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b'(Dt.18:15-20;\\xa0\\xa0 Ps.95:1-2,6-9;\\xa0\\xa0 1Cor.7:32-35;\\xa0\\xa0 Mk.1:21-28)\\xa0 \\u201cA prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin.\\u201d Thus does Moses speak to the people as he prepares to leave them, and they prepare to enter the Promised Land.\\xa0 He prophesies most immediately the anointing of Joshua, who will take his place as leader of the Israelite nation and guide them into the holy land, as well as all the prophets who shall follow\\u2026 but most especially, of course, he hereby prophesies the coming of the only Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be raised up from among us, a man as we are, to be God in our midst.\\xa0 No greater fulfillment of this promise could there be: no more real could God make His presence known to us.\\xa0 Here on this earth He stands, and speaks. Our reading from Deuteronomy makes clear the nature and role of the prophet; in this passage we see the inception of this gift, of this power God gives to man.\\xa0 When the people begged Moses, \\u201cLet us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire anymore,\\u201d for fear of death after having witnessed the Lord\\u2019s most powerful theophany at Mount Horeb, the Most High answered them and promised instead, \\u201cI will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.\\u201d\\xa0 Here is the very definition of a prophet: one who speaks for God.\\xa0 Out of a prophet\\u2019s mouth come the words of the Lord, not his own. And what a Prophet is Jesus!\\xa0 And, of course, so much more than a prophet \\u2013 the only Son.\\xa0 \\u201cFor He taught them as one having authority\\u201d; His words of rebuke: \\u201cQuiet!\\xa0 Come out of him!\\u201d cast out all unclean spirits\\u2026\\xa0 His power is immeasurable as God\\u2019s power is immeasurable \\u2013 all is in His hands and at the command of His voice.\\xa0 For His words are not His own (though intimately His own); they are His Father\\u2019s.\\xa0 He does only the Father\\u2019s will and so is the Father\\u2019s Son.\\xa0 In them together the Spirit moves!\\xa0 Upon all regions of the earth His Word goes forth. \\u201cOh, that today you would hear His voice,\\u201d brothers and sisters, and \\u201cbow down in worship before Him,\\u201d knowing who is here before you now and consecrating yourself entirely to Him.\\xa0 Then you would but \\u201csing joyfully\\u201d and be filled with \\u201cthanksgiving\\u201d as, free from sin, from all darkness \\u2013 from all that is unclean \\u2013 you come to full union with the promised One of all the ages and make your home in His heart, obedient to His blessed, protective commands, and so find yourself \\u201cfree of anxieties\\u201d as you think only of \\u201chow [you] may please the Lord.\\u201d\\xa0 Alleluia!\\xa0 He has come. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Speaking for God" from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let us listen to your Son, Jesus, who speaks with your authority. YHWH, let us listen to your voice, O God, and the voice of your only Son, for with authority He speaks in your Name, greater than all the prophets.\\xa0 He Himself is God, one with you before time, and so should we not bow down and worship Him; should we not heed His Word?\\xa0 If we desire salvation, we cannot but listen to Him. Why should we doubt Him who commands even the unclean spirits, whose word is as your own, LORD, able to bring the world into existence, or bring it to an end.\\xa0 If we but trust in Him and listen to His teaching, this same authority we will share; nothing will be able to distract us from serving you and becoming as your Son. Cast out all the demons from us, LORD, that we might be free to hear your voice clearly and worship you with a pure heart.\\xa0 As we kneel before you and praise you for your Son, may we indeed become the flock He guides and so enter into your presence.'