The BreadCast

(Rv.1:1-4,2:1-5; Ps.1:1-4,6,Rv.2:7; Lk.18:35-43) "Jesus of Nazareth was passing by." A blind man sat begging by the side of the road. "Hearing a crowd go by the man asked, 'What is that?'" And he was told that "Jesus drew near," that all he could possibly ask for was upon him – and so he begged with the greatest sincerity he could muster. And as the end of the Church year approaches, we hear from...

(Dn.12:1-3; Ps.16:5,8-11; Heb.10:11-14,18; Mk.13:24-32) "He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky." On that Day "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky." On that Day we "will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory." "It shall...

(3Jn.5-8; Ps.112:1-6; Lk.18:1-8) "When the Son of Man comes, will He find any faith on the earth?" So beset by weakness are we on this earth, brothers and sisters. So doubtful, so fearful… so seemingly without help, alone. And so our faith does falter, and so we do fall. And we wonder, "Where is God?" But the Son asks us today where we are. He emphasizes "the necessity of praying always and not lo...

(2Jn.4-9; Ps.119:1-2,10-11,17-18; Lk.17:26-37) "Anyone who remains rooted in the teaching possesses both the Father and the Son." While "anyone who is so 'progressive' that he does not remain rooted in the teaching of Christ does not possess God." Rather, he possesses but the emptiness of this earth. And what is this teaching so necessary for our salvation, for knowing and possessing the Lord our...

(Philm.7-20; Ps.146:7-10; Lk.17:20-25) "The reign of God is already in your midst." Brothers and sisters, Jesus the Christ has come, He has "suffer[ed] much and be[en] rejected by the present age"… and He has risen. This is all you need to know. There is no need for "careful watching when the reign of God will come," for it is not "a matter of reporting that it is 'here' or 'there'" – it is among...

(Ti.3:1-7; Ps.23:1-6; Lk.17:11-19) "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" Such is the cry of the ten lepers standing at a distance from the Lord. And such is the cry that wells up in all our hearts when we realize we must keep ourselves far from His company for the sin that festers like a disease in our souls. Desiring no longer to be outcasts from His love, we call out… and He answers. Do you think yo...

(Ti.2:1-8,11-14; Ps.37:3-4,18,23,27,29,39; Lk.17:7-10) "Live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age." Brothers and sisters, be "eager to do what is right" as servants of the Most High God. "Trust in the Lord and do good, that you may dwell in the land and enjoy security." For "the Lord watches over the lives of the wholehearted; their inheritance lasts forever." Paul gives instruction to al...

(Ti.1:1-9; Ps.24:1-6; Lk.17:1-6) "Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?" "He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain." Of priests and holy men our readings speak, yes, but most especially of bishops, who are most entrusted with the Word of God, with the preaching of the Gospel of eternal life… and how silence in this regard...

(1Kgs.17:10-16; Ps.146:1,7-10; Heb.9:24-28; Mk.12:38-44) "She, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." Jesus sits in the temple and watches as "the crowd put[s] money into the treasury." When He sees "a poor widow… put in two small coins worth a few cents," He calls His disciples over, and speaks the truth to them: "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than...

(Phil.3:17-4:1; Ps.122:1-5; Lk.16:1-8) "We have our citizenship in heaven." Brothers and sisters, we are not among "those who are set upon the things of this world." Always we must remember this. Though surrounded by worldly things, our hearts are not set upon them; rather, "we eagerly await the coming of our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Our hearts are set upon heaven. Then what are we to do wi...

(Phil.3:3-8; Ps.105:2-7; Lk.15:1-10) "I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ." Paul tells us, "Those things I used to consider gain I have now reappraised as loss in the light of Christ." The "legal observance" he grasped so tightly – having been "circumcised on the eighth day," "a Hebrew of Hebrew origins," himself a Pharisee – he now loos...

(Phil.2:12-18; Ps.27:1,4,13-14; Lk.14:25-33) "Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation." Strive we must always to attain the kingdom of God, setting our hearts on salvation alone, and trusting in the Lord all the while. "If one of you decides to build a tower, will he not first sit down and calculate the outlay?" And do you think the outlay for being a follower of Christ is any less imp...

(Phil.2:5-11; Ps.22:26-32; Lk.14:15-24) "The lowly shall eat their fill." Yes, "happy is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God." Indeed, he shall have his fill. But who shall partake of such grace? Who shall come to the feast when the Master calls? Brothers and sisters, our "attitude must be as Christ's: though He was in the form of God, He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped...

(Phil.2:1-4; Ps.131:1-3; Lk.14:12-14) "Let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others' interests rather than his own." The key to Christianity is to see others, even the blind and the lame and the crippled beggar, as superior to ourselves, and place ourselves at their service in love. As Christians we can never look down upon another individual; if...

(Dt.6:2-6; Ps.18:2-4,47,51; Heb.7:23-28; Mk.12:28-34) "You are not far from the kingdom of God." If you "fear the Lord, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all His statutes and commandments," you will have "long life"; the Lord will "give you a land flowing with milk and honey." The promise spoken by Moses to the people stands true, and truer, today. If we "take to heart these w...

(Eph.6:10-20; Ps.144:1-2,9-10; Lk.13:31-35) "Today and tomorrow I cast out devils and perform cures, and on the third day my purpose is accomplished." "Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war," King David sings, for the Lord is the "shield… who subdues peoples under [him]"; He is the "stronghold" by whom "victory" is his. The same image of battle is used by...

(Eph.6:1-9; Ps.145:10-14; Lk.13:22-30) "Do God's will with your whole heart as slaves of Christ." These words Paul addresses to the slaves of his time, instructing them to "obey [their] human masters with the reverence, the awe, and the sincerity [they] owe to Christ," but they apply well to us all, who are in all things to serve the Lord. Always we should "give [our] service willingly, doing it f...

(Eph.5:21-33; Ps.128:1-5; Lk.13:18-21) "To what shall I compare the reign of God?" Jesus Himself compares it to a mustard seed which grows so steadily into a "large shrub," and to yeast which makes "the whole mass of dough" rise. And Paul tells us of the marriage union that it "refers to Christ and the Church." These images should lead you, brother, to understand the glorious kingdom that is beyon...

(Jer.31:7-9; Ps.126:1-6; Heb.5:1-6; Mk.10:46-52) "They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them." Through Jeremiah the Lord prophesies that His people Israel "shall return as an immense throng," that He will "gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst." And in our gospel we see Jesus "leaving Jericho with His disciples and a sizable crowd,"...

(Eph.4:7-16; Ps.122:1-5; Lk.13:1-9) "Each of us has received God's favor in the measure in which Christ bestows it." Paul reminds us today of Scripture: "When He ascended on high, He took a host of captives and gave gifts to men." Christ Himself "descended into the lower regions of the earth," coming to the place where we lowly humans dwell, and then "ascended into heaven, that He might fill all m...

(Eph.4:1-6; Ps.24:1-6; Lk.12:54-59) "Make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force." Is this not what Jesus instructs the crowds in saying, "When you are going with your opponent to appear before a magistrate, try to settle with him on the way"? Do not both Paul and Jesus speak of the love we must have one for another, even for those who...

(Eph.3:14-21; Ps.33:1-2,4-5,11-12,18-19; Lk.12:49-53) "Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth?" Strong contrast we find in our readings today. Jesus speaks of the division He has come to bring by the fire of truth He lights on this earth – fire like a sword separating even the closest of family members one from another; whereas Paul speaks of "the breadth and the length and the h...

(Eph.3:2-12; Is.12:2-6; Lk.12:39-48) "When much has been given a man, much will be required of him." Yes, "more will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted," and today we see two of the men to whom the most has been entrusted. First, of course, is Peter, who queries the Lord and to whom the Lord addresses His question, "Who in your opinion is that faithful, farsighted steward whom the m...

(Eph.2:12-22; Ps.85:9-14; Lk.12:35-38) "You who were once far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ." We who "were excluded from the community of Israel," who were not of His chosen people upon whom His Spirit rested and so were "without hope and without God in the world," now are "fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God" by the great grace of the cross o...

(Eph.2:1-10; Ps.100:2-5; Lk.12:13-21) "It is owing to His favor that salvation is yours through faith. This is not your own doing, it is God's gift." Brothers and sisters, salvation is no "reward for anything [we] have accomplished." It is nothing we make by our own hands, but comes only by God's "kindness to us in Christ Jesus." "God is rich in mercy." Here is the great truth; this is our great h...