The BreadCast

(Heb.10:32-39;   Ps.37:3-6,23-24,39-40;   Mk.4:26-34)   “You need patience to do God’s will and receive what He has promised.”   Brothers and sisters, “we are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and live.”  Whatever “great contest[s] of suffering” may be before us or behind us or upon us even now, we do not “surrender [our] confidence” in the Lord but stand strong, enduring all by our “trust in Him” and so coming by these means to the kingdom of God. My friends, we know we have “better and more permanent possessions” in heaven, and so “the confiscation of [our] goods” upon this earth, the “insult and trial” we have to endure, and even the prison into which we may be thrown, hold no sway over our souls and do not deter our resolve to follow the way of Christ – in fact, they but increase our firmness in the Lord.  For seeing how “He delivers [us] from the wicked and saves” us when we “take refuge in Him” reveals to our souls the firmness of His hand upon us and the passing nature of any vain temptation or torture.  We comprehend hereby that we need but “commit to the Lord [our] way… and He will act”; He is the one who preserves us from all harm and sees that fruit is born in our lives. And so, day by day we come to Him; night after passing night we approach His presence.  We grow in His sight even as “the soil produces of itself first the blade, then the ear, [and] finally the ripe wheat in the ear.”  Even unto the day of judgment we shall grow so gradually, so blessedly, steadily producing fruit in His glorious light, and thus avoid any condemnation.  For He has taken possession of our souls; His hand is upon us now, and from such marvelous grace we cannot turn our faces away. “A brief moment, and He who is to come will come; He will not delay,” says the Lord; and so, brothers and sisters, let us “live by faith” as the Lord’s “just man,” knowing full well that “He will make justice dawn for [us] like the light,” that on His Day we shall be drawn into the kingdom of God.  “Bright as the noonday shall be [our] vindication,” so let us endure all patiently and bravely in this world, ever bearing fruit in His name.   ******* O LORD, help us to endure all persecutions that we might grow steadily unto your kingdom.  YHWH, let us take refuge in you and there find protection and blessing.  Let us grow gradually unto your kingdom, enduring all with patience and faith.  Your justice will dawn for the man who remains steadfast in your sight. O LORD, what should we care if we must suffer persecution, if our goods are confiscated and we are thrown into prison?  For what blessed possessions we have in you, those which last forever.  And so, increase our faith day to day as we see your hand continually rescue us from all distress, from every trial; let us ever grow unto your presence and make our home in your branches. If we could but be the man you desire us to be, LORD, for our own sakes!  If we could but trust in you and your constant blessings!  Then we would forever be sustained, knowing that you will not delay your coming but very soon we will be with you in eternity.  Be with us as we wait here.

(Heb.10:19-25;   Ps.24:1-6;   Mk.4:21-25)   “Since we have a great high priest who is over the house of God, let us draw near in utter sincerity and absolute confidence.”   Let us shine our light without fear, for it is the light of the Lord and cannot be removed.  “Let us hold unswervingly to our profession which gives us hope, for He who made the promise deserves our trust.”  Do you think He will fail you in your commitment to Him?  No, His love is always first to come; you need but follow. And let us “encourage one another,” brothers and sisters, even as Jesus does us all in our gospel today.  Let us “rouse each other to love and good deeds,” calling one another to shine our light, the light that is in each of our hearts by the grace of our Savior.  “Our hearts sprinkled clean from the evil which lay on our conscience and our bodies washed in pure water,” ready we are to do His will in this world; “the blood of Jesus assures our entrance into the sanctuary,” and so, with our place in heaven set firm, we hesitate not to put our love “on a stand” and let it pierce the darkness all around. “We should not absent ourselves from the assembly,” brothers and sisters.  We should not think we need not gather together in His name.  For we cannot take strength alone to fight our battles in this world; apart from one another we will be worn down by sin, by pride.  Our light is not our own but is meant to be shared; indeed, it belongs to the whole community for it belongs only to the Lord.  And it can only grow and increase when given in measure to others; otherwise it will be taken from us. So let us draw near our Lord as we draw near each other in the sharing of our gifts.  Let us be as “he whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain,” and our gifts will be acceptable one to another, and our lives will be acceptable to God.  And we shall “ascend the mountain of the Lord” and “stand in His holy place” – the place He makes for us by His sacrifice…  “We shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God our Savior,” if we seek His face alone. Do not be afraid.  Hide not your light.  Enter His presence, do His will, accepting the grace He imparts to our lives.  He calls you to join in His sacrifice. ******* O LORD, all the world is ours if we but come to Jesus for the cleansing of our sins.  YHWH, let us be the race that seeks your holy face and to shine your holy light to all around us.  This world is your own and we are in your hands, and none of us can ascend to you if we come not through your only Son.  Let us come to Him with confidence and joy and seek to serve one another and the salvation of all.  Then we shall be seeking you; then we shall be serving you – then we shall be standing again in His stead, and so find your holy blessing and receive it more and more. O LORD, let us give ourselves as Jesus has done.  Let us be His very flesh and blood.  Bless your Church, O God, with His love, with His light shining in every member.  Let us not hide in fear but freely offer the gifts you impart to each of our lives for the service of the whole Body.  The more we give the more we shall receive, for the more we give the more we share in your love.  Let us not fail to shine forth your light as you call us to do.

(Heb.10:11-18;   Ps.110:1-4;   Mk.4:1-20)   “I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds.”   He will plant His seed firmly upon “good soil,” and it shall yield fruit abundantly.  Let us be open to receive His word each day. Today we hear Jesus’ well-known parable of seed sown in four places: “on the path,” “on rocky ground,” “among thorns,” and “on good soil”; and the Lord makes clear that only in the last place will the seed bear a profitable yield.  And, of course, the Lord hereby calls each of us to consider what place we make for the seed with our lives.  Clearly, “what the sower is sowing is the word,” and just as clearly, our hearts are the ground into which that word is sown.  Therefore, the question is: What kind of hearts have we for the word of God, for His love?  The seed does not change; in every place it is sown the same.  It is only the soil which changes, and thus determines its fruitfulness.  Are our hearts barren of the Spirit, or wrought with stones or choking thorns… or do we make a welcome place for the love of God to take root in our lives and grow?  Though our tree shall be known by its fruit, only we really know where our heart stands with God, and so this question Jesus would bring to our minds, not to condemn us for our emptiness or hardness of heart, but that we might turn to Him and bear fruit in His light, that He might take away the “sins and… transgressions” that keep us void of life. Do you know the Spirit at work in your hearts, brothers and sisters, at work in your souls?  Is His word taking root in you and being nourished by the waters of the Lord?  “To you the mystery of the reign of God has been confided,” and so, what a pity it would be to turn from His instruction, or fall short at all in preparing a place for the Lord to reside.  The Spirit burning in our hearts, the blessing of His pure light, is all we should thirst for in our lives.  “Like the dew” before the dawn He comes; each morning you should find yourself wet with that dew and set to do good works in His name. Yes, brothers and sisters, upon the heart of each of His children, the Lord God writes His name, places His law, His love, by the blood of His only Son.  He thus makes us one with His infinite presence, ever giving growth to our tree.  With His word piercing our souls, our soil is prepared to receive His seed.  Let us therefore open our hearts to His light touch – His finger, His breath, His word, inscribing His NAME at the center of our being – and we shall grow in Him even unto the kingdom.   ******* O LORD, let us be cleansed of our sin by your Son that we might be good soil to receive the Word He offers and bear fruit in your NAME.  YHWH, our sins and transgressions remember no more; the blindness of our minds and hardened of our hearts take from us forever.  By the sacrifice of your Son this is accomplished in our lives.  Let us be good ground to receive His Word and bear fruit in His Name. Jesus sits forever at your right hand, O LORD; He remains there ever to cleanse us from our sin.  His sacrifice is complete and whole; let it be made effective in our lives. Rule over us, O LORD our God, through the scepter of your only Son.  By the power that is His from you, let our days be ordered as holy flowerbeds.  Good soil indeed let us be, not choked by the world or weakened by the flesh or robbed of the Spirit by the devil – let our hearts be set on you alone and in you and in your Son find growth and bear fruit.  May His blood water us well and His light shine through us always.

(Heb.10:1-10;   Ps.40:2,4,7-11;   Mk.3:31-35) “I have come to do your will, O God.” But what is this will of God?  How do we know it?  How shall we live it?  The will of God is known through the obedience of the Son, in His sacrifice for our sins; and all who seek to do the will of God must follow in His way, offering themselves freely, innocently, to the Lord for the sake of the Body of Christ. “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus asks the crowd.  Who enter into His fold, becoming children of God the Father?  “Whoever does the will of God.”  Whoever does the will of God is the only answer He could make.  Whoever is as His mother and says, “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it done unto me according to your word”; whoever is as His brother apostles and suffers martyrdom for the faith, unafraid to speak out in His name; whoever is like the simple sheep surrounding Him in the gospel today, listening so obediently to the heavenly words He utters… these are “brother and sister and mother” to Him.  Oh what a glorious family to be among! Brothers and sisters, we no longer have “only a shadow of the good things to come” but rather a “real image of them” in the flesh and blood of the only Son.  The salvation of our God is abstract and fleeting no more, for the Lord has come in a body to make ever so real for us the glory of God.  Our hearts should leap up at His presence; our ears should be “open to obedience” to hear and heed His voice.  Our mouths agape, we should wonder at His presence among us and desire only to become one with Him who holds our very lives in His sacred heart, in the Spirit upon the flesh He is. Oh have we not “waited, waited for the Lord”?  And how should we not act now that He has “stooped toward” us, now that He has humbled Himself to become man?  A spirit of exultation should fill us, for by His presence with us He “put[s] a new song into [our] mouth, a hymn to our God.”  Our hearts are set on fire with the anointing of the Holy Spirit and we can no longer “restrain [our] lips,” but must declare even with our precious Lord: “I have come to do your will,” to join in your blessed sacrifice – to know the glory of kinship with you, my God, by whom we are all called. O Lord, “I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly.”  I declare it on these pages.  Please gather me this day into your holy family. ******* O LORD, help us to join your Son in doing your will by laying down our lives in this world. YHWH, let us do your will.  This alone we ask of you.  Let us do your will that we might join with your Son, our Brother, and be sanctified by the offering of His body for our sakes.  Let us join with Him in seeking to do your will, in offering our bodies as sacrifice, in declaring your goodness to all souls. Put a new song into our mouths, LORD, one that proclaims your glory.  Let us be filled to overflowing with your presence in our souls that we cannot but speak of your kindness and your truth, your faithfulness and your salvation.  Here am I; I come to do your will.  Let this be our song.  Let us be cleansed of sin by the sacrifice of Jesus – let our body be as His own. O that we might be your holy family, LORD, that we might be as Mary and the apostles, giving our complete “yes” to your call.  May your Son open His arms to gather us into your presence.

(Heb.9:15,24-28;   Ps.98:1-6;   Mk.3:22-30)   “His death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions.”   By his death Jesus has disarmed the devil; the Lord has destroyed Satan’s power by His holy sacrifice.  Because of Jesus’ innocent blood, “Satan has suffered mutiny in his ranks and is torn by dissension,” for none of his adversarial accusations can stand before such pure love.  “He cannot endure, he is finished”… and with him, sin also dies, for there is no longer anyone to accuse us of our sin.  It is as if Jesus says, “Kill me if you will,” and once having done so, Satan has nothing left in his arsenal.  Once taking all our sins out of his bag and piercing the Savior through with their cumulative strength, what more power has he to effect death?  Death has its day, and life – the life that is the love of the Son – has triumphed over it: our sins’ effects have come full force against our Lord and Maker, and “His right hand has won victory” over them. And so this great promise the Lord can make, this astounding statement He brings to our ears: “I give you my word, every sin will be forgiven mankind and all the blasphemies men utter.”  Though the sin against the Spirit will not be forgiven – for how can he who calls salvation condemnation find the grace of God; how can lies find discourse with Truth? – yet all the sins man has committed in his ignorance and lust will be washed clean in Jesus’ blood when any soul comes humbly to Him.  And in consequence of this blessed mercy, “those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,” for our Savior has “entered heaven itself that He might appear before God now on our behalf.”  Yes, He serves as mediator now, interceding before the Father against our transgressions, that He might prepare for us a path to His kingdom.  His cross and His sacrifice stand as our ladder unto heaven. “The Lord has made His salvation known” by the offering of His Son, and to “all the ends of the earth” “His holy arm” is revealed.  He has appeared once in weakness to take away our sins, but “He will appear a second time not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.”  And so, as we are washed clean of sin in His blood, we must stand ready for His final coming, for our promised reward, “sing[ing] praise to the Lord.”   ******* O LORD, cast all the demons far from us that we might worship you in faith and truth and come to your kingdom. YHWH, we should be offering you and your Son songs of praise, not blaspheming against your goodness toward us.  For He has come to deliver us from sin, to cast Satan from our midst that we might enter your kingdom and glorify your NAME – let us not doubt or deny the grace you send us; let us not court condemnation with a hardened heart. There is a pride from which we suffer, LORD, a pride and a fear.  We are unable to humble ourselves before your majesty or receive the love you bring.  Our hands are grasping and our hearts impure, and so we do not see how much we need the salvation wrought by your Son.  Help us to turn from our sin, to seek the blood of Jesus upon our souls, that we might become pure and innocent as children before you, living only in the truth, and so, joyfully singing your praise.

(Heb.8:6-13;   Ps.85:8,10-14;   Mk.3:13-19)   “I will be their God and they shall be my people.”   “Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land”; for absolute oneness do we find with our Lord and God through the ministry of His only Son.  For the Lord has said of His new covenant, “All shall know me, from least to greatest,” promising: “I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts.”  There shall be no separation from His presence for those who believe; His “kindness and truth shall meet” in us as they have in Jesus.  Alleluia! But yet does the time move toward perfection.  Though the new covenant be fulfilled in Jesus, it is still being fulfilled in the world and among those who dwell in the world.  We know this because the Lord says of the covenant to come, through His prophet Jeremiah: “They shall not teach their fellow citizens or their brothers, saying, ‘Know the Lord’” – there being no need any longer to teach the perfected – and also, “Their sins I will remember no more,” meaning that sin will no longer exist.  But Jesus upon commissioning the twelve apostles sends them out “to preach the good news” and “to have authority to expel demons,” and to this day there is need, and great need, for instruction in the Word of God and healing by the expulsion of sin in Holy Confession.  This ministry still in place, we know we have yet to reach perfection; we know we have yet to find absolute oneness with Christ and His sacrifice… and so, perfect union with the Father yet awaits us. “He appointed the twelve as follows: Simon to whom He gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James (He gave these two the name Boanerges, or ‘sons of thunder’); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”  Upon these the new covenant is founded.  By their ministry it shall grow, taking root in the world and bearing much fruit.  And though Matthias must take the place of the traitorous Judas, there is no breaking the line that comes from these foundation stones: all of the coming kingdom is traced to them and from them, for they are anointed by the Son and by them God will make all His children.  Brothers and sisters, “the Lord Himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase.”  In His Church as in His arms make your home, for His blessings are upon us and shall be fulfilled.   ******* O LORD, let us be companions of your Son that we might be made one with you. YHWH, as your Son is joined to you and the apostles to Him, so let us be joined to them that we might be joined to Jesus and you, and your promise might be fulfilled and your NAME be written on our hearts.  O let it be so, that all shall know you, that we shall be your people. O LORD, let truth spring out of the earth as your justice looks down from Heaven.  Let the union of Heaven and earth accomplished in your Son be accomplished in us as we join ourselves to Him.  O let us walk in the way of His steps that we might find salvation! LORD, forgive us our sins, remember them no more – cast all evil from us.  May the priests who stand in your Son’s place absolve us of all wrongdoing as we come on our knees before them.  Your power be upon us for good; by your Word let us be taught, till we are entirely one with you, living in your New Covenant, living in the flesh of Christ, as His holy Body.

(Heb.7:25-8:6;   Ps.40:7-10,17;   Mk.3:7-12)   “Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since He forever lives to make intercession for them.”   Oh how the people approach Him today, seeking healing, seeking grace: “a great crowd followed Him from Galilee, and an equally great multitude came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon” – from all around they came to press upon Him, to press upon Him…  “All who had afflictions kept pushing toward Him to touch Him.  Unclean spirits would catch sight of Him, fling themselves down at His feet, and shout, “You are the Son of God!”  So great were their numbers He needed to take refuge in a fishing boat.  Oh “the press of the crowd against Him,” the press of the crowd.  They could not resist drawing toward Him who stood at the center of the universe, Him who stood in the place of God, Him who was God.  Greater than the pull of gravity was the pull of their hearts toward salvation. And do you think He has left you, brother?  Do you say, “Where is He now that I need healing, that I may press upon Him myself?”  He has not left you alone; He has multiplied His presence and increased His grace through the ministry of His apostles.  They now go out to those who would press upon Him, and through these priests they find the high priest, He who is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.”  Indeed, He is not on earth anymore and His ministry is not earthly – yet He is ever present to all who stretch forth their hands to Him.  Do you not know the immense mercy available to you in the Sacrament of Confession?  Do you not realize the heavenly food you eat in Holy Communion?  Press upon Him this day; approach the priests who, despite their imperfections, hold the power He has left in our midst, and to your loving God you will come. “Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry now,” and “He is mediator of a better covenant,” an eternal covenant.  Brothers and sisters, “we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in heaven, minister of the sanctuary and of that true tabernacle set up not by man but by the Lord.”  What greater gift could we ask for?  How much more exalted could we be called to be than to receive mercy from Him who dwells in the heart of the Father, than to take food from the hands of Him who holds the hand of God?   O Lord, “may all who seek you exult and be glad in you,  And may those who love your salvation say ever, ‘The Lord be glorified.’”   ******* O LORD, your Son has taken on our flesh that He might draw us into the sanctuary of your presence  O let us join ourselves to Him! YHWH, your Son is able to save all those who approach Him, for He sits with you in the heavenly sanctuary having offered Himself for our sakes.  And so the crowds press upon Him, and so the devils cannot but recognize His power over them… and so we are saved from our sin by our faith in Him and offering ourselves to you through His hands. O LORD, may we be an acceptable sacrifice to you, joined well to the sacrifice of Jesus.  May we say with Him, “I come to do your will,” and think of nothing but obedience to your call.  Write your law within our hearts that we might transcend the darkness of this place as we align our lives with your Son’s and die to all that keeps us from you.  He is made perfect forever in your presence and intercedes for us to be made perfect with Him.  O let us press upon Him this day that we might ever glorify your NAME.

(Heb.7:1-3,15-17;   Ps.110:1-4;   Mk.3:1-6)   “Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.”   We hear today more specifically about “Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God,” whose name means “king of justice” and also “king of peace,” who is therefore so like our King Jesus; it is in his line the Lord takes His place. “Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor,” King David declares of his Lord and our Lord.  Indeed before the dawn of light upon earth, Jesus is King: He is the only-begotten Son of God whose rule is from everlasting to everlasting; and His priesthood, like that of Melchizedek, is “in virtue of the power of a life which cannot be destroyed” – not by physical descent but by spiritual ascension.  From God Himself He receives His kingship and His priestly anointing. In contrast to the eternal priesthood and princely headship of our Lord and Savior, we see in our gospel those whose power comes only by “virtue of a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent,” and which is, therefore, passing away.  Indeed, before their eyes it passes this day as Jesus stands before the Pharisees at the front of the synagogue and calls them to acceptance of the greater glory now in their midst.  But they “closed their minds against Him” as they refused to realize the limitations of their own calling as leaders of the people, choosing to cling to a dying law and a power which is being taken from them even as a greater is offered, rather than stretching forth their hands to the Lord, in whom the law takes life and finds fulfillment, through whom all power comes… Yes, the Lord “stretch[es] forth” “the scepter of [His] power” even as the man stretches forth his “shriveled hand” here at the front of the synagogue, before all the people and their teachers on a sabbath day, and finds it “perfectly restored.”  The same He would do for each of them and for all of us, if we but recognized His transcendent power and glory, if we but realized He is the Son of God. ******* O LORD, your Son is of the Spirit but we are of the flesh; help us to offer this poor flesh through His eternal priesthood. YHWH, in the line of Melchizadek your Son comes to us, without beginning of days or end of life, for by you He is begotten before the world was brought forth.  And so His power is like your own, and so in Him we shall not die but be healed of all evil upon us.  We praise you, LORD, for your justice toward us, for the presence of your Son.  For in Him we take our refuge; in Him we find our salvation.  O let us freely reach out our hands to the grace He offers that He might stretch forth His scepter toward us and we be made whole in your sight! The Day you make is one of peace, O LORD, and so the Son you send brings to us that peace.  Let us give to Him our possessions, even our very body and soul; for all He touches He sanctifies, and so we will thus be blessed by Him. No hardened heart could ever destroy Him or His love.  Let us sacrifice ourselves with Him, LORD, that we might join Him at your right hand.

(Heb.6:10-20;   Ps.111:1-2,4-5,9-10;   Mk.2:23-28)   “I will indeed bless you, and multiply you.”   God promised to bless Abraham, to make his descendants numerous as the stars; and “He swore by Himself,” “by oath,” to carry out His promise, thus giving an unshakable, “unchangeable” “firmness to [the] promise.”  God does not go back on His word.  And so, “after patient waiting, Abraham obtained what God had promised”; He became the father of many nations, of all those of faith. Now if God is so faithful, should we who are “heirs of His promise,” who are children of Abraham in the faith and so the sharers of the same blessings promised to him, should not “we who have taken refuge in [God]… be strongly encouraged to seize the hope which is placed before us”?  For we, “through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises”; and greater promises than Abraham do we receive at the hand of our Lord now, for our “hope extends beyond the veil through which Jesus, our forerunner, has entered on our behalf.”  As David “entered God’s house… and ate the holy bread which only the priests were permitted to eat,” and “even gave it to his men,” so Jesus enters His Father’s house, passing through the gates of heaven into the sanctuary, into the holy of holies, and there partakes of bread at His Father’s hand… and indeed shares it with us, His brothers. Oh brothers and sisters, each day we partake of the bread of the angels from the hand of the Lord; it surrounds us like the “standing grain” around the disciples.  And does it not prove to us that “great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights”?  Doesn’t it reveal to our souls that our hope in Him is “a sure and firm anchor,” that His love for us is strong and all His promises are fulfilled in our midst, before our eyes?  “God is not unjust.”  No, “gracious and merciful is the Lord.”  “Holy and awesome is His name,” and He shares the glory of His presence with all His children: “He has given food to those who fear Him.”  So, let us “not grow lazy” in faith but take strength in this food He supplies.  “He will not forget [our] work and the love [we] have shown Him by [our] service.”  But let us continue to serve Him in our brothers; let us “show the same zeal till the end,” that all His promises we may taste.  Indeed, the more we eat His bread, the more we accomplish His work, the more His blessings are multiplied, in us and in the world! “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.”  The gift of God’s rest is ours, releasing us from slavery.  Freedom we find in His name, blessing we find in His promise – His rest is upon us as we remain in Him.  And “He will forever be mindful of His covenant”: His blessings shall ever increase in our souls. ******* O LORD, your Son has entered into your presence that we might be fed with the Bread of Life – let us hope always in Him. YHWH, if Abraham’s cause for hope was great, how much greater is our own, we for whom Jesus has passed through the veil of death that we might enter your presence?  Now that your Word has been made flesh and been given to us as food for our journey, how much stronger should our faith be, and so, how much surer our work?  We should not bend in the wind like standing heads of grain but know the glory to which we are called as we reach up to you through the grace that is with us by the sacrifice of your Son. O LORD, you are indeed gracious and merciful; you look upon our needs and answer them.  You promise to be with us always and increase and multiply our works, so long as we remain faithful to you.  Let us trust in your Word to us and find hope always that you are near.  In Jesus your Son, you have walked among us – your great love for man let us never forget. Give us the food we need even this day, O LORD, the Bread that is our very life.

(Heb.5:1-10;   Ps.110:1-4;   Mk.2:18-22)   “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”    Without beginning or end is the holy priesthood of our Lord; high above all sacrifices reigns His own. “Taken from among men” is Jesus our high priest “and made [our] representative before God.”  Like others He is in this respect; yet the “gifts and sacrifices” He offers are infinitely greater than any that have ever been, for it is Himself He lifts up for our sins.  “He is Himself beset by weakness,” though not His own; He is Himself pierced for transgression, though not of His making – and in the cross of our condition He bears “in the flesh,” in the crucifixion He suffers at our hands, does the high priest become the victim whose blood covers the earth with redemption.  Yes, “Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered; and when perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”  What other high priest can boast as much? And yet the people would limit the grace that pours forth in the blood of His sacrifice, in the sweet-smelling flesh He offers, to a dying law which has been corrupted by the hands of man.  They fail to see that the old is subsumed by the new… and so the Lord seeks to teach them to receive the “new wine” He would pour into their hearts with minds open to the light of God.  They do not yet know the joy His disciples experience just being in the presence of the Messiah, the bridegroom of all faithful souls; as yet their hearts have not been circumcised by the nails of the sacrifice He makes in their name.  But soon their time will come, we pray.  When He is lifted up, perhaps they shall see. And in our psalm we have David’s verse of Jesus: “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.’”  Jesus is David’s Lord even then, for Jesus our Savior has always been.  Beautifully does David speak of this as well, in the voice of God: “Before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”  As the dew covers the earth unseen before the sun rises, so before the Father pronounced the words “Let there be light” – first bringing the universe into being by the power of His Word – Jesus was eternally present, even as the water the Spirit moved upon. And so He has “princely power,” seated at the right hand of God.  And so He “rule[s] in the midst of His enemies,” His sacrifice destroying the death which seemed to take hold of Him.  And so, like the order of Melchizedek, which came well before the institution of the Israelite’s priestly line, from all eternity His salvific priesthood is – and shall last until the end of time.   ******* O LORD, you sent your Son to offer Himself in our stead; may we be clothed anew in His grace. YHWH, the priesthood of your Son is from all eternity and will last until the end of time for the expiation of our sins.  And the sacrifice He offers is Himself in the suffering and death He endures in our midst.  Though He rules forever at your right hand, He humbles Himself to suffer at our hands that the evil in our hearts might be washed clean by the blood He freely sheds.  O let us be made as new wineskins able to receive the grace He pours forth. Jesus is our Prince who fights our battles and puts all our enemies under His feet.  He crushes the head of the devil and destroys all the weakness by which we are beset, and He does this by the weakness He endures and the death He suffers for our sakes.  O LORD, let us know the glory He would bring to our poor souls, the salvation wrought by His holy sacrifice, and let us join ourselves to that sacrifice by fasting and doing penance in His stead as long as He is apart from us, until the Day He returns.