The BreadCast

(2Sm.7:4-17; Ps.89:4-5,27-30; Mk.4:1-20) "Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever." David seems intent on establishing the Lord's presence forever by building a permanent house in which He might dwell, but how well our God answers the great king's thoughts with the promise of making "his posterity endure forever." It is the Lord who establishes all, and so He states, "I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance," to show that He thinks of us and loves us first. Though He approves and blesses our desires to care for Him and make Him known, as He shows by revealing to David that his son "shall build a house to [His] name," He cannot be outdone in His love for us. Solomon will build the temple of the Lord, yes, and it will be a great house in which all shall worship God and through which all shall find blessing from God. But the true Son of David upon whom the Lord's favor rests eternally is Jesus Himself. It is His kingdom which truly "stands firm" forever. It is through Him the Lord will "destroy all [our] enemies" and grant us peace round about. He is the seed of David come to full growth, the promise of the king come to fulfillment. This is He whom the Israelites truly sought when first they asked for a king – this is God's blessed answer to their request for one of their own to rule them. It is clear that David is as the seed "sown on good soil" which "yield[s] thirty- and sixty- and a hundredfold." Satan shall not come to carry off what is sown through him, nor shall he "wither for lack of roots" or be choked off by the cares of this world. For as the Lord says of him, "I have been with you wherever you went"; and so His nourishment, the Spirit of the Lord which rushed upon David from his first anointing, remains, too, upon this chosen king. And though he shall sin, and though his sons shall turn away from worship of the true God, yet the Lord's blessing remains. And in the enduring of the Lord's correction "with the rod of men and human chastisements," Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God, by His crucifixion and death opens the way for all children of David, all children blessed by God, to return to the Lord of all and remain with Him forever. The kingdom of Jesus is now established; let us come to this Temple and be saved. ******* O LORD, let us take to heart your Word and align ourselves with your will that we might reign forever with your Son. YHWH, a House you make for us in the Person of your Son. His throne endures forever, and we with Him. O LORD, make us fruitful in your NAME, in the flesh and blood of Jesus. We are worth nothing without your grace, without your blessing upon our race – without your help all our words and deeds would fall to dust. Maintain your kindness toward us, keep the teaching of your Son in our hearts, or we shall be cast from your presence. How shall we hear the Word you wish to impart to poor souls? How shall we learn the lesson of obedience and realize it is you who establish us, who give us a House in which to dwell? You are our Father, our God, our Rock and Savior. In your Son we are made your children and so endure forever in the light of your face. Be with us now and remain with your faithful. Let us be good soil and produce fruit for you.

O holy virgin and spiritual mother to the poorest of girls, whom you protected and guided in wisdom and love, keeping them from the snares of the world and raising them in Christ; you who fulfilled so well the twofold call to love God and save souls – pray for those who so easily go astray this day in a world of great corruption, where souls are in danger of being captured by the wiles of Satan and sin; and pray, too, that there shall be many who desire as you have, with the living love of God, to bring them into His fold.

(2Sm.6:12-15,17-19; Ps.24:7-10; Mk.3:31-35) "Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the King of glory may come in!" In our first reading David leads all the Israelites in, "bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn." "Dancing before the Lord with abandon," he brings the ark into Jerusalem and sets it within its tent or tabernacle. All celebrate this day as they surround the ark on its journey and as David "offers holocausts and peace offerings before the Lord," the ark having come to its place in the city of David. The Lord is in their midst, and so all the people rejoice. In our gospel the ever present crowd of people is assembled, seated "in a circle" around Jesus. They surround the Lord as once the Israelites surrounded the ark – and how their hearts must celebrate at His presence in their midst. And how indeed their hearts must leap up to hear what is said of them: "These are my mother and my brothers." For thus the Lord gathers them into His arms; thus He feeds them better than with the meat of any holocaust – thus they are protected forever by His holy presence. "Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle." He blesses and protects all His children; He makes all who worship Him His own. And what need we do but celebrate; what need we do but shout for joy? For He is present before us. For He enters into us, into the New Jerusalem in which we dwell. Here in His Church we have His Blessed Sacrament to feed us on our way to Him. In this He is already with us, as He is in His teaching and in His priests and in all His brothers and sisters and mothers – "whoever does the will of God" becomes one with Him. We love you, Lord our God, for your presence among us! We praise you, dearest Jesus, for your presence within us! O brothers and sisters, make room for His entry into your hearts and minds, bodies and souls, that you might enter in with Him to His heavenly kingdom. He stands and knocks at the door even now. Will you open and welcome Him into your home? ******* O LORD, let us rejoice before the ark of the Covenant come into our midst in Jesus our King and Brother. YHWH, come into our homes, into our hearts, that we might be your House, one with your Son. He is truly your Temple; let us open wide our gates that He might enter in and make His home with us. Mother and brother and sister of Jesus let us be, O LORD, surrounding Him as His holy family. Let us rejoice at His Word and so follow your will in all things. May He look upon us with mercy and give us of Himself to eat. What should we do but dance and sing and praise your holy NAME for your presence in our midst, for your entering our poor souls and remaining ever with us? O let us offer ourselves to you in sacrifice! that indeed your will might be done in our lives. Come and make your home in us, dearest LORD and God. We feed upon your Word, O LORD, and on His body and blood. May He serve as King over us that we might enter your reign.

O blessed disciples of Paul and shepherds of the Church who imitated so well your father in the faith who imitated only the Lord Jesus Christ and thirsted for His Cross – pray this holy Apostle be our father, too, and you with him, that we too might embrace the Cross; teach us the sound doctrine handed on to you that we may hand it on and all souls might fight the good fight and run the race with Jesus unto eternal life. Pray for all the shepherds of the Church that they be faithful as you have been to rightful authority.

(2Sm.5:1-7,10; Ps.89:20-22,25-26; Mk.3:22-30) "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven." How different are the scribes who come to Jesus from the Israelites who come to David to crown him king. "The tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: 'Here we are, your bone and your flesh.'" So united would they be to him whom the Lord had said would "shepherd [His] people Israel," so well do they remember his leadership in war, that they wholeheartedly invite him to rule over them. They believe what God has said of His chosen king: "I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him," and they confirm his anointing among them. But the scribes would drive Jesus from their midst. And as the Jebusites vainly threatened David before he took the stronghold of Zion and began his reign in Jerusalem, so these blind leaders of the people vainly attack Jesus before His entering and taking hold of the New Jerusalem. If David was anointed by God, how much more is the Father's anointing upon His only Son? If David's deeds in war deserved respect and praise, how much more Him who came to teach and heal the nation? And if these scribes should not only reject Jesus but designate the holy deeds He has worked among them as coming from the prince of demons, what hope have they but to join the prince of demons in eternal damnation? For if they call the good evil, how shall they come to accept the goodness of God and enter His reign? Shall they not rather fling themselves toward the fires of hell, as even they do here, taking the evil for good, led astray as they are by their pride and jealousy? The Lord's hand is always with His Chosen One, "that [His] arm might make Him strong." It is in that strength we take refuge; it is in the blessing upon Him we find life. We must invite Him who is good to rule over us – His works must be our own. If we do not recognize the truth of His words and the grace in His deeds, what hope will we have of finding the fountain that washes us clean of our sins and prepares us for the holiness of paradise? What can these scribes do but "carr[y] the guilt of [their] sin without end," for they utterly reject Him. Brothers and sisters, we choose life or we choose death. We choose to side with the good or turn to become one with the evil. Wickedness has no place with the grace of God and His goodness allows no evil to enter in. Jesus destroys evil: speak only the truth of this Word. The Spirit knows nothing of lies. ******* O LORD, may your Son rule over us all and make us strong. YHWH, Jesus shall shepherd your people Israel; the blind leaders cannot prevent Him from taking hold of the holy City. For your anointing is upon Him, and it is your arm that makes Him strong. O let us enter Jerusalem with Him, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh! May the house of Satan be plundered by Him who is stronger than he; let his property be despoiled, all the accusations with which he would attack your holy ones. O let the Holy Spirit be upon us! the truth that cannot be denied. Your goodness be upon our souls, O LORD, to lead us to all light. David was your servant, LORD, the figure of Christ, your Son. From his youth you blessed him with your grace and power, with the anointing of your Spirit. Now that Jesus has come to fulfill this blessing among us, let us welcome Him into our homes, that we might be welcomed into your House, your forgiveness in our hearts. Let none turn away from your truth.

O you who persecuted the Church of God but then preached the faith in earnest, you upon whom abundant mercy fell, whose weakness became strength as each day in bearing extraordinary torments you grew closer to God – show us the way to Heaven. Pray we fall continually from our horse, from our pride, and allow the Lord to change our lives. Pray repentance be our constant food, that the love of Jesus and His forgiveness we shall ever know in greater measure.

(Is.8:23-9:3; Ps.27:1,4,13-14; 1Cor.1:10-13,17; Mt.4:12-23) "Light has arisen." "Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress." Yes, "a light has shone"; Jesus has come. No longer do we walk in darkness. So we should proclaim with David: "The Lord is my light and my salvation"; we should long to dwell in the Temple He has built, "gaz[ing] on the loveliness of the Lord." Here in His House we "see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living." Here in His Church we come to the paradise He has come to establish in this land of darkness. The light dawns as Jesus calls His disciples to His side. Here are the beginnings of His Church, the coming of light to this earth. The Lord calls Peter and Andrew, and James and John, and they respond, and they follow the light. And the light goes forth as He goes "around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people." Do you see how the light grows? Do you know the light reflected in the disciples' eyes, which shall take root and become known to all the world? Here indeed is the Church begun, the holy House of God – the New Jerusalem. And nothing shall disturb its growth; nothing shall dim or block the light that has come. Yet what division is upon the Church Christ has founded here on the shores of Galilee. How has it come to be that we are so disobedient to Paul's instruction "that there be no divisions among [us], but that [we] be united in the same mind and in the same purpose." How many more rivalries have we than the Corinthians. Not only do those separated from the Church declare their peculiar allegiance to various people or nations, saying, "I belong to Luther," or "I belong to Calvin," or "I belong to England" – and now there are some 360 different denominations, one for every day of the year, it seems – but within the Catholic Church deep divisions arise between "liberal" or "conservative" theologians, thus bringing darkness upon God's people. The Church remains, and nothing shall overcome it, but what a poor sign it is to the world as the devil has his day in its division. The Lord has come bringing "abundant joy and great rejoicing" for those who remain in His light. The unbroken flame rises up from these first apostles Jesus called on this one morning by the Sea of Galilee. The net extends from their hands and draws in all who truly seek to dwell in the presence of God. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Mirror of Knowledge" (2nd part) from Listening to the Lamp, ninth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, may the Gospel be proclaimed in strength this day in your Son's holy Name. YHWH, your light has dawned upon this dark world; in Jesus your Son our salvation has come, and now we may dwell in your House with Him. Beginning on the shores of Galilee, your Word goes forth, calling all men to your kingdom. May we repent of our sin that we might enter there. Today your Son calls the first apostles from their boats to dry land that they might be fishers of men. And so He works through His apostles even to this day. A great light shines upon those who walked in darkness – we who were sinners now come to your Temple, LORD, there, we pray, to remain all our days. Let there be no division in your Church, dear God, but let us be united in the flesh of your Son and preach His Gospel with one voice (His own) to the ends of this dark earth. O let your holy light now shine through all He calls to be His disciples! The yoke of sin that has enslaved us be smashed, we pray, that we shall no longer be afraid, that we shall no longer walk in darkness.

O most devout spiritual guide, great pastor of your flock and of all souls, you who speak to us even this day with your words of wisdom and blessed direction – pray every branch of Jesus' vine may aspire to His perfection; in whatever state we find ourselves, let us set our hearts on loving the Lord and serving Him and neighbor prayerfully. Teach us to pray faithfully, to offer our lives in all situations, all for the glory of God. Our call may we hear and heed by your intercession, following the Christ and carrying His Cross as He leads.

(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.

O lover of the least, the most wretched of society, whom you embraced when no one else would; how like St. Francis you were in your care for the lepers, in your living the Gospel as an image of Christ: He was hungry and you fed Him, thirsty and you gave Him drink, naked and you clothed Him and cared for Him when He was sick – pray our hearts will burn with the same sacrificial love you bore so well for those most abandoned, that truly we shall see Christ in them and welcome Him into our homes… may their suffering be our own. How else shall we become holy? How else shall we be welcomed into the kingdom with you?