The BreadCast

(Jer.3:14-17;   Jer.31:10-13;   Mt.13:18-23)  “At that time they will call Jerusalem the Lord’s throne; there all nations will be gathered together to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem.” I would like today to focus the attention particularly of the Lord’s chosen race on the following prophecy of the great Jeremiah: “They will in those days no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord!’ or miss it, or make another.”  For I must in obedience to the Spirit of Truth ask the question: If the temple of the Lord has been destroyed, how is it Judaism can be said to yet exist?  With the discontinuance of the sacrifices, does the heart of the Mosaic Law not undergo a certain transformation?  To the point: Does the sacrifice of Christ not supplant – even as it fulfills, perfectly – the Old Covenant?  Is His blood poured upon the altar now and sprinkled upon all our souls, is it not this which gives birth to the New Jerusalem, where “they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings”? And does not the destruction of the temple so soon after the death of Him who prophesied it in tears not substantiate His claim as the Temple not built by human hands?  And does the fact that the ancient walls have remained in ruins for some two thousand years not indicate its permanent end?  Would the Lord really wish it to be built again?  And do you think He would leave you alone for so long a time?  Has He not come? My brothers, my sisters, should not he who has the deepest “roots” be the strongest tree reaching to the greatest heights?  Is He not?  And should you not be as this quintessential Jew, suffering for the sake of all at the hands of those who breathe condemnation?  (Here is a message to those who would take the Lord’s justice in their violent hands – you shall not escape condemnation for your sin.  Whatever good may seem to result from your prideful persecution, though His chosen may turn at your threat, yet your sin will be remembered.) “Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion.”  This word is for all who understand “the message about God’s reign” Jesus comes to sow in receptive hearts.  And so, “hear the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it on distant coasts” to all God’s “rebellious children,” to all who yet walk “in their hardhearted wickedness” – for all may now “become fruitful in the land.”  (And you, brother Catholic, do you know the blessing that is upon you; do you see that you stand in the New Jerusalem?)  But still the chosen are called first of all; still the Lord waits for those most blessed, to pour His new graces upon them. Let no man’s soul be choked by “worldly anxiety”; let all come now to the Lord’s glorious throne, here in the heavenly Jerusalem. ******* O LORD, let us not falter along the way but come streaming to your blessings. YHWH, how shall we bear a fruitful yield, we who have been so rebellious?  Have we not choked your Word off from our souls; are we not today void of the roots of your kingdom?  Yet you remain as a Shepherd who cares for His flock, you continue in your love for us, and so you call us back to the land set aside for our flourishing – you ransom us from our sin that your City we might enter with dancing. Open our ears to hear the Word of your Son.  Open our hearts to receive your grace.  Let us be planted in good soil, in the flesh of Jesus; let us be as the New Jerusalem.  In the Temple of His Body let us make our home, all hardness of heart taken from us.  O LORD, let us again be blessed to be your children, washed clean by the blood of the Christ. These waters from Heaven fall upon our souls that indeed we might grow and produce an abundant harvest in your NAME, O LORD.

(Jer.2:1-3,7-8,12-13;   Ps.36:6-11;   Mt.13:10-17) “They look but do not see, they listen but do not hear or understand.” Oh how “sacred to the Lord was Israel, the first fruits of His harvest.”  And oh how they loved the Lord “as a bride,” following Him so closely.  But oh how they have forgotten “the devotion of their youth” and turned from Him.  For when He “brought [them] into the garden lands to eat its goodly fruits,” they did not seek Him from whom all their blessings flowed, but rather “entered and defiled [His] land,” and “made [His] heritage loathsome.”  So blindly “they have forsaken [the Lord], the source of living waters [and] have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.”  And so, how empty of life they have become. And so Jesus echoes Isaiah’s prophecy upon the people today, declaring it now fulfilled: “Listen as you will, you shall not understand, look intently as you will, you shall not see.”  Though the Son of God stand before them, though their blessing is complete in their midst, strain as they might they cannot see what is so obvious – for “sluggish indeed is this people’s heart.”  Too long have they turned their sights away from Him, and now what shall refresh their vision? Should they not sing with David of the Lord’s glory – “How precious is your kindness, O God!”  Should they not “take refuge in the shadow of [His] wings?”  Does He not spread them above them this day?  In Jesus should they not “have their fill of the prime gifts of [His] house”; does the Lord not “give them to drink” from this “delightful stream”?  Then why are their mouths closed to receiving this precious gift offered upon His altar?  Is He not the holy sacrifice of the covenant renewed?  Is it not so that in drinking His blood all find life?  Is He not the source of living water? O Lord, “with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light.”  Awaken our hearts to see your face; let us “turn back to [you]” that you may “heal [us].”  For you are Light and Life itself, and all our blessings flow from you and from your Body and Blood offered for our sakes.  In your Son may we find again our home; may our hearts be open to understand your love present in our midst. ******* O LORD, let us be blessed to hear your word of forgiveness, we who have blinded ourselves to your good gifts. YHWH, you are the fountain of life, the source of living water; in you we find all blessings.  You provide for all our needs, planting us in a garden land filled with good fruits.  You make us as your holy Bride – such is your love for your faithful child. But we are not faithful to you, O LORD.  We do not drink from the fountain of living water but dig for ourselves broken cisterns, the creation of our soiled hands, of our wayward hearts and minds.  And so our soul languishes in a foreign land. How shall you heal our blindness, LORD?  How shall our ears open to your Word?  How shall we return to you and find again your blessing?  Your kindness knows no bounds and so you send your Son among us.  To His teaching let us be obedient; let our hearts open before Him that we might be redeemed. How blessed are we to have the living God in our midst, His face shining upon us, His voice speaking to our hearts…  O LORD, take not your Son from us, but let us be healed by His presence.

(Mic.7:14-15,18-20;   Ps.85:2-8;   Mt.12:46-50)  “Then extending His hands to His disciples, He said, ‘There are my mother and my brothers.’” The Lord’s blessing rests upon all who worship Him in spirit and in truth, and it comes to us primarily through the forgiveness of our sins.  For the Lord extends His hands to His disciples first of all to “cast into the depths of the sea all our sins.”  This is His principal work, He whose name means “God saves.”  And by such compassion poured upon us, by His “treading underfoot our guilt,” we are drawn into His holy fold; we become “the flock of His inheritance” by the death that brings us life. “Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of His inheritance?”  Who indeed is like Jesus?  For He dies and we live.  He washes us clean of sin, and we become His children.  Though we deserve His “burning anger,” He abandons not us but “[His] displeasure against us.”  He “does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency,” a clemency that not only forgives but redeems – for Jesus also extends His hands to His disciples to gather them into the Father’s arms. “You have favored, O Lord, your land; you have restored the well-being of Jacob.  You have forgiven the guilt of your people; you have covered all their sins.”  How shall we thank you, Lord, who “grant us our salvation”?  How shall we praise you, Lord, whose “kindness” has made us your own?  “Shall not your people rejoice in you?”  Will we not sing of your glory forever?  Will we not stand in your presence and serve you for all ages to come?  “You have withdrawn all your wrath.”  You “will again have compassion on us.”  In you we take refuge always, as your blessed daughters and sons. O Mother in heaven, pray for us, that children of the Lord we shall ever remain, doing the will of the Father as thou hast done. ******* O LORD, could you be kinder than to make us your own flesh and blood? YHWH, shepherd your people; make us as your Son’s brothers and sisters – make us as His Mother.  Forgive us our sins that we might be gathered into your outstretched arms. How kind you are to us, dear LORD, how compassionate.  Who could imagine such a love as makes us one with God Himself?  Who could have believed you would send your only Son, your very self, into our midst to save us and make us your inheritance?  Your kindness is unsurpassable – no greater gift could we find. Be not angry with us for our sins this day, O LORD, but grant us your mercy as you do for all your children who turn to you.  Make us your disciples, truly brothers and sisters of Jesus, one with the Blessed Mother and all the saints.  Into your kingdom let us come; let us pasture on your holy mountain. How blessed are we when your anger is passed, dear LORD.  Let us be your flock, living in your peace even this day.

(Mic.6:1-4,6-8;   Ps.50:5-6,8-9,16-17,21,23;   Mt.12:38-42)  “The Lord has a plea against His people, and He enters into trial with Israel.” “God Himself is the judge,” brothers and sisters.  And so He declares: “Gather my faithful ones before me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”  All are brought before His throne, and all must “present [their] plea” in His presence. And what shall we say on that Day?  Will you “come before Him with holocausts, with calves a year old?  Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil?”  Hear His word to His people: it is not these the Lord desires.  It is not the sacrifices offered in the temple built by human hands the Lord seeks of His chosen ones.  The temple He has destroyed, and with it the vain works of the flesh.  It is now the Lord’s desire that you but “walk humbly with your God.”  And so He promises: “To Him that goes the right way I will show the saving power of God,” and proclaims, “He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me.” Oh how we should praise Him! He who is “greater than Jonah” and “greater than Solomon.”  Oh how we should repent and reform our lives at His preaching!  Oh how we should walk in the light of His wisdom!  But are we not too often like those who offer vain sacrifice and seek to have our eyes impressed by some extraordinary sign?  The sign stands before us.  But all too often we are as faithless and blind as the scribes and Pharisees in our gospel today. What a terrible thought that we might be condemned for our lack of faith by the “citizens of Nineveh” and “the queen of the South,” who needed so little, really, to believe in the greatness of the Lord.  Has He not “brought [us] up from the land of Egypt”?  Has He not released us from “the place of slavery”?  Why do we so soon forget what the ancients knew by much less?  Is not Jesus in our midst this day?  Let us not be blind to His presence, and let us not offer our sacrifice unworthily.  For here before us stands the Lord of all; into our souls and bodies we receive Him by Word and by Sacrament.  All He asks of us is our faith.  And will we believe Him?  Or is our worship only on the tongue and not burning in our heart?  Let Him not find you faithless this day. ******* O LORD, teach us your way of humility; let us seek only to be as you. YHWH, how can we seek a sign from you when it is we who should be offering a sign to you, and more than a sign – our very lives.  For your Son comes to us bringing salvation to our souls and teaching us the way to find it; should we not repent of our sin, rend our hearts before Him, and praise you for your mercy this day? But we have not faith, LORD, and so we come only with vain sacrifices, mere words  on our lips and a heart seeking our own will to be done.  We would create you – but it is you who have created us!  You have created us and you would redeem us, and so you enter into trial with us to see if we shall merit your love.  Bring our sins up before our eyes, that by your grace we might turn from them and walk humbly with you. Why should we even need your Son to be buried in the earth, LORD?  Should our faith not recognize you before us without such a sign?  Ah, but we are blind, so blind.  Discipline us in your love that we might reform our lives and find the way to you.

(Mic.2:1-5;   Ps.10:1-4,7-8,12,14;   Mt.12:14-21) “When the Pharisees were outside they began to plot against Jesus to find a way to destroy Him.” Is it not of these David sings when he declares, “He lurks in ambush near the villages; in hiding he murders the innocent; his eyes spy upon the unfortunate”?  And though He withdraw from them this day, though He will silently subject Himself to torture and death at their hands, be assured that the Lord is “planning against this race an evil from which [they] shall not withdraw [their] necks.” “Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches.”  And what greater woe can there be than for the one who plots disaster upon the head of the Chosen One?  These are they who would “cheat [the] owner of his house, a man of his inheritance”; for here is the One of whom Isaiah prophesies in the name of the Lord: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my loved one in whom I delight.”  Yet by “cursing, guile, and deceit” these would steal the inheritance of the only Son.  But the Lord shall not “stand aloof” forever, and over these soon “shall be sung… a plaintive chant: ‘Our ruin is complete, our fields are portioned out among our captors.’”  What the Lord has promised He has accomplished in wresting the House of God from the disobedient and placing it in the hands of His children of light. Now the Lord does “proclaim justice to the Gentiles.”  And we who suffer with Him, we “the afflicted, who are caught in the devices the wicked has contrived,” rejoice in the knowledge that “judgment is made victorious” in Him – “on [Him] the unfortunate man depends,” and his fortunes are made prosperous as the Lord’s own. “‘There is no God,’ sums up his thoughts,” the evil one who turns from the Lord.  But the One they kill is God Himself, whose patient endurance of their crown of thorns shall bring the wicked to ruin.  Caught in their own snares, “misery and sorrow” shall be theirs forever, even as the Lord and His anointed find release from the plots of men and are gathered into the kingdom of heaven.  The beast is slain by a word from His mouth, opened on that Day; though silent now His redeeming Word goes forth to the ends of the earth, setting free all suffering prisoners. ******* O LORD, we find our hope in you, for you save the poor and afflicted soul even as you destroy his wicked tormentors. YHWH, look upon the afflicted who are pursued as was your Son; you see our misery and sorrow – save us from the plottings of men. The greedy and deceitful you will thwart, O LORD.  The violent you will destroy.  You will save your poor ones who cry out to you; the plans of the wicked will not succeed. Though your Son is captured by their snares, though the hands of men take hold of His body and nail it to the Cross, they will find, O LORD, they cannot touch His Spirit, and that Spirit will bring them to ruin. On the third day He rises from the dead, LORD, and so we shall rise with Him.  Though trodden down and deprived of our earthly possessions, yet forever we shall live in the riches of Heaven. Silently let your Word go forth now, LORD, calling all to repentance and healing.  All you give opportunity to turn to you – crush us not till we know your mercy upon our souls.

(Is.38:1-8,21-22;   Is.38:10-12,16-17;   Mt.12:1-8) “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.”  “When Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: ‘Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you are about to die.’”  When the Jewish race was about to perish for lack of love, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the Pharisees and declared, “It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice.”  And if they heed not His word, they indeed shall die. But will what occurred “in those days” with the king of Judah recur with these leaders of the Jews?  Will they, too, turn their face to the wall and cry out to the Lord?  For there is a greater threat than “the hand of the king of Assyria” upon their race now.  Here is a greater threat than death.  The condemnation they cast so freely upon “innocent men” now begins to overshadow their souls. “To the gates of the netherworld I shall be consigned for the rest of my years,” Hezekiah cries out; and indeed his fears shall be realized in these.  For they “shall see no more the Lord in the land of the living” if they refuse to see Him here as He stands before them.  They shall know no longer the mercy that sustains all life if they harden their hearts to Him who holds that mercy in His flesh and blood. The Lord seeks to open their eyes and their hearts to the power and love of God.  By their own Scripture and history and law He proves their judgment wrong, asking, “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry…?  Have you not read in the law how the priests on temple duty can break the sabbath without incurring guilt?”  But yet would they condemn King David and the temple priests, placing their own judgment over the law of the love of God. I fear for them, brothers and sisters, as for all who are obstinate of heart.  For here are the chosen of God.  Here are those graced with the Lord’s promise.  But what shall become of their blessing if they reject the Promise when He stands before them?  What shall become of those who turn the grace of God to empty wind?  Oh how their bones shall rot!  Oh how the fears of Hezekiah shall be fulfilled!  Oh that they could hear the words the Lord speaks to His repentant king: “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.  I will heal you.”  Oh that they would know the mercy of God. To Him may all come, for He who stops the sun and moves it back upon its course indeed holds all in His loving hands.  The Temple of the Lord is here. ******* O LORD, you raise us up from death, from condemnation for our sins, for you are the LORD our God. YHWH, have mercy on our poor, judgmental souls, for we have come close to death because of our sins, for the lack of mercy we have shown.  But you are not like us, for you have pity on those who cry out to you, on those who hunger for your food – hear us as we cry to you this day for your forgiveness upon our souls, that even this day we might live in your sight. Our sins would have cut off our life, LORD; our disobedience but brings us to the nether world.  But Jesus is Son of Man and God like you and He walks amongst us as your mercy, seeking to redeem our fallen souls from the grave we have made by our transgressions.  And He brings us new life. O LORD, let the days be turned back that we might make amends for our past sins, that we might have years to reform our lives and set our house in order for your Son’s return.  If you had not mercy upon us, we would already be dead, doomed by our disobedience.  But remember us and make us faithful and wholehearted in your sight; feed us with the Bread of life.

(Is.26:7-9,12,16-19;   Ps.102:13-21;   Mt.11:28-30) “The Lord looked down from His holy height, from heaven He beheld the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die.” Yes, “we cried out in anguish under [His] chastising.  As a woman about to give birth… we conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind.”  Empty were our works; dead in sin were we.  But the Lord took pity on His people.  Though “oppressed by [His] punishment” and as prisoners in chains, the time arrived for Him to “arise and have mercy on Zion.”  And so He sent His Son. “My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you.”  Because even in death His faithful set their hearts on Him and make Him the “desire of [their] souls,” He comes.  “He has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and not despised their prayer.”  Though afflicted by sin, the Lord looks upon our tears; and His heart breaks with ours, and the light walks among us… and Jesus comes.  And Jesus comes. Hear the words of our Lord: “Your souls will find rest.”  He promises us His peace.  Though heavy burdened with the weight of this dark world, He is here to save us.  How do we find such peace?  How do we find release from the prison in which we are confined?  Heed His instruction; “take [His] yoke upon your shoulders and learn from [Him].”  And what is this yoke in which you will find your freedom?  It is nothing else but the cross. The Lord has looked down from heaven; He has sent His Son forth from His throne.  And what does He come bearing “to release those doomed to die”?  Yes, it is a cross He carries.  Our sins and our pain He takes upon Himself.  Only through this instrument of salvation, only through the flesh of Christ fastened to the wood – only by the nails which pierce His hands and feet are we brought life.  For He cries with us in anguish: He dies with us in pain.  And the Lord’s pity is realized, the mercy of God fulfilled… and washed are we in this blood from sin, and our cry thus taken away. And we must do the same as He.  We must die, too.  We must unite ourselves to His cross, and let Him take all pain from our souls.  And so we shall be whole.  And so the cry shall be no more.  And so we shall never die.  “Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust,” for your “corpses shall arise.” ******* O LORD, we were doomed to die but you heard our cry and sent your Son to save us by His Cross – let us share in His mercy this day. YHWH, have mercy on Zion, on your children who cry out to you in the night, in the night that is our life in this world.  Regard the prayer of your poor ones; look down from your holy height and have pity on us.  Send your Son to save us from our pain, from our sin, by the grace of the Cross He bears. We have given birth to wind, O LORD.  In vanity we have lived our lives.  But we look to you to redeem us from such emptiness, from the darkness which besets our hearts.  You bring peace to us; your Son grants us the salvation we could not achieve on our own.  O let us take up His gentle yoke that we might find rest for our souls. Thank you for your mercy, Jesus, for coming among us in gentleness and humility and carrying our burden of pride away.  Let us come to you now, as you call us; let us find the refreshment you offer in your Cross.  Upon our shoulders let us take your light burden, that we might know your judgment is removed from us in the sacrifice you have made.

(Is.10:5-7,13-16;   Ps.94:5-10,14-15;   Mt.11:25-27)  “Shall He who instructs nations not chastise, He who teaches men knowledge?” Again we learn the basic teaching of the Lord: The exalted are humbled and the humbled exalted.  In our first reading “the Lord of hosts” promises to “send among His fat ones leanness” – condemning Assyria for the pride it takes in its “own power”; and in our gospel Jesus “offer[s] praise” to His “Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” declaring, “What you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children.”  “Judgment shall again be with justice,” for the Lord shall raise those who have been “trample[d] down” even as He topples the pride of the wicked. Assyria boasts, “I am shrewd” and proclaims itself “a giant.”  But truly he is a fool who exalts himself above the power of the Lord and does not see that all things are done only in Him.  Yes, with what wisdom Isaiah speaks when he questions: “Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?” and, could a rod “sway him who lifts it, or a staff him who is not wood”?  How clearly he exposes the foolishness of the vain boasting of those who are mighty in their own eyes. And how well his lesson leads to Jesus’ own.  “Everything has been given over to [Jesus] by [His] Father”: all power is in our Lord’s hands.  And when He states, “No one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son – and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him,” what is He saying but that no one comes to the Father, no one receives any blessing of the Father’s power and love, unless He humbles himself before Jesus who is the Chosen One?  Nothing of God can anyone know, nothing of His power can we share – no salvation is found at all unless we come to Him as a child. “Shall He who formed the ear not hear?  Or He who formed the eye not see?”  Do you believe your vision greater than His own?  “Understand, you senseless ones among the people; and, you fools, when will you be wise.”  For though these puffed-up souls “murder” “the fatherless” with their tongue, though “widow and stranger they slay” in their wicked deceit, the truth shall not escape them: justice shall indeed come.  And as “the upright of heart… follow it” – follow the Lord of all to eternal glory – for those who take pride in their own power, “instead of His glory there will be kindling like the kindling of fire.”  Know this, you who are slow to believe. ******* O LORD, let us be as your children, doing your will in all humility. YHWH, what greater knowledge can we have than to know you who know all things?  Of what worth is our wisdom apart from you and your blessing?  Vainly we toil upon this earth, seeking our own gain and falling into wickedness – reveal yourself to us that we might be raised from our blindness.  Else we shall surely die. Trusting in our own power, what a fateful path we tread, O LORD, for then we walk further and further from you, and so further and further from true light.  In darkness we can but end, putting our faith thus in creatures.  But if we turn to you, our Creator, and recognize your power over us, then we shall be blessed by your love, for then we shall enter your presence.  Then we shall be doing your will and sharing in your wisdom, and so finding your light. From all our wickedness let us turn, O LORD, by the grace of your chastisement, and let us be as children before you, obedient to your Word and so sharing in your life.

(Is.7:1-9;   Ps.48:2-9;   Mt.11:20-24) “Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!” “Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail.”  For “great is the Lord and wholly to be praised in the city of our God” and “renowned is He as a stronghold.”  But the faithless shall be as the rebellious nations which came against the Lord and His anointed: these “shall not stand” but “shall be crushed.”  Though “the kings assemble, [though] they come on together” against the “city of the great King,” they shall be seized with “quaking,” with “anguish, like a woman’s in labor.”  They shall be “stunned, terrified, routed.” And so Jesus proclaims His rebuke of Capernaum and the other “towns where most of His miracles had been worked.”  So His severe reproach echoes to all faithless hearts, hearts which have refused His mercy, who have turned from His wonders: “I assure you, it will go easier for Sodom than for you on the day of judgment.”  Sodom was burned with fire.  There is no city greater known for sin than this profligate place which sought even the rape of the angels.  And so, what shall be the fate of those who turn now from the preaching of Jesus, from His holy presence among us?  What shall become indeed of the baptized who reject the grace at work in their souls?  One can only shudder to think of the horrors built up by such turning away, by such “failure to reform.” O Lord, how often I have turned from you; how little of your grace I have treasured in my soul.  How little faith have I.  And so, how I fear your mighty hand, your perfect, absolute light.  Who shall stand in the purity of your love?  Who can know your holiness?  My heart condemns me of my sin; “in sackcloth and ashes” I come before you, seeking the strength found only in your touch.  Send me not “down to the realm of death” but lift this faithless soul to your side.  Let me fear no attack of the world.  Enable me to stand in your light. ******* O LORD, make us your House, faithful and true, that we might find your protection and glory. YHWH, let us be your House, your holy City, faithful to you and so finding your secure protection and your blessing unto Heaven.  Help us to reform our lives that we might be made entirely in your image. Great are you, O LORD, and worthy of all our praise and worship.  You alone are God and to you alone should we be devoted.  It is you in whom we find our hope, you who are our stronghold.  With you as our God, all our enemies flee before us, for it is you who fight for us against all the evils of this world. For your miracles let us praise you, LORD; let us never be blind to your hand at work in our midst.  Let us not be as ungrateful sons failing to recognize your goodness to us and the provisions you make for our inheritance.  Let us rather be as your only Son, turning always to you and to the fulfillment of your will.  Then we shall be like Him in your kingdom, seated with all your angels and saints around your holy throne.  You alone are our King; let our enemies tremble before you.

(Is.1:10-17;   Ps.50:8-9,16-17,21,23;   Mt.10:34-11:1) “Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean!” Elsewhere in Scripture we read, “The Lord chastises those whom He loves” (Heb.12:6), and this truth is made evident in our readings today.  The Lord commands us through the prophecy of Isaiah, “Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good.”  Our psalm continues the same theme, declaring again in the voice of God, “You hate discipline and cast my words behind you.”  And the lesson is fulfilled in Jesus’ own admonishment: “Whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.” How difficult for many to hear Jesus’ words: “My mission is to spread, not peace, but division.”  How in conflict with their image of a pleasant Jesus placed so neatly in a politically proper box.  How they would anesthetize themselves against the suffering of the cross.  But the same Spirit who speaks through Isaiah, proclaiming, “Hear the word of the Lord, princes of Sodom!  Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah!” is He who speaks through the Son, who Himself condemns the towns that do not receive His preaching and presence to a worse fate than these infamous cities.  Our Lord is no less offended by “worthless offerings” and “octaves with wickedness.”  He is no more deaf to our disobedience or blind to our sin.  In fact, as He is the fulfillment of the love of God in the forgiveness and grace He offers all, so He is the fulfillment of God’s justice in the ultimate judgment of every soul. “I will correct you by drawing [your sins] up before your eyes,” the Lord declares through our psalmist.  And does not Jesus call the Pharisees “a brood of vipers” (Mt.12:34)?  Does He not call Peter “Satan” (Mt.16:23)?  Does He not open all our eyes to the sin upon our souls to save us from final damnation?  If He did not do this, could He say He loves us?  Is it not by this cross placed firmly upon our backs that we rise from the sin weighing down our hearts?  Otherwise, would we not drown in sorrow? Brothers and sisters, do not try to ration away your cross by vain supposition.  They are wolves in sheep’s clothing who would convince you there remains no place for the wood, for the blood.  The world is ever and more a place of sin, and the devil ceases not to lead souls to perdition.  Be warned by the Lord of all.  Stand chastised in His love.  Wash yourselves clean of all pride and vanity; be not as he who “brings himself to ruin.”  You are called to be the Lord’s image in the world; and the Word made flesh ends His life on earth fixed to a cross.  Accept His gift of love. ******* O LORD, let us be brought to nothing for you; let all the sin within us die that we might be your disciples. YHWH, let us welcome you and your Word and those who bring it to us.  Though your Word is hard, it is our means of salvation, for only the Son’s Cross leads to life; only your chastisement will break our hardened hearts.  O let us love you above all others! We are sinful, LORD, pretending a love that is empty and false.  And so, what do we merit but condemnation for our turning our hearts from you?  No better than the lands of Sodom and Gomorrah, our house is full of wickedness, our hands full of blood.  We do all but to please ourselves; our sacrifices are but to feed our bellies, and so are no sacrifice at all.  Bring our sins up before our eyes! that we might see and turn away from them. Your sword, O LORD, your sword alone will separate us from our sinful deeds.  Your Word alone will save our souls.  Let us cherish your discipline as once we treasured the vain things of this world.  The word of your prophets let us desire that we might receive a prophet’s reward.