “the church saw them off… they made their way through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling everyone about the conversion of the Gentiles as they went.”  And to each branch of the vine they went, “their story caused great joy among the brothers.”  Here is the vine's growth evident, the blood of the Lord coursing through its veins.  “When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by that church,” too, and there they “reported all that God had helped them accomplish” to the apostles.  Why have they come here to Jerusalem?  Because “in it are set up judgment seats.”  As great as their work had been, yet they knew the necessity to be obedient to the structure of the vine the Lord tends by His hand.  And so when a controversial question arises, Paul and Barnabas “go up to see the apostles and elders in Jerusalem” to find answer. Why Jerusalem?  Because the Church, the New Jerusalem, is “built as a city with compact unity,” and still at this time the Rock, Peter, and the foundation stones, the twelve apostles, reside in this place.  If one separates oneself from the roots of this vine, one effectively separates oneself from Jesus and becomes “like a withered, rejected branch, picked up to be thrown in the fire and burnt.”  “No more than a branch can bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, can you bear fruit apart from me,” Jesus instructs His disciples.  And Paul and Barnabas know the order that must be preserved if the vine is to remain whole, if their work is to be truly fruitful.  So here as to the question of circumcision, the first major controversy in the early Church, “the elders accordingly convened to look into the matter.” “If you live in me, and my words stay part of you, you may ask what you will – it will be done for you.”  The Lord's promise is great.  But to receive such grace we must keep our feet firmly planted within the gates of the New Jerusalem, in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church He has founded.  We should rejoice to “go up to the house of the Lord,” for there we shall find Jesus, there we shall find His vine spreading faithfully to the ends of the earth – in it we shall always be nourished by truth.    ******* O LORD, may your Church bear much fruit in you and in your Son; with you let us be one. YHWH, to your House let us come; in your City let us dwell – in the New Jerusalem let us make our home and we shall ever remain united to your Son and bear fruit in His Name.  Apart from Him we can do nothing, and if we separate ourselves from the Church He founded, we separate ourselves from Him… and His blood does not course through our veins. O LORD, let us display the obedience of Paul and Barnabas to the rightful authority you set up to stand in the stead of your Son.  If we listen to these, we listen to Him, and thus your will is done.  If we take matters into our own hands, what hope have we of salvation, for what does man make but destruction?  Let us not be unfruitful branches fit for the fire but be pruned of all uncleanness of heart by the Word your Son speaks through the apostles and elders of holy Church.  Only in this way will we be one with one another and with you.

(Acts 14:19-28;   Ps.145:10-13,21;   Jn.14:27-31)   “We must undergo many trials if we are to enter into the reign of God.”   “With this instruction” Paul and Barnabas “gave their disciples reassurances, and encouraged them to persevere in the faith.”  Their apostolic journey has been a witness that the road to the Lord is wrought with difficulties, but that it bears great fruit.  These apostles are pursued from towns in which they have preached by those who would destroy them and their word.  Paul is stoned, seemingly unto death.  But their trials do not dissuade these apostles from retracing their steps through the very towns from which they have been ejected and installing elders, priests, in each one, “commend[ing] them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.”  And so they arrived again at the place “where they had first been commended to the favor of God for the task they had now completed.”  Now they are able to relate in joy “all that God had helped them accomplish, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles,” perhaps the greatest feat of the growing Church, the Body of Christ on earth. Of course, Jesus' words to His disciples are the same as Paul's: “‘Peace' is my farewell to you, my peace is my gift to you,” Jesus says, and adds, “I do not give it to you as the world gives peace.”  For the peace Jesus gives is deeper and abides eternally; it remains through any trial of the world for it is not dependent on the consolations that come from earthly things.  And so He can assure them, “Do not be distressed or fearful.”  He can freely invite them into the peace He possesses and to which He returns, as He retraces His steps back to the Father from whom He has come, whence He had first been commended to the favor of God for His mission.  He knows they will suffer, even as He is about to suffer death at the hands of “the Prince of this world.”  But He knows the devil's power “has no hold” on Him, and would have us know Satan has no power over us either.  For we are with Jesus; we are with the Father in heaven.  And though we be as Paul in his persecutions, though we be stoned and “dragged… out of town” and left for dead, the Lord's angels will surround us as Paul's disciples surrounded him – as they come to Jesus in the tomb – and like Paul, and like our Lord, “before long” we shall get up and return to our call; and ultimately we shall rise from the dead to eternal life with Jesus, coming to the home He now prepares. “I go away for a while and I come back to you,” Jesus assures His disciples, and asks them to be joyful that He returns to the greatness of the Father, whose “dominion endures through all generations.”  And so, brothers and sisters, may our “mouth[s] speak the praise of the Lord” all our days; “may all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.”  Let us do as He commands and “discourse of the glory of [His] kingdom and speak of [His] might,” and that power will enable us to endure all things, and we shall be brought at last into His reign. ******* O Lord, though it mean we must die, let us be obedient to your command, that we might enter your reign. YHWH, let us discourse of the glory of your kingdom; let us carry your Word to the ends of the earth.  Let us not fear the trials that must come to all who enter your reign but hold the peace Jesus offers ever in our hearts.  Let us, too, come to you in Heaven. Though we be stoned and left for dead, we shall rise up again, for you, O LORD, are with your disciples, surrounding them with your grace and protection.  As Paul returned even to the towns from which he had been cast out, so let us be ready to enter every battle this world presents, knowing the power you give us is greater than any of this earth, for it overcomes even the Prince of darkness. Let us give you thanks, O LORD, in all the works we do and so make known to all men your glory.

(Acts 13:44-52;   Ps.98:1-4;   Jn.14:7-14)   “I have made you a light to the nations, a means of salvation to the ends of the earth.”   In the preaching of Paul today is fulfilled the words of our psalm, “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.”  Rejected by the Jews to whom he comes, he “now turn[s] to the Gentiles,” and – fulfilling the words of our psalm which read, “Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands, break into song; sing praise” – our first reading tells us “the Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and responded to the word of the Lord with praise.”  Thus does the light of the Lord's salvation go out to the ends of the earth. And our gospel makes clear just how salvation comes to all.  First Jesus declares with wonderful clarity the oneness of the Son and the Father.  When asked by Philip, “Show us the Father,” Jesus responds, “After I have been with you all this time, you still do not know me?”  Notice that Philip's request refers to the Father but Jesus' response refers to the Son, as if to ask of one is to ask of the other.  The Lord then states the truth of His oneness with the living God in plain terms: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”  There is no separation here, and all that Jesus does is done by the Father, so the living Lord of the universe is at work in absolute fashion through the Son's words and works.  In Him the Father's will of love, His desire to save His children from sin and death, is accomplished. But more than this is made evident of the working of salvation, for the Word must reach to the ends of the earth.  How is this accomplished?  The Lord again declares with absolute clarity the oneness now of Himself and His disciples.  In order “to glorify the Father in the Son,” He makes them the solemn promise, “The man who has faith in me will do the works I do.”  And the oneness of Jesus and His disciples is made more poignant in His definitive statement: “Anything you ask me in my name I will do.”  Who does these works of the Lord?  Who brings His salvation forth?  We do the works, do we not?  We are those still on this earth with flesh and bone and voices.  Yet He says “I will do” them to show how He works through us in all we do, to reveal our oneness with Him and the Father. Our first reading tells us, “Almost the entire city gathered to hear the word of God” when Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch in Pisidia.  In this simple line is shown both that the salvation of the Lord is going forth to all, and that it is occurring through His disciples.  For it is indeed “the word of God” that Paul the apostle speaks and not his own, and this Word is irresistible in its truth and love to all hearts open to hear the voice of Him who speaks, for this Word brings only joy.   ******* O LORD, looking upon your Son we see you; when others look at us may they see Jesus. YHWH, you live in your Son, accomplishing your works, and He in His turn works through us.  What grace and blessing you grant all your disciples, that we might share in your very life and work!  Alleluia! And this grace and blessing extends to all throughout the earth; all may know the salvation wrought in men by the only Son.  And so, what can we do but sing to you in joy, for your light is with us even in the persecution your Word brings. O let us be one with you, dear God, even as Jesus is one with you.  To your side let us, too, come; this is your will now that you have revealed yourself to us in your Son.  May we say in truth, He is in us and so we in you.  No separation let us know from your surpassing glory. I pray, O LORD, even the words on this page be spoken not of myself but by you, that your work be accomplished in this poor servant.

(Acts 13:26-33;   Ps.2:6-11;   Jn.14:1-6)   “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”   This same verse appearing in both our first reading and our psalm is spoken also by Jesus in our gospel when He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me,” for such is the Son begotten of the Father. How comforting are Jesus' words in our gospel, and how enlightening Paul's speech.  The disciples' hearts are troubled at the Lord's speaking of His imminent departure; that He must die begins to sink in to them.  But the only Son tells them, “In my Father's house there are many dwelling places,” and, “I am indeed going to prepare a place for you.”  Not only this, He also promises, “I shall come back to take you with me, that where I am you also may be.”  The words come like a river of peace, like a wind of love breathing upon them, and upon us.  And the same message is spoken by Paul to “the children of the family of Abraham and [all] others who reverence our God.”  His is “this message of salvation,” that though the rulers condemned Him to death and “laid Him in a tomb,” “yet God raised [Jesus] from the dead.”  And now His witnesses, those to whom He appeared thereafter, declare the Good News of His resurrection, and our own.  “The words of the prophets which we read sabbath after sabbath” and “what God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, in raising up Jesus.”  This is the word Paul brings to the waiting ears of his Jewish brothers, and which should be heard by us all. “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” brothers and sisters.  The Lord is near and is calling us to His home.  Even as we speak He is preparing a place for us.  The death that you experience day to day is passing away, and all that will be known is the truth, the life of God the Father.  The Lord declares, “I myself have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain,” and Jesus is that King for all ages and all peoples.  With His truth He shatters kings, and so death itself, “like an earthen dish”; He takes “the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for [His] possession.”  He has died, but He is risen, and now all must “serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before Him.”  There is no breaking in to the place He prepares for us to dwell. The devil has been defeated by the Son begotten of the Father; his house has come crumbling down.  We need but follow the way Jesus is to find our home in the New Jerusalem.  Death no longer holds dominion, for the Son is now come. ******* O LORD, you have begotten Jesus and raised Him from the grave we have made that we might be saved, that we might dwell with you forever – Alleluia! YHWH, may we come to you through Jesus your Son; may we follow in His way, for His way is truth and leads to life, and leads to you.  O may we be resurrected from the dead with Him that we might come to new life with you who are Life itself. Let us not be troubled, LORD, by the death Jesus had to die, and the death we too must know.  What is this world and the things of this world in comparison with you?  What can this world do to us if we have Jesus as our guide?  For He shatters the powers of evil like an earthen dish and raises all the faithful from the tomb.  Let us come to the dwelling He prepares for us in your heavenly kingdom. Though He has died, He has been raised, and we shall be raised with Him, all according to your will, Father God.  And on Zion we shall find our home with your eternal King.

(Acts 13:13-35;   Ps.89:2-3,21-22,25,27;   Jn.13:16-20)   “He who accepts anyone I send accepts me, and in accepting me accepts Him who sent me.”   And who is this Jesus who sends apostles like Paul forth traveling from Syria to Cyprus to Asia Minor?  Who is He of whom Paul rises to speak in this distant synagogue?  Two quotes I offer for your consideration.  First is the Baptist's declaration, “I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals”(Lk.3:16).  The second is the mere statement of fact that He “washed the feet of the disciples.”  And so with two questions I will tell you who He is: Tell me, who is worthy to unfasten His sandals?  Then tell me, whose feet does He not wash?  Mary washed His feet with her tears and her hair and knew herself nothing but unworthy to touch Him (Lk.7:38).  Jesus stoops to cleanse the feet of even Judas, His betraying apostle, who will kiss Him on the cheek, but to whom He shall turn the other one.  He heals lepers; children come to Him – none is beyond His humble reach.  Yet this man with the towel around His waist is none other than the Son of God. The Israelites awaited His coming.  Hundreds of years they expected Him.  Paul tells us that “God testified, ‘I have found David son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart who will fulfill my every wish,” and in this Son of David the Father's every wish is indeed fulfilled.  Here is the “Savior for Israel.”  It is of this Christ the Lord speaks when He says, “With my holy oil I have anointed Him, that my hand may be always with Him, and that my arm may make Him strong.”  And He in turn says of the Lord, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock, my Savior.”  So obedient is Jesus to the Father that there is none for whom He will not die; for all He shall drink the cup the Father offers, that the whole world might know the Father's love.  Here is the great “I AM”, “the fulfillment of Scripture,” the WORD made flesh, the image of the living God: Jesus, Son of David, Son of God – God Himself dwelling among us.  And as He was Chosen, so He now chooses, instructing men to go forth. Do “you know all these things”?  Do you see who He is and hear the words He speaks?  Then “blest will you be if you put them into practice.”  For in humble service of the Name of God, with Him you shall “be exalted.”  Bring forth His message of love. ******* O LORD, obedience to the Church is obedience to your Son, and obedience to your Son is obedience to you – may we all be as faithful as Jesus.  YHWH, may we be men after your own heart, men formed in the image of Jesus and so reflecting your glory – may we be worthy to be called your sons.  O let us never raise our heel against you but ever put into practice your humble love. O LORD, you call us to serve as you called David; you anoint us with oil even as your only Son.  Let us, too, be sons of David, calling you our God, our Rock, our Father – in the image of Jesus let us indeed be formed. None is worthy to unfasten the sandals of our Savior.  None of your poor creatures could even touch your Son.  Yet He comes to wash our feet, to touch us with your merciful love.  Help us, O LORD, to imitate Him; help us to reveal your glory in the service we show one another.  Help us ever to declare your faithfulness, made known in your only Son.

(Acts 12:24-13:5;   Ps.67:2-6,8;   Jn.12:44-50)   “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me, to do the work for which I have called them.”   These words came to the Church at Antioch “while they were engaged in the liturgy of the Lord and fasting”; spoken by the Holy Spirit, they show how intimately the Church and her apostles are connected to the Lord Jesus and His Father. In John's gospel, Jesus proclaims, “The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to speak.”  Jesus is sent by the Father.  He is the image of the Father: “Whoever looks on me is seeing Him who sent me.”  In the same way, Barnabas and Saul are “sent forth by the Holy Spirit” through the ministry of the Church, who “imposed hands on them and sent them off” to proclaim the word of God.  Jesus is sent by the Father.  Jesus speaks in the Holy Spirit the words of everlasting life.  Hearing these words His children, His Church, go forth to the ends of the earth.  There is absolute unity in the Church and all its members, as long as we are as obedient as Jesus, our Head, who declares, “Whatever I say is spoken just as He instructed”; as long as we are as faithful to the Spirit's prompting as Jesus is to the Father's will, we shall reflect His glory as He reflects the Father. And what is the glory of the Son of God but to bring light to this dark world: “I have come to the world as its light, to keep anyone who believes in me from remaining in the dark.”  The words He speaks, the instruction He offers and the sacrifice He makes, indeed bring spirit and life to those who listen and obey.  He is true when He says He has not come to condemn but to save, for the world is already condemned by its sin and His words would bring it to life.  And so, if we reject His words, we reject the lifeline He provides, and what hope can there be for us?  If instead of asking that “He let His face shine upon us” and celebrating in joy the salvation that comes “among all nations” – if we do not seek the holy light of God, where else shall we find eternal life?  “His commandment means eternal life”; all other words lead to destruction.  We must follow the Lord and His way. Brothers and sisters, it should be obvious to us that we are called even as Barnabas and Saul and the first Christians in the city of Antioch.  The Spirit of God remains upon the Church, and He would send us forth in Jesus' name to do the work and will of the Father.  Do not reject His call upon your soul; put faith in Jesus and in Him who sent Him, and the Spirit will lead you forth.   ******* O LORD, you speak through your Son and call His apostles to proclaim your Word to the ends of the earth – Alleluia! YHWH, send us forth in the Holy Spirit; in the Name of your Son let us preach to the nations.  Let us be a reflection of Him as He is the pure reflection of you.  He brings your light to us by His presence among us – may we be His presence in this world that your light might shine unto all. In your Son we see you, O LORD.  Though you are hidden from all human eyes, Jesus gives us new vision.  He indeed is Light itself and looking upon Him we see anew: our minds are illumined to look upon you by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Alleluia! For this great gift let us praise you, LORD.  By this great blessing to us you are made known.  Help us to declare to all what you reveal to us, to make you known even to the ends of the world.  Your salvation come to all nations. By faith in your Son we are saved and brought into your presence.  Your Spirit be with us even this day to accomplish your mission.

(Acts 11:19-26;   Ps.87:1-7,117:1;   Jn.10:22-30)   “Of Zion they shall say: ‘One and all were born in her.'”   “I tell of Egypt and Babylon among those that know the Lord; of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,” sings our psalmist today.  Yes, “when the peoples are enrolled” in the kingdom of heaven, when it is noted: “This man was born there,” it shall not be to the soil of Jerusalem to which the angels refer, but to birth in the spirit of the place, in the Holy Spirit Himself, who leads all into the New Jerusalem.  For all nations are called, and it matters no more the land of your origin. This impotence of place and importance of the Spirit is made clear in Jesus' words to “the Jews gathered around Him” “in the temple area, in Solomon's portico.”  To those here in the heart of the city of Jerusalem He says, “You are not my sheep.”  They “refuse to believe” that He is the Messiah and so they prove that they are no sons of Abraham, that they have no faith.  Only those of faith hear the voice of the Shepherd, and only these are admitted into the kingdom.  This He tells them plainly.  For what is He saying when He declares, “The Father and I are one” but that He dwells with the Father in heaven, and not upon this earth.  The earth to which they cling shall pass away, but the kingdom shall last forever. “My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus says, and how that voice does work among all souls.  (For this let us praise the Lord!)  We are told in our first reading that at first “the community who had been dispersed by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, making the message known to none but Jews.”  Here, even though the Word is spread far, it is kept for those born of the land of Zion.  But then the change occurs, and the truth of the Word, which goes beyond all borders, becomes known, for “some men of Cyprus and Cyrene among them who had come to Antioch began to talk even to the Greeks, announcing the Good News of the Lord Jesus to them.”  The church in Jerusalem, the protector of the faith – whose seat is now in Rome – sends Barnabas to investigate.  He finds “the evidence of God's favor” and rejoices to realize the Lord's sheep come from near and far.  Here “in Antioch the disciples were called Christians for the first time.”  Here it becomes clear that there is a new Church being formed, one that finds “eternal life” in following Jesus. “The gates of Zion” “the Lord loves,” and to this holy mountain He brings all, through the Gate that is Jesus.  And “no one shall snatch them out of [His] hand,” for this mountain cannot be shaken, this Temple cannot be torn down.  It is of the life of heaven “all shall sing, in their festive dance” when they proclaim: “My home is within you.”  And this land shall endure forever. ******* O LORD, let us be found in your Hand, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith, living as your Son. YHWH, into your House all faithful souls are called; in your Church all find a home.  We are born into the New Jerusalem by virtue of our Baptism, and so become assimilated to Christ.  And as He dwells with you as your Son, so we become as your holy children, wherever we may come from. Jesus is one with you, dear Father, and we are called to be one with Him.  Though from the Jews He comes, He goes out to all the earth, bringing the light of salvation.  And when by the Spirit we are reborn in Him, when His sacrifice bears fruit in us and we come to eternal life, we become as your City, O God, our names written in Heaven. You establish your Church, O LORD; the New Jerusalem is built up in your Name.  And all who long for truth and love hear the Good News of your risen Son and fly with Him unto your kingdom, where they rejoice all the day.

(Acts 11:1-18;   Ps.41:3,42:2-3,43:3-4;   Jn.10:1-10 or Jn.10:11-18)   “God has granted life-giving repentance even to the Gentiles.”   In his vision Peter sees “an object like a big canvas… lowered down to [him] from the sky by its four corners.”  Upon it he discerns “four-legged creatures of the earth, wild beasts and reptiles, and birds of the sky.”  Like Noah's ark it seems to contain all the animals upon it.  But these animals he sees are not for the good Jew to eat: they are unclean.  And so Peter protests when instructed to “slaughter, then eat.”  But he is assured (and three times), “What God has purified you are not to call unclean,” even as “the canvas with everything in it was drawn up again into the sky.” What is this shepherd to do – he who has been told by the Lord, “Feed my sheep”?  When the uncircumcised come to him seeking salvation, how can he turn away?  And so, as the canvas which came from the sky and returned to the sky, we learn that everything comes from God and returns to Him, and He calls whom He will.  And so the Gentile man whose home Peter enters by the Spirit's direction is “saved, and all [his] household.”  “As [Peter] began to address them the Holy Spirit came upon them,” for they, too, “believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Yes, even these thirst for God “as the hind [who] longs for the running waters,” and so are led to the Lord's “holy mountain, to His dwelling place”; even these “go in to the altar of God.”  For these unclean creatures are made as the pure and obedient sheep of Israel, heeding the Good Shepherd's voice.  Here are “the other sheep that do not belong to this fold” of which Jesus speaks, whom He leads, too, by His loving word. All that He calls shall come to Him who lays down His life for the sake of the fold, by whom all “have life and have it to the full.”  All living creatures are His own, for it is He who is the living God; and all who live, live for Him and through Him alone.  The Son has come from the Father that we might know Him as He knows Him, and so that we might indeed have life.  As good sheep let us follow in His way, and lead those behind us also to salvation.  Let us all “go and behold the face of God” as we turn from anything that makes us unclean in His sight and listen for His voice leading our pure hearts.   ******* O LORD, open the gate that we might enter in and dwell in your presence. YHWH, let all hear and heed the voice of your Son, who is the true Shepherd leading repentant souls to salvation.  Send your apostles into every house that all might hear the call of Jesus, be purged in the fire of the Holy Spirit, and come to dwell in your House, beholding your holy face. Let us be led forth by the Christ to your mountain, O God.  Make us one flock in Him, all as your blessed children.  O let us be as sheep slaughtered for your table, joining your Son on the altar of sacrifice; by His voice let us be cut to the heart and in our repentance become a holy offering to you. False prophets keep far from us, dear LORD, those who work but for pay, who care nothing for your flock.  In the Spirit send forth disciples to lead to running water those who thirst for you, O living God.