God is dwelling in my heart. He and I are one. All His joy He gives to me,
through Christ His son. And with Jesus in my heart, what have I to fear?
For He is the son of God. In my heart He is near.
Christians who are baptized, have you ever realized,
The great mystery, god dwells in you and me.
This joy God gave to you, share it then with others too,
Tell them that God is love, lifts
their hearts above.
Kyrie (in Japanese)
Shu yo Awaremi tamae (bis), Kiristo
Awaremi tamae (bis), Shuyo Awaremi tamae (bis)
First reading (Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13)
The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD:
I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how
you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel
was holy to the LORD, the first fruits of his harvest. All who
ate of it were held guilty; disaster came upon them, says the
LORD. I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and
its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and
made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, "Where
is the LORD?" Those who handle the law did not know me; the
rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit. Be appalled, O heavens,
at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my
people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain
of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked
cisterns that can hold no water. THE WORD OF THE LORD
Gospel (Mat 13, 10-17)
Then the disciples came and asked him,
"Why do you speak to them in parables?" He answered,
"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who
have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but
from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken
away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they
do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.'
With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
'You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed
look, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their
ears, and understand with their heart and turn and
I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and
your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and
righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. THE WORD OF THE
LORD
In the words of Jeremiah "we have followed Yahweh through the desert". The hometown where each of us was born is on the edge of a desert, "the desert of hope". The caravans of the wealthy set out from the town with camels laden with goods, food and plenty of water. We feel tempted to join the caravans of the powerful.
Jesus too guides groups across the desert. But Jesus goes on foot, without any camels, just a light knapsack on the shoulder and a small waterpot on his belt. We hesitate to risk following Him when He has so few provisions. But Jesus has a secret: He knows where the wells and freshwater springs are hidden in the desert.
The travellers in the caravans of the rich care only for themselves and not for others. They always end up fighting among themselves, spilling the water and dying of thirst. The wells that Jesus knows are within our hearts, where we hear the Father calling us by our names and inviting us to enter the desert with Jesus, together, caring for one another so that no one lacks water. Jesus, the desert guide, calls us to be his friends and to work with Him. The call wells up in our hearts like a spring of water always fresh and alive. Often as we journey through the desert of hope, the needs of our brothers and sisters overwhelm us. But when we return to our hearts we discover that His call resounds there and the spring of water wells up.
We are blessed, Jesus tells us in the Gospel, because of what our eyes have seen in the desert of hope, because of what our ears have heard in the depths of our hearts. In this great family of the CLC we are united by this blessing of having put our faith in Jesus, the desert guide who knows the springs and wells. Before taking up new responsibilities for our brothers and sisters who journey with us, let us set ourselves to follow Jesus more closely across the desert of hope.