Sunday Homily, November 4, 2007, 31st in Ordinary Time

 

 

Says Emma, "Welcome in, Everybody." 

 

 

Readings:  

 Genesis 11, 1-9     The whole world spoke the same language.

Psalm 104,   Lord, send down your spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

 Romans 8, 11-16,   The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.

 John 7, 37-39,   Let anyone who thirsts come to me.

 

 

 

And from Jan, our communion hostess, "Bread and Grape Juice?"

 

 

Seven weeks ago on the Sabbath, the day before Easter, Judaism celebrated their feast of Passover.  Recall how the Israelites were set free from being slaves in Egypt when the angel of death had passed over their homes marked by the blood from their lambs. Seven weeks ago on Easter, the Passover feast of Judaism was fullfilled by the Lamb of God who set us free from sin and death.  

Yesterday, Judaism celebrated their feast of Pentecost when the Israelites pledged themselves to live the Ten Commandments of the Law.  Today, we fulfill the Jewish Pentecost celebration by pledging, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to welcome and live the the Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

And from Tori & Zoe, "Welcome to our play station."

 

 

Those who welcome and live the Good News are likened to the man who builds his house on rock.  We do not store up our treasures on earth; rather we seek to bring dignity to the poor, the sick, the hungry, the stranger, and those in prison.

We are called to be Jesus of Nazareth throughout the Good News, therefore we speak in his name.  We have the responsibility to treat each person with goodness and kindness; tenderness and compassion.

 

 

 

 

Candle lighting time with Emma lighting the candle and Georgie reading the blessing of the candles.

 

 

It is important that we witness the oneness of our faith in the Good News, to our children and grand children.  There are those among us who have the responsibility for watching over their grandchildren.  Vacation Bible School can be your best friend during the the coming summer months.  Sign them up early, get in a car pool, and have them attend with their friends.  Remember, we are one in Christ!

Encourage these children to carry their Bible, or Bible story book, when they come with you to Mass; enjoy watching them tap their feet when we sing together our stories of God’s love for us and our love for others.   

 

 

 

Hi, Rookie, great to see you and your grandmother, Carrie.

 

 

When you are ready to give a Bible or Bible story book to a child or grandchild make sure that it is age appropriate and that it contains some of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Wrap it with love. Mark your favorite verses for them to get to know you better. Make that day a celebration that the child will not forget. 

 

 

 

Ben working the solo shift.  It's Summer Vacation time.

Readings: 1 Kings 17, 10-16; Psalm 146, Praise the Lord, My Soul; Hebrews 9, 24-28; Mark 12 38-44

 

Kings:

  

Author & date of composition: the work is a compilation of numerous sources put together near the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 550.

 

Subject Matter: 1 Kings is part of a 4 book work that includes 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.  The 3 kings are Saul, David, and his son, Solomon.

   

The work begins with Samuel, the last great judge, continues through the lives of the 3 kings, and finally shows how Solomon’s sons’ squabbles led to the division of the Jewish nation into two states, north & south, Israel & Judah.  Both states were defeated and the people of Judah taken into the Babylonian Captivity.  It ends on a high note when Cyrus of Persia defeats Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

  

 

The Theme: you be good, good things happen to you; you be bad, bad things happen to you.

   

Our selection: 2 great prophets lived when the kingdom divided, Elijah & Elisha.  They criticized the bad ways of the sons.  In this selection, Elijah tells the king he is going to send a drought to the king's land.  Then Elijah goes away & meets a poor, starving widow with a son.  Watch what happens.  This is setting us up for a little widow in the gospel.

   

Sources: Good News Bible, Wikipedia, Catholic Encyclopedia

 

The Widow's Mite

  

Occasionally these days, despite my persistent denial, I get the message that I may be getting older.  The latest happened on a DART train headed downtown.  A guy actually got up and offered me his seat.  I did not know whether to thank him or consider myself insulted. 

    

Rosemary & I were on the train going to the arts district and the opening of the Winspear, a glorious Sunday a couple of weeks ago.  The train was full with some people standing.  Rosemary got a seat next to a black guy in probably his twenties.  After about two stops he gets up, passes in front of Rosemary, and offers me his seat. 

   

I certainly was touched.  He, in fact, was embarrassed a bit.  I teased him about thinking that I was such an old geezer that he offered me his seat.  And I thanked him for his sensitivity.

  

I mention this black guy because to me he resembles the little widow who gave her last coins.  Not that he gave his last coin, but it cost him to get up and give me his seat.  The story of the widow & her two coins is one of my favorite little stories, as is the story of Elijah with the widow and her son.  Two comments.

 

 

First, Elijah & the starving widow.  The widow is treated pretty harshly by Elijah.  She & her son have enough flour to make a little cake before they die of starvation in the drought.  Elijah demands some of it for himself.  This is staged by the composer of the story. 

 

Elijah is the prophet. But also for the purpose of the point he is symbolic of life or even God, demanding.  Responding positively to the demand wins reward.  Obedience, charity, hospitality toward others, all win rewards. 

   

This can set up false expectations of physical cures and raising from the dead.  A healthy understanding of the story could be that we receive by giving. 

  

Second, the little widow with two coins in the temple.  Look out for hyperbole here, infinite demand.  Is Jesus suggesting that we give away our last sheckle, our last quarter?  I doubt it.  Lots of pastors have abused this story to wring money out of church goers.  You are told you got to tithe, 10 per cent.  This is why five years ago when we started celebrating here, I did not want to have a formal collection.

     

The same lesson can come from this story as from the Elijah story.  We receive by giving.  What we receive is a by-product of our giving, not the goal.  The goal is helping the other person who has less.

     

The black guy on DART did not give me money or bread.  He gave me a seat which can be just as valuable.  He even had to overcome his embarrassment to offer the gift.  I hope my gratitude gave him something.

  

We, too, are faced with the challenge.  Perhaps even more at this time of year, Thanksgiving & Christmas.  As a community you people are already doing it.  I congratulate and thank you. 

   

How do you, how do we continue to share our seats with other old geezers?

 

 

Picture 1:  The Our Father with birthday & anniversary folks and Kevin

 

Picture 2:  Choir, Wendy, Ben, & Celeste

  

Picture 3:  The Donut Shoppe with Gavin, CC, CC's mom, Christy, & John Doherty in the back

  

Picture 4:  Jim & Diane Drescher

 

 

 

Readings:

Genesis  18, 1-10,  Sara will then have a son.

Psalm 15, He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Colossians 1, 24-28,  It is He whom we proclaim.

Luke 10, 38-42,  “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”

 

 

Introduction  

As Abraham gives, showing hospitality to the strangers in our first reading from the Book of Genesis, Abraham receives. In like manner, Paul addresses the Colossians in our second reading to show mercy, kindness and pardon to others for they are Christ in the World.

 

Homily 

 When I would go on retreats with young people wanting to celebrate the Church’s sacrament of Confirmation they would receive a booklet with songs, prayers but also some blank pages.  I would say to them, ‘You will always receive the desire of your heart,’ and I would ask them what they thought this meant. 

It was not unusual to get a response like this, ‘The desire of my heart is to win the lottery; but since the odds of me doing that are slim to none, I do not believe that statement is true.’ ‘Before I give you an answer,’ I would say, ‘I want all of you to write down in your booklet what you would do if you actually won a lottery… say, a 100 million dollars.’

 They were to take their time and not share with others what they had written.  ‘What’s in your notebook is yours and yours alone today.’ When I perceived that they had all written enough, I would say, ‘What you have just written down is the desire of your heart!  Wanting to win a lottery is not a desire of your heart, rather it is a desire of the flesh. I hope that all of you shared your desire to show goodness and justice; tenderness and compassion to those less fortunate than yourselves.’

 To the degree we desire to give from our heart will be the degree to which we do give and receive.  Life-giving relationships are precious! To the degree that we are in relationship with one another, we are in relationship with God. Those who welcomed the stranger and visited the sick are those who inherited the kingdom of God.

 Often we informally invite others over to our home; other times we have a birthday or anniversary gathering.  We have family and friends over for Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas. But sometimes we might find ourselves getting caught up in all the details, decorations, and preparations, so much so that sometimes, when we don’t even expect it, you might hear or even say, ‘I’m glad that’s over and I won’t have to do that for another year.’

 When that happens our priorities weren’t in the proper order.  We forgot listening to, affirming, enjoying, and making friends. It happened to Martha in our reading from Luke today.  Picture Jesus saying to her softly and in private, ‘Martha, Martha, you worry about many things, Mary has chosen the better portion and it shall not be taken from her.’

 It wasn’t that Mary hadn’t been helping her.  She had.  But when Jesus came through the door that day, Mary made him the priority of her life. It was time to begin a lasting and loving relationship.  
 

Martha’s priorities had been which tablecloth should she use, should we
eat at the table inside or outside, should I sweep the floor again, should I
put all of the food out at once. Would Jesus recognize that the vegetables were fresh? 

 These things had become more important to her than Jesus’ presence.  Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to his words that he wanted equally to share with Martha.  We have come to sit at table with God and each other. 

How have you been building relationships with one another since you entered here this morning.  Take a moment to welcome someone near you
that you didn’t acknowledge and embrace when you arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for bringing up our gifts this morning, Carrie & Paul & Mike.

 

 

Readings:  

 Isaiah 35, 4-7,  Be strong, Fear not.  (Isaiah at his best!)

Psalm 146,   Praise the Lord, My Soul.

 James 2, 1-5, Did not God choose those who are poor?

Mark 7, 31-37,  His speech impediment was removed.

 

 

 

Thanks, Dearest Zoe, for lighting our candles this Sunday morning.

 

 

Isaiah observations

 

This selection is from Isaiah 1.    It is a time when Judah, the southern kingdom, is threatened by a powerful neighbor, Assyria (ever hear of this place today?)  Isaiah saw that the real threat to the life of Judah was not simply the might of  Assyria, but the Kingdom's own evil ways.  Guess what is coming, the Babylonian Captivity. 

Today's passage is much more on the hopeful side.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading our Blessing of The Candles this morning, My Dearest Georgie.

 

Be Strong, Fear not.  He comes to save You.

I want to talk this morning about fearing not and being strong, because he comes to save us.

The summer of 1970 was the summer before I got ordained here in Dallas.  I had two more years of theology study in Toronto.  That summer of 1970 I was interning as a chaplain at Boston City Hospital in a Pastoral Counseling program run by Andover-Newton Theologate.

 

 

Welcome in, Natalie & Jim. 

 

 

I lived in the Jesuit  residence in Dorchester.  There were about 4 of us Jesuits.  Because a great Jesuit of the house worked with the kids of the neighborhood  our house was a total safe zone.  The younger kids would look through the windows of the dining room & living room during meals and when we had guests.  We told them your car will not be touched if you park here and they know you are friends.

Remember the Plow Shares 5 and the draft board burnings that Summer?  One of the guys lived with us.

 

 

 

I got The Best Team.

 

 

Every morning I would get up and walk to the hospital through the somewhat famous Roxbury area of Boston.  I never had a problem.  They knew who I was.

My day consisted of visiting patients, typing up interviews verbatim, and taking part in rather confrontational group sessions of 5 or 6 with a supervisor.  I think I came close to getting kicked out for refusing to redo one of my verbatims. 

My most favorite part of the day was visiting the patients.  I loved this dynamic.  There were some powerful sessions.

 

 

 

And we got The Best Music.

 

 

I remember especially one old tough white Bostonian, a former Catholic.  I asked him what became my favorite question, How do you feel about dying?

For a day or so he said, No problem.  Another day he tells me I’m going to hell when I die, but so be it.

You know why.   He and his first wife had divorced years ago.  He  married his recently deceased wife and had kids and a 25 year  happy marriage.  

 

 

 

For Hue our Total Community Blessing on your operation this Wednesday.
 

 

I could not believe it.  This may have been my first with this phenomenon.  I had already concluded that hell was a gimmick of the writers of the time and did not exist.  It was good for keeping in line the people of the tribe.

Would you have sent that guy to hell, for ever? 

What about you?  Where you going?

I think the old guy died peacefully.

 

 

 

Okay, Joe, can we trust you to get that birthday cupcake home to Marsha. 

 

On The Light Side:   (A little old, but still good)

 

On their way to the church to get married, a young Catholic couple 
were involved in a fatal car accident.

Being good Catholics the young couple find themselves sitting outside 
the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven.

While waiting, they begin to wonder: could they possibly get married 
in Heaven?

When St. Peter finally showed up, they asked him.

St Peter said "I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked. 
Let me go find out" and he leaves them sitting at the Gate.

After three months, St Peter finally returns, looking somewhat 
bedraggled. "Yes" he informs the couple " I can get you married in 
Heaven".

"Great!" said the couple "But we were just wondering, what if things 
don't work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?"

"You must be joking" says St. Peter, red-faced with 
frustration, slamming his clipboard on the ground.

"What's wrong?" asked the frightened couple".

"OH, COME ON!" St. Peter shouted "It took me three months to find a 
priest up here …..Do you have any idea how long it'll take me to find 
a lawyer?"

 

Blame Ken Cramer for this, not Me!

 

 

 

 

Readings: Isaiah 49, 3-6; Psalm 40, Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will; 1 Corinthians 1, 1-3; John 1, 29-34 (apologies for the wrong reading the past 2 blogs)

Isaiah reminders—

 Author: This is Isaiah #2, the composer of chapters 40-55.

 Date:  Ca. 575 before Christ.  The Jewish people of Jerusalem are in the Babylonian Captivity.

 Today’s Message: Hope and promise of a better time with emphasis on 1. being a Servant of the Lord, and 2. being a Light to the Nations.

 
 

A Servant of the Lord, a Light to the Nations.  Me?

 One day about a week ago Rosemary & I took a taxi to the bus station in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  Taxis cost about $2.00 normally, so many folks use the little white Nissan sedans roaming the city streets.

 As I always do with anyone I can question about anything in Spanish, I ask the driver how the new year is going for him.  He says it is going sadly, triste.  So, naturally, I ask him what is causing his new year to go so sadly. 

 

He tells me that 3 months ago his son who lived in Cuernavaca was shot for his pickup truck.  The son, who was in his 20’s, left behind his wife and two young kids, one only 9 months old. 

 I’m reminded of the same situation that happened with an acquaintance of Beth.  Also, some years ago I did a funeral for a recent graduate of A&M who had stopped by a convenience store on his way home from a Mavericks’ game.  He, too, was killed for his Mustang.  I did the boy’s funeral.

 Then, Rosemary & I read the news about Tuscon.

 I’m thinking, “What is going on?”

 

At the same time, Rosemary & I had been reading the selection from Isaiah II about being a light to people.  I am wondering how?  How can I make for a more peaceful environment?  How can I be like, say, Martin Luther King, whose holiday we celebrate tomorrow?  I am feeling overwhelmed. 

 We’ve come up with the following idea.  Any who has better ideas, please let us know.  I cannot expect to make a difference for greater peace in Tuscon or Cuernavaca.  I can expect to shine some light on my environment, Dallas, Plano, even our neighborhood. 

 And then I was struck by the insight that we as a community are a light to the nations.  The community supports CCAC which helps people who can’t get medical help anywhere.  You people help LifeNet, which provides housing for homeless.  The community supports our own members who cannot make it right now.  The community even supports a mother & daughter who had polio in Cuernavaca. 

 

This is only a short list.  Habitat, serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless.  There are others.  You people are bringing peace & light to a lot of people

 In a sad way the taxi driver in Cuernavaca was a light to me just by his sharing.  He certainly has me thinking. 

Who has been a light to you?

For whom are you a light? 

 

Picture 1:   Rosemary's Blessing 

Picture 2:   Christine & her mom, Diane  

Picture 3:   Zoe in her dad's arms and mom, Michelle  

Picture 4:   Georgie & Kate selling Girl Scout cookies

Picture 5:   Buddy & Torri

 

 

 

 

Trouble on the back bench!

 

Readings:

Sirach 3, 2-6, 12-14,   My son, take care of your father when he is old

Psalm 128,  Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways  (fear the Lord?)

Colossians 3, 12-21, Put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness , and patience.

Matthew 1, 18-24,  This how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

 

 

Meeting of the board.  

 

A second Christmas Homily

This morning I have another Christmas story.

For many years I have had a really good friend who is an Ursuline nun.   Just thinking about Sr. Mary gives me fond memories of celebrating the early morning community Mass in the sisters' quiet chapel in the residence.

 

 

Ben & David with David's daughter, Darbi Anna.

 

It also reminds me that I have a rare special relationship with the Ursulines.  I went to Christ the King grade school when the Ursulines staffed it.   I am educated by the Ursulines. 

Today there are no sisters living in the old convent with the beautiful little chapel.  Sr. Mary says she now lives along with 5 or 6 other Ursuline sisters at a retirement home that was popularly known at Tremont.  It is located on Harvest Hill Drive just across the Dallas Tollway from Jesuit and St. Rita's' Catholic Church.

 

 

The Girls' candle lighting team with Zoe, Tori, and big sister, Georgie.

 

I know it well because my mom lived there and died there.  She passed through all the 3 levels, individual apartment, partial care, and full care.  

There is sister who still works at Ursuline Academy, you guessed it, Sr. Mary.  Every morning she gets up, spends the day at her school office.  Then drives back to Tremont. 

 

 

 

Buddy reading the Blessing of the candles.  He has  not memorized the blessing on this the first day.

 

 

Last summer she decided it was time for her to give up driving and sell her little car.  A difficult decision.  She would use Huber.  

One morning around Labor Day she could not get Huber. So she decided to use the app. Lyft.   A guy came, picked her up at Tremont and took her to Ursuline.  During the trip she probably explained to the driver what she did at the school.  

 

 

The Whole Team.

 

She exits his car, asks how much, and is told "No Charge."  She explains that she will still need a ride home in the afternoon.  Plus, she will make the trip every weekday.  

"How much?"   "No Charge!"  

 

 

The offertory team with Bill, Tom, & Denni

 

The man, a Nigerian, has come every work day, September, through December, No Charge. 

Who is the Sr. Mary in your life? 

 

 

Communion Helpers, Lynda, Tom and Claire.