The BreadCast

(Phil.4:10-19;   Ps.112:1-2,5-6,8-9;   Lk.16:9-15)   “Well for the man who is gracious and lends.”   “Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.”  Such is the man who knows the proper use of this world’s goods, that is, to give them all as “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”  This shows that he “fears the Lord,” that his heart is not set on the things of earth but the riches of heaven; and so to these shall he come. “Make friends for yourselves through your use of this world’s goods,” Jesus instructs His disciples, “so that when they fail” – when the goods of this world have faded into eternity – “a lasting reception will be yours” in the kingdom which does not pass away.  Our life on this earth serves indeed as a kind of test.  The Lord needs to see if He “can trust [us] in little things,” in the passing things of this passing day; then He will know that He “can also trust [us] in greater,” in the eternal graces of our heavenly homeland.  How well shall we prove ourselves? The Philippians prove their generosity well.  The Apostle Paul commends them for their repeated gifts to supply his needs as he preaches the Gospel.  Here we see a perfect example of wise use of this world’s goods, of their being given in service of God and man.  And because of their generosity, there is “an ever-growing balance in [their] account,” not of silver and gold, but of the “magnificent riches in Christ Jesus.”  As they empty themselves of what they have, as they give of their riches on this earth, the Lord gives them all they might desire of the true riches; as Paul says as he assures them he has been “fully paid” by the fruits they have offered: “My God in turn will supply your needs fully.” “No servant can serve two masters.”  We either amass wealth for our own benefit in this world – and toward our own condemnation – or we give what we have for the benefit of God and others.  We love God or we love money; there are no two ways.  “The Pharisees, who were avaricious men, heard all this and began to deride Him.”  Does your heart tend to deride the generosity to which the Lord calls you, as do these?  Is there yet mockery upon your tongue and lips against the preaching of the emptiness of this world’s possessions?  Do you also “justify yourselves in the eyes of men”?  Know indeed that “God reads your hearts” and “what man thinks important, God holds in contempt.”  And if you would have it go well with you in the heavenly kingdom, you must practice the abounding generosity that is the heart of that kingdom (shown in our Lord’s limitless mercy upon our souls), here with what is at your hands.  ******* O LORD, take all that we have, all that we own,   for your use and that of your Church.  YHWH, let our hearts not be set on the wealth of this earth but let us rather use the goods at our hands to serve your kingdom.  A fragrant offering let us make to you of our wealth and of ourselves that we might be acceptable in your sight.  How shall we come to your kingdom, LORD, if we cling to this earth and its goods?  How shall we share in your glory if our hearts are not generous as your own?  We cannot be blessed if we are not a blessing to others, and your everlasting wealth, your eternal graces, we shall not find if we grasp at the possessions at our hands.  We must indeed give generously of the things you provide here, and we will have the love that lasts forever.  Your love let us know even now, O LORD; your joy let us take in providing for the poor, in supporting your workers in the vineyard.  And you will lavishly bless us when the last day comes.

(Phil.3:17-4:1;   Ps.122:1-5;   Lk.16:1-8)   “We have our citizenship in heaven.”   Brothers and sisters, we are not among “those who are set upon the things of this world.”  Always we must remember this.  Though surrounded by worldly things, our hearts are not set upon them; rather, “we eagerly await the coming of our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Our hearts are set upon heaven.  Then what are we to do with “this lowly body of ours” as we long for the Lord to “remake it according to the pattern of His glorified body”?  What purpose have we of heaven here upon this earth?  Is there nothing for us to do with this old form that has been afforded us?  Is emptiness all we are to know here? We must know and remember, brothers and sisters, that in this dark world we are called to light; we are called to “go up to the house of the Lord” even here where we stand.  Is the Church not with us?  And has not the Lord left His sacraments with her, that even now we may be transformed into the new creation He makes us?  We do not wait in vain for our Savior to come; we do not sit empty here as we long for His Day.  He is here now with a measure of His grace; “His power to subject everything to Himself” is already evident in our midst… and we must join with that power and work diligently to transform not only ourselves into the image of Christ, but the dark world we see around us as well. “Be imitators of me,” Paul encourages his brother Philippians.  In warning them against those who “go about in a way which shows them to be enemies of the cross of Christ,” he exhorts them to be the cross’s friend – to prove their mettle as they continue “to stand firm in the Lord.”  There are those for whom “their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame,” and the “devious employee” of whom Jesus speaks may well be among these.  But though we are called in no way to imitate his wickedness, yet we must see that he is given “credit for being enterprising” by the owner, despite the fact that he had been “dissipating his property.”  “Why?” indeed.  And how can the Lord use an example such as this to teach us of the kingdom?  Here the Lord employs great wisdom, and calls us to do the same.  For He reveals to us how even in one destined to condemnation there is yet the spark of intelligence.  (“I have it!” he declares, after taking consideration.)  And should not this light of intelligence, which comes only from our Maker, be in us who are to be found entirely of light?  And should we not bring the light of salvation through the gifts the Lord provides us even to those like this employee who are most in darkness?  Should the devil control the things around us, the things here at our King’s feet, or should we?  Our citizenship in heaven requires us to employ its light here on this earth.  There is much we owe our Master.  Wise as serpents and harmless as doves let us be.   ******* O LORD, we are citizens of your kingdom; help us on this earth to find our way to your House and remain there. YHWH, help us to stand firm in you and do your will, and so come to your holy kingdom.  In the New Jerusalem let us make our home and not in this dark and empty world. If we could but be imitators of your Apostle, LORD, and so of your Son, carrying our cross eagerly as we await His coming; then we would hear you calling us to your House and rejoice in your glorious presence. Give us the wisdom, O LORD, to find our way to you, to do well your work upon this plane, our hearts not set on love of gain but making your blessing our only desire.  O that we might be forgiven our debt even as we forgive those in debt to us and to you! Remake us in your image, LORD, in the image of your Son.  Let us enter your gates with thanksgiving and praise your holy NAME.  And help us to bring others to you and so finish the work Jesus has begun.

(Phil.3:3-8;   Ps.105:2-7;   Lk.15:1-10)   “I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ.”   Paul tells us, “Those things I used to consider gain I have now reappraised as loss in the light of Christ.”  The “legal observance” he grasped so tightly – having been “circumcised on the eighth day,” “a Hebrew of Hebrew origins,” himself a Pharisee – he now looses to the wind, desiring only to be among those “who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus,” and “seek[ing] to serve Him constantly.”  What matters but Jesus and His love, and “the judgments He has uttered”? But this justice those who remain as Paul was cannot begin to consider, for they say to themselves as Paul once said of himself: “I [am] above reproach when it [comes] to justice based on the law”… yet do they hold tightly to their fine legal observances, looking down upon those who are below their reproach and judging them all as loss, as wayward sheep destined for the fires of Gehenna.  And this Man eats with them!  But what is loss in their eyes becomes great gain in the eyes of God, for there is “more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent”; and the angels sing in praise as they see the Son of Man sitting and ministering to these sinners, drawing them, as He has been sent to do, into the kingdom’s gates. The Lord “light[s] a lamp and sweep[s] the house in a diligent search” for straying souls.  When He succeeds, He calls us all, saying, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.”  And will we be jealous of the Lord’s discovery, as the Pharisees and scribes, or will we realize that we all have need of repentance, that we are all that lost sheep, that lost coin which the Lord treasures so once He holds it in His hand again? Brothers and sisters, it is in the Lord’s hands we must always place ourselves; this is to be in the light of the surpassing knowledge of Christ.  By our own hands, in our own wills – “putting our trust in the flesh” – what do we make but corruption, even as our first parents who desired so to hold the apple in their hands and eat it at their pleasure?  In things themselves, and our willful manipulation of them, we find only a knowledge that brings death, that leads to darkness.  And who will lead us out of such darkness?  Jesus, who is Light.  In trust in Him we realize we do not know the good we do, for all of any worth is of His making.  And so all our desire is for knowledge of “the wondrous deeds that He has wrought” and forgetfulness of our sinful selves.  Rejoice in the Lord’s salvation!    ******* O LORD, help us to repent of our sin and leave behind all things of the flesh, that we might live in the glory of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. YHWH, how you desire our repentance, our return to you.  For this you send your only Son to sit among us and call us to your side – for this He shall even die.  May the light He shines find a place in our hearts that we shall be found by Him and lifted up on His shoulders… that we might be raised to Heaven.  We are all poor sinners, LORD, lost to ourselves and lost to you.  We are all blinded by the things of this world and the pride we take in our work among them.  And so, darkness overtakes us. Yet you call us to glory in you and in the wondrous deeds that you have wrought in your mercy.  Yet we may be gathered into your arms and rejoice in your NAME.  Yet if we listen to your Son we shall know redemption, we shall return to you.  And you will rejoice with all your angels that we have come to you, that we have found your glory.  Our joy will be your joy, good God, for your love will be our own.

(Phil.2:12-18;   Ps.27:1,4,13-14;   Lk.14:25-33)   “Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation.”   Strive we must always to attain the kingdom of God, setting our hearts on salvation alone, and trusting in the Lord all the while. “If one of you decides to build a tower, will he not first sit down and calculate the outlay?”  And do you think the outlay for being a follower of Christ is any less important to consider?  For what is required of the soul on the path to the kingdom is nothing less than all he owns, and the work involved is the laying down of his very life.  And so we must be prepared; and so we must act with conviction, to dispel any “fear of laying the foundation and then not being able to complete the work.” It certainly cannot be said of St. Paul, “That man began to build what he could not finish,” for he states with absolute conviction to his beloved Philippians, “Even if my life is to be poured out as a libation over the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad of it and rejoice with all of you.”  He is prepared to die to accomplish the work the Lord has set for him, and he shall.  But he witnesses the fruit of his efforts: “As I look to the day of Christ, you give me cause to boast that I did not run the race in vain or work to no purpose.”  In his disciples he sees the faith he has planted grow.  And now throughout all the earth do his words go forth, bearing the fruit of Christ among all who listen. And so, brothers and sisters, set your hearts on accomplishing the work the Lord places before you.  Let no doubt or fear cause you to stumble on the way.  Proclaim with David, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”  Have this same confidence and commitment to His grace.  For “it is God who, in His good will toward you, begets in you any measure of desire or achievement.”  It is His work you do and so He will surely bless it.  Know that your King is able to do battle with any enemy, that none holds any sway over Him, and be as He is, giving yourselves entirely to His mission, His cause.  And you shall “gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple”; and you shall certainly achieve your salvation.  Onward, soldiers of the Lord.  ******* O LORD, help us to renounce the things of this world and come into your Temple, into your presence, and there remain all our days – accomplish your work in us.  YHWH, you are our light and our salvation; it is you who beget in us any desire for you and your kingdom.  And it is you who bring this desire to fulfillment, if we but work to achieve it. Help us, O LORD, to know the way you call us and prepare us to walk your way without fear, without hesitation.  In you we take our courage, for you are great and care greatly for our welfare.  It is your bounty alone we desire, and so you will bring us to your House where we may gaze on your face in holy light.  What need we but to dwell with you, O LORD?  What of this world could keep us from coming to you?  Help us to renounce all else but your holy presence; even our lives let us lay down in service of you.  And we shall find our salvation, despite the darkness all around. It is you who defend us in battle, LORD; it is you who build our house.  May we carry our cross with your Son this day, and so be blessed with confidence in your kingdom.

(Phil.2:5-11;   Ps.22:26-32;   Lk.14:15-24)  “The lowly shall eat their fill.” Yes, “happy is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God.”  Indeed, he shall have his fill.  But who shall partake of such grace?  Who shall come to the feast when the Master calls? Brothers and sisters, our “attitude must be as Christ’s: though He was in the form of God, He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at.”  Rather, He made Himself lowly, as we are lowly.  And now He is exalted; now He prepares the banquet of salvation for all lowly souls. Who are the lowly souls?  The lowly souls are they who bow down before the Lord.  “At Jesus’ name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth.”  If one does not bend the knee before our Savior, he is not humble, he is not lowly – rather, he stands in his vain pride. And these proud souls shall not come to the table in the kingdom.  If when He calls they turn away unto their own affairs, spurning the only appointment which carries importance, they lose their place in the Banquet Hall.  And listen to the command of the “master of the house” to his servant: “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.”  The Jews having rejected the invitation which was most especially theirs, we the outcast Gentiles now hear the call of the apostles of the Lord, a call that goes out to the ends of the world.  All the poor souls are now invited. Brothers and sisters, “all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of nations shall bow down before Him.  For dominion is the Lord’s, and He rules the nations.  To Him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth,” all in the heavens, and all on earth.  None shall be deprived of hearing the call to the feast the Son prepares; all shall stand before Him and have opportunity to bend the knee, to realize our lowliness before Him whom every tongue does praise.  So “let the coming generation be told of the Lord that they might proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice He has shown,” that all forever might bow their hearts before His majesty and proclaim: “JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!”  In such humble praise they shall eat their fill of the blessings of the kingdom. ******* O LORD, let us honor your Son who has given His life for the salvation of all, that we might enter your kingdom and eat the Bread He sets before us. YHWH, let us bow down before your only Son and give Him due honor and praise, for He alone is Lord; He alone among us is worthy of our worship, for He alone is your Son.  Let us humble ourselves as He has done and so find ourselves in your kingdom with Him. O LORD, if only we could eat bread at your table, if only it were the desire of our heart to enter your presence and rejoice in your glory.  It is your desire to share with us all your gifts and graces, to feed us with your finest fare.  But how can we celebrate in your House if our hearts are turned to earthly matters, if our thoughts are vain and our souls proud? Your Son has humbled Himself to come among us and call us to you, LORD.  He has set aside His place at your side that He might become as a slave in our midst, that He might lead us to your side.  Let us not reject His holy sacrifice but proclaim it with our lives as we eat bread at your table this day.

(Phil.1:18-26;   Ps.42:2-3,5;   Lk.14:1,7-11)   “When you are invited by someone to a wedding party, do not sit in the place of honor in case some greater dignitary has been invited.”   At the feast of the marriage of Christ to mankind, we are the lesser party, and must act humbly before our God. Jesus comes among us as a guest to eat a meal in our house; He humbles Himself to sit at our table.  And this guest who sits in the lowest place among us is in fact the Host of the banquet of which all are invited to partake.  Though the Lamb that is slaughtered for all to eat, He the sacrifice rules at the altar of our worship. Listen carefully to what Paul says to his beloved Philippians; see how his own attitude mirrors that of the humble Christ, and how it must be imitated by us all.  He says quite openly, “I long to be freed from this life and to be with Christ, for that is the far better thing.”  In the choice of living or dying, he would opt for the latter, “for, to [him], ‘life’ means Christ; hence dying is so much gain.”  As the psalmist sings in comparing his soul to “the hind [that] longs for the running waters”: “When shall I go and behold the face of God?”  When shall he know full union with the Lord?  Only in death, the dawn of perfect day.  But though “strongly attracted” to death, Paul has equal attraction to life, and accepts that he must “go on living in the flesh” for the “productive toil” it means; and so he will “persevere with [his disciples], for [their] joy and [their] progress in the faith.”  He will remain “with the throng” that he might lead them “in procession to the house of God… amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving,” though he himself is already prepared to enter the festival gates. Do you not see how this attitude is as Christ’s own?  Would not the Lord Jesus have preferred to remain in the heavenly kingdom with the Father?  Would this not have been better for Him by far?  And yet He comes among us, and yet He remains with us.  And yet He takes on flesh which is as the cross itself and bears it with all patience for our benefit.  He gains nothing by sitting with us at table as a dishonored guest, but we gain life eternal as we eat the Bread He feeds us. And so, listen to the Lord’s teaching.  Pray that “when your Host approaches you He will say, ‘My friend, come up higher.’”  Let His sweet words of humility and sacrifice be in your ears and in your heart – and upon your lips, lived through your body – that with Paul you will “have full confidence that now as always Christ will be exalted through” your own humility; then you will find the same “conviction that this will turn out to [your] salvation.”  If here you sacrifice your life, at the wedding party of our Lord and our souls you will be given your due place of honor at table in the kingdom. ******* O LORD, may the humility of Jesus be proclaimed to all  who wish to see your face.  YHWH, help us to be your humble servants, coming to others as a slave, as your Son, concerned only for the welfare of your flock, even as the Apostle Paul.  How shall we have the Spirit of Christ within us?  How shall we set our hearts on seeking your face and helping others progress in the faith?  Let us not care if we live or die, but only that your NAME goes forth.  To your House let us come, O LORD; at your table let us sit.  The lowest place let us take, for this is the place we deserve.  It is only by your grace we come to the table at all, and so, how can we boast of anything?  Your Son is the exalted guest among us – let us give place to Him in all things.  Call us higher, dear LORD.  Call us to your side.  Without your call we shall be lost, scrambling blindly for adulation on this empty earth.  O let us rejoice as we enter your presence!

(Phil.1:1-11;   Ps.111:1-6;   Lk.14:1-6)   “My prayer is that your love may more and more abound.”   Paul’s prayer is addressed to the Philippians, who “have all continually helped promote the Gospel from the very first day” he came into their midst preaching.  He overflows with love for them himself and finds them present “to a man” sharing in his “gracious lot,” even as he “lie[s] in prison” far from their land.  And so he prays that always “with a clear conscience and blameless conduct [they] may learn to value the things that really matter,” and is confident that “He who has begun the good work in [them] will carry it through to completion, right up to the day of Christ Jesus.” And Jesus’ prayer for the Pharisees is really the same.  Though they treat Him as Paul has so often been treated, though He is “summoned to defend the solid grounds on which the Gospel rests” before eyes that observe “Him closely” for any misstep upon which they could capitalize – yet His desire for them is the love of God; yet He would teach them of the ways of the Lord Most High, who cares at every moment for the well-being of even His smallest creatures.  Thus does He ask them, “If one of you has a son or an ox and he falls into a pit, will he not immediately rescue him on the sabbath day?” to open their eyes to the innate concern they have for those in their care, that they might see the love of God for all.  And though they are not like the Philippians, though they do not accept His word with joy and put it into practice immediately, there may come a time when they will listen, when at least some of them will hear and follow His teaching. “Majesty and glory are His work, and His justice endures forever.”  This is what every heart must proclaim of the “wondrous deeds” of God.  It is not only Paul’s wish but the wish of the Lord Himself that all of us “may be found rich in the harvest of justice which Jesus Christ has ripened,” which He has brought to maturity in His blood, in His love.  “He has given food to those who fear Him”; this food of love is for all who reverence God to share.  More and more it should abound in our midst, even as it does in all our churches and on all our altars this day.  Alleluia!   ******* O LORD, your love extends to all and is undying – help us to share more and more in that love with your Son. YHWH, may your love abound throughout the world and we abound in it.  May your glory be known in all your works, through all holy souls the Gospel go forth. We give you thanks, O LORD, we give you praise.  For your love is endless and it looks upon every creature with abiding care.  In your presence and by the ministry of your Son, we are saved – let us stand in the light of your holy Day! You give food to all who love you, LORD; you heal every soul that comes humbly to you.  Let us appear before you with a clear conscience and blameless conduct.  Your will be fulfilled in all our lives. Wondrous are your deeds, O LORD; majesty and glory are yours alone.  But you desire to share your gifts with your children, continually calling us to dwell in your love. Rescue us from all sin this day, LORD, from the hardness of our hearts, that we might be among the assembly of the just come to full maturity in your Son.

(Eph.6:10-20;   Ps.144:1-2,9-10;   Lk.13:31-35) “Today and tomorrow I cast out devils and perform cures, and on the third day my purpose is accomplished.” “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war,” King David sings, for the Lord is the “shield… who subdues peoples under [him]”; He is the “stronghold” by whom “victory” is his. The same image of battle is used by Paul as he encourages us, “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.”  But “our battle ultimately is not against human forces” – in war against nations or even any individual enemy – “but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in the regions above.”  It is spiritual warfare we engage in, and in it we must “pray constantly and attentively for all in the holy company,” for the attacks against us are constant and we must ever with our brothers and sisters resist the evil one and “stand [our] ground.”  Heed Paul’s summary of the strength we must draw from the Lord for our mission: “Stand fast, with the truth as the belt around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and zeal to propagate the gospel of peace as your footgear.” Does not the Lord do just this?  Does He not witness fully to the courage we must have in the battle of earthly life?  For though the Pharisees come with the warning, “Leave this place!  Herod is trying to kill you,” Jesus “proceed[s] on course” in firm resolve.  Though “Jerusalem… slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to [her],” yet the Lord’s face is set like flint to enter there.  In every step along the way, on every day that leads there, He conquers the devil valiantly, displaying His great power over all darkness of this world by His Word of truth; and when He comes to the cross the war will have been won – the evil one will have no weapon remaining. “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Blessed is Jesus the Christ, and blessed all those who follow in His way, who fight unto death the evils that beset us here.  Brothers and sisters, faith in God will deflect all “the fiery darts of the evil one.”  “The helmet of salvation” will protect you from all harm; and by “the sword of the Spirit, the word of God,” you shall conquer mightily with the Lord.  “Pray in the Spirit.”  Pray always.  Pray for the Church militant that she proclaim the Gospel and come quickly to the Lord’s salvation. ******* O LORD, we bless your NAME and we are strong; we are ready for battle against all evil. YHWH, give us strength in the battle of earthly life, strength to overcome the attacks of the enemy, strength to stand with you on the holy day.  You are our strength; you are our deliverer.  You save us from all harm by your invincible power and glory – let us indeed stand strong in battle on this earth, that we may come quickly to Heaven. Your Word go forth, O LORD, to the ends of the earth, your Word of truth, your Word of life.  The sword of the Spirit be in our hands, upon our tongues, that we shall defeat all the forces of the evil one.  Let us be ever in prayer before you, ever calling upon your holy NAME.  And we shall be saved, and we shall save others by the grace that you give to do battle this day. With your Son let us cast out devils, LORD; let us serve to cure the troubled soul of man.  Blessed is He who comes in the NAME of the LORD!  Let us be blessed to follow Him on the way to Jerusalem, on the way to the Cross – for on the third day He shall rise.

(Eph.5:21-33;   Ps.128:1-5;   Lk.13:18-21)   “To what shall I compare the reign of God?”   Jesus Himself compares it to a mustard seed which grows so steadily into a “large shrub,” and to yeast which makes “the whole mass of dough” rise.  And Paul tells us of the marriage union that it “refers to Christ and the Church.”  These images should lead you, brother, to understand the glorious kingdom that is beyond all image. “The husband is head of the wife just as Christ is head of His body, the Church,” and husbands should “love [their] wives, as Christ’s loved the Church,” giving themselves “up for her” as the Lord has done for us.  A wonderfully beautiful call; a marvelous image which is to bring the Lord so really into our midst: love between husband and wife – the love of love upon this earth, which indeed brings the fruit of new life.  “A man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cling to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”  Here is a word of truth incomparable to others in the joy it brings the ear and the heart open to its call.  For by it is promised great happiness to those “who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.”  Yes, the obedient man will find that his “wife shall be like a fruitful vine” and his “children like olive plants around [his] table”; great is the blessing upon those who wed in love, the true love of the Lord. But a greater promise than this does this word bring, for in it is indeed “a great foreshadowing”; in it we see not only the fruitful love of man and woman, but of God and His people.  For does not Jesus leave His Father in heaven and cling to us?  Does it not bring the great knowledge that we shall be made one with Him and with His Father in heaven?  If “he who loves his wife loves himself,” does this not emphasize the absolute oneness of husband and wife?  And if such marriage foreshadows Christ’s love for us, can we not conclude that we will be as He is? Oh to what glory we are called!  To be as the only Son of God, to be one with Him.  Indeed “we are members of His body” even now, certainly.  Has Jesus not asked Saul why he was persecuting Him, referring to His Church (Acts 9:4); and has He not said what we do unto the least of our brothers we do unto Him?  We are one with Him even now, but yet we are growing, yet we are rising.  And the immeasurable glory to which we come is beyond even the most poignant image to depict.  It is absolute fullness, absolute union with our Lord and God.  Alleluia!  “The prosperity of [the New] Jerusalem” is ours. ******* O LORD, teach us to love one another  that we might be joined to your Son  and so enter your reign. YHWH, may husbands and wives be truly one in your sight; let there be no separation between them.  For they are one as we are one with your Son, and why would we separate ourselves from our Lord?  Salvation is ours in Him and in our love for one another.  Let us be obedient to His voice and fear you and walk in your ways, and we shall grow unto Heaven.  O LORD, you greatly bless those who fear you, who worship you alone and always do your will.  Help us to live according to your Word, particularly as it affects marriages.  For this day there is great separation between husband and wife, between man and woman; no sense of their oneness seems known anymore.  Set against one another do they not set themselves against you?  And living thus, how shall their love grow?  Then what hope have any of being fruitful in your sight and coming into your eternal presence?  It seems their children they would let die.  O save us from such destructive pride that we might love one another as ourselves, as you love us in your Son.

(Eph.4:32-5:8;   Ps.1:1-4,6,Eph.5:1;   Lk.13:10-17)   “There was a time when you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”   Brothers and sisters, remember always that “God has forgiven you in Christ.”  Once you “walk[ed] in the way of sinners,” but now you are as he who “delights in the law of the Lord.”  And so as God has shown His mercy to you, so should you do unto others; we must “be imitators of God as His dear children.”  As when Jesus saw the woman who “was badly stooped – quite incapable of standing erect,” for eighteen years afflicted by her infirmity, He had pity for her, called her to Him and “laid His hand on her” so that “immediately she stood up straight and began thanking God”… so should our hearts go out to all those in need, all those afflicted by infirmity and sin, that all might be as well as we have become, that all might praise God as we do. “Make no mistake about this: no fornicator, no unclean or lustful person – in effect an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”  Brothers and sisters, how many of us have been guilty of the deadly sins of which Paul speaks today?  (And if not these, what others?)  How many of us have deserved to be barred from the kingdom?  In truth we must say that all of us have fallen short of God’s glory and found ourselves in desperate need of the salvation only Christ brings.  And so should we hold out no hope for those who commit such sins now, who are as we have been?  Certainly “there are sins that bring God’s wrath down on the disobedient” and put them in danger of dying; but do we instruct these to “have nothing to do with them,” do we offer light to those in such darkness… or do we presume their condemnation? The Lord left not the stooped woman in Satan’s clutches, despite the “indignant” attitude of the leaders of the synagogue – whose own inability to stand erect is so much more difficult to cure.  No, the Lord saw a soul in need and reached His hand out to her; and should we not do the same with those we see suffering affliction, if not with a healing touch of our hand at least with the healing touch of devout prayer?  The well-being of others must always be our concern.  We must ever “be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving.”  For if our hearts stoop to jealousy and judgment as does the leader of the synagogue’s, what hope shall there be for us then of entering God’s kingdom?  We must ever be children of light, dispelling all darkness, if we are truly to be the “dear children” of our Lord.    ******* O LORD, let us stand up straight before you,   turning from sin and walking in your way at all times.  YHWH, let us be as your dear children, kind and compassionate toward others, ever reflecting your glory.  Let there be no sin among us, not even the whispering desire for sin.  Let us live as your children of light – banish all darkness from us.  Help us to walk in your way, O LORD, to be well instructed in your paths; for there are many who wander aimlessly and are easily subject to Satan’s wiles.  Let us be taught as the Jews of Jesus’ day and listen with attentive hearts to His words.  Indeed, like Him let us become, like a tree planted near the running water of the Spirit, and we shall prosper all our days, ever bearing fruit in your NAME.  Make clear to all, O LORD, that sin is sin, that the idolatry of lust is a turning from you and the light of your truth and the love of your heart.  Keep us from certain death, from the counsel of the wicked, delighting only in your Law day and night.