The BreadCast

(Sir.44:1,9-13; Ps.149:1-6,9; Mk.11:11-26) "They are as though they had not lived, they and their children after them." This line from Sirach could refer well to the Jewish nation symbolized by the fig tree "withered to its roots." For "never again shall anyone eat of [its] fruits"; its temple now destroyed shall never be rebuilt. And yet Sirach speaks not of those who have perished in sin, and so...

(Sir.42:15-25; Ps.33:2-9; Mk.10:46-52) "As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord fills all His works." "How beautiful are all His works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision!" "Can one ever see enough of their splendor?" Yet how blind is man to their glory! How much we need to receive the Lord's vision. "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; by the breath of His mo...

(Lv.19:1-2,17-18; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,12-13; 1Cor.3:16-23; Mt.5:38-48) "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy." In the Book of Leviticus God says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," and this is good. But in the gospel Jesus adds, "Love your enemies" – and this is better. In the old law we are commanded, "Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people"; but in the new w...

(Heb.11:1-7; Ps.145:2-5,10-11; Mk.9:2-13) "Rabbi, how good it is for us to be here." In yesterday's gospel Jesus promised, "Among those standing here there are some who will not taste death until they see the reign of God established in power." And today we witness the keeping of that promise, as upon "a high mountain" Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of Peter, James, and John. In all His glo...

(Heb.9:2-3,11-14; Ps.47:2-3,6-9; Mk.3:20-21) "Behind the second veil was the tabernacle call the holy of holies." To this holy of holies in the temple of Jerusalem only the high priest could come, and only once a year. So holy was it deemed. This tabernacle contained the ark of the Lord with the two tablets upon which the commandments of God were written, and some manna from the Israelites' travel...

(1Jn.5:14-21; Ps.149:1-6,9; Jn.2:1-12) "He hears us whenever we ask for anything according to His will." In our gospel, the waiters come to Mary; their misfortune is witnessed by her compassionate heart: "They have no more wine," she tells her Son. She knows what she is saying, she knows what she is asking… and Jesus knows, too. And though He seems not prepared to answer her concern (you see, our...

(Is.56:1-3,6-8; Ps.67:2-3,5,7-8; Jn.5:33-36) "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." The Truth has come, and all nations are drawn to Him. None is excluded in the House of God; His holy Temple is a place where all take refuge, where all find fulfillment, where all find joy. He only asks that we heed His testimony, that we see the works which He performs and act in accordance...

(Is.54:1-10; Ps.30:2,4-6,11-13; Lk.7:24-30) "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back." We are "the barren one who did not bear," the "wife married in youth and then cast off" by our God. Once "forsaken and grieved in spirit," blushing for the "shame of [our] youth," now the Lord takes us home and promises us His love. "My love shall never leave you nor my...

(Is.45:6-8,18,21-25; Ps.85:9-14,Is.45:8; Lk.7:18-23) "There is no just and saving God but me." Jesus is "He who is to come"; His deeds speak for themselves. "There is no other!" "Justice shall walk before Him, and salvation, along the way of His steps." How evident this is in Jesus' life, for wherever He goes He teaches wisdom; whomever He touches He heals. God created the world "not to be a waste...

(Rv.22:1-7; Ps.95:1-7,Rv.21:20; Lk.21:34-36) "Remember, I am coming soon!" And when He comes what blessings there shall be for those who have been faithful to Him. They shall eat of "the trees of life which produce fruit twelve times a year," which grow either side of "the river of life-giving water, clear as crystal" flowing from "the throne of God and of the Lamb." Healed entirely shall they be...

(2Mac.7:1-2,9-14; Ps.17:1,5-6,8,15; 2Thes.2:16-3:5; Lk.20:27-38) "On waking I shall be content in your presence." Our hope is in the resurrection, brothers and sisters. It is this which gives us strength, and it is our endurance which brings us to His presence. Brothers and sisters, indeed, as Paul wishes us, we have "everlasting encouragement and good hope" through the grace of our Lord. He stren...

(Phil.4:10-19; Ps.112:1-2,5-6,8-9; Lk.16:9-15) "Well for the man who is gracious and lends." "Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory." Such is the man who knows the proper use of this world's goods, that is, to give them all as "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." This shows that he "fears the Lord," that...

(Wis.11:22-12:2; Ps.145:1-2,8-11,13-14; 2Thes.1:11-2:2; Lk.19:1-10) "The Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost." How beautifully the readings speak today of our "Lord and lover of souls" whose "imperishable spirit is in all things" and who is "good to all and compassionate to all His works." It is indeed "in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ" that we be glorified...

(Phil.1:18-26; Ps.42:2-3,5; Lk.14:1,7-11) "When you are invited by someone to a wedding party, do not sit in the place of honor in case some greater dignitary has been invited." At the feast of the marriage of Christ to mankind, we are the lesser party, and must act humbly before our God. Jesus comes among us as a guest to eat a meal in our house; He humbles Himself to sit at our table. And this g...

(Eph.1:11-14; Ps.33:1-2,4-5,12-13; Lk.12:1-7) "What you have whispered in locked rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops." What we have whispered and what has been whispered to us, the teaching of the Lord, the truth of the Spirit, is destined to grow unto praise of God – to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. What begins here in a small way in Jesus the Messiah, shall proceed in His disci...

(1Cor.15:35-37,42-49; Ps.56:10-14; Lk.8:4-15) "Just as we resemble the man from earth, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." It is not difficult to recognize our earthly bodies. They are with us always, and make themselves known in the "weakness" that befalls us. Adam's sin is upon us his children and reminds us always that we are human, of the earth. But as we know this body of t...

(Ex.32:7-11,13-14; Ps.51:3-4,12-13,17,19,Lk.15:18; 1Tm.1:12-17; Lk.15:1-32) "The Lord relented in the punishment He had threatened to inflict on His people." Redemption is ours, brothers and sisters. Though we are great sinners, the Lord has mercy on us when we turn to Him; for, as Moses interceded for the Israelites in the desert, so Christ Jesus intercedes for us now before the throne of His Fat...

(1Cor.10:14-22; Ps.116:12-13,17-18; Lk.6:43-49) "Is not the cup of blessing we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread we break a sharing in the body of Christ?" The Body and Blood of Christ we have upon our altar and in the Word of His teaching. It is these which set a firm foundation within ourselves, these by which we bear fruit in His Name – these by which we come to be as...

(Ez.43:1-7; Ps.85:9-14; Mt.23:1-12) "The temple was filled with the glory of the Lord." Certainly the vision of Ezekiel is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and His founding the Church, the New Jerusalem, here amongst us. In this Temple He has "set the soles of [His] feet"; here He "dwell[s] among the Israelites forever." For though the temple in Jerusalem shall be restored, it shall again be destr...

(Ez.12:1-12; Ps.78:7,56-59,61-62; Mt.18:21-19:1) "As captives they shall go into exile." "The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden and set out in darkness, going through a hole he has dug in the wall, and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone." O the woe of the "rebellious house"! How their sins eat away at their souls like hands digging holes in a wall; how they must hide thei...

(1Kgs.19:16b,19-21; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-11; Gal.5:1,13-18; Lk.9:51-62) "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." We must follow Jesus. And the path He walks leads to the cross. Our gospel tells us, "When the days for Jesus' being taken up were fulfilled, He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem." Jesus knows what awaits Him in Jerusalem...

(Jas.2:14-24,26; Ps.112:1-6; Mk.8:34-9:1) "Faith without works is as dead as a body without breath." How dead indeed is a body without breath; how short a time we can go without breathing before dying. And so how much is our faith dependent on works to remain alive. Brothers and sisters, we are human, we have bodies – of the earth, of flesh and bone, we are. We are not angels. And having bodies we...

(Jas.2:1-9; Ps.34:2-7; Mk.8:27-33) "You are not judging by God's standards but by man's!" This is a most important statement Jesus makes; it really cuts to the heart of His teaching, and to His sacrifice for our sins. He has just finished asking His apostles, "Who do you say that I am?" and for perhaps the first time heard their belief that He is the Messiah. This is a critical moment. But there i...

(Jas.1:19-27; Ps.15:1-5; Mk.8:22-26) "Jesus laid hands on his eyes, and he saw perfectly." What is it to see perfectly but to be as "the man who peers into freedom's ideal law and abides by it"? For to see perfectly is to see as God sees, not looking upon the surface of things – that which is reflected in a mirror – but to see the light of God reflected off the souls of His children. And not merel...

(Jer.1:4-5,17-19; Ps.71:1-6,15,17; 1Cor.12:31-13:13; Lk.4:21-30) "I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." When God calls Jeremiah to prophesy "against Judah's kings and princes, against its priests and people," He tells him to "gird [his] loins" and commands: "Be not crushed on their account." For though his people "will fight against" him, they shall "not prevail over" him. The Lord makes J...