The BreadCast

O good doctor who taught the way to God by death to things outside the Cross, by resting with Christ in the tomb that we might pass from this world to the Father – pray our passions indeed be silenced that the fire of God will carry our soul to Him who is beyond the operations of our mind; pray our surrender to Him may be complete and the Holy Spirit lead us in loving flame to the kingdom. Where is the longing of our soul for God, and who will assist us on the journey? Speak to our hearts this day, good teacher, from your place in His radiant presence.

(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.

O wise virgin so willing to leave your people behind to wed the only One who could win your heart, the Lord Jesus Christ, you were not swayed by punishment or persecution to renounce Him whom you loved but remained humble and diligent in your chastity and poverty and penance, sleeping on thorny mats for your Bridegroom and your persecutors – pray we too will be led into the desert, into the wilderness where God speaks, that we, too, might be espoused to Him and wait patiently for His coming, when all our scarred faces will be transformed as yours by His glory. Pray every tribe and tongue and nation will come in innocence before the Lord and so be adopted as sons and daughters of the great King.

(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.

O you who were king and emperor yet set your sights on the reign of Heaven and the reform and upbuilding of the Church on earth, who dedicated yourself to the Lord of all and service of His apostles – pray our cares and responsibilities will not distract us from remembrance of our God and His mercy but that we shall indeed dedicate these and all our lives into the hands of our Savior, that He might dispose of them and us as He sees fit. Pray our kingdom not be of this earth but of Heaven and that we shall make our home at the foot of the throne of the Almighty.

(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.

(Is.55:10-11; Ps.65:10-14,Lk.8:8; Rom.8:18-23; Mt.13:1-23) "The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit." Comes the Word of God. To our eyes, to our ears. A seed sown within our hearts. May it find rich soil in which to grow, that we might know "the redemption of our bodies." "The rain and the snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth… so shall [God's] word be that goes forth from [His] mouth." For indeed it makes the earth "fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats": it nourishes the expectant soul and provides seed for its increased growth. All is given life by the Word of God. What Isaiah prophesies, David sings – "You prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield." And by this grace which falls from heaven, consuming the manna which is its fruit, His children know the "bounty" of the Lord; for His "paths overflow with a rich harvest." Hardly can we contain the blessings of "the valleys blanketed with grain." Jesus has come. The Lord has "visited the land and watered it." The grace of God is in our midst in heavenly flesh and blood. And we are left dumb; for the Word of God indeed silences our tongue. What can we say as we see His fields coming to life? How can we speak of the beauty of a land bathed in light? Deeply into our souls His words do fall, and we awaken, we arise as His children of light, beginning now to understand the blessing at our fingertips, the redemption we do find in the Body and Blood of Christ. And though we "groan within ourselves," we know these are the "labor pains" of growth. For in this cleansing rain purging our hearts we come to be "set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God." What a wonderful word we have from our Lord: "Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear." What a promise He makes to those who gaze upon that which the prophets longed to possess: "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich." And so, what confidence we who are granted "knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" should have in His grace-filled Spirit; and what fruit we should thus bear, even to life everlasting. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Listen through the Music" from Thoroughfare, seventh album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let your rain fall upon us that we might bear fruit in your Name; let us hear your Word and answer your call. YHWH, make us fertile and fruitful. Open our hearts to receive your Word; let it sink deep within us and grow by your grace. Your grace is as the rain which waters hearts set on your will. May we indeed receive your abundant gifts, O LORD, and yield a rich harvest in your Name. So blind are our eyes, dear LORD, so dull our hearts. We are deaf to your Word as we set our sights on the things of this world. The devil easily enters in and steals from us that which we neither have nor desire. But you come to us in your compassion to teach us, to open our ears to your Word that we might be as the untilled meadows, the fields no human hand has touched, which produce fruit in abundance by your grace. The first fruits of the Spirit we now have as a gift from you, LORD. Yet we await the fullness of your blessings; yet we groan in pain as still we need to grow in you. Set us free from all slavery to corruption that we might share in the glorious freedom of your children of light. May our fruit be worthy of your kingdom.

O monastic father who led the way into the desert where the Lord speaks to men's hearts, where He calls souls to perfect worship, putting Christ before all else and treating others as He Himself… O you who prayed most perfectly, you who knew God so intimately – pray that our distracted minds will somehow be conformed to listening for His voice and answering His call to serve Him with all our lives. Help us, dear brother, dear father in the faith, to find our dwelling place in the kingdom, to live so completely according to God's Word, that with great fervor, with overflowing love, we may accomplish His will and join you in His presence.

(Is.6:1-8; Ps.93:1-2,5; Mt.10:24-33) "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,' they cried one to the other. 'All the earth is filled with His glory.'" Hear the angels' song. It is their praise, which fills the heavens like fragrant incense, that our psalmist proclaims: "The Lord is king, in splendor robed; robed is the Lord and girt about with strength." Exalted is the majesty of the Father in heaven, upon whom no eye can gaze, and so of His Son. And rightly does the prophet Isaiah – "a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips" – fear having seen "the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of His garment filling the temple." And should we not fear Him, too? Should we not fear the glorious Son in whose light we dwell and in whose steps we follow? Do we realize His Majesty? Do we somehow presume to outrank our teacher, or are we as the pupil who is "glad to become like his teacher, the slave like his master"? If humbled before the Lord of all, we shall fear nothing of this world. Fearing Him who "can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna," any power of the devil becomes as nothing in our sight. For we know our God holds every "single sparrow" in His Hand, and we "are worth more than a flock of sparrows." The Lord sends "one of the seraphim" to touch the lips of the prophet with an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar." (So holy is the Lord that even the angels cannot touch His fire with their hands.) And so Isaiah's "wickedness is removed, [his] sin purged." And so he is sent, in turn, to proclaim the Word of God. First he must be purified; first we all must be purged of sin, for indeed "holiness befits [His] house" – holiness alone may stand in His presence, and only the tongue cleansed of stain can "speak in the light" the truth of our God. And as the prophet speaks, as the psalmist sings, so are we sent to proclaim the glory of "the King, the Lord of hosts." "Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O Lord." You alone are holy. What can we pray but that the earth be filled with your glory, but that we shall enter your house and praise your name all the days we are blessed with life? Make us holy as thou art. ******* O LORD, you are the Almighty God and we are your sons; and so, how blessed we are to die with Jesus. YHWH, holiness befits your house and only those who are holy enter there. And it is only you who can make us holy, for you alone are holy. O Jesus, acknowledge us before your Father; let us never be disowned. O LORD, let our lips be cleansed that we might sing your praise and so be found worthy to join your choir of angels in Heaven. Send your angel to touch our lips with a coal from the fire of your altar; let your Holy Spirit descend upon us to sanctify our souls. How else shall we look upon you? How else shall we become as you are? Your house is filled with your glory, LORD, with the smoke rising from your holy altar. Let our prayers be offered on that altar, our very lives be immolated with your Son that as incense they may rise before you. O let us proclaim your glory from the housetops and die with you in that same glory. Praise to you, our Creator and Redeemer, and our Sanctifier! Holy are you, O LORD!

(Hos.14:2-10; Ps.51:3-4,8-9,12-14,17; Mt.10:16-23) "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise." Hosea instructs the Israelites, "Take with you words, and return to the Lord," and this David does in his psalm of sorrow. In "sincerity of heart" he begs the Lord's forgiveness for his sin and finds that the Lord creates "a clean heart" for him. "In [Him] the orphan finds compassion," and so the humbled king receives the Lord's cleansing grace. Because the Lord does "forgive all iniquity, and receive[s] what is good," so we find that Hosea's prophecy – "He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth his shoots" – is fulfilled in His Church today. We indeed "blossom like the vine": the vine of Christ covers the earth. And though "straight are the paths of the Lord," though Jesus' blunt words to His disciples – "You will be hated by all on account of me" – are realized in all who are "brought to trial before rulers and kings, to give witness before them and the Gentiles"… though persecution, the cross, be an inevitable part of every Christian's life, yet through it all the Church is strengthened, growing "like a verdant cypress tree." For always it is the Lord who strengthens us; always it is "the Spirit of [our] Father… speaking in [us]." It is He who opens our lips; it is His praise we proclaim with all our words, and so what can He do but bless us? We "say no more, 'our god,' to the work of our hands," and so no more do we sin. Taking refuge in the love of God, "because of [Him we] bear fruit." "Your Holy Spirit take not from me," O Lord. "A willing spirit sustain in me," that your wrath might ever be "turned away," that I might forever be purified by your grace – that the pangs I suffer never be the result of my sin but rather the blessing of sharing your cross in this world. Come, O Son of Man, and find your sheep suffering all for you. Your Word keep upon our souls. ******* O LORD, cleanse our hearts of sin that you might speak through us, that we might do your work in this world. YHWH, wash us clean of all our sins this day that our tongues might freely praise your NAME and declare your glory to all the world, that we might be ready even to die for you. You are our salvation; you are our very life. It is only by you we bear fruit – without you we would certainly die. And so, a clean heart create in us that we might be your faithful disciples. Speak in us this day, O LORD; in our lives let your will be done. And as we blossom by your favor let us never forget that it is by your love alone we grow. If we perform good works, it is only by your grace, for truly we deserved death for our sins but your compassion has made us new again and prepared us for our service. The work of our hands shall not save us, LORD, but only you and your love. Let us not be distracted by the gleam of the stones, even of the temple, but set our hearts and desires on you alone. Truly you hold our lives in your hands – let us have your wisdom to guide us, that we might never again turn away but ever recognize you as our Savior.