WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the

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Holy Spirit. Amen. It's often said that Christmas

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is about family. And that's true. And it's a

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good thing in general. Families do gather. Some

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go off to visit. Our dear altar server James

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is going to Chicago. Some of you are going elsewhere.

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We will miss you at our celebration. But you'll

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be with your family. As we're preparing for Christmas,

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Church tells us, yes, family for sure. But it

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says, look at the bigger picture. Let's look

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at the family of the Messiah. Let's look at the

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family of Jesus Christ. So this week, we're commemorating.

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Now that's a fancy word, commemorating. It simply

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means to remember. to memorialize, to recognize,

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to observe, to honor. So we're honoring, commemorating

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the family of Christ, the ancestors, the forefathers.

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I have some names here because I couldn't remember

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them all. And this isn't even all of them, obviously.

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You have to read the Old Testament to find them.

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And there are many, many. Adam, Eve, Abel, Seth.

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Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Abraham the father of faith,

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right? Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Joseph,

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Job, Moses, Samuel, Joshua, Barak, Gideon, Judith,

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Esther, David, Manasseh, Elijah, Elisha, the

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three youths in the furnace, Daniel the prophet,

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and on and on. And next week the theme continues.

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The family gathers again. The church family is

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gathering for the feast to celebrate with us.

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And the week after Christmas, again, it's the

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family of Jesus. David, the ancestor of Christ.

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David, the prophet and king. James, the stepbrother.

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And Joseph, the stepfather. Today, in relation

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to that, And that's important that we remember

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that. We connect this with this parable we heard

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today, a parable about a supper in which a man,

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a certain man, let's understand, that certain

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man is God the Father. A certain man, God the

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Father, gave a great supper, a feast, a magnificent

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gathering, and he sends out his servant. Well,

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there were many servants, and that's this list

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of forefathers and ancestors that we commemorate.

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They were there to call the guests to the supper.

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This is salvation history. This is the way God

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has interacted with his creation, these people,

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to call them. to something magnificent and wonderful.

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This is the way God has acted upon the earth.

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It's not a private relationship with me and God.

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How would you know? No, we have entered into

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this relationship with God and therefore with

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Christ, the Savior of the world, who is all and

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is in all, we heard. St. Paul say. We enter in

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through the family, the congregation of Israel,

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which is the church, the gathering today. That's

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how we enter. That's how we know God. We come

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to God through Jesus Christ. And we come to Jesus

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Christ through all these other people, these

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righteous people, many of them very failed people,

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broken people, even Abraham, even Solomon. Even

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David. And those ancestors are calling the guests

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to the supper. All things are ready, says the

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certain man. And standing at the vigil last night,

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I had the very clear sense of this host of ancestors.

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We heard so many names sung and read. And they

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all have their stories, and they stand here with

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us today, here and now. to bear witness that

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when Jesus says in the parable that a certain

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man gave a great supper and invited many, he

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sent his servant to say, who is that servant?

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Ultimately, the final and the greatest, that's

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Jesus Christ, the express image of the Father.

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Come, all things are ready. His servant tells

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us what the Father is calling us to. This servant

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Jesus who came to us. This is the means by which

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God saves his creation and no other. No other.

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And let us give thanks to God for that because

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he has taken the initiative. And that means that

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this parable, which was originally spoken to

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a group of very pious Jewish men. very devout,

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excessively religious, and excessively proud,

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had rejected Jesus entirely. They had no to his

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invitation. And now the parable, it's not about

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them. They're not around. It's directed to you

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and to me. It's for today. It's immediate. We

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are part of that story if we want to be. We might

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be in the same condition as those proud, very

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religious people and say no repeatedly. I've

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been a priest now since 1997. I've been here

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the entire time. So unlike other priests, I can't

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say an example. Well, in one of my former parishes,

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I had this situation with a parishioner, etc.,

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etc. No, because you all know each other. Just

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let me say, in those years, I have seen those

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who have lost the kingdom of God for the very

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reasons that Christ lists in that parable. Property,

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work, and family. I have seen people who have

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lost the kingdom because they did not know that

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Christ loves them first. I have seen people that

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lost the kingdom because they invested their

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life in their jobs, or in the world, or in some

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moral issue of sinfulness which they took a stand

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and could not be moved. The invitation to the

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banquet, to the supper, is inconvenient. Of course

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it is. Christ didn't come. He came in the fullness

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of time, not in the convenience of time for me

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and you. It's inconvenient if our lives are already

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filled up, if we don't see the need, if we say,

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I can't give this invitation any serious priority

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in my life. I'm busy with many other things.

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In the parable, the certain man is embarrassed.

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He is hurt. The empty banquet hall. So the man,

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God, does exactly what Jesus has told his listeners

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in the verses before this parable, when Jesus

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was at a banquet. Jesus says, when you give a

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feast, when you have a dinner, you invite all

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those people that are going to invite you back.

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Then you will be seen. You will be honored. No,

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he says, when you have a feast, invite the poor,

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the maimed, the lame, and the blind. And you

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will be blessed because they cannot repay you.

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They're not going to invite you to anything because

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they cannot. For you shall be repaid at the resurrection

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of the just. This is a hard saying for us, something

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we don't really... Probably can't grasp. But

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this is exactly what God has done for the poor,

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the neglected, the blind, the lonely, those searching,

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those thirsting after righteousness, the spiritually

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wounded. This is an invitation to paradise. That's

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what it is. Compared with the banquet that Christ

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calls us to, my dear friends, everything else

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finds its place. All may enter the kingdom of

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God, not because we're good, we're good people,

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or nice, or perfect, or sinless. No, just as

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St. Paul said in the epistle which the deacon

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read so beautifully and powerfully, when Christ,

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who is our life, appears. then you also will

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appear with him in glory. Let's make that a question,

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not a statement. When Christ, who is our life,

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appears, then will you also appear with him in

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glory? Therefore put to death your members which

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are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion,

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evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry.

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When he appears, not just at Christmas, but at

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the end, when he comes in glory. See, this Sunday

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is saying, yes, Christ, we're going to celebrate

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Christmas, but I want you to think about the

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coming in glory at the end, the consummation

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of the age. All of us have received an invitation

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to the feast. There is no one incapable of hearing

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the invitation. Human beings. Are created. They're

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wired. To hear that invitation. And I don't mean.

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The Christmas letter I sent out this week. No.

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This invitation is from God. To the heart. Speaking

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to the human heart. Which only God can do. Come

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and see. We started the fast. With the feast

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of St. Philip. Come and see. Christ says, the

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Lord refuses entry to no one, absolutely no one.

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The terrifying truth is that there is one thing,

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one thing only that can possibly keep us from

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entering into the unending joy of the kingdom

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of God, the liturgy of heaven. And one thing

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only, that is our unwillingness to go in. Our

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own free choice to do something else which God

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respects. and continues to love us, let us not

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fall into that trap. The book of Revelation describes

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this great and magnificent event, which is like

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Pascha. When you think about Pascha, here's what

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the book of Revelation says, and I'm going to

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shorten it a little bit. And a voice came out

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of the throne, that is the throne of God, saying,

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Praise our God, all ye his servants, and all

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ye that fear him, both small, And great, for

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the marriage of the Lamb, that's Jesus Christ,

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is come, and his wife, that's the church, and

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his wife hath made herself ready. Be ready! To

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her was granted that she should be arrayed in

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fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen

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is the righteousness of saints. And he saith

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to me, Write, blessed are they which are called

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to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith

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unto me, These are the true sayings of God. He

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that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make

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all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for

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these words are true and faithful. And he said

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unto me, It is done. It is done. The man says,

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My supper is ready. All things are prepared.

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The church is this great supper. Christ is the

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Lamb. The fathers, the forefathers, the righteous

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men, the prophets, the prophetesses have all

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gathered together with us today to lead us to

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the Lord. Each liturgy is a taste of this kingdom

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of God, brothers and sisters. Let us make ourselves

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ready, especially for that liturgy on Christmas

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Day when the Lord has invited to cleanse our

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heart and make it the dwelling place of the kingdom

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to him be glory now and ever to ages of ages

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amen