The BreadCast

O great interpreter of holy Scripture, seeking the wisdom and power of God you listened to what the Lord says in His Word and so served to dispel ignorance of Christ; from your hermitage you came to serve the Church just so, to enlighten the minds of the faithful – pray the Lord shall send forth today the light of His wisdom and grace upon those who turn to the pages of the Word of God in prayer, that He may be understood in truth, that Jesus may walk amongst us again… that knowing the Christ we may become more like Him and live according to His instruction, as a lamp burning brightly in this world to draw all men to the Lord and the salvation of their souls, which He so deeply desires.

(Job 9:1-12,14-16; Ps.88:3,10-15; Lk.9:57-62) "Why, O Lord, do you reject me; why hide from me your face?" The cry of our psalmist certainly reflects that of Job, who in his travails asks, "How can a man be justified before God?" who realizes that the Lord "does great things past finding out" and that "should He come near [us], [we] see Him not." But it also reflects Jesus' treatment of those who might follow Him, and could easily be their cry as well. "If I appealed to Him and He answered my call, I could not believe that He would hearken to my words." Such a seemingly hopeless attitude may be understandable in one suffering such a plight as Job. For he is as "the mountains [removed] before they know it"; he is shaken as "the earth out of its place." He is as one suddenly confounded by God, who is "wise in heart and mighty in strength." Before such power how can he speak, or expect to be heard? And so, rightly in silence he must remain. Certainly he could cry out to the Lord, "Will you work wonders for the dead?… Do they declare your kindness in the grave, your faithfulness among those who have perished?" and in justice be saved from "the land of oblivion." But the test Job undergoes passes beyond justice to the suffering of the innocent before the mighty power of God. And what of those who would be Christ's disciples spoken of in our gospel today? To them why does the Lord speak so severely? Why does it seem they, too, are unable to come before His face – why does He seem to reject them? Is He not of love, this Son of Man, unlike the judgmental God? Does He not welcome all with open arms? Then why such sharp words to those who approach and those He calls to "come away and proclaim the kingdom of God"? The Lord does not reject them, but puts them to the test as He has with Job to see if their hearts are truly set upon Him alone, as indeed they must be. It is, of course, for the great glory to which He calls them that all His disciples are chastised so vehemently. Think not that He rejects you, brothers and sisters, when He hides His face from you. Know that you are never hidden from Him, and that should He remove Himself from your presence, it is only to grant you clearer vision of His face. None is more blessed than Job for none has known so fully the awesome power of God and given himself over to it so completely. None but Christ and His followers, who give up all things, who suffer all persecutions innocently, silently, in order to know the surpassing might and tender mercy of God. Indeed His "wonders [are] made known in darkness," for then they most clearly shine. ******* O LORD, let us follow your Son, even unto death. YHWH, we must give up all things to follow you; it must be your will alone we have in this world. Even if you should put us in darkness, yet we should defer to your judgment, to your power over all things for good. Your Son is severe with those who would follow you, LORD, who would be as you are, as His disciples. For what a call this is! And how ready must we be to enter its demands. Your reign far surpasses anything we know, anything we come to rely on in this world, and so the passing of this world – and even our own lives – we shall not mourn but learn to entrust all our cares to you. If the sun and the mountains are moved by you, LORD, how much more should we put ourselves in your hands. Our trust should be so complete that we accept even your seeming rejection. Hear our prayer and come to save us! that we might walk with your Son in your way.

O mighty messengers of the Lord, ministers of His will, bringing His word and His power to all poor souls on earth, you serve to lead us unto Heaven… you who do the bidding of God, you who are first among those who stand around His throne and sing His praise, you who are so faithful in defending His Kingship and keeping us from harm – cast the devil from our midst, instill the word of Jesus' coming in our hearts, bring His healing to the lost sheep, and see that we join you on His holy mountain on high; carry us in your arms to the place the Savior prepares for us with you and all your army in His presence.

(Dn7:9-10,13-14 or Rv.12:7-12; Ps.138:1-5; Jn.1:47-51 I shall treat of both first readings) "You shall see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." And who shall see such visions? He whose own vision is pure, he who is as Nathanael – he who has "no guile in him." Such is the case both with Daniel and John the Evangelist, of whose visions we hear in either first reading. The angels are with them, indeed, and they lift them up to look upon the Most High God and His Anointed One. Both first readings reveal vision of Jesus the Son, whose "dominion is an everlasting dominion" and by whom "salvation and power have come." In Daniel is shown the Ancient One, the Father, from whom all power comes as "surging streams of fire" from His throne; and in Revelation, John presents the defeat of Satan, who would presume to be like God but is "driven out" and "hurled down to earth" by the archangel Michael (whose name tells us that none is like God) before "the reign of our God" comes. In Revelation is included, too, our own participation in "the blood of the Lamb," that the Church, "by the word of their testimony," will share in the Lord's dominion. And David's psalm sings today: "Great is the glory of the Lord." His voice joins with the "thousands upon thousands… ministering to Him, and myriads upon myriads" attending Him. "In the presence of the angels I will sing your praise," he declares, and finds himself "worship[ing] at [His] holy temple" Him whose name is "great above all things." Is not the vision promised Nathanael and witnessed to by Daniel and John shared here with David, too; does he not glimpse, and share with us who long for the presence of the Lord, the ladder which reaches to heaven made known to Jacob in dream? Is not Jesus, His Lord, with him even in this time before His coming? It is one Jesus the eyes of all the pure of heart see and shall see. And did not the Old Testament prophet see that which was to come? Was not the eternal vision of heaven revealed to his eyes, as well as John's? And how can this be, that they see what we would call the future, except that it has always been? Brothers and sisters, we must declare with Nathanael, "You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel," but we must do so as He does – in absolute honesty and utter faith. We must believe without guile and declare without hesitation that Jesus is Lord. To do so and to see the angels ascending and descending upon Him, our hearts and our eyes must be pure. Let us pray that we shall come now to vision of heaven, where His angels and His saints do reign. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney. Music by Roger Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, give us eyes to see your angels ministering to you, and hearts to receive their blessed help. YHWH, like flames of fire your angels surround you and your holy throne. These myriads of spirits attend you, ministering to you day and night in the place where there is no night, where light shines seven times as brightly as the sun. O may we join them in singing your praises and in doing your will upon this earth! With eyes unveiled let us look upon your glory and unite with your angels in Heaven. If only we had hearts without guile, O LORD; if only we were your true sons and daughters. Then we would declare freely that Jesus is your Son and our King, He whose dominion is everlasting, whose glory is one with your own. Then would the devil be cast from our souls, driven out from among us by your power at work in your angels. Then would we worship in joy in your holy Temple all our days and become children of your blessed light. O may your angels be with us always!

O simple and devout layman, husband and father and clerk, suddenly you were forced to flee your homeland and family with your missionary companions, but death for the faith each one of you met without wavering upon disembarking in a foreign land – pray, O blessed martyrs, our faith shall be strong as your own, that should we be called to witness even with our lives to the faith which gives us life, we will be ready to enter eternity with Christ our Lord and Savior. If tortures threaten our bodies, too, intercede for us for grace, that the face of Jesus alone we shall look upon that day.

O faithful ruler whose devotion served to bring your death, though you loved all your subjects, caring especially for the poor, and loved God and His Church above all, your care and your faith caused you to be killed by those so jealous and selfish – pray for us, good king, and for the rulers in our midst, that they will be inspired as you with a self-effacing humility and a desire for the truth of God's way, giving their lives in service of the Lord and His people, not seeking their own gain. Pray the Mother of God guide all leaders and they turn to her in obedience, that the will of the Father shall be done and to this world His kingdom come by the blood of His only Son.

(Job 1:6-22; Ps.17:1-3,6-7; Lk.9:46-50) "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked I shall go back again." In the beginning and in the end, we have nothing: and so should be our attitude toward all things we are given – that they are not our own, that we do not possess them… that they shall pass from us unto eternity again. As shall we all. In our first reading we begin to hear of Satan's temptation of Job, of whom the Lord's own words witness: "There is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil." But Satan in his jealousy responds, "Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?" and recounts all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on His "servant." The adversarial angel then wins from God permission to tempt Job by removing all his blessings. And the persecution is strong. All in a day Job loses all his multitude of livestock, his servants, and his children. Four messengers come, each with catastrophic news, each the sole survivor of the tragedy of which they speak, and each following the previous "while he was yet speaking." In a moment all but his life is taken from Job. But Job proves God's assessment of his character true by proclaiming, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" thus properly putting all things in God's hands, and praising His glory even in such tragedy. We are told, "In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God." He is as the child Jesus sits beside Himself in our gospel today. Satan has failed in his effort to get Job to curse God; he will not do so even at his wife's prompting. But Job, so Christlike in his suffering the abandonment God's Servant knows so fully upon the cross, shall fall short of the Christ in one respect: this innocent child will not be able to keep from decrying his state or withstand the accusations of others that he must be guilty of sin. He will not be able to suffer in silence, not opening his mouth to defend himself (taking this unwarranted persecution upon himself to redeem others, as Jesus has done) but will declare his "just suit" to the Lord, begging Him to "attend to [his] outcry," saying with David in our psalm: "Hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit." He shall not be able to keep from stating his innocence, from saying, "Though you test my heart, searching it in the night, though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me." And in this way Satan shall break him; in this manner he shall fall short of the perfect humility of Christ. (Though the Lord shall justify and reward his faithful servant in the end.) Brothers and sisters, do not act with jealousy, as even the disciples seem to today in trying to stop one "not of [their] company" from healing in Jesus' name. Do not even think among yourselves of who is the greatest. This is an abomination before God. Have the attitude of Job toward all things – that they are but gifts from the Lord and that we are nothing in ourselves. Then you will be like His little child and so know His blessings forever. ******* O LORD, naked we came forth from our mother's womb, and naked we shall go back again – our lives are in your hands. YHWH, let us be as an innocent child sitting patiently at the side of your only Son. Though the foe come to test our hearts, by your grace let us prove ourselves worthy of your blessings. Let us never sin against you in word or in deed but place all things in your holy hands and accept whatever befalls us. O LORD, let us never be jealous or proud; let us never imitate the sin of Satan, who would see your children falter, who would strike any against whom his envy might rise. Let us but seek to serve you in all humility and so know the great joy of being as your Son. From all wicked thoughts release our souls that we might walk with you. Hear our prayer for mercy, LORD; though we be not perfect, you can make us so. Let it be our sole desire to be pure before you, that we shall never know your wrath or be cast from your sight. Take all things from us, but only spare our life. Please never leave our side.

O blessed help of the poor, slave to widows and orphans and all those most outcast and in need, the least of Christ's brothers you indeed gave your life to serve, completely spending yourself in their assistance and leading your own brother priests to do the same… and so Christ Himself you waited upon day in and day out upon this earth – pray that we, too, shall be like Jesus, filled with compassion for the needs of our neighbors, sharing their poverty as we empty ourselves as the Lord has done. May all our prayers and desires lead to such charity for the plight of others, that we might fulfill with you our Savior's call to the Cross and come, therefore, to the riches of Heaven.

(Ez.18:25-28; Ps.25:4-9; Phil.2:1-11; Mt.21:28-32) "Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you." Why? How can it be that such sinners gain such privilege, such grace? Is it for their sins? Shall we all become as they? We should be like them, but not in sin – in repentance. For it is because they have "turned away from all [the] sins that [they] committed" that they are saved; it is because they are "tax collectors and prostitutes" no more. And so we are all called to turn away from the sin which each of us surely has. David sings beautifully of this in our psalm: "The sins of my youth and my frailty remember not," as he begs the Lord for His kindness. For all that we have done in our ignorance and our weakness we should seek the Lord's mercy, for He assures us throughout our readings that "He shows sinners the way" when they come humbly before Him. When the first son in Jesus' parable responds to his father's request for him to work in the vineyard, "I will not," what does this son do but sin against his father? – just as each of us sins against our heavenly Father when we turn from His will to blindly follow our own. But what did the son show when he "afterwards changed his mind and went" but his contrition and repentance at his insubordination, thus illustrating the manner in which our consciences should lead us from our own disobedience? And as Jesus makes clear, it was this son who "did his father's will" and so will be blessed by him. Our reading from Ezekiel makes this theme of turning from sin and finding blessing even clearer. It states in certain terms of the wicked man that "if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life." With such assurance, why should we delay our own conversion, which must be effected day to day? St. Paul presents the attitude we must have before others and God in order to find the Lord's grace. He states: "Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves," and then gives the clear example of the most humble of all, the Lord Jesus Christ, who "emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness." He so "humbled Himself" that He became "obedient even unto death, death on a cross." And so should we be proud? Should we harden ourselves in our sin, or rather turn and empty ourselves of all that is not of Him? The salvation repentance finds is indicated also in the fact that, because of Jesus' humility, "God exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name." So let us not hesitate to join the tax collectors and prostitutes among us who bend the knee before Him; let our "tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," and we shall know His reward. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Where's My Brother?" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, turning away from all our sins and humbling ourselves before you, let us but do your holy will. YHWH, help us to turn from our sins and do your holy will. May we be obedient as your Son, who gave His life to save others. Let all souls repent of their wickedness and walk in His way, that all might find salvation in His Name. If we could but be humble before you, LORD; if we could but admit our failings, our selfishness and pride, our blindness to your call for our lives… then we would be blessed by you and become your faithful sons. Break our hardened hearts that we might love, that we might look upon you who are love itself. O let us be empty, LORD, of all we would possess, of all that we would grasp with our own hands. Let us indeed be blessed to recognize our sinfulness and find your mercy and forgiveness. You but want for us to turn to you that you might embrace us as your own. May your compassion be known in our hearts this day.

O highly honored martyrs whose tomb drew many pilgrims and brought about many miracles, you laid down your lives as one in the Lord, taking up His bitter and saving cup of suffering all for your faith in Him and His Church, and so, precious in His sight was your death in His name – from beyond the grave pray for us this day, that the healing blood of Christ our Savior be poured upon our souls, that we too might be raised by His sacrifice, redeemed by the death He endured; for He has overcome the world, and you with Him in His blood. Pray that we who are so weak of faith may by the Lord's grace and your intercession bear witness to Jesus by our own deaths upon the Cross with Him.