The BreadCast

(1Cor.9:16-19,22-27; Ps.84:2-6,8,12; Lk.6:39-42) "Although I am not bound to anyone, I made myself the slave of all so as to win over as many as possible." How like His Lord is Paul in his declaration, "To the weak I became a weak person with a view to winning the weak." For as Jesus descended from heaven to take on flesh and save those corrupted by its sin, so the Apostle has made himself "all th...

(1Cor.8:1-7,11-13; Ps.139:1-3,13-14,23-24; Lk.6:27-38) "The measure you measure with will be measured back to you." And what is your measuring stick, brother? Is it the ruler of this earth, limited by eyes of flesh? Or is it the yardstick of heaven, which reaches unto the Lord's side and finds us in His sight? Do you toil on this plane alone, or do you climb the mountain where He sits, where He te...

(1Cor.7:25-31; Ps.45:11-12,14-17; Lk.6:20-26) "The world as we know it is passing away." And so, "hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, forget your people and your father's house," for the King is calling you from this passing world to the heavenly marriage feast – "He is your Lord, and you must worship Him." This call is for every chosen soul, for who is the Lord's virgin daughter, who is His...

(1Cor.6:1-11; Ps.149:1-6,9; Lk.6:12-19) "You have been washed, consecrated, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." Yes, "power went out from Him which cured all." And as all were "healed of their diseases" and "those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured" by His touch, so we, too, are made whole in His sight; so we now become His holy children of...

(1Cor.5:1-8; Ps.5:5-7,9,12; Lk.6:6-11) "Let us celebrate the feast not with the old yeast, that of corruption and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." For indeed, "Christ our Passover has been sacrificed"; indeed, the new Sabbath has come. And on the Day of the Lord only goodness remains. "Get rid of the old yeast to make of yourselves fresh dough," Paul commands the...

(Is.35:4-7a; Ps.146:2,6-10; Jas.2:1-5; Mk.7:31-37) "He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." The Lord makes all whole. He "sets captives free" from all their afflictions as He redeems us from all our sin. "Here is your God, He comes with vindication; with divine recompense He comes to save you." This is He who "has done all things well"; this is the Lord Jesus Christ. "And immediately the man's...

(1Cor.4:9-15; Ps.145:17-21; Lk.6:1-5) "God has put us apostles at the end of the line, like men doomed to die in the arena." "Up to this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, wandering about homeless," the great Apostle Paul tells us of the persecution and slander all the Lord's apostles must undergo. And yet "when we are insulted we respond with a blessing," for this i...

(1Cor.4:1-5; Ps.37:3-6,27-28,39-40; Lk.5:33-39) "The salvation of the just is from the Lord." "For the Lord loves what is right, and forsakes not His faithful ones." And so He comes. He comes bearing a new garment; He comes with the blood of a New Covenant, His own blood, to wash us clean and make us whole as He is. Drinking this new wine indeed we are made holy. It is not as "John's disciples" or...

(1Cor.3:18-23; Ps.24:1-6; Lk.5:1-11) "Amazement at the catch they had made seized him and all his shipmates." What a truly remarkable scene! Here upon the call of the apostles, the first of apostles, Simon Peter, "fell at the knees of Jesus." Here in his barque, boats once desolate now suddenly fill to bursting with fish flopping about everywhere, unable to be contained… This is a painting for the...

(1Cor.3:1-9; Ps.33:12-15,20-21; Lk.4:38-44) "To other towns I must announce the Good News of the reign of God, because that is why I was sent." "And He continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea." And He continues to preach to all hearts through His blessed apostles, and His Church continues to grow. To the ends of the earth the kingdom progresses, and we each have a hand in its rising. Yes, "...

(1Cor.2:10-16; Ps.145:8-14,17; Lk.4:31-37) "We have the mind of Christ." The demon has been cast from us and we see the Lord as He is: "Good to all and compassionate toward all His works." "The glorious splendor of [His] kingdom" is before our eyes, and it is this which gives us light. We have bowed ourselves down before Him, the demon has thrown us "to the ground before everyone's eyes," and we h...

(1Cor.2:1-5; Ps.119:97-102; Lk.4:16-30) "Your faith rests not on the wisdom of men but on the power of God." Paul comes to the Corinthians with preaching that has "none of the persuasive force of 'wise' argumentation, but the convincing power of the Spirit," and with them he determines to "speak of nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Similarly, when "Jesus came to Nazareth where He had be...

(Dt.4:1-2,6-8; Ps.15:1-5; Jas.1:17-18,21b-22,27; Mk.7:1-8,14-15,21-23) "Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls." Welcome it, yes, and "be doers of the word and not hearers only." For how else shall you show that the word of God is planted in you except that you bear fruit? All that is planted well indeed grows and bears fruit in the light of God. Brothe...

(1Cor.1:26-31; Ps.33:12-13,18-21; Mt.25:14-30) "He called in His servants and handed His funds over to them according to each man's abilities." All comes from the hand of God. Yes. Do you see this? God it is who provides any talent you possess on this earth and "God it is who has given you life in Christ Jesus." Not yourself. It is not from you any power comes. God has proven His power by choosing...

(1Cor.1:17-25; Ps.33:1-2,4-5,10-11; Mt.25:1-13) "The world did not come to know Him through its 'wisdom'." "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and thwart the cleverness of the clever," says the Lord God. And in its place we find the Gospel, "the message of the cross," which is "complete absurdity to those who are headed to ruin, but to us who are experiencing salvation it is the power of God."...

(1Cor.1:1-9; Ps.145:1-7; Mt.24:42-51) "He will strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Brothers and sisters, "you lack no spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Lord provides all you need, generously and faithfully. You "have been consecrated in Christ Jesus and called to be a holy people" and so "have bee...

(2Thes.3:6-10,16-18; Ps.128:1-2,4-5; Mt.23:27-32) "You shall eat the fruit of your handiwork." "Anyone who would not work should not eat" was the rule laid down by Paul among the Thessalonians. A man must earn his bread. And as on earth, so in heaven. For who shall come to the fruits of the kingdom if they are not as Paul, who has labored "to the point of exhaustion" for the sake of the reign of G...

(2Thes.2:1-3,14-17; Ps.96:10-13; Mt.23:23-26) "He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with His constancy." "Brothers, stand firm." Be not "easily agitated or terrified" "on the question of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him." This should not preoccupy your thoughts because this is not in your mind to know or your hands to control. The day and the hour a...

(2Thes.1:1-5,11-12; Ps.96:1-5; Mt.23:13-22) "Which is more important, the offering or the altar which makes the offering sacred?" The Pharisees in their blindness taught: "If a man swears by the altar it means nothing, but if he swears by the gift on the altar he is obligated." Indeed, "How blind [they] are!" For what do they do but exalt that which is secondary beyond that which is primary? What...

(Jos.24:1-2a,15-17,18b; Ps.34:2-3,9,16-21; Eph.5:21-32; Jn.6:60-69) "Do you also want to leave?" How like the questions pertaining to the marriage vows is our Lord's inquiry of the Twelve, and Joshua's statement to the Israelites he has just brought out of the wilderness into the Promised Land. "If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve," Joshua says, "as for me...

(Rv.21:9-14; Ps.145:10-13,17-18; Jn.1:45-51) "Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb." Nathanael (who is Bartholomew) is taken by Philip (whose name means "love") to meet the bridegroom of his soul – and immediately he weds himself to the Lord, recognizing Him as the Son of God. As Bartholomew is without guile, so must all His Church be so sincere to find the glory that await...

(Ez.37:1-14; Ps.107:1-9; Mt.22:34-40) "I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel." The commentary in the missal I read states: "The lesson here is return from captivity, not life after death." And so the speaker proves once again the limited vision of so many of our scholars – indeed, how like the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the lawyers of Je...

(Ez.36:23-28; Ps.51:12-15,18-19,Ez.36:25; Mt.22:1-14) "Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me." The Lord desires to "prove the holiness of [His] great name," which has been "profaned among the nations" by the children of Israel. And so He determines to "gather [them] from all the foreign lands," to bring them back from their exile from His sight, and bless them a...

(Ez.34:1-11; Ps.23:1-6; Mt.20:1-16) "I myself will look after and tend my sheep." How grateful we should be that "the Lord is [our] shepherd," for with Him we want for nothing. Indeed, our "cup overflows" and "only goodness and kindness follow [us] all the days of [our] life"; for it is He who watches over our every step, and He is only goodness, He is only kindness – His mercy endures forever. Ho...

(Ez.28:1-10; Dt.32:26-28,30,35-36,39; Mt.19:23-30) "Only with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of God." Yes, "close at hand is the day of their disaster, and their doom is rushing upon them!" – those like the prince of Tyre who are "haughty of heart, and say, 'A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!'" What condemnation they mount up for themselves, those who by the...