The BreadCast

(1Tm.3:14-16;   Ps.111:1-6;   Lk.7:31-35)  “God’s wisdom is vindicated by all who accept it.” “The Church of the living God” is the “pillar and bulwark of truth,” as Paul tells us.  And it is those who live the faith, “professing it” with all their beings, who prove its truth.  “Wonderful, indeed, is the mystery of our faith”; no greater grace or wisdom could we hope to attain. “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up into glory…”  “Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights…”  How our first reading and psalm sing of the glory of our God!  And how blessed are we to know “the power of His works,” to be recipients of His gift of “majesty and glory,” to be the children of so great a God.  We should indeed praise Him unceasingly for being “mindful of His covenant” with us, for shedding His blood for our salvation, for drawing us into the Father’s presence.  “He has given food to those who fear Him,” and we partake of His glorious meal each day in the Holy Eucharist. Forget not the blessings the Lord imparts to us, brothers and sisters.  “Know what kind of conduct befits a member of God’s household.”  We must not be as the men of Jesus’ day who like spoiled children sought to form the Lord in the image they desired of Him, refusing to accept Him and His wisdom as it came to them, as it stood before them in the flesh.  How can we presume upon the will of our God and His wisdom?  How can we fail to accept the light and grace of the Gospel?  What folly it is to judge Him who judges the universe.  We must be open to His Word, open to His grace, open to His teaching and the marvelous works known only in adherence to His covenant of absolute truth and love.  He is the foundation upon which the Church is set, and a Church living His wisdom and grace is the vindication, the proof, of its eternal efficacy for the good of all.  Rejoice in the Lord always, brothers and sisters, that He has blessed you with knowledge of His glory and fed you with His own body and blood.  Eat and drink this food He gives, do all He commands in His eternal wisdom, and with the angels you will behold His face as children of the Most High God. ******* O LORD, lead me forth in the peace of your presence – restore our ruined house; heal all our disease. YHWH, you grant mercy to our souls.  Though we be cast down to the nether world for all our sins, you send forth your apostles to overcome all demons and cure us of our diseases; you raise our heads to look upon your face.  And so, what should we do but praise you with full voice? Continually we falter, LORD; repeatedly your people fall back into sin.  But ever you call us to turn from our wickedness that we might find your favor again.  In your Son you make this mercy complete, and we find it now at work in your Church.  Let us receive well the Word that comes to us and so approach your kingdom. What have you not done for us, O LORD.  Even the hearts of the kings of this earth you have turned to our cause to assist us in rebuilding your Temple.  All is in your hands, Almighty God!  Redeem us from captivity to walk in freedom with you at our side.

(1Tm.3:1-13;   Ps.101:1-3,5-6;   Lk.7:11-17)   “He who walks in the way of integrity shall be in my service.”   “God has visited His people.”  What the people said when Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead should be said of us all as we pass through this world.  That same love that moved Jesus to pity upon seeing the tears of this poor mother should move us all.  To all we should say, “Do not cry.”  To all we should step forward with the love of Christ fixed firmly in our hearts and bring the same grace and healing. In our first reading Paul outlines the qualities necessary to be a servant of the Lord.  At whatever level we find ourselves, to whatever role we are called, we must walk in integrity of heart.  All “must be serious”; all “should be temperate”; all should be of peace and never of greed; and all must keep their homes in order.  “The man of haughty eyes and puffed-up heart I will not endure,” the Lord warns us in David’s psalm.  And we must heed that warning and walk humbly with our God, seeking to serve Him and our neighbor well, that we might ever be built up in “faith in Christ Jesus.” His servants are blessed.  “My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me,” of the Lord’s kindness and judgment David sings.  Indeed, those who follow in His ways will do things as great as He – even to the raising of the dead – and shall find themselves raised up on the last day.  But as we go through this world we cannot have cold hearts for our neighbors: we cannot allow the faith to die within ourselves.  That which has been nurtured within us must be shared with others; then we will “gain a worthy place” at the Lord’s side. All are called to their stations in life; all have a part in the Body of Christ.  Let us not set before our eyes “any base thing” but look always to fulfill that call in a trustworthy manner, holding “fast to the divinely revealed faith with a clear conscience.”  If our conscience becomes clouded, we will be unable to serve Him, and our reward will be placed in jeopardy.  Therefore, let us ever maintain His goodness within us and let our actions always reflect the great love of God.  The Lord wishes us to be forever in His service.   ******* O LORD, the temple of our souls we must rebuild, according to your Word, that we might be His brothers and sisters, that we might enter His House. YHWH, let us go up to your House; let us enter its gates in joy, giving thanks to you who have made us as your Temple, built into the Body of your Son, as His brothers and sisters who do your will in this world.  He is the New Jerusalem and we desire to come to Him and make our home in Him.  Bless our efforts in building ourselves into your holy Temple, the Church. Help us as we return from exile, as from sin we turn away and come back to you, O LORD our God.  We shall need your assistance in rebuilding lives which have gone so astray, in restoring the walls that keep us from harm, from the dangers all about our souls, and that found us in you and in the Word of your Son. O let us hear your Word calling us into your presence! and let us act upon that Word and give glory to you, LORD, with our every breath, with every sacrifice we make in your NAME.

(1Tm.2:1-8;   Ps.28:2,6-9;   Lk.7:1-10)   “Offer prayers with blameless hands held aloft.”   We must pray.  We must petition the Lord for the good of the world, that the good of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, might be known to all.  If we do not intercede, if we do not seek the healing of a people sick with sin, who shall do so?  The Lord desires “all men to be saved and come to know the truth.”  It is our responsibility, it is our call, to bring the love and forgiveness and healing of our Lord forth. “Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you, lifting up my hands to your holy shrine.”  Our eyes and our hands must be continually lifted up to the temple of the Lord and to His holy presence.  The Lord listens to our prayers, brothers and sisters.  The world depends upon our prayers.  Those for whom the Lord is “strength” and “the saving refuge” are near to Him, and He waits to hear from them.  He longs to hear the petitions of their hearts and is eternally prepared to respond to their pleas.  Should not we who are blessed to be within the walls of the Church, who partake of His Word and His sacraments, who have His teaching upon our hearts and His presence in our midst, be concerned for the good of all; should we not long to see the Lord’s will done on this earth?  Then pray. And our gospel teaches us that those who disparage the faithful for depending on the intercessions of others, those who think they must always come directly to Jesus to find answer to their petition – those who fail to see the family of God and our connection here on earth with the saints who have preceded us to heaven – are in danger of a vain pride.  Learn from the centurion, who says to the Lord, “I did not presume to come to you myself.”  And why?  “For I am not worthy to have you enter my house.”  And so, first “he sent some Jewish elders to him” (are these not so much like our beloved saints?), and then “sent friends” to deliver the above message of humility.  And for his humility, and for his faith in the intercession of others… and for his realization that the Lord hears petitions offered for others and that He Himself has ministering angels who perform His work at His Word – the Lord holds this centurion in “amazement” and raises him up as a model of faith. Do we believe?  Do we truly believe in the Lord and in His angels and His saints?  Do we believe His heavenly kingdom is near to us, and His will is for our good?  Then we should not hesitate to lift our hearts and our hands to the Lord in faithful prayer. Blessed Mother, intercede for us before your Son, Jesus, that we who are not worthy to receive Him into our mortal bodies may be made immortal by His presence within us.  May He bring peace to the world.   ******* O LORD, you will repay the faithful soul;  you will repay him to the full – the lamp you light in us will never dim. YHWH, bring us into the New Jerusalem; return us to our true home with you.  In Heaven let us dwell this day, blessed with all the gifts and graces come from your hands.  Then we shall rejoice.  Then we shall laugh and sing.  Then our tears will be washed away as we join ourselves to you.  How impossible it seems as we sit here in this dark world, and yet how very likely.  For even here you are present to us as we speak your NAME.  Even now we know your light shining in our minds and hearts.  Yes, LORD, even now we come to Heaven.  You are with your people even in their exile, and you call even those who are strangers to help them along their way to you.  All the nations know your greatness and shall enter your Church, O LORD.  Let us build your Temple this day.

(1Tm.1:15-17;   Ps.113:1-7;   Lk.6:43-49) “Any man who desires to come to me will hear my words and put them into practice.” Our psalm today declares that God is “enthroned on high” – “High above all the nations is the Lord; above the heavens is His glory.”  And why is the Lord so glorious, so worthy of our praise…?  Because “He raises the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill He lifts up the poor.”  And Paul tells us the same: he glorifies God as “King of the ages, the immortal, the invisible, the only God” – and why?  Because though he is “the worst” of sinners, the Lord has dealt mercifully with him and made him an example of His great love. The Lord indeed is great and worthy of all praise.  Though seated far above us, He reaches down to lift us up to Him.  In a word: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”  Humbling Himself to walk and die among us, He calls us to eternal life.  But we must answer that call, we must follow His way.  We cannot simply call Him “Lord, Lord”; we must indeed “put into practice” His words.  If we do not, we cannot find the fruit of His sacrifice for us.  Mere words, simple verbal assent, is not sufficient to bring us to the blood of Christ and the redemption it holds.  It is by our actions we are judged and not our words.  Jesus makes this very clear: “Each tree is known by its yield.”  If we do not produce good fruit, how can we claim to be a good tree?  And doesn’t the Lord cut down every tree that fails to bear fruit in His name? All shall hear His words, all shall know of the glory He offers forth.  But shall all be as the apostle Paul and put His words into practice, suffering for the faith He proclaimed?  Will all make real the teaching of Christ in their lives?  Those who do will find themselves set on a firm foundation – His word will be in their flesh and blood.  They will receive Him into their very beings and find Him at the center of all they think and do.  Without His presence so firmly fixed within themselves by their living it in their actions, salvation will be far away, and their houses shall crumble.  Brothers and sisters, let us not fail to realize the salvation He offers us sinners.  In His goodness, let us produce good from our hearts. ******* O LORD, it is your mercy that sets us on a solid foundation from which we may praise you for your goodness. YHWH, you are far above all nations, above the heavens and the earth, and yet in your Son you stoop down to us, and raise us from this dunghill.  We are but dust in your sight – we could be no better in relation to you.  And yet you show great patience with us poor creatures; you have mercy on our sinful souls. Jesus you send to walk among us and show us the way we should walk.  Help us to put into practice what He teaches, in His words and in all He does, and we shall be set solidly in your goodness, LORD, and bear fruit worthy of your NAME. But if we should be so foolish as to ignore the great gift of the Christ in our midst, if we should fail to listen to Him and act according to His teaching – what hope will there be for us?  For then the great work of saving sinners He has come to accomplish in your glorious NAME, we shall receive in vain, and in our sin ever remain.  Save us from such an evil fate, O Most High God!

(1Tm.1:1-2,12-14;   Ps.16:1-2,5,7-8,11;   Lk.6:39-42)   “Remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”   The answer to Jesus’ question to His disciples: “Can a blind man act as guide to a blind man?” is obvious.  No.  It must be a man of sight, of vision, who leads those who are blind, who are without understanding.  Paul has become a prime example of one who is well able to lead others.  In our first reading he speaks to Timothy, his “true child in faith,” whom he has taught and led and who now stands as a bishop of the early Church.  But how did Paul come to be such a profitable apostle?  We see in our reading that he has taken the instruction of the Lord, his teacher, to heart, and first recognized and then removed the plank which once rested firmly in his own eye: “I was once a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance.”  Indeed, this great Apostle of the Lord was once an egregious persecutor of the Church; and indeed we all have or have had great sins in our lives which have set us in opposition to God – but Paul has faced his sin, found “the grace of our Lord… in overflowing measure,” and served to remove innumerable specks from others’ eyes.  What of us?  Do we see our sins?  Have we removed them?  Do we see clearly enough to “remove the speck from [our] brother’s eye?” “Every student when he has finished his studies will be on a par with his teacher.”  Paul has humbled himself before Jesus and absorbed the lessons the Lord imparts by the Spirit.  Timothy has proven himself a true student and son of Paul.  Who is our teacher?  Where do we get our knowledge?  Whom do we imitate?  And whom do we lead?  Are we falling into ditches following blind men’s leads?  Are we leading others astray with any false philosophy?  Or is it the Lord who “counsels” us as He does David in our psalm?  Do we say with him, “O Lord, my allotted portion and cup, you it is who hold fast my lot,” and, “I set the Lord ever before me”?  Is it His “grace, mercy, and peace” we seek always; or in arrogance do we set about doing the business we think fit?  The teaching of the Lord would lead us to set aside any sin within ourselves, to cleanse our hearts and purify our souls in order to have clear vision.  For it is by this holy vision His Church is led forth, and we must be part of this procession.  ******* O LORD, in Christ Jesus let us grow in faith and love by the forgiveness of our sins. YHWH, remove the sin from our lives that we might be filled with your vision and serve to help you call others to faith.  On our own we remain blind, but we can bring light to others with you at our side. O Jesus, teach us of the ways of God, and open our hearts and minds to listen to your voice and act upon your words.  We are worth nothing apart from you, but if we follow in your way we may become like you who see and know all things by love and lead all souls to salvation. Have mercy on us, dear LORD, for without your grace upon our souls we shall die in our unbelief.  Who can come to you unless you call him?  And apart from you, indeed we die in sin. Open our eyes to your glory; let us set you ever before us.  Let your counsel sink deeply into our hearts that we might live at your right hand and lead others to your glory.

(Col.3:12-17;   Ps.150:1-6;   Lk.6:27-38) “Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “Sing gratefully to God from your hearts in psalms, hymns, and inspired songs.”  Such is our speech and action when dedicated to God.  Our lives indeed become a symphony of His grace when we “let the word of Christ, rich as it is, dwell in [us].”  The “blast of the trumpet… with lyre and harp… with timbrel and dance… with strings and pipe… with sounding of cymbals,” which our psalm exhorts in praise of God, are the litany of virtues we are called in both our first reading and our gospel to practice with our Christian lives. Paul conducts us to “clothe [our]selves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”  He invokes “Christ’s peace,” “thankfulness,” and “wisdom made perfect” upon us, and states: “Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect,” making love the key to this hymn we sing and play with our lives, the note to which we continually return and which is ever present at the heart of our melody.  And what a perfectly marvelous, heavenly song this is when sung in sincerity and truth. The sincerity and truth to which we are called is made unmistakable in the Lord’s teaching in our gospel.  Here we have the greatest challenge to our virtue of love, and its greatest moment.  Here the magnum opus is sounded.  Jesus has for us a litany of virtues Himself: “Be compassionate… do not judge… do not condemn… pardon… give,” and assures us that “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over” will be ours if we live by His word.  But the love which is the sum of all virtues is most poignantly accentuated in the command which sets the Lord and His grace apart from all others and their teachings, which makes Him so clearly the Son of God.  “To you who hear me, I say: Love your enemies,” He proclaims to His disciples, and then makes explicit the call to a Christian life: “Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, and pray for those who maltreat you.”  And more specifically, “When someone slaps you on the cheek, turn and give him the other; when someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well.”  Who can hear these words?  Who can heed these commands?  Who can live them in speech and action, as has our Lord upon the cross?  It is this sacrifice of love to which we are called, and only this will raise our song unto heaven.  We must act always out of love. ******* O LORD, how shall we love as you who are Most High when we cannot even love as humans? – if we really are your chosen ones we will die on the Cross with Jesus. YHWH, let us praise you with all our lives; may all our words and all our actions be a song of praise to you.  Christ’s peace reigning in our hearts, help us to love one another, even our enemies, forgiving any wrong done to us and praying for the salvation of all souls.  As Jesus let us be in our compassion, desiring never to see others condemned but hoping always for their conversion in your blessed mercy.  Then our song shall reach to you and the angels will shower your graces upon us. To what great love you call us, LORD! to be even as your only Son, even as you are in your infinite mercy.  If we could but hear your call, if we but answered Jesus’ instruction with the sacrifice it entails, how blessed we would be?  Help us to lay down our lives with Him, even for those who kill us.  Alleluia!

(Col.3:1-11;   Ps.145:2-3,9-13;   Lk.6:20-26)   “Set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand.”   Is this not the central message of the Lord’s beatitudes: “Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.”  For how could we be blest in poverty, hunger, and weeping if our hearts are set on this earth?  And how could riches and fullness and laughter be curses except that they do not find their origin in heaven?  Paul makes it explicit: “You have died!” he declares, and leaves no question but that our “life is hidden now with Christ in God.”  There must our hearts be. “Put to death whatever in your nature is rooted in earth,” the Apostle continues.  Lust and anger and deceit have no place in the life of a follower of Christ, for these indeed are sins of this earth which stand in contradiction to the grace of heaven.  Therefore, we must set them all aside to become “a new man, one who grows in knowledge as he is formed anew in the image of his Creator.”  It cannot be that the Lord’s children have discourse with evil conduct; those who are called to heaven must “discourse of the glory of [His] kingdom,” their souls must “speak of [His] might” and their lives must be lived in His light. And so the Lord “raised His eyes to His disciples.”  And so He spoke to them of heaven.  And so the blessing of persecution in this world was made known to them, that their hearts might begin to understand.  God’s world is not this world; His kingdom is not of darkness but of light.  And if in the darkness we take our refuge, and if our hearts are not grieved by its injustice… if we fat ourselves on things of the flesh and turn our eyes from the demands of the Spirit… how shall we ever find justice and light?  How shall we ever come into the Lord’s glorious presence?  What will we do then but weep in our emptiness? The Lord’s kingdom is coming, brothers and sisters.  Be assured.  What this world holds – its passion and death – is passing quickly, like a cloud in the night.  The rays of morning are not far from us, for the Lord is even now at our side.  And to His side in heaven we shall yet come, if we but accept His blessing.  So let us say with David, “Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations”; and let us enter now into His eternal presence.  ******* O LORD, let us set our hearts on your kingdom and let this world and its sin pass away. YHWH, blessings and woes you hold for all souls, and so help us set our hearts on things above rather than things of earth, on your kingdom which endures forever and not on this dying, deceit-filled place.  Let our mouths bless you and speak of your glory, not be filled with every kind of wickedness.  For then indeed we will be blessed by you, as those who revel in their sin are subject to your wrath. O let us not take our consolation now in this dark world!  Let us not give ourselves to the passion and lust that characterize this age.  We must die to all of this world and find our life in your Christ, who has died, or when He appears we shall be condemned.  Help us, O LORD, to rejoice in the persecution that is ours in following His way, knowing we are thus joined to Him and, so, destined also for His glory.  All idolatry let us set aside and make your Son our only desire.  O let us be poor souls who hunger ever for you!

(Col.2:6-15;   Ps.145:1-2,8-11;   Lk.6:12-19)   “Coming down from the mountain with them, He stopped at a level stretch where there were many of His disciples.”   In our gospel, the Lord has gone “to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God.”  Then at daybreak He chose His twelve apostles.  On His way back down the mountain He comes upon those who have been waiting for Him, and He takes pity on this “large crowd of people” and reaches out His hand to heal them. Yes, He in whom “the fullness of deity resides in bodily form,” as Paul tells us in our first reading, has come down from on high, from His union with the Father, to walk amongst us, to dwell with us – to “pardon all our sins.”  He “who is head of every principality and power” has bent down to the level of the humble creature dead in sin and circumcised him with the circumcision “which strips off the carnal body completely.”  He has accomplished this by taking the claim against us, our debt for our sins, and “nailing it to the cross.”  And baptized into Him and His cross we are “not only buried with Him but also raised to life with Him.”  The grace that comes from this sacrifice, the healing we find in the touch of His hand and by the power of His word and His blood, we must now treasure.  And so Paul tells us we must “be rooted in Him and built up in Him, growing ever stronger in faith,” lest we make His sacrifice void. “The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works,” sings David in our psalm today; and how can this be greater shown than in His coming down from heaven to teach us and to heal us, and to fulfill this teaching and healing in dying on the cross?  What more could He do for us than to die for us to save us?  What greater love could our God impart? Do not be deceived, brothers and sisters, by “any empty, seductive  philosophy… based on cosmic powers rather than on Christ.”  Avoid any teaching that does not recognize Jesus as the Son of God, as God Himself “in bodily form.”  Without Jesus there is no salvation, and failing to recognize “the fullness of deity” in Him, we cannot “share of this fullness” to which we are called.  Rather, let us sing with David, “Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever.”  Always in the Lord Jesus let us take our refuge, and in His love; let us ever wait for His coming down from the mountain to touch and heal our hearts.  Alleluia.   ******* O LORD, power goes out from your Son to heal us of all our sins –  let us come to Him, and remain with Him.  YHWH, your power resides in Jesus, He who is God in bodily form.  He it is who took our sins and nailed them to the tree that we might have new life in company with Him in your eternal presence.  In the fullness of His power we now share, with all His apostles and disciples; let us ever grow in faith and strength before you.  How compassionate you are, O LORD!  And how that compassion is revealed in your only Son, He who died for our sins, He who came down from Heaven to heal us of all our ills.  And how He provides for us whom He loves by appointing His apostles, that indeed we might all become His disciples, anointed by His blood.  Let us join Jesus our Savior in His union with you.  In prayer let us enter your presence and there remain.  O let us praise your NAME forever and ever, never ceasing to bless you for the glory you share with poor creatures such as us.  O LORD, in Jesus let us live and thrive.

(Col.1:21-23;   Ps.54:3-4,6,8;   Lk.6:1-5)   “Hold fast to faith, be firmly grounded and steadfast in it.”   “The Son of Man is Lord,” Lord of the universe, Lord “even of the sabbath.”  He is the Word through whom all things have come and it is He who has “achieved reconciliation” for all with God, the Father.  We must be presented to God “holy, free of reproach and blame.”  We must bow before His Majesty, trust all things to Him, and He will defend our cause.  But if we continue to nourish hostility in our hearts against the Lord of all, if we refuse to recognize Him as our God and Savior, if we remain stubborn in our blindness and our sins against His glorious presence… what hope have we?  We can only then be shaken in our weakness. Such is the case so often with the Pharisees, who repeatedly harden their hearts against the Word of God and His presence amongst them.  Repeatedly He tries to teach them of truth and the necessity of holding to it, that their rules alone will not sustain them; but continually it seems their hearts are closed.  They cannot seem to understand because they cannot seem to bow before Him; and so they see only with their eyes and not with the wisdom that comes through fear of God.  And the bedrock foundation, the cornerstone of the Church, they cast aside as they concern themselves with its ornaments. But we must hold to the faith, to the heart’s core of existence itself and the life that is God: Jesus Christ and His holy Gospel must be that which speaks in the depths of our soul.  Then we will know and sing with David, “The Lord sustains my life,” as we praise His name “for its goodness.”  Then we will be “unshaken in the hope promised… by the Gospel,” for the Gospel will be as the blood coursing through our veins and the food we eat; from it and from the Lord we will draw our life as a man draws water from a fountain. Such light let us pray we maintain in our lives.  Such wisdom and strength which comes only in truth let us make our own.  He is happy to give us this life – for this He has died – let us not turn in blindness from His face but ground ourselves in Him who is the foundation of eternal life.   ******* O LORD, your Son gives His life to save us and lead us unto Heaven. YHWH, how your Son has saved us!  He who is Lord of the Sabbath, Lord of the universe, who is One with you and so holds every soul in His all-powerful hand – this same Christ has come amongst us not only to teach us of His glory in you, but to join us to that glory by dying for us.  Reconciliation He has achieved for us in His mortal body by dying, by allowing Himself to be nailed to a cross; and now His blood does redeem us from our sin and offers us the promise of eternal life with you in Heaven. In our hunger we cried to you, dear God, and you hearkened to the words of our mouth.  You sent us help in Jesus your Son and we were released from all evil in our hearts, all the wicked thoughts that controlled our lives by an empty pride.  Help us now to bow down before your Son, to treasure His Word in us – make us firm in faith and unshaken in the hope of entering your House.  For even now your food is upon our table in the flesh of Christ.

(Col.1:15-20;   Ps.100:1-5;   Lk.5:33-39)   “New wine should be poured into fresh skins.”   “The blood of His cross” is poured forth for us; it becomes the new wine we drink this day, that which makes us new men by its grace.  The scribes and Pharisees refuse this new wine, saying, “I find the old wine better,” so they cannot see “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creatures,” standing before them this day.  Do we see Him?  Do we hear His teaching?  Do we allow His Word and His presence to be poured into us?  Do we make ourselves “fresh skins” to receive the wine that is the Lord?  Or do we, too, prefer the old?  The old man under the burden of sin and death must be put away before the new man of grace and life can enter in. “In Him everything in heaven and on earth was created, things visible and invisible.”  Paul tells us Jesus fills all the universe with His presence, for “all were created through Him and for Him.  He is before all else that is,” and “in Him everything continues in being.”  He is the source of life and life itself.  And He is “head of the body, the Church.”  “Firstborn of the dead,” primacy indeed is His “in everything.”  First to be born, first to die, He is also the first to be raised to new life… and by His power we are all raised to the new life we now find through His sacrifice.  The blood which fills the universe must now fill our beings; we must be filled with His presence, for only by Him does grace come.  Only by Him is the Law fulfilled, the Word made real, and the life of heaven become our own. And those who are present to Him, those who are present with Him – those who are filled with His Spirit cannot help but rejoice.  The disciples could not fast while Jesus was with them, while the bridegroom to whom they wed themselves was in their midst, and likewise those who come into the presence of the Lord cannot come but with joy.  “Enter His gates with thanksgiving,” our psalm declares.  “Know that the Lord is God; He made us, His we are.”  And as we enter into the blessed Body and Blood of Christ, as we come to know the bridegroom of our soul… as His Spirit fills us what can we do but rejoice in the Lord, “whose kindness endures forever,” who makes us as His own – who redeems our very souls.  Make room for Him in your hearts.  There let His blood flow, that you might have new life.   ******* O LORD, with you we are called to dwell – let us rejoice! YHWH, absolute fullness resides in your Son, through whom you made the universe and through whose blood you reconcile all things.  He is your very image, and He calls us all to enter your gates through Him, that we might rejoice forever in your kingdom. Jesus is the Bridegroom to whom we must be wed if we are to come into your presence and see the face of the One who made us.  His blood is the new wine poured out for our sakes, that which will unite us with Him as we come with pure hearts, with new wineskins, to Holy Communion.  O let us receive Him well, LORD! that we might be filled with the grace He offers forth. You call us to sing joyfully before you, LORD, in the wedding feast of Heaven.  May we be your faithful flock, gratefully accepting the love that comes to us only through your firstborn Son.