Sunday Homily, December 9, Second Sunday, Advent
Readings: Isaiah 11, 1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15, 4-9; Matthew 3, 1-12
Isaiah: Once in a while in the course of our church calendar year we get a special selection. Isaiah’s vision is one of those specials. Read it and watch out for heart ache. I imagine one of our ancestors centuries ago dreaming and coming up with this vision. Later, another of our ancestors writes it down.
To emphasize how special it is, Emily will read the vision, after her mom Julie has read the introduction.
What is Your Dream?
In the late 60’s I spent four years in Toronto studying theology before I finally got ordained a priest in ’71. At the beginning of my second year a new class of about 35 Jesuit priest students came in and one of the new guys got the room next to mine on the third floor. He was unique: he was blind.
His name was Larry and he was also a cheese head and a Jesuit brother, meaning he was not going to be ordained a priest. Brothers are Jesuits who do all sorts of works, just not saying Mass.
Larry had spent a few years teaching at a Jesuit boarding high school in Prairie du Chien, WS. During his time there, a number of Jesuits & others had encouraged Larry to looking into moving from being a brother to getting on track to get ordained a priest. Trouble was, blind people did not get ordained.
When Larry arrived at our college in the fall of my second year, he had been given permission to try studying theology, the subject necessary for ordination. Consequently, he was studying on condition. You do okay, you continue. You don’t do well, you stay a brother. Guess what: he did fine and all of us made him a project. We wanted him to succeed.
After his first year, which was successful, the provincial in WS asked Rome if he could be ordained. Rome’s response, "No." After his second equally successful year, they asked Rome. "No, and don’t ask again. Blind people don’t get ordained." After his third year, his provincial asked again. "Yes," they said.
He was ecstatic. We were ecstatic.
The fall of his fourth year, this same second Sunday of Advent in the chapel of our college his class was getting ordained deacons, which is done before getting ordained priest in the spring. The reading of that Sunday was exactly the same Isaiah reading as this morning, the dream of peace reading. Larry was chosen to read the Isaiah dream passage–in braille.
That whole chapel was all in tears. It was one of the special moments of my life.
Larry is still working as a Jesuit priest in Omaha or Milwaukee. I even used to bring him down to help with retreats I ran at the retreat center I directed in Grand Coteau, LA. We have not been in touch in probably about ten years. I have to call him.
My friend Larry had a dream. Our ancestor Isaiah had a dream.
I would suggest that to be fully alive we have to have a dream. Dreams fill me with energy, enthusiasm, and life. Ideally my dream will also give life to others. Larry’s dream to get ordained gave life to all 100 plus of us Jesuits in that big house. Isaiah’s dream, while unrealistic, can still energize me into creating peace in some small human way.
What must it be like to not have a dream?
What is your dream?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-12-09.mp3