The BreadCast

O innocent soul, pure as an angel, meek as a lamb, from slavery you were taken to the house of God, where freedom you found in faith in the Lord – pray for the freedom of all slaves chained in soul or body, that they shall be released from the snares of this world to walk at liberty with Jesus. Pray His goodness reign in all His children, in all who would be gentle as this Lamb; may all those in need of His grace hear His Word proclaimed, and in His blood be redeemed. And pray His Mother watch over all who are near or far from Him, till they enter His presence.

(1Kgs.8:22-23,27-30; Ps.84:2-5,10-11; Mk.7:1-13) "Can it indeed be that God dwells among men on earth?" Well does Solomon do in stating, "If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!" For though the Lord will heed Solomon's prayer and "listen to the petitions of [His] servant and of [His] people Israel which they offer in this place," He indeed will only "keep [His] covenant of kindness with [His] servants who are faithful to [Him] with their whole heart." When they do as the Pharisees and "disregard God's commandment and cling to what is human tradition," when they hold fast only to the walls of the temple and neglect to keep His Word, the blessing He provides through the temple they built shall be removed from their midst – the walls themselves shall crumble (as even they do, not many generations from Solomon's time). The Pharisees indeed sin by clinging to the walls, by a scrupulous observance of care for the body even as the soul rots. They carefully wash hands and food and "cups and jugs and kettles" but forego the cleansing of their hearts within. And so they "nullify God's word in favor of the traditions [they] have handed on"; they ornament the walls of the temple, but God is not within. They indeed fulfill Isaiah's prophecy: "This people pays me lip service but their heart is far from me." Brothers and sisters, do we pray in truth? Do our "heart and [our] flesh cry out for the living God"? Can we say with our psalmist, "My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord," for His holy presence? If it is so that we treasure the Lord above all, then we shall be as "the sparrow [who] finds a home, and the swallow [who has] a nest in which she puts her young" – then we shall dwell happily in the house of God and He shall hear our prayers. For in truth the Lord Jesus has come to dwell among men on earth; the true Temple walks among us. No longer need we be separated from God or anxiously fear the loss of His presence. The temple walls and the traditions developed to protect us from uncertainty no longer must be clung to, for here are the temple walls in the flesh of Christ, and here is the cleansing we need in the shedding of His blood. And His Church now is alive in the Spirit of God and is moving everywhere. Let us enter its eternal walls and find true reverence there. In this place He shall answer all our prayers. ******* O LORD, we cry out to you: let us look upon the face of your anointed that we might be cleansed of our sin. YHWH, make us faithful to your Word with our whole heart; let us worship you in spirit and in truth. Let us not merely cling to traditions men have devised, let us not set our sights on the walls of the temple but enter inside and there find you present in your Son. O let us dwell in your House forever! Jesus is the Temple where you dwell, O LORD our God. For Him our souls thirst, for it is you, the living God, our hearts desire. And so, let us not be distracted by the gleam of the stones erected in your NAME. Let us find in these houses of prayer a place to offer you fitting sacrifice, a place where you indeed dwell and where you listen to our cries… But let us know all the while that even the highest heavens cannot contain you, that you transcend our thoughts and all the works of our hands. Make us, O LORD, as your temple – in your presence let us remain.

(1Kgs.8:1-7,9-13; Ps.132:6-10; Mk.6:53-56) "Let us enter into His dwelling, let us worship at His footstool." "Advance, O Lord, to your resting place, you and the ark of your majesty." Yes, in our first reading, "the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes" come to bring the ark of the Lord into the temple Solomon has built in Jerusalem. "For the occasion [they] sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen too many to number or count." When the ark was in its place in the holy of holies, "the Lord's glory… filled the temple" in the form of a cloud. The Lord's presence had come to rest in this "princely house." But this shall not be a dwelling "where [He] may abide forever," as Solomon says; for the eternal Temple is Jesus. In our gospel "crowds scurried about the adjacent area and began to bring in the sick on bedrolls" when the Lord and His disciples tied up their boat in Genessaret. Here as everywhere He went "they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him to let them touch just the tassel of His cloak." Mark tells us, "All who touched Him got well." Here is the true Temple at work, a place where prayers are answered, where healing is known. As the ark was placed "beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary," so the Father has the angels spread their wings over His Son, guarding and blessing His every step. As when the ark is brought in to the holy of holies, the Lord's glory fills the temple, so when He comes to us, when we but touch Him, we are filled with His presence and made whole. As the Israelites crowded into the temple to offer sacrifice, so now all in need surround the Lord to share in the holy sacrifice of His Body and Blood. Here is the Temple not made by human hands, brothers and sisters. Here is the Lord's eternal dwelling place. Here is Jesus, the Son of God. In all the tabernacles of all the churches throughout the world He rests, His presence abides. Let us flock to Him. Let us receive Him into our hearts and bodies. Let us know His healing touch upon our souls. Let us pray with our psalmist, "May your priests be clothed with justice; let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy." For here is His holy presence; here is the glory of the Lord. Here He hears our prayers as we call upon His Name and worship before Him each day. Here He enters in and makes His home with us, and so we, too, become temples of the Lord. ******* O LORD, may we but touch your Son and be healed, your cloud of glory filling our souls. YHWH, your Word has become flesh; the Law you inscribed on the two tablets of stone now walks among us in the Person of Jesus. Here is the true Temple, your dwelling where you abide forever. To Him should we come in praise and worship to find healing that we might rest with you. O LORD, make us holy as He is holy; let us enter your sanctuary, the wings of your angels spread above us for protection. Yes, let us become as the Body of your Son as we partake of His Word and Sacrament here in your House. To your Temple let us come that we might be temples ourselves. What should we not sacrifice to your glory? What should occupy us but finding your Presence in our midst? Should we not lay our sick souls at Jesus' feet; should we not seek to enter His tabernacle? O let us enter your dwelling place and make our home in His flesh and blood!

O innocent soul, pure as an angel, meek as a lamb, from slavery you were taken to the house of God, where freedom you found in faith in the Lord – pray for the freedom of all slaves chained in soul or body, that they shall be released from the snares of this world to walk at liberty with Jesus. Pray His goodness reign in all His children, in all who would be gentle as this Lamb; may all those in need of His grace hear His Word proclaimed, and in His blood be redeemed. And pray His Mother watch over all who are near or far from Him, till they enter His presence.

O soldier for the Lord and servant of the poor who trusted in God alone and gave your life for those in need – may we, too, become friends of the one Lord, purified of all dross by the trials we endure and by doing His will in this world. His children let us become as we care for the children most in need, those who seem abandoned by Him. His hands and His heart let us be, that in such love we shall be free of all fear and separation from the Father and so dwell with those we serve in the peace of Heaven.