The BreadCast

(Rm.16:3-9,16,22-27;   Ps.145:1-5,10-11;   Lk.16:9-15)   “Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you.”   We are in the world, and amongst the wealth of this world.  We have nothing to do with money and the world – “You cannot serve God and money,” the Lord has told us, and so we cannot serve money… yet what have we to use but the riches of this world?  And so “through use of this world’s goods,” by showing ourselves trustworthy with this “elusive wealth,” we find and bring others to the “lasting” riches of heaven. Paul at the end of his letter to the Romans lists all his “fellow workers in the service of Christ.”  Here are those who have been faithful with the elusive wealth of this world.  They themselves have died, their bodies have been laid in the tomb, yet their works live on in the Spirit they have brought forth.  Nothing of this world lasts long, yet these transitory things can and must be used, that “glory be given through Jesus Christ unto endless ages.” “Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might,” sings David to the Lord.  And with our voice, too, while we have breath, we must “speak of the splendor of [His] glorious majesty and tell of [His] wondrous works.”  Forever and in all our works we must praise and bless the Lord of all, that all we do leads unto the glory of the kingdom, that in all we serve God with all our might.  We must join ourselves to Him, and we do this by the gifts He gives us, and by employing now what is at our disposal.  So it is.  So it has been back beyond the time of Paul, and so it shall be unto the coming of eternity. Today we must think of how well we use this world’s goods, how well we employ this Word of the Lord in the world.  In the “little” things of our daily lives do we honor God, or are we unjust in some manner?  For today begins the road to heaven; this time leads to eternity.  And if we wish to find “lasting reception” with the Lord in heaven, we must be ever faithful in our works today.  To God let us give thanks.  May we who are the work of the Lord give praise to Him in all our works upon this earth. ******* O LORD, let us give you glory through all that is at our hands. YHWH, generation after generation praises your works; from the time of the apostles unto this day, all those who serve the Gospel of your Son speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty – let us always discourse of the glory of your reign and give you due praise by all we do in your NAME. O LORD, we are in the world, and though we can never be of the world, what do we have but the world this day?  And so we must use it wisely and make great profit by it, even the salvation of the world itself.  May many men come into your presence by the work of your servants each day.  And may we always be in their company. O LORD, let our names be written in the Book of those who have faithfully served you, who have turned their backs on unjust gain for the sake of your Church.  May we forever sing your praise with all those your Son has saved.

(Rm.15:14-21;   Ps.98:1-4;   Lk.16:1-8)   “The worldly take more initiative than the otherworldly when it comes to dealing with their own kind.”   What is the Lord teaching His disciples?  What does He wish to tell them of their call?  We need only look at the Apostle Paul, for here is a man, a child of God, who has taken the initiative the Lord would see wrought in us all. Our first reading indeed speaks clearly of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles.  Not only has he covered a vast measure of the globe (particularly for that time), but his intense initiative is seen most acutely in his never going “to preach in places where Christ’s name was already known”; rather, “they who received no word of Him” became Paul’s audience.  A greater example of taking initiative in the Spirit of Christ to bring His light to the world perhaps will never be known. But it is required of all of us.  We are not free to revel in complacency because Paul has been so industrious.  It is still true that the Lord must make His salvation known “in the sight of the nations,” and it is still so that we Christians of the Church militant have the responsibility to see that the Lord’s work is accomplished.  Each of us is called to take a measure of initiative, is gifted by God with the responsibility of bringing a portion of His kingdom to light – in our own way, in our own time… but invariably the call is there and must be answered.  All must fulfill their role in salvation history before it can be truly and completely proclaimed: “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.” The devious employee’s heart was set thoroughly on the business at his hands, and he used his business wisdom, his worldly savvy, to save his skin.  Where is our spiritual savvy?  Where is the employment of our spiritual wisdom and insight to the salvation of others’ souls, and our own?  “I can take glory in Christ Jesus for the work I have done for God,” Paul says quite freely.  Are we able to say the same?  Let us work industriously and with initiative to bring the spiritual kingdom to fulfillment.  By God’s grace, let the Spirit come.   ******** O LORD, let us do all we can to bring your Word to the world. YHWH, you have made your salvation known in the death and resurrection of your Son, but we must carry that truth to the ends of the world, even as the Apostle Paul. We cannot sit on our hands, dear LORD; we must not dissipate your grace.  Rather, let us readily preach your Gospel in all we think, do, and say.  Then we will be pleasing in your sight, and all souls will be drawn into your presence. O LORD, to your children you have granted complete knowledge of your ways and made them able to serve your kingdom.  In the power of your Spirit let us go forth to see that all peoples are consecrated to you. Let all souls sing a new song to your NAME; let all praise your goodness to us, LORD.  From your work let us never turn away until we stand with you on your holy Day.

(Rm.14:7-12;   Ps.27:1,4,13-14;   Lk.15:1-10)   “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”   Since “every one of us will have to give an account of himself before God,” who are we to “sit in judgment” or “look down on” a brother?  Why are our eyes set upon others’ sins instead of the Lord’s glory?  Why do we fall into this pit of condemnation? Yes, Jesus welcomes sinners.  For this has He come.  How blessed are we that He makes such “a diligent search” to retrieve our souls from the grave of sin; how blessed are we when He finds us and puts us “on His shoulders in jubilation.”  In this forgiveness should we glory.  In this grace we should praise the Lord, and seek to help others come to such blessing.  But do we blind ourselves to the grace at work in our souls by setting our sights on the sins of others rather than the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ?  Are we as judgmental as the Pharisees and as those Paul warns today against condemnation of others? Brothers and sisters, we should rather be with David in his psalm and seek “to dwell in the house of the Lord” forever, and set our “gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple”; we must not let our sights fall from heaven to earth and so lose ourselves in the judgment of others’ sin.  This is the great danger.  This is the devil’s temptation: “Look at him,” he says, “see how evil he is.”  If he cannot get us to believe it about ourselves and so lose hope of redemption for our souls, he attempts to distract us with the sins of others, and so achieve the same ends.  We must realize that “both in life and death we are the Lord’s,” that He loves us and desires our salvation, and that He loves and desires the salvation of all our neighbors.  And so we must come to Him, take refuge in Him and in His love and forgiveness, and then we will “see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living” and not die a miserable death. Brothers and sisters, let each of us be that “repentant sinner” over whom the angels of God rejoice.  The Lord welcomes us though we are sinners.  Let us not forget His grace.  And let us welcome others.   ******* O LORD, let me be that one repentant sinner you find and place upon your shoulders – come to me even this day. YHWH, it is your great joy to see the repentance of the sinner, and so your Son has come among us to invite us to such grace.  And if we are your friends, will we not rejoice with you?  If all of Heaven rejoices at the conversion of the poor lost sinner, we show ourselves not to be of you, not to be of Heaven, if instead we look down upon our brother.  O save us from such a miserable fate! We all must bend the knee before your Son; we all shall have to appear before your judgment seat and give an account of our lives.  And is any of us without sin, except your Son’s dear Mother?  Then we must know that to dwell in your House, to contemplate your face, we all require your blessed forgiveness, LORD, that without it we will be left standing outside your gates.  And so, let us praise you for your goodness to us, and to others.  Let all souls be found rejoicing in your kingdom.

(Rm.13:8-10;   Ps.112:1-2,4-5,9;   Lk.14:25-33)  “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” Jesus tells us, “None of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions,” turning our backs even on father and mother, even on our very selves.  Our psalm states of the happy man, “Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever.”  And Paul makes clear that we “owe no debt to anyone except the debt that binds us to love one another.  He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” What is this love?  Where is this generous spirit?  How do we renounce all our possessions?  In the cross of Christ we find our call.  The cross of Christ means giving all, means laying down our lives for the Lord and our neighbor – the cross of Christ is love itself at work in this world in the death of self and the finding of the grace and the love of God in heaven. Jesus wishes that you be sure about this.  He desires that you understand what is required of you – your very life, your absolute love.  Nothing short of total sacrifice will do; we must be entirely whole, utterly holy, to enter His gates, to follow Him into glory.  This is greater and more significant than any war, than any project conceived by the mind of man, for it is our eternal soul that is at stake, whose weight cannot compare to even all the world.  “Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  We all have a cross graciously placed upon our shoulders by our loving Lord to make us one with Him in His redemptive suffering and death, to make us one with Him in such utter love.  How will we find heaven if we do not love?  How do we come to that place which is only of love if we do not give ourselves to love completely? “How can I do this?” you say.  “The Lord asks too much.”  You must remember that it is only love He asks of you, and that it is His cross you carry – He who is only of love – and so He carries your cross with you, making it ever so sweet and light.  Do you think the saints feared to die in the name of Christ?  Do you think they shrank back even in the face of torture?  None of this has any significance to the soul who is set on Christ; and without Christ a hangnail can seem overwhelming. Love, brothers and sisters.  It is simple as that.  Love.  Not this world, but His heart, His sacrifice, His cross.  And you will see all brought to life before you; and you will find joy in your soul. ******* O LORD, what a beautiful invitation to love is Jesus’ call to carry our cross with Him! for He is only love, and what can we find but love if we follow Him – and who will we then not truly love? YHWH, teach us of your way of love, embodied so perfectly in your Son, that we might give ourselves as generously as He to all those we find in need.  Help us to give up all things, to renounce our possessions, to turn our backs even on friends and family that we might truly love them and so teach them of your surpassing love. O how sweet is the Cross your Son would impart to all His followers!  What light it gives to the world.  If with willing heart we lend to others, expecting nothing in return, how blessed are we to thus share in your love!  Love is all that matters; it is the fulfillment of your Law, O LORD.  And we find it in the Cross. Jesus gives so lavishly to us poor souls, we who are so poor in spirit.  Nothing have we to offer in return, dear God, but the sacrifice of our lives.  May this poor offering be acceptable to you.

(Rm.12:5-16;   Ps.131:1-3;   Lk.14:15-24) “Come along, everything is ready now.” Dinner is being served now in the kingdom of God.  But are we prepared to sit down at table?  Or do we turn our hearts to other things? Jesus sets our place now in the kingdom of heaven.  He has come.  He has died.  He has risen and sends now the Holy Spirit to invite us into His presence.  And His presence is ever with us; He is ever knocking at the door of our hearts – His Spirit is always with us.  But, again, do we hear His call, do we heed His call?  Do we care to come into His presence and sup with Him, and receive His gracious gifts at His precious table, at His holy altar… or do we cling to what is evil, what is worldly? How do we come to His kingdom?  How do we find ourselves in His presence?  Paul instructs us: we must simply do His will.  Doing His will upon the face of this earth brings us to the kingdom of heaven.  The teaching should be evident to all Christians: “One who is a teacher should use his gift for teaching…  He who gives alms should do so generously…  Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer…”  Do all things as is meet for those things.  It is not complex.  There needs no genius to figure it out, or a scholastic degree to understand it.  One need not travel miles to discover it.  It is truth.  It is Jesus.  It is to suffer and die for Him as called by the Lord.  “Your love must be sincere.  Detest what is evil, cling to what is good.”  What more can be said?  Find peace in the arms of the Lord.  Say with our psalmist, “I have still and quieted my soul… like a weaned child upon its mother’s lap.”  We must do as he proclaims: “I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me.”  We must not complicate God’s simple love for us and our call simply to love Him with all He gives us.  We must, rather, heed His voice, and come into His presence when He calls. The table is set.  His Word is speaking to us.  In silence we will hear Him; in quiet we will find His voice.  In the vain activity of this world we become deaf.  Only by hearing and doing His Word and will, will we come to sit at His table and partake of His heavenly banquet – only if this is the true desire of our souls.  Even now we taste Him in the Blessed Sacrament; even today we hear His Word proclaimed.  Are we prepared to meet Him?  Do we seek to do His holy will? ******* O LORD, all are invited your House – let us find our place in the Body of Christ and serve Him well. YHWH, help us to do your will in all things, simply and purely, as your sons.  What you give to us let us share with others, answering you readily when you call. What need we do, dear God, but share the gifts you give us with others?  What do you expect of us but to use well what you place in our hands?  If we can teach, let us teach; if serve, let us serve.  Whatever we have let us be generous in offering at the service of our brothers.  Let us indeed love freely as you. Then we will be ready to answer your Son’s call to the kingdom – we will already be answering it in our very actions.  We will not be distracted from coming to you, LORD, if our only desire is to do your will in all things, if we are serving you with all our lives.  Then your Bread will already be before us, and we shall come into your presence this day.  O let your peace reign in our hearts!

(Rm.11:29-36;   Ps.69:14,30-31,33-34,36-37;   Lk.14:12-14)   “God has imprisoned all in disobedience that He might have mercy on all.”   I begin to see “how deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God.”  For though I am far from knowing “the mind of the Lord,” yet He does offer me a certain insight this early morning about Him whom Paul says, “From Him and through Him and for Him all things are.” It is in the complementarity of the readings the insight comes, particularly viewing the gospel in light of the first reading.  Jesus instructs the chief of the Pharisees that when giving a banquet he should “invite beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind” and to be “pleased that they cannot repay” him for his generosity, assuring him he “will be repaid in the resurrection of the just.”  Now, the Lord does not instruct us to be anything more or less than He and the Father are.  So this instruction reflects God’s own great desire and joy in giving to those who are not able to repay Him: it serves as a reminder that God is love, that He thrives, as it were, on mercy, on compassion. Paul, in the first reading, states to the Romans, “God wished to show you mercy,” and that for this reason the Jews “have become disobedient,” as well as to fulfill God’s longing that “they too may receive mercy” upon returning to Him who set them apart for Himself.  Again we see the greatness of God’s love, we glimpse His burning desire to show compassion to all creatures.  Now, to the mind lacking wisdom (and love), it might seem as if God is somehow playing with us, causing our falling that He might lift us up again.  But it is necessary to remember that God did not desire us to sin, that this was not His intention… and indeed that He did not need us to sin to show us His mercy and love.  But our disobedience having come, God in His love is not conquered.  This temporary and empty victory by the devil does not tie His hands.  Rather, the Lord takes this opportunity to show in an even greater way the very mercy and love which are His essence – shown to us so clearly in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to forgive men’s sins – to show, really, His greatness, which has its source in this love. And David’s psalm speaks in the same line: “The Lord hears the poor, and His own who are in bonds He spurns not.”  In our affliction and pain we cry out and He comes with His “saving help”; He is pleased to “rebuild the cities of Judah,” to return us to His side.  It is not sin He desires, but the recognition of our dependence on Him for all things, that He might freely show us His love.  For this love at His heart’s core and which overcomes all – which is the essence of God and His creation – let us praise Him, brothers and sisters.  “To Him be glory forever.  Amen.”    ******* O LORD, who can repay you for your mercy toward us, for your love is without measure? YHWH, how great is your mercy, and how greatly you desire us to share in that mercy.  And so we have become imprisoned in disobedience, that your love you might freely bestow upon us.  And so you call us to give freely to others, that your blessing of mercy we might know even in our own souls.  O LORD, how can we poor creatures share so intimately in your merciful love?  How can we who have hardened our hearts so much against you be blessed with the grace of forgiveness and come to the fountain of love you are?  We deserve it not.  We merit only condemnation.  And yet, it is your desire to show us such love, and to have us show it to others.  How can we thank you, LORD, we poor beggars, we blind souls…?  How can we repay you for giving us, and then giving us back, our very lives?  In your generosity invite us to your table and by your grace let us feast with you.

(Rm.9:1-5;   Ps.147:12-15,19-20;   Lk.14:1-6) “They could not answer.” The Pharisees are dumb.  The leaders of the Jewish nation cannot speak as to whether a man should be healed on the sabbath.  How far they have fallen from the presence of God. We know the Israelites were God’s chosen people.  This is proclaimed clearly by both Paul and our psalmist today: “Theirs were the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the lawgiving, the worship, and the promises; theirs were the patriarchs, and from them came the Messiah”; yet when the Messiah, the Son, the fulfillment of all the gifts given them, stands before them… they are blind, they are dumb – they have no wisdom, no light.  This is the nation whom the Lord has given “His statutes and His ordinances…  He has not done thus for any other nation.”  And yet they are unable to judge that it is right for a man to be healed at any time, that this is God’s will, that human life supersedes the mere observance of law, a law they have suffocated of its life. And we?  Again, being successors to the Jews we must always ask ourselves if we do the things which caused the promise to be taken from their hands.  Do we proclaim the glory of this Word?  Do we “speak the truth in Christ”?  Or do we keep silent, too?  And not the silence that bears all suffering as has our Savior upon the cross do I speak – I mean the death of the Word in our souls.  The inability to discern His will.  The fear to praise God by teaching the nations of the grace which has been granted us.  “He sends forth His command to the earth; swiftly runs His Word!”  But does that Word come through us, does it work through us who are the keepers of the New Covenant, or do we let it die in our throats? “Blessed forever be God who is over all!” Paul shouts as despair he begins to detect for the failure of so many Jews to turn to Christ.  And so we should ever praise our God whenever doubt or fear enters our soul.  It is our only refuge.  It is our only strength.  Silence before the courts of this world which observe us closely will not do.  Acceptance of our death, yes, but not fear of retribution should be ours.  We must speak the truth in love, relying on the wisdom which comes from Him alone as we make our way through the challenges of this world. ******* O LORD, why should our mouths be shut in the presence of your glory? YHWH, may your Word run swiftly to us and work swiftly through us.  May we never hesitate to proclaim your praise, to declare your love for all in all our words and actions.  May we think only the good and seek only your will.  Let the dictates of the law never quash our souls. How blessed were your chosen people, LORD!  All things were given them at your gracious hands.  True worship of you was theirs; but how far they have fallen from your love.  Though all was made known to them by your Word, they forgot the blessing upon their nation and became blind to your will.  O let their eyes be opened! You desire only good for all, dearest LORD, and nothing that is for our neighbor’s good can contravene your law.  The law you give to lead us to glory, and now that glory is in our midst in your only Son.  Let us open our hearts to His teaching and live forever in your love.

(Rm.8:31-39;   Ps.109:21-22,26-27,30-31;   Lk.13:31-35)   “For your sake we are being slain all the day long.”   And yet, “in all this we are more than conquerors because of Him who has loved us.” We die.  Each day we die, we sacrifice our lives.  We are “as sheep to be slaughtered.”  This is our call, to be as our Lord who was crucified – our King wears a crown of thorns.  And yet in all this apparent weakness, in all those places where violence seems to reign, where death presumes dominion over us… it is void.  It has no power.  For God holds all the world in His creating hand, and He watches over us.  So, indeed, “if God is for us, who can be against us?”  If God fights for us, how shall we be conquered?  We shall not, we cannot.  “Christ Jesus, who died or rather was raised up… intercedes for us.”  And so the death He suffered, which led only to life, becomes our own, and only life is ours in Him. The Lord would gather all His “children together, as a mother bird collects her young under her wing,” but so many refuse.  So many are disobedient.  So many desire not the love of God.  And so, death comes.  Because of our sin, Jesus must suffer, Jesus must die.  And we must die with Him if we are to follow Him through this world of darkness and sin into the kingdom of light.  For the emptiness of the power of this world must be exposed.  It must be shown for the nothingness it is.  And only by dying does this become clear to our minds. And so, Jesus does not shy away from death; He does not save Himself from its clutches.  Freely He offers Himself for our sakes, that we might overcome the fear it produces in our fallen souls, that we might then be raised from darkness to light.  The prayer of David is the prayer of Christ, standing in our stead, “I am wretched and poor, and my heart is pierced within me.”  The sword, which has no power over Him, nor over us now, He accepts in His side that new life might flow out from His broken flesh.  The suffering which should be our own He takes and nails to the cross.  And it is dead.  And the power of Satan is nullified.  And in His “generous kindness” the Lord has rescued us.  And so as we suffer now with Him all the temptations of this earthly life, our heavenly king is by our side breathing upon us new life.  Let us have no fear for any presumed power of this universe; the Lord is greater than them all.    ******* O LORD, you will save us from all trial and persecution – even death. YHWH, by the love of Christ we have been saved, and nothing can separate us from that love.  Though Satan persecute us, though the kings of this earth seek to destroy us, yet we shall live in your only Son who, though He died, was raised up and sits now at your right hand interceding for us this day.  And so, what need we fear? To His death Jesus went, freely and without fear.  In Jerusalem He was slain like all of the prophets.  Yes, the walls of Jerusalem were torn down and the temple abandoned.  But in His resurrection the true Temple is rebuilt, and to the holy City we are now drawn.  Blessed is he who comes in the Name of your Son!  Blessed are you, dear God, who desire so earnestly to justify our poor, broken souls. And so, now that Jesus has died for our sakes, we shall not be condemned.  We shall conquer all sword and danger in His love.  Praise you for your kindness, LORD!  You have heard our cries.

(Rm.8:26-30;   Ps.13:4-6;   Lk.13:22-30)   “Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?”   We question.  We wonder.  With the man who spoke to the Lord as He made His way toward Jerusalem, as He approached His own death, we question Jesus, “Who will be saved?” particularly as we face our own imminent death.  Jesus answers the man, and so He responds to us, too.  His answer is simple: “Come in through the narrow door.”  His answer is wise, and comes with, and itself is, a warning to us not to take for granted the salvation by our God but to be diligent about our striving toward His kingdom, to be purposeful about our dying for Him.  Those who walked with Him may have thought that this alone would be sufficient to ensure their entrance into heaven.  But simply knowing Him, seeing Him, and even eating with Him will not do: He must know us.  He must see us about His work as we see Him about the Father’s work – He must come in and eat with us, nourishing our souls with His daily bread of labor in His Name, of life in His Word. Brothers and sisters, we may come to His table every day.  We may eat of His Body and drink of His Blood and hear His Word proclaimed to our ears; we may be members of His Church, sitting here in these pews; we may have since birth been graced with the blessings of the sacraments and teaching of our Catholic faith – but this alone does not assure our entering into heaven.  We must live that faith.  We must put flesh and blood to our belief.  There is no other way we can be saved, because this is our life and our life is required of us by God.  It will not magically occur at the moment of death if we have not spent our lives for Him. O brothers and sisters, we must cry out with David, “Give light to my eyes that I may not sleep in death.”  We must sing to the Lord with him, “Let my heart rejoice in your salvation.”  We must seek Him, seek His life, with all our hearts, that the prophetic words of Paul might become our own, that our predestination “to share the image of His Son” the Father might accomplish in us.  For the Lord does call us, and we must respond.  As we respond, we shall be justified – He shall enter in and cleanse us of our sin.  And remaining on this path of justification we shall soon find glory with God in His eternal kingdom. Brothers and sisters, let the will of the Lord be accomplished in us.  In our moments of doubt, when we have no words with which to come to God, let us turn to the Spirit who “intercedes for the saints as God Himself wills,” “with groanings which cannot be expressed in speech.”  He truly is our help in weakness.  He truly is our guard on this perilous journey.  Only remaining with Him and in His Church do we find comfort in the knowledge that we are to be saved. ******* O LORD, call us unto your kingdom that with your Son we might be glorified –  let us embrace the Cross as we make our way to you.  YHWH, send your Spirit to help us in our weakness; hear us as we cry out to you.  In our lives let your will be accomplished, that with your Son we might be glorified.  You lead us forth in your goodness – may we be obedient to the promptings of our heart. Within us you place your Spirit, LORD; to our ears come the teachings of your Son.  Through the narrow door let us pass, by the groanings you inspire in us.  What can we do but call upon your NAME?  Let us not cry out in vain. Our enemies surround us, LORD, and seek our downfall.  How they wish to see us sleep in death.  They would bar the door to your House that we might not enter – in your loving kindness defeat their plans.  Let us be made in the image of your Son that on the last day we might join your saints in the kingdom.

(Rm.8:12-17;   Ps.68:2,4,6-7,20-21;   Lk.13:10-17)   “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”   It is the Spirit of God that led the poor stooped woman in our gospel today to the synagogue to see and hear the teaching of Jesus the Lord, and to find a healing for her infirmity.  “This daughter of Abraham… in the bondage of Satan for eighteen years” was by the Lord “released from her shackles” and became a daughter also of the Most High God.  She is a sign of us all.  For all, whether sons of Abraham by the flesh or not, are called into the presence of God to find healing for the sin and sadness and oppression of the devil which trouble us.  On our own we cannot stand straight in the sight of God, but by the touch of Jesus we find our dignity and become sons of God with Him. God is “the father of orphans and the defender of widows”; He “gives a home to the forsaken.”  And so we who were once under the “spirit of slavery” to sin may now find “a spirit of adoption through which we cry out, ‘Abba!’ (that is, ‘Father’).”  Once having no father to watch over us, now “the Spirit Himself gives witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  A greater blessing one could not find than to be a son or daughter of the Most High God.  For “God is a saving God for us.”  Not only does He love us, but He shows that love even by dying for us, that we might live. And it is so that “if we are children, we are heirs as well: heirs of God, heirs with Christ.”  And though it is by the death of Jesus that we are made heirs of the Father’s glory, we only come into full possession of the riches of our glorious Lord by our own death, for we must “suffer with Him so as to be glorified with Him.”  It is this death of ours, a death to self, to flesh, to sin and the world, that brings us the life of Him “who controls the passageways of death” and so is able to free us from all death. Day by day the Lord “bears our burdens.”  On all days, eternally, He is our Father and our Savior, waiting to heal us.  Whenever we come to Him, we shall find Him ready to bless us.  His Spirit He sends upon all, like a sun that never sets, calling us to His presence.  We must but respond in humility and faith, and as we bow ourselves before Him, He will raise us up to the dignity He desires for all our lives.  And we shall be His sons.   ******* O LORD, your Son bears our burdens for us – He releases us from bondage to the flesh that we might live with Him in the Holy Spirit. YHWH, orphans and widows we have been, far from you we were separated from the beginning, cast off like a forsaken wife.  And we could not find our way back to you by the flesh, try as we might by following the line of our ancestors – this but brought us back repeatedly to their weakness, to their separation from your grace, from the light of your holy face. But your Son you sent to show us the way to you.  In Him we find the blood that must course through our veins; wed unto His flesh we are redeemed….  It is He who puts to death the evil deeds of the body and makes us sons once again of you – now His Spirit is upon us to call out your NAME, dear Father. O let us be your children! wherever we are from; whether children of Abraham or of foreign lands, let us all be blessed this holy day to know the healing touch of your Son and so inherit your kingdom.  O LORD, of your love let us not be afraid.