Sunday Homily 12-14-08, 3rd Advent

Readings: Jeremiah 1, 4-19; Psalm 71; 1 Corinthians 12, 31 -13, 1-13; Luke 4, 21-30

Jeremiah – The Prophet Jeremiah lived before and during the great Babylonian captivity.  He loved the people, but warned them that they faced catastrophe for their unfaithful ways.

Today’s selection has Jeremiah talking at the beginning of his call by Yahweh to speak to the people.

1 Corinthians, 13 – Here it is: Paul’s famous treatise on what love is.

Love is Patient, Love is Kind

Last night I had the privilege to be part of one of those magic weddings.  There are magic and super magic weddings.  This was super magic. 

A while back I performed a wedding out of Dallas.  Because the couple was not too clerical and I had the opportunity to stay for the reception, which I can seldom do here in Dallas, I wore a black shirt with a silver tie.  Not a clerical shirt.

When I went into the sacristy before the wedding the woman who took care of arrangements was waiting for the priest.  When she saw me in a tie, it was like, “You are the priest!”

For the rest of the time I was in that church her approach to me was disdainful, like I was repellent.  I was getting judged for not having a collar on, like a good priest is supposed to have on.  I was not a terrorist, I was a fellow Catholic, a priest at that time in good standing.  I just did not have that little plastic tab on.  Love is patient. 

How sad we can be, even when we are in the midst of helping to perform a marvelous event like a wedding.  The wedding was magic, but I have felt sad for the woman.  Love is kind. 

She & I are called to the same kind of love in two ways.  We are called to be patient & kind with everyone we meet, even if the person is not a Catholic, or a Plano resident, or a criminal

We are also challenged to be patient and kind with ourselves when we fail.  This may even be harder to do sometimes than being patient and kind with someone else.

Last night’s wedding was blessed from beginning to end.  No one seemed critical of the ceremony or what we did.  Why can’t all of our life be similar?

With whom do you struggle to be patient & kind?  How patient and kind are you when you fail?

Download the mp3 of the homily here.

Readings: Jeremiah 17, 5-8; Psalm 1, Blessed are They who hope in the Lord; 1 Corinthians 15, 12-20; Luke 6, 17-26.

Jeremiah:

Who: one of the Big 3 Prophets with Isaiah & Ezekiel, mostly because of the size of their works (52 chapters in Jeremiah).  Born 2-3 miles north of Jerusalem to a landed family where he had a happy childhood.  Despite this, Jeremiah is called the “Weeping Prophet,” because so much of his work is woeful & sad. 

Unlike Isaiah who embraced his call from God, Jeremiah resisted.  He did not want to say what he saw needed to be said.  Namely, the people’s behavior in Jerusalem was bad after ca. 400 years of not being invaded.  Because of his statements he was rejected by the people and the leaders, beaten, put in the stocks, thrown in a well to die, and ultimately put in prison by the Babylonians. 

They eventually released him and he went to Egypt and most likely died there.

Date: 600.  Easy to remember.  Jeremiah lived before & during the Babylonian captivity with Nebuchadnezzar, the leader.  The Captivity took place mostly 600-550 before Christ.

Message Today: classic line, “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings.”  Instead you trust in God.

Sources: John Shelby Spong, Origins of the Bible, XIV; Wikipedia, Liturgy, St. Louis U.  

St. Valentine:

Time: ca. 250 C.E.  Actually 3 named Valentinius, 1 bishop, 1 priest, 1 who knows. All martyrs.  Note this is before Constantine officialized Christianity, 313.

2 Legends:

1.  Rome did not allow soldiers to marry because the authorities thought single soldiers fought better.  Valentinius criticized the policy.  He was put in jail & killed.

2.  He or another was killed because of being a Christian.  He or another fell in love with the jailer's daughter & before he died left her a note, "from your Valentine."

Note:  Feb. 15 was a pagan feast of fertility and and a celebration of the beginning of spring, Lupercalia.  Pope Galasius in 496 established a St. Valentine day one day earlier, i.e., Feb. 14 (as a way of moving attention away from the pagan feast?).

Custom about wedding rings?  Wearing a wedding ring on the 4th finger, left hand, dates back to Ancient Egypt.  It was believed that the vein of love ran from this finger directly to the heart. 

Sources: Huffinton Post & KHTS News, Jerome McDaniel, Santa Clarita, LA, CA.

St. Valentine Day Massacre:  1929, Lincoln Park section of Chicago.  Al Capone’s Southside Italian Gang vs. Bugsie Moran’s Northside Irish Gang, bootlegging during Prohibition.  Capone’s Italian gang lured 7 of the Irish Gang to a garage on the morning of Valentine’s Day and shot them with 70 rounds from 2 Thompson machine guns.   Source: Wikipedia

70 Years & Valentine's Day

On this Valentine’s Day I would like to talk about what it is like to be 70.  I am told by my seniors that once you hit these stratospheric age levels you start reflecting upon the past, and especially on what life would have been like if only. 

If only I had accepted that invitation to work in Brazil for a couple of years.  If only I had gotten my graduate degree.  If only I had not worked so hard so I could have played with my kids & family.  If I had taken care of my health.  And so on. 

So I have been reflecting on my past.  You all know me and I am always looking back focusing on the gifts and blessings of my day, my week, my years.  I am basically grateful for lots of elements in my life.  It has been and is an adventure.

I see one thing I wish I had done differently, but I see a handful of things that I would have been disappointed had I not chosen to do them.  I got four of them and you have probably heard me mention them.

I would really be disappointed had I not chosen to join the Jesuits in ’58 and become a priest.  This took place even though my parents were put out with my decision.  I was all booked in to going to Notre Dame.  I also was motivated a lot by fear of going to hell if I rejected God's invitation to be a priest.

I would likewise be disappointed if I had not accepted the Jesuit invitation in the 70’s to go work in East Africa.  I was lonely there on occasion, but it was an adventure that I would grieve over if I had missed it. 

My marriage with Rosemary is an event I cannot imagine myself doing without.  The transition was rocky when I got suspended by the diocese and kicked out of the Jesuits, but it has given my so much new life.  Moreover, I might have no life if I had not married Rosemary.

Finally, I do not know what I would have done if I had not responded to the request from you people to continue celebrating our Sunday Masses.  I remember thinking to myself before we finally took the step.  This could get rather confrontational.  And it hasn’t. 

The once thing I regret is something I learned while I was recuperating from recycling my left hip.  I was humbled by the care and affirmation of so many people.  I have not cared for and affirmed more positively the people whom I love.  I have not shown it.  On this Valentine’s Day I pledge to you folks that I will show this from now on.

And you?  What might you regret when you reach 70?

Picture 1:  Mass begins

Picture 2:  Our Father

Picture 3:  Maggie

Picture 4:  Rosemary with Cole (guess who was Jesus in the Nativity Drama)

Readings:

Jeremiah   38, 4-6, 8-10  They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern.

Psalm 40,  Lord, come to my aid

Hebrews 12, 1-4,    Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.

Luke 12, 49-53,  Do you think I have come to establish peace on earth.  No.

(Less than amiable readings again this week.)

Cole & Genevieve say, "Welcome in, Everybody," and Gen. says, "Hey, Who is this nice guy?  I think I like him."

Jeremiah Observations:

Author:  really Jeremiah or at least his scribe.

Date:  after the Babylonian Captivity again, say 555 years before Chrsit. Jeremiah sees the Babylonian catastrophe coming and says it is going to be how Yahweh punishes the people for their evil and unjust ways.

Subject:  Jeremiah is the classic prophet.  He does the 3 things characteristic of a prophet.  He criticizes the behavior of the people.  He promises punishment from Yahweh.  He indicates that a better day will come.    Jeremiah lives to see the punishment, that is the Captivity.  Probably not the return from captivity.

Our selection:  Jeremiah pays the price of most real prophets.  The people are enraged, turn against him, and watch what happens.

Zoe, too, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."

God establish Peace on Earth ?  YES!

Last Thursday when Rosemary & I were doing our early morning bike ride around White Rock Lake, I stopped at the north bridge, originally to stop racing and just appreciate the beauty of the lake.  Now days, however, I discover I also love to watch the dogs in their doggie park and in the water.

Dallas has constructed a flagstone platform at the edge of the lake where dogs and owners can play at dogs chasing objects thrown in the water.

Cole, our candle lighter of the week, at his specialty.

Thursday I spotted a generic, medium sized, white, short haired dog who was so full of life.  His tail never ceased to wag, whether on land, eager for a ball to be thrown, or even in the water.   That dog was a portrait of joy and excitement.

I climbed back on my bike touched with warmth and peace.

The Generations, Dad, daughter, & grand daughter, Gilbert, Michelle, & Zoe.

I get the same feeling when Aviana comes racing to greet Rosemary and me after we have been away a while, tail wagging, excited, and wiggling with joy.  Warmth and peace.

So, do you think our God is a God of peace or a God who brings strife, division, and conflict?   Peace, me.  Luke must have had a bad day at the office when he wrote up this 12th chapter.

Let me give you 4 other examples of where I find the God of Peace.

Buddies, Kevin & Harper. 

A month from now about 10 of us will go to Idaho for our annual 9 day back packing trip in the mountains.  God gives me nothing more marvelously peaceful than to sit around the evening campfire, eat a good meal, and enjoy the simple camaraderie.  I can feel the peace already.

Talking about camaraderie, our Friday Romeos and our Sunday mornings here together, both give me peace and joy. 

Does it get any better?  Shonda, Bethany, Ray, & David.

Then there is an elderly little lady at the Jewish Community Center gym..  The first time I saw her a week or so ago she was getting off the elevator with a walker.   Fairly disheveled she was dressed in a long cover all and had red sneakers.   What really struck me immediately was her wig.   Cancer survivor.  I was humbled.  So I said good morning and she responded with an upbeat, pleasant response.    She went over, sat down on one of the exercise machines, and started exercising.  

 From her I take peace and humility.

The Line up.  Can anybody identify these characters?

Finally, the big one for me comes in about 3 months, Thanksgiving.  Is there anything better than a feast for counting blessings, experiencing joy and peace?   We are blessed in America to have it. 

So, what do you think?  God brings division and strife?  Or God brings Peace and Joy?   For me, no question, God brings Peace and Joy.

What do you think?

The Offertory Team, John & Alison, Mary Ellen & Grace.

Grace reading from the Great Prophet, Isaiah.

Readings:

Isaiah 9, 1-6,    The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.  (Wow!  Beautiful)

Psalm, 96,  Today is born our savior, Christ the Lord.

Reading 2: The Road Less Taken

Luke 2, 1-14,   The Nativity story.   (Lovely)

John reading The Road not Taken, one of The Greats.

Frost, Robert: The Road Not Taken  ( Reading #2)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

        And sorry I could not travel both   

And be one traveler.       Long I stood

         and looked down one as far as I could,

         to where it bent in the undergrowth,

Then took the other, as just as fair,       

         And having perhaps the better claim,

         Because it was grassy and wanted wear.

         Though as for that the passing there

         Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

         In leaves no step had trodden black.

         Oh, I kept the first for another day!

         But knowing how way leads onto way,

         I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

         Somewhere ages and ages hence:

         Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–

         I took the one less traveled by,

         And that has made all the difference.

Claire reading the Nativity Narrative from Luke.

Homily, 12/24/18

Since November when this crazy lumbar stenosis smacked  me, I have had more doctor appointments than ever in my life, including  getting my two nice titanium hips.

On one occasion I was going to Presby’s office building 4, on the south east corner of Walnut Hill & Greenville.  This was my second visit to this building.  Parking is all on the ground level, with the 5 or 6 story building over the parking. 

The Nativity story with Leo as Joseph and Zoe as Mary.

This morning Rosemary drove me over, dropped me fairly near the big glass doors, two sets of them.  It is freezing, darkish, and windy like being in a wind tunnel.

As I approach the first set of doors, though still 30 yards away, this tall,  strong looking black lady in a security uniform comes running from the inside, opens one of the doors wide and says cheerily, Good Morning and Welcome In.

Who dat??  That is the Baby Jesus, otherwise known as Betsy!

I laugh despite being in a world of pain from the pinched nerve.  I thank her.  And as I pass in front of her at the door, I tell her, “I am finding it hard to have people opening doors for me.  I ain’t used to this.”

So I go upstairs, check with my doctor, and return to the lobby in maybe an hour.  I sit on a marble ledge, call Rosemary, and wait.

Sez Luke, "Hey, I'm an Angel!

Suddenly coming in through the doors from the outside, my black security lady appears.  I wave at her and she walks toward me.  She says, “You remember what you said to me that it is hard to let others hold the door for you.  Well, I look at you and I know you.  I know that you have opened a lot of doors for other people to walk through.   For me it is an honor to be able to pay it back just a little and hold the door for you.”

Does it get better than this ??!!

I was stunned, I was touched, I was in tears.

Are people not good!

Have a wonderful Christmas.

The Best Team!

Readings:

Isaiah 55, 1-11,  All you who are thirsty, come to the water.

Psalm, Isaiah 12,    You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

1 John 5, 1-9,  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God.

Mark 1, 7-11,   The baptism of Jesus.

Renee Elisabeth says, "Welcome in Everybody. I just got baptized."

Isaiah observations:

Who:  Can you guess, Isaiah 1, 2, or 3.  Actually, we have two selections from Isaiah, Isaiah 12 for the psalm and Isaiah 55.  Isaiah 12 is easy.  That is first Isaiah.  Isaiah 55 is in the middle of all the 66 chapters, and, yes, it is second Isaiah.  They write before and during the Babylonian Captivity.  Both passages are comfort passages.

Today’s passages: despite the different time each writer wrote, both are trying to encourage the people and let them know that their God is with them.  The first reading, Isaiah 55, is especially rich.  It contains beautiful images of food and drink, rain and snow on the earth.

Renee, the Packer Fan, also says, "Hi Folks, come in,' before returning to her witness protection area.

You are Beloved

Yesterday afternoon Rosemary and I had the privilege and the joy of baptizing a little 5 month old girl.  Her name is Renee Elisabeth.  She is the daughter & second child of Colleen and Carl Huval.  Colleen is the daughter of our John and Jean O’Donnell.  

I love baptisms and when I can and the little kid permits it, I love to carry her or him around and talk.  Renee Elisabeth was so peaceful and accepting.  At Saint Marks I used to pick these little kids up at the beginning of Mass and I would introduce them and have them welcome everyone. 

Zoe says, "Come in Everybody, where it is warm."

One Sunday I did this in the main church at the 9:00 Mass.  I had the little boy in my arms for maybe 10 minutes and gave him back to his momma.  After the Mass I am outside saying good-bye to everybody and I noticed I had a sour smell about me.  That little boy had barfed on my left shoulder and nobody told me.  I had to laugh and I really gave it to those people the next week for not telling me. 

When I did Renee Elisabeth’s baptism yesterday I did the two things I love to do.  First, I invite people to discuss when they last saw God and also where do they most find the presence and peace of God.  This brings in some really nice answers.  Of course, Renee Elisabeth was the place where many said they saw God.

"It's great here," says Megan.

After the baptism I like to talk with the little kids.  I told Renee Elisabeth that this baptism was her official welcome into the marvel of her new life.  And I told her that I had three things I wanted her to remember.

First, I want you to know, Renee, that you are like Mark says about Jesus, You are my Beloved.   In fact, you are beloved, you are beautiful, you are good, and you are perfect just as you are.

The pretty Georgie says, "That's my friend, Megan."

Secondly, you are being officially welcomed into a marvelous family that also thinks you are beautiful, good, perfect, and beloved.

Thirdly, you are being officially welcomed into a marvelous community (your numerous grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, at least), who also hold you dear, consider you beautiful and perfect.  She seemed to accept this.  

Emma learning to do yoga.

One of the reasons I love to have our kids present with us at Mass is that they may know that they are part of us, that we appreciate them, and that we and God loves them.

People have told me that their kids see me in the white robes and they think this creature is God.  When I was a little boy I probably thought the same thing, but that god figure did not like little boys, or at least me, and instilled in me a belief that I was bad.

Victoria says, "Cupcake time yet?"

This is why I will always welcome our kids.  I want them to know that God loves them, that they are good and beloved. 

Of course, I have tried to inform Rosemary that God does not do yard work and does not do dishes.  No luck with that.  In fact, God received for Christmas a new vacuum cleaner.  God had worn out the old one.  

How do you know that you are beloved?  Blessed?

Harper says, "I feel beloved."

Readings: Wisdom 2, 12-20; Psalm 54, The Lord upholds My Life; James 5, 1-6; Mark 9, 38-48.

Wisdom:   One of the 14-15 books of the deutero-canonical books of the bible.  Not OT nor NT, but in between and the subject of controversy over the centuries.  Were they really part of the bible or not?  How do you know?  Catholic church accepts the books.

Subject matter: the book collects traditional Jewish material, as well as ideas borrowed from Greek philosophy, in order to teach that God rewards those who are faithful to him.

Author: not Solomon, but a Jew living in Alexandria, Egypt who spoke and wrote excellent Greek.

Date: ca. 100-200 BCE.  How do we know these facts?  Because of text analysis.  For example, while the author wrote in Greek, he uses phrases and expressions that have a Hebrew flavor.  Also, he mentions rulers and places that reveal date and locale. 

Our Selection: what a wicked person thinks should be done with a good person–beat & kill.  This links up with the suffering servant poem from 2 Isaiah last week.  Jews think the good person getting beaten is the Jewish race/nation.  Christians think the person is Christ.

James:  presents a pretty negative image of people.  What would be a compassionate image? 

Every Person is a Child

Ever hear of a guy named Bear Bryant?  Like in Coach Bear Bryant?  Bear Bryant was football coach of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa for 25 years, up to 1982, when he retired.  He won 6 national championships and I was living in Mobile when he won his second in ’64.  At his retirement he was asked by a reporter what he was going to do next.  He quipped, “I’ll probably croak in a week.”  8 days later he died of a heart attack.  After having just received a positive report on a physical check up.  

The story goes that in his first year as coach at Alabama he was driving around the rural south of the state looking for a player he had heard about and whom he wanted to invite to the university.  He could not find the kid’s house and he was getting hungry because it was after his lunch hour.  He sees a little ramshackle joint with a tattered sign, ‘restaurant,’ and decides to give it a try.  He walks in, the place goes dead silent, and the head of every person turns to look at this white guy.  A big black guy behind a home made bar asks, “What can I do for you, sir?”  

Bryant says he is the new coach at Tuscaloosa, can’t find a boy he is looking for, and has an appetite.  The black guy says he is welcome to eat what they got, but he may not like it because they are serving that day corn bread, beans, and chitlin.

Bryant says, “I’m from Moro Bottom, AK, I’ve eaten probably a mile of chitlin (pig intestines), and the menu sounds great.”  Everybody smiles and he eats his lunch at the bar.  A while later, leaving the restaurant with the information he wanted on the boy’s house, he pays and gives the man a tip, not flashy, but generous.  The black man asks him if he has a photo of himself.  Bryant says he has not been coach long enough to have a photo, but he writes down the guy’s name & address, and promises to send him one.  Back at Tuscaloosa, although disappointed in the recruit he went to find, he remembers to send the picture, signed with, “Thanks for one of the best lunches ever.”

Time passes.  Years later another boy has developed a reputation in that region and Bryant wants him for Tuscaloosa.  A black athlete.  The university has integrated.  He calls the boy and invites him to the university.  The boy is polite but says his two best friends are going to Auburn and he hopes to team with them.  Auburn is to Alabama as the Giants are to the Cowboys.  So Bryant figures he has lost the kid. Not so.  About a week later the kid calls the coach and asks if he still would like him at Alabama.  Bryant says sure and asks him what made him change his mind.  The kid says his grandfather knew him and has great respect for him.  Not that he would remember his grandfather.  Bryant had once eaten in his little restaurant and promised him a picture.  

His grandfather respected him because he not only ate chitlins at the restaurant, but he honored his promise and sent him a picture, which has place of honor to that day in the restaurant.

Moral of the story?

Picture 1:  The Mass with Kevin & Sabrina

Picture 2:  Brunch Time

Picture 3:  The Girls–Jackie Ritter, Jackie McGrath, & Beth