Sunday Homily, February 25, 2007 – Lent, 1st Sunday

Readings:

Acts 6, 1-7,   The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.

Psalm 33,  Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

1 Peter  2, 4-9,  You are a chosen race.

John  14, 1-12,  Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Buddy says, "Welcome, Everybody."

Observations on Acts:

What : The second half of Luke’s work, the first part being his gospel.  Acts starts after the Resurrection.  We will read Acts all through May and read the last selection June 1, then June 7, Pentecost.  The work focuses on the spread of the early church with special attention given to Peter and Paul and their conflicts over who was to be a Christian, and Jewish laws, like circumcision.  The conversion of Paul is described.

Cole says, "Come in, Folks, you are welcome."

Who: Luke, an educated and civilized Jew who wrote in Greek.

Date:  around the year 65, or about 30 years after Jesus’ death.

Our Selection:  growing pains in the early community.

Watch for two special lines in today's readings.  "Do not let your hearts be troubled" and "You are a chosen race."  They are not in Acts.   I want to talk about these lines.

Cole lighting the Easter Candle

Do not let your heart be troubled.  You are a chosen.

I would like to talk this morning about those two lines I mentioned.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled” and, “You are a chosen race.”   I have two propositions.

1.  You and I are the chosen race.  

2.  Everyone, all humans are the chosen race, even those hurting and doing mean things.  

I have seen this.  You have seen this.  Simple things, things we don’t even take account of at the moment.  They come up when we reflect on the blessings of our day or when we take a moment to contemplate.  Here are three little vignettes about people who are chosen, just like you.

Cole says, Hey, somebody just swiped my new hat."

Recently Rosemary, Aviana, and I went for an evening walk on a new stretch of bike trail.  It is a northern extension of the White Rock Creek Trail, our favorite.  It starts at the Hillcrest & Valley View parking lot, goes west under the Hillcrest bridge, takes a right, and follows the White Rock Creek north up to Spring Valley, running behind the large Greek Orthodox Church on Hillcrest.  It will be a delightful trail when it gets finished.

Want to see a picture of trouble, Gil and Sir Charlie.

The evening was one of the few warm ones we had this spring and the trail was longer than we expected.  By the time we got back to the car, Aviana was gassed and thirsty.  We had no water.  We looked in the park.  The water hydrants were turned off for the winter.   

I went off to check some other hydrants.  Rosemary & Aviana stayed near the first hydrant and near the car.  Families and kids were everywhere having picnics and playing. 

Suddenly a Hispanic man came out of the crowd and offered Rosemary a bottle of water for Aviana. 

Offertory, Mike and Judy, Bill and Jerry

This past week our across the street neighbor, Joyce, who is 85, full of life, and whom we visit every day, Joyce goes to Walgreens.  She is checking out and tries to pull her credit card out.  It came out, but with it are all her other cards. 

The cashier tries to help her stick them back in her bag.  Without knowing it, Joyce drops a few of the cards on the floor, one of which is her Chase Bank card.  She pays and leaves.

Cupcakes of The Week to Fred, Doug, Monica and Richard, Cole and Hue.

She crosses the parking lot and is approaching her car.  Suddenly from behind she hears a man saying, “Ma’am, ma’am.”  She turns around and a tall black man is coming toward her.  He is bringing her dropped cards to her, including the Chase card.  He gives them to her and even refuses to take a cash reward she offers.

The third vignette took place in Strasbourg, France, another French story, again in a little grocery shop, again at the checkout counter. 

Rob & Beth, "Who made that noise??"

This time Rosemary & I are approaching the counter with maybe 2 or 3 items.  We arrive a step behind a little French lady with a cart partially loaded.  She does not push on ahead of us.  Instead, she smiles at us and invites us to go first. 

I am touched by all three of these events.  They take place every day and everywhere.  We live with a chosen race.  Don’t let your heart be  troubled, because you are part of the chosen.

Where and when do you see this?

Shonda, singing God Bless America at The Ballpark in Arlington this afternoon, sees herself on the jumbo screen.

Readings:

Proverbs 8, 22-31,  When the Lord established the heavens I was there.

Psalm 8,  O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth.

Romans 5, 1-5,  We have peace with God.

John 16, 12-15,  I have much more to tell you.

And now to begin….

Observations on Proverbs

What : basically a collection of moral and religious teachings.  Pretty boring.  Some amusing like—

“The lord hates people who use dishonest scales. 11, 1

If you don’t punish your son, you don’t love him. 13, 24

Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than to have a
banquet in a house full of trouble.  17, 1

Children naturally do silly things, but a good beating will teach them.
22, 15

And my favorite….

Better to live on the roof than share the house with a nagging wife. 25, 24

Author: 
Who knows.  Not Solomon, as was thought for a long time.

Olivia and Amelia with their grandparents, Sandra and Chuck.

A Trinity

Last Friday Rosemary & I made one of our usual morning bike trips around White Rock Lake.  We come down the White Rock Creek Trail from the north and proceed south, clockwise along East Lawther Drive by the Arboretum, to the dam, where we take a vista stop. 

Buddy and Torri.

The bike path running along the south shore of the lake and Garland Road is pretty high over the lake and the dam.  There is an observation deck extending out over the lake and dam, which is about 20 feet above the lake and the spillway.  We are looking north across the whole expanse of the lake at this observation point.

Zoe and Emma with her sling from breaking her collarbone falling out of bed.

Friday when I rode up and stopped just ahead of Rosemary, there was a
young dad with his one or two year old little boy.  Dad had a trailer for the boy and he towed the trailer with his bike.

When I arrived the little blond haired boy with about two teeth was
being held by his dad against the black wrought iron railing.  The boy was throwing little sticks into the lake and watching them go over the spillway. 
He was squealing with delight and when I applauded he was more
joyful.  We talked a bit and I was enchanted.  

Cupcake of The Week for Emma to welcome her back after a bad week.

I want to talk this morning about the marvelous Psalm 8 we have just read. It is talking about us and God’s work in us when it says,

You have made people a little less than the angels,

And crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them rule over the works of your hands.

I looked at the nice dad and his delightful son and thought to myself, ‘What beauty.”

Cupcake of The Week to Harper for being so pretty and bringing her grandmother, Cathy.

The psalm writer also talks about the work of His Fingers.  Another striking image.  I saw the work that Friday, also, in the beauty simply in the rich tones of green as we rode along the path in the woods.

Then he talks about the heavens and says,

When I behold
your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars which you set in place.

Have you ever done this?  Lie down on the ground on your back and look up at the sky? 

Volunteers to help with communion.

I do this when we are backpacking in the mountains and I find it
terrific. Whatever the sky is doing, clear blue, partly cloudy, or windy, it is
sensational.  I come away feeling humbled, awe-struck, and blessed to be here. 

 Why I never do it except in the mountains, who knows.  Every year I
intend to.

Toy World with Emma, Zoe, Buddy, and Torri.

 Take a look at that marvelous Psalm 8.   When is the next time you will look at the sky?  When look at the colors of nature.  When look at a child, like the kids running around here,  and say to yourself, 'What beauty!'?

The Butterlies, Jim, James (being strangled) Denise, and Kara.

Readings:

Jeremiah 31, 7-9,   Shout for joy, the Lord has delivered his people.

Psalm 126,    The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Hebrews  5, 1-6, Every high priest is taken from among people.

Mark 10, 46-52,  Bartimaeus, a blind man, sat by the road begging.   

           Grace says, "Welcome in, Everybody, Good to see you."

Jeremiah observations:

Who:  one of the Big 3 Prophets, 52 chapters, the “broken hearted prophet,” because he hated being so unpopular and having to condemn so much. 

Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe seems to be who put down the prophet’s message.   Jeremiah probably died in Egypt.

When: put together before & during the B.C., Babylonian Captivity, say 555 before Christ  (reminder, Babylon is near present day Bagdad, Iraq).

Remember, too, that time before Christ is counting downward or backwards.

                And, of course, Genevieve says, "Hi, Everybody."

Interesting Side Note: (another reminder) can you guess when the Genesis story of creation in 7 days was composed?  Biblical research reveals that the creation story was put together during the Captivity, this same time, i.e. ca. 555.

Why?  The priests & prophets (e.g., Ezekiel) of the Jews in captivity determined that the people would not be assimilated into the local gene pool as their cousins in the northern kingdom had done when made to live with the Assyrians.  They decided they would establish customs & religious practices that would make the Jews so different they would not intermarry.  Three special laws were established: 1.  male circumcision; 2. dietary laws and laws about not touching menstruating women; and 3. the Sabbath.

            There he is, our most proficient camera man, usually just                  inside the entrance, Rick.

The priests put together the 7 day creation story to suggest that Yahweh approved of their Sabbath law.  They had Yahweh rest on the 7th day to bolster their demand that all Jews take a day off every 7 days.  Before the Babylonian Captivity there was no legislated Sabbath and no myth of Yahweh creating the world in 7 days with the 7th being a day of rest.  So, now you know when the story was created & by whom, the priests, and why, to keep the Jews united vs the Babylonians.  It worked, even down to today.

Subject of the work: the usual prophet message—condemn, pay, peace.

Today's subject: Beautiful message of peace and consolation.  It is coming.

Sources: Bishop John Shelby Spong, The sins of Scripture; Wikipedia

     We caught you, Shonda, hugging our pet gorilla.  He loves it.
 

What, Shout for Joy ?

The consoling readings today are summed up in that first line from Jeremiah, ‘Shout for Joy.’  Unless you are blind as Brartamaeus or as I am so often, you can get behind this shouting pretty easily. 

Let me propose 4 reasons why I shout for joy today and see if you can spot some of your own. 

First, the rain.  We just endured 3 months or more of drought.  The ground was dust.  I was sitting on our back porch Thursday night when it started.  At first I thought we were really going to get missed, despite all the weather reports to the contrary.

          The Best, Shonda (doing Air Force today), Bethany, & Ray.

However, we got 3 ½ inches that night.  Then 3 more on Friday and 3 again on Friday night, total 9 ½.  

The only negative for Rosemary & me was that an old roof leak that comes into our kitchen showed up again, even with the work we put into fixing it in the May rains.  Nevertheless, I shout for joy over the rain.

Secondly, Romeos on Friday.  Actually, a week ago I had a most interesting lunch.  None of the bums showed up.  I was alone.  ‘Out of town,’ they all said.  However this past Friday, wow, Mike and Bill and Ray all showed up.  Don’t tell them, but I was shouting for joy.

         The Team says, "We miss you, Georgie (at a swim meet).

Thirdly, I see every Sunday a bunch of no fear kids.  I love it when Leo or Emma or Harper walk around up here.  Let these kids know they have a cupcake waiting up here for them, and they come running, or dancing, as in the case of Leo. 

Yes, I’ve been told that when I put on the white alb, the kids think I am God.  My hope is that because I will not get mad at them and will welcome them, they will know that God does not get mad at them and welcomes them.  This was not the message that I and many of you got when we were little kids going to church. 

I shout for joy that these kids are here with us.

                                 "Hi, Tori, Keeping busy?"

Finally, picking up on the message in Hebrews about the priest, I shout for joy that I have lived the majority of my life as a priest.  I have always felt called to this vocation and I love it.   For me it has not been prestige but opportunity, like to do what we do here with the kids. 

I shout doubly because just when I might have had to put the opportunity on the shelf, you people invited me to carry on, what we have done together now for 11 years this Thanksgiving.

                                 Ace candle lighter, Cole.

There is so much I love, like doing weddings.  For example, the big, fun Lebanese wedding last Saturday.  It is a privilege to visit people who are sick and to give some peace to people getting ready to move to the other side, like Joan & Rita, Chuck & Curtis, and Fred. 

For this I shout for joy.

                                Fall has arrived in Dallas.

And You?  If you are not shouting for joy, are you deaf, or blind like Bartamaeus or me? 

For what do you shout for joy?

Readings:

Acts  15, 1-2, 22-29,   Unless you are circumcised you cannot be saved.

Psalm 67,  Oh, God let all the nations praise you.

Revelation  21, 10-14, 22-23,  The angel took me to a great, high mountain.

John 14, 23-29,  Whoever loves me will keep my word.

Welcome home, Chloe, you are beautiful and special here.

 Acts observations again:

WHO: same as author of Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15 of 28

WHEN: late 60’s, before 70

WHY: To further Paul’s desire to make “The Way” of Jesus’ followers acceptable to people in the Greco-Roman world of his time.

Today’s reading from Chapter 15 of Acts gives us another example of how the followers of Jesus at that time were originally Jewish. We have no documents from the 20 years following Jesus’ death. Scholars conjecture that there were writings from that time that became sources for the authors of the gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Victoria, along with Zoe, they say, Welcome, Everybody."

My Peace I give to you

My Peace I give to you.  What a beautiful gift.  The Best.  How do you find it?   

I would like to talk about finding the peace this morning.  I would propose that the gift is all around us.  It is here in our community, it is in our homes, it is in Tom Thumb, it is in our city.  I would suggest that there are big and little packages of peace.  For example, some little packages that give me peace.

First, taking Aviana, our dog, for a walk.  Rosemary takes Aviana for two or three afternoon walks.  Along the way she gets to know so many of our neighbors. 

Brandon, the guy with all the personality, also says, "Hi, Folks."

I take Aviana for 3 walks in the morning, including her first walk at ca. 4:15.   Want to know what peace is?   Watching her do her business quickly, especially both of them on this 5 minute walk.  It is short because she knows that she will get her breakfast right away afterward. 

Secondly, try biking.  Sometimes riding my bike with Rosemary around White Rock and going down the White Rock Creek Trail, I cannot believe how delightful this is.   On The Trail I often think, 'I cannot really be in Dallas,' the scenery is so beautiful and natural.

Chloe put to work lighting the candles.
 

Thirdly, I find great peace in doing weddings and, in particular, getting together with each couple to plan their wedding.  Just this past Friday and Saturday I spent an hour with two delightful couples. Saturday’s couple was Lisa Anderlick, John and Karen’s daughter.  

These daily and weekly events, while being really profound to me, are what I could call smaller packages of peace.    Want to know about a Big Packages?

Sisters, Jessica and Renee.

First, how can I not be touched with peace every time we all come together?   Remember that morning that it was pouring rain at 9:30?  Rosemary and I both said that few people would find their way here in that storm. 

What happened?  We had 65 plus people.  The kids are a special event of peace.  Our music.   And just everybody.   The peace of our community stays with me all week long. 

The Quinn Girls,  Vivienne, Kiera, & Mikayla.

Secondly, Cinco de Mayo!   What?, you say.  Cinco de Mayo? 

This big Mexican feast is also a special day for Rosemary & me.  We are celebrating our 11th anniversary.  I know you figured Rosemary could not stand to live so long with this old obsessive bachelor.  However, we have made it and each day brings more peace and more fun. 

Another beautiful Sunday thanks to Shonda & Bethany, Ray & David.

One of the fun things  takes place most weekday mornings, when I return from the J at around 7:15.   I wake up Rosemary with coffee and newspaper in hand.  Then I return to the kitchen, get my cup of coffee, and proceed to hop on the bed where we talk and discuss the day.  Aviana is also part of the event.

Unfortunately, even though coffee is supposed to be a stimulant, when I drink it after working out, it has the opposite effect.  Ten minutes and I tell Rosemary I am falling asleep and think I will take a 15 minute nap.  Of course, I get a comment like, “What a fascinating conversationalist you are.”

Remember, Brent, the cupcake is for Reggie, your Souls Harbor manager and recovery story–his birthday.

What is the response to these little and big packages of peace?  Two things.   Awareness and Gratitude.

Where do you find The Peace? 

Readings:

 2 Samuel 29.

Psalm 23,    The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. (a beautiful psalm)

Ephesians 2, 13-18, He is our peace.

 Mark  6, 30-34, Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. 

Mass begins.

Background on Samuel and Ephesians:

The Old Testament, like the New Testament, is written in parable-like stories.  Very seldom does our liturgical calendar present to us a complete story.  The intention of our OT reading today is to make us aware that the words and deeds of the Messiah would fulfill the words and deeds of King David.  So, I’ve chosen for you from the OT a very short but complete story about King David’s words and deeds.   

Mike giving us the background on 2 Samuel.

A few  words on David: he was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse, yet God directed the prophet Samuel to anoint him as the king of Israel to replace a conceited and jealous King Saul.  Almost immediately David accepts the challenge given by the giant Philistine soldier Goliath for an Israelite soldier to face him in man-to-man combat—winner take all.  With a sling in his hand David embedded a stone in the forehead of the Philistine.  King Saul begins to fear David’s popularity; but Jonathan, the king’s oldest son, makes a sacred covenant with David to protect one another that extends to their descendants. Our OT reading happened 10 or 12 years later.   

In Ephesus, Paul reminds the Jews who have become Christians that God is rich in mercy.  God has brought them life through the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. It is by grace that they have been saved. 

The Offertory. Ron, Barbara, Ray, Lynda, Tom, and Claire.

Homily:

The dilemma in the parable of the first reading is that the crippled son of Jonathan in fear and shame has ended up in Lo Debar, a spiritual slum.  He is a forgotten person with seemingly no way out and no place to go.  The wisdom of the this parable is that Jonathan’s son responds to the goodness and kindness that flows forth from the covenant Jonathan had made with David, ‘He now eats at the table of King David, like one of the king’s sons.’  The parable ends by telling us that being crippled in both feet no longer brings shame to him; but rather it is now how and why Jonathan’s son was able to accept the wisdom of the parable.  King David gave him a way out of Lo Debar, and a place to go to be refreshed.

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ is the Good Shepherd; all who come to him to receive his Spirit filled words are spiritually healed, for he has made a covenant with God to last for all eternity. A forgiven humanity are always invited to eat at the Lord’s table.  Christ fulfills King David’s words and actions! He has embraced us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be Christ to others.   

So, take the opportunity to welcome this coming week someone who is lonely, or forgotten; someone who is spiritually crippled or afraid, for ‘the Spirit of the Lord is upon you to take the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim this year as the Lord’s year of favor.’  

Ready to ride! Getting the bus from Ames to Sioux City.

Shonda, Bethany, and Ray.

Readings:

 Exodus 16, 2-4, 12-15,   You had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine.

Psalm 78,    The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Ephesians 4, 17-24,   You must no longer live as the Gentiles do.

John 6, 24-35 I am the bread of life. 

Georgie says, "Welcome in, Everybody.  Beware, The Old Geezer is back." 

Exodus observations:

What:

 Exodus is a fun book and a good read.  It comes after Genesis & it has three main sections.

 One – the struggle between stubborn old Pharoah vs Moses & Yahweh.  Pharoah loses.  You can imagine the Passover had a significant impact. 

Two – the time of wandering in the Sinai desert and the covenant, that is, the 10 Commandments

Three – the coming into the Promised Land. 

This all took around 40 years, and so we have stories in-between.  Today’s is one of these, showing Yahweh feeding his grumbling people.

Welcome Home, Celeste.  Celeste, who has played in our music section, has just come in from a year teaching in Hungary, and is departing to spend a year teaching in Albania.  Does the girl love adventure?  

When written:

Toward the end of the Babylonian Captivity, around 550 before Christ

Who wrote it:

Not Moses, but people who lived centuries after this mythical character.  How much of this is historical is a question.  The story greatly encouraged the Jewish people enslaved in Babylon.

And welcome home to you, Sabrina.  You did everything for us for years.   Sabrina is returning to the Illinois Institute of Technology for her junior & senior years.

Our selection:

An amusing account of the Jewish people grumbling against Moses.  They say they would prefer to be back in Egypt than in this infernal desert where they are wandering in the heat & sand.  We can sympathize with them in these days of 100’s.  They did not have a/c.   So Yahweh feeds them.  See how.

                             Hi, Morgan, Welcome to you, too.

Kilimanjaro Events and Ragbrai

This morning I would like to talk about Kilimanjaro events in our lives. Kilimanjaro events give life in ways similar to what John is talking about in the gospel, spirit life.  They are peak events. 

I choose the word Kilimanjaro because I had the privilege of climbing that mountain in Tanzania 5 times when I lived there.  Each was literally and figuratively a peak event. 

   Genevieve says, "I bet you I don't weigh 6 pounds anymore."

A week ago I had another Kilimanjaro event, the week long, 500 mile bike ride across Iowa from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, with about 15 thousand others.  Iowa or Ragbrai was such a peak experience, full of spiritual life moments.  Let me talk about 3 of them.

One of my most favorite places to eat dinner in the evening and to get coffee and 4 bananas in the morning was a supermarket called Hy-Vee, the Iowa equivalent to Central Market or Whole Foods.  They had  carbo dinners for Ragbrai.

And Welcome to You, too, Mr. Peighton.  Delightful to have you with us.

When I would ride up to one of these markets, you would not believe what I would see.  Not just hundreds of bikes.  But hundreds of bikes with absolutely no locks or security.  Bikes everywhere, even inside the entrance ways.   The majority of these bikes would start at a $1000 and go up as high as $10,000.  Lots of beauties.

Trust, folks, this was trust.  I don’t think anybody was afraid of being robbed anywhere, all along the ride and in the villages and towns.    I found this atmosphere of trust so moving.

Mr. Peighton, obviously a quick learner, says, "Wake me up when that Old Geezer stops yakking.  Thank you."

Secondly, I was moved by the spirit of congeniality among everyone, for example.

I have a favorite concession where I would stop every afternoon on the road.  Concessions were all along the road, which was dedicated to us.  The concession I love and the only one I regularly stopp at is the Amish homemade pie and ice cream stop, always on the right shoulder of the road and always on the second half of the day’s journey.

This is way below Sabrina's talent level.  But in honor of all the years she did everything around here, today she gets to light the candles.

On Wednesday I rode up and asked for credit from Henry, the Amish kid who collected the $3 for pie and the $2 for ice cream.  I had forgotten my money that morning.  I knew the only place I needed $5 on the road was the Amish.

There was a line of people behind me waiting to pay Henry.  As he said yes, the lady behind me popped in and said, “Oh, I can pay for you.  No problem.”  I was most touched, but told her that I would probably never see her again, so I could not pay her back, while I would see Henry the next day.  And Henry chimes in, “Yes, he is here every day, so it is okay.”  The next day, Thursday, I chipped in about $10 as a token of gratitude. 

This lady touched me with her spirit.

2 cupcakes here this morning.  Cathy generously is standing in for her son, Brian, who is celebrating 10 years married.  Mike and Judy are celebrating 51 years married.  And they are from Kiokuk, Iowa.

During the homily I added this little memory, which, in fact, made me forget the final point of the homily.  I remembered and shared it after communion.

In the context of congeniality I talked about what was a group of maybe 20 Air Force bikers.  They not only rode, but they stopped whenever they saw someone down with a flat or a slipped chain.  At one point I rode up and along side of them.  I mentioned 2 things.  I was jealous of their beautiful blue & white bike wear with the white wings on the back & shoulders.  

I also told them how touched I was at seeing them helping people along the road.  They were super appreciative and called me "Sir" a dozen times.  (Chebino, do you belong to the A.F. Bike Unit?) 

                           Watch out, Folks, Dawson is 18 years old.

The third Kilimanjaro event.  Friday here in Dallas, on a routine visit to my dermatologist, she asked me what was the biggest event, the most special.  As usual, I even got a bit choked up in telling her. 

It was just the joy, the exhilaration I experienced in riding, riding with so many congenial people, riding over beautiful green farm lands, passing through achingly beautiful little villages, and all at age 75. 

What more can a kid look forward to in the summer than to get up, ride his bike all day, and then camp out in his tent at night with friends? 

         Watch out, Cole, Emma, and Zoe, TI is hiring Whiz Kids.

What is you latest Kilimajaro event? 

What is your next one? 

I can tell you my next 2, the Hotter N’ Hell Hundred the last Saturday of August and taking about 10 close friends to Yosemite the first week of September.  Summer is so good.

You people in this community are a Kilimajaro Event.

So, your next Kilimanjaro event?

Brent, you are a Kilimajaro Event, and we are privileged to be able to support the work you do with Souls Harbor.