Sunday Homily 4-12-09, Easter

Readings: Genesis 9, 8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3, 18-22; Mark 1, 12-15

Genesis:  First book of the Bible, starts with creation, goes through Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah & the flood, the Tower of Babel, & ends with the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob (Israel).

Author: Not Moses as was thought for centuries before people began to study the work.  At least 3 sources: 

• a Y (or J) source for the group that addressed God as Yahweh;

• an E for the group who addressed God as Elohim (Like two historians calling NYC The Big Apple or New York City, or Denver by its name or Mile High City);

• and a P group that focused on the priestly class, activities, & customs.

Time: compiled and put together from 1000 to 500 BCE.

Today's Selection: the flood has just receded and Noah is receiving a promise (called covenant) from Yahweh that never again will people be wiped out by a flood.  Guess what the sign of the promise is.

40 Days

I want to talk about Genesis.  Picture this.  It is night.  Moon & stars.  Sitting around a little campfire are 3 or 4 families, parents and a half dozen kids.  It is Maybe 1000 years before Christ.  It  is perfectly quiet except for the howl of a few animals out in the complete darkness.

A little girl says to her parents, "Where did that moon come from?  The stars?  Where did we come from?"  The parents tell her about the stories they heard from their elders.

They say: Before people were here the earth was all desolate.  It was dark & cold & waters were raging.  God came along one day and decided to put some order into this mess.  So he got up the next morning and divided up the daylight and the dark.

The next day he got up and created the dome of the sky.  The third day he created the earth and starts plants growing.  The day after that he sets up the sun, the moon, and the stars.  On the fifth day he puts together fish and birds and tell them to multiply.  The sixth day he really has to work hard: animals and especially man & woman.  By now he is tired, so he takes the seventh day off and enjoys his work.  This is the first account of creation in Genesis.

Now at another campfire many miles away a little boy is asking his family the same question.  He is told another story.  One day, say, Elohim is walking on a dirt path (like everyone did.  No pavement).  He leans down grabs a handful, wets it, and molds it into a new form, something with two legs, two arms, and a head.  A man. 

This man is given life and gets put into a marvelous garden with only one command.  Don't eat from that tree.  Time goes on and animals are created which the man names.  However, the man is lonely, so God takes a rib out of his side and molds it into another human  form.  This one, however, is female and becomes man's partner.  The man names her Eve, the mother of all.  This is the second creation story.

At this point in time all is copasetic.  One day, however, while Eve is strolling around the Garden of Eden, a snake begins to talk with her.  Eventually the snake convinces her to try the fruit of the tree.  Uh, oh.  Then she shares it with the Man, now called Adam.  Later, God comes strolling along in the evening and has to call out for Adam & Eve, who are hiding.  He knows what they have done.  They confess and he tells them they will be forever punished with difficult living.  So they get kicked out of Eden.

Adam & Eve have kids.  Cain first, Abel second.  One day both boys make an offering to God.  Unfortunately for some reason, Cain's offering is rejected by God.  He is hurt and gets mad because his brother is accepted.  He kills Abel.  Then he, too, gets punished by God. 

Time passes and apparently many more of Adam & Eve's kids turn out like Cain.  In fact, God becomes so mad, so disappointed in his new creature man, that he regrets what he has done and decides to wipe everyone off the face of the earth–except one guy, Noah.  At this time, Noah is 500 years old.  He builds a boat and it rains 40 days.  Which takes us up to today's reading, where the water has receded and God promises he will never kill everyone with a flood again, signing his name with a rainbow. 

 

I tell these mythological stories for four reasons.

First, we seldom hear or read these marvels.

Secondly, though it is not in the Genesis reading we have, there is a thread between this part of Genesis 9 and Mark and today: the 40 days.  Forty is a special number in the old times meaning a sufficient number.  It rained 40 days.  Jesus is in the desert 40 days.  And we are spending 40 days of Lent.

Thirdly, when Jesus came out of the desert he really throws himself into his message, which contains 4 points in Mark:

• The Time is now.

• The Kingdom is here.

• Repent.

• Believe the Good News

Fourthly, for centuries up until Vatican 2, the 40 days of Lent focused on fasting and abstinence to imitate Jesus and to do penance for our bad ways.  It was supposed to be a cleansing before Holy Week and Easter and a test of character. 

Fasting usually meant giving up meals.  Abstinence meant giving up a particular item, like Blue Bell or chocolate chip cookies.  I found one amusing note:Thomas Aquinas, one of the great doctors of the Catholic Church who lived ca. 1250, suggested that the faithful abstain from meat, eggs, and dairy.  Why?  Because they were aphrodisiacs and generated lust.  Food, alcohol, tobacco, and sex were all targets of the Church.

Today Mormons fast 1 day per month.  Muslims fast dawn to dusk the month of Ramadan which is August 22-September 20 this year.  This fast often includes liquids. 

Last week I suggested for a positive Lent we might practice sensitivity and service.  This week we might fast, since this has been the hot topic.  Maybe a fast from guilt and stress.

How is Lent going for you?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-03-01.mp3

Sources:  Wikipedia on Lent & Fasting; Dominican Website; Creighton U. Spiritual Seminar; St. Raymond Church, Dublin, CA.

Picture 1:  Mass with Reed (3 weeks new)

Picture 2:  Reed with his momma Nikki & granny Jackie

Picture 3: Stacie McKinley, Reed with Jackie & Nikki, Ryan (Nikki's brother & Jackie's son); Rosemary, & Margie Duggan

Picture 4:  Mass with Noah helping

Guess who is saying, "Welcome in, Everybody."  Would you believe, Zoe & Tori & Harper.

 

Readings:

Deuteronomy   8, 2-3, 14-16,  Do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

 Psalm 147,   Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.  

1 Corinthians 10, 16-17, We, though many, are one body.

John 6, 51-58,   Eucharist 

 

Likewise, Kevin is ready and says, "Come in, Folks."

 

Father’s Day History:

 Four steps:

1. The Civil War started thinking about a Mother’s Day.  Anna Jarvis pushed it ca. 1907 and it was made official in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson.
2. Monongah, WV mining disaster, 210 fathers killed, Dec. 6, 1907 (just before Christmas & after the Mother’s Day activity).  Fairmont, WV.   Grace Golden Clayton pushed the idea. 
3. Spokane, WA, Sonora Dodd & influence of Mother’s Day.  Dodd’s dad had fought in the Civil War and all by himself raised Sonora & her 5 siblings.   
4. Pres. LBJ made it special, 1966.  Pres. Nixon made it a national holiday, 1972.

 

 

Even Buddy, roped up and ready to go says, "Hi, Everybody."
 

 

Father’s Day

This morning I would like to talk about Father’s Day, especially from the perspective of one of those special events that happens every now and then.  One of those events took place last night.

What happened was that a class I had been a part of at Jesuit as a teacher had a 50^th class reunion at one of the guy’s houses.  About 4 other teachers were invited, one of which was a Jesuit friend who likewise had departed and married 37 years ago, as he told Rosemary &  me.

 

 

Hi, Cody, Hi, Ben.  Great to see you, as always.

 

I loved these guys and I was doubly touched because one of the guys that organized the reunion and who personally invited me was a guy named Frank Hart.  I have been like part of his family since I was in 7^th & 8^th grade at Christ the King. 

I have mentioned often enough how Frank Sr. was such a positive influence in my last two years at Christ the King, like ’52, ’53, & ’54.  He was not just a coach, teacher, and Scout Master.  He was  a second father. 

 

 

 

Here they are, Everybody, Ben's beautiful family, Jack, Sophia, and Camille.

 

Frank is still alive and Friday afternoons I visit him at a convalescent home where he is just waiting to move to the other side.  He sleeps mostly and does not even know me. 

Some of you may remember when we planted trees on Marsh Lane from Northwest Hwy. to LBJ, Frank Sr. had a restaurant and invited the whole team to eat at his place after the planting, free. 

 

 

 

Would you buy a used car from either of these two characters, Sir Charlie & Gilberto?   Like, how about an Edsel?  Mint condition?

 

Some of you also may remember when we finished tree planting on numerous other streets the next few years, the picnic was always catered by a restaurant called Back Country Bar-B-Que.  That was Frank, Jr. the son and the former student who invited me & Rosemary to the reunion.  20 years ago or more I performed the marriage between Frank and his wife, Martha. 

Just to show those kids I am still an idiot, I had to borrow 5 bucks from Frank to pay the valet parking.  We were at the home of Mike McKool, 5 minutes from our house, and neither Rosemary nor I took any money. 

 

 

Shonda & Ben bringing The Magic.

 

Rosemary & I heard lots of personal stories.  One kid’s experiences in Viet Nam really touched me. 

I am not a real father.  But I have had the privilege of being nurtured by some good fathers and have tried to nurture some other young guys.  Last night some of those once young boys really touched me.

How have you been nurtured by the father figures in your life?

And how have you passed on the nurturing?

 

 

 

Says Sandra, "Happy Father's Day all you guys."

 

Readings:

1 Kings 3:5, 7-12,  Give your servant an understanding heart.  

Psalm 119,   Lord, I love your commands.

Romans 8,  28-30,  We know that all things work for good for those who love God…

Matthew 13, 44-52,  Kingdom Parables

 

Kevin and John ready to start Mass.

                                               

Homily:

 

We heard of Solomon’s call to be king of people of God

We heard in Paul’s Letter our call to be “conformed to the image of Jesus” 

And we heard in Matthew the parables about putting the treasure buried in a field and the pearl of great price ahead of everything else we could have.

                                                                                                             

The Offertory helpers, Bill, Paul and Carrie.

                                                        

Our word for today is asking how we hear our call and how do we answer our call?

I remember the answer I was given growing up (long long ago), hearing it in sermons and in weekend retreats at Grand Coteau, Louisiana. We were told that we are called to be holy and holiness was presented as perfection— You know the quote from Matthew: “Be you perfect as your heavenly father is perfect”. According to Matthew Fox, in his book Original Blessing, the quote from Matthew’s Gospel, “Be you perfect…”, does not refer to moral perfection and does not have here the later Greek meaning of being totally free of imperfection. The word ‘teleioi’, translated as “be you perfect”, actually meant “to be full-grown, to be complete or whole”.

                                                                                                                                    

Our musicians, Celeste, Shonda and Ben.

                                                                               

Remember also how we were given the lives of the saints, in which they were portrayed as achieving perfection and we were taught to imitate those perfect people. The lives of the saints inspired me, but there was no way I could live up to the idealized stories of their lives of perfection. Going to seminary at age 18 and to a monastery at age 22 was how I chased after the ideal of holiness as perfection.

Remember also how we were taught to make an examination of conscience, detailing everything we thought or did wrong–not about what we thought or did that was good or generous or loving or courageous or compassionate, not how we were becoming more full-grown or complete. The implication was that we were lacking and in sin almost all the time; that was scary folks. We were told we were imperfect, not holy, and I took that to mean I didn’t measure up, I wasn’t good enough. We were taught that there was a time, in the beginning when our original parents were in a paradise and were good/perfect, and connected to God. But that in Adam we sinned and were separated from God.  

                                                                                                                                                         

Georgie and Mom, Michelle.

 

What if we came to learn in the last 400 years, like Matthew Fox did, that there was never a state of perfection in our world, that creation in our universe has been going on for 20 billion years and that our universe has been expanding all that time, and is this moment expanding at unimaginable speed. It’s not really about being perfect.

In all creation beauty and imperfection go together. Every tree is beautiful, but if you get up close you will see that every tree is imperfect. The same is true of the human body. Every human body is beautiful, but every human body is imperfect. In creation, in nature, imperfection is not a sign of the absence of God. It’s a sign that the ongoing creation we are part of is no easy thing. We bear scars from the living process, and we can and must celebrate those scars, those imperfections.

                                                                                                                                                                        

Georgie's sister, Zoe.

 

My take on updating the idea of holiness includes thinking about how we accept imperfection, including our own, and about how we are growing, not to be perfect, but to be more complete, more whole, more caring for ourselves and others and more caring for mother nature and our place in the universe.

Yesterday I was visiting a friend who, when I said I was doing the Mass today, asked what my homily would be about and I said holiness. My friend said, I just finished watching a Ted Talk by Ann Lamont, a favorite author of mine. She said “Laughter is carbonated holiness.”

 

Question: How do you think of ‘holiness’ in our time?

 

Georgie's sister, Tori.

 

 

And Georgie's brother, Buddy. 

Readings: Jeremiah 17, 5-8; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15, 12-20; Luke 6, 17-26.

Jeremiah – Picture this: all the students & faculty are assembled.  You go before them and tell them that they are all lazy, selfish, egotistical, and fat.  Change or you will fail in life. They boo you.  The principal, too, gets up and says the same.  You and the principal love these people.

After school you pass through the parking lot & the kids curse you, trash you, throw rocks at your car, and spit on you.  Same with the principal.  The atmosphere in the school and attitude of the students goes down. 

This is where we find Jeremiah and Yahweh.  They have warned the people and the people have rebelled.  Both Jeremiah and Yahweh are downhearted.  What we read is Yahweh’s response while he is in this depressed mood, in the eyes of the writer.

Corinthians – Paul continues to address the people of Corinth, this time about the resurrection.

Trust No One?

When I first came home from East Africa, I spent the winter at the Jesuit church in downtown Houston until I could get a program in Dallas.  One early evening after visiting my mom here in Dallas, I was returning to Houston.  I had my airline ticket and went to Love Field.  I stood in that Houston line, got to the counter, gave the attendant my ticket, and she says to me, “You are at the wrong airport.” 

Talk about feeling like a fool.  I had an A.A. ticket instead of Southwest.  To compound my feelings, when the girl asked if I would like to buy a ticket, I realized I had about $20 in change, no more.  No credit or debit card yet.  I was just back from Africa.  Plus, now I was alone, because my mom had gone back home.  No cell phone naturally. 

Despite the desire I had to crawl in a hole and disappear, I figured I had to do something dramatic quickly.  So I turned around, faced the long line of afternoon commuters, addressed everyone, and asked if someone could loan me the fare, which was only about $35 those days. 

Guess what happened.  Yes, a lady from Victoria stepped up and loaned me the money.  What would I have done if everyone had just ignored me?   Wow, it scares me to imagine it.  She was very cordial and I sent her the money later from Houston. 

“Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings.”  Remember what I said about Yahweh being depressed and hurt by his people’s behavior.  The writer of Jeremiah is imagining what Yahweh’s response would have been.  The writer might have just been hurt by his best friend. 

Trouble is, the person who trusts not one single person, that person is poverty stricken, truly poor.  You hear occasionally of people whose attitude toward others is that everyone is out to get you.  Pretty pessimistic.  Probably a sentiment resulting from hurts earlier in life.   

Today with our gift of the New Testament, we might modify this.  I would suggest that we arrive at the Kingdom today by trusting in God and by trusting people.  We enter the Kingdom more easily with a community, like we enjoy here. 

If I did not trust people, I would not have asked the crowd for air fare.  If the lady from Victoria did not trust, I would not have received a gift.  As it was, we both arrived in the Kingdom—Houston Hobby.

When was the last time you were blessed by trusting?

Click here to download the homily as an mp3 file.

Readings: Ezekiel 37, 12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8, 8-11; John 11, 1-45.

Ezekiel: Again we make a big jump, from Samuel & David to the prophet Ezekiel. The time is ca. 580 B.C, the time of the defeat of the Hebrews and the Babylonian captivity.  Ezekiel is warning the people of the calamities that come and ends eventually envisioning a new Jerusalem.

How Many More Years You Got to Appreciate?

We hear it said all the time that we have around 75 years of life in us.  That means we got 75 Christmases to enjoy, 75 springs and summers, and 75 Thanksgivings.  And that is from the age of Cameron & Reid, Brady & Trey.  Now you kids who are 10 or 15 only have 65 or 60 more birthdays and Easters.  Those of you 50 have only 25 more Christmases.  I have, guess, only 7 more according to the profile. 

Marriage at 25 means 50 years of fun & companionship.  I got married at 65.  Not much time to experience the fun & companionship. 

Over the past 5 weeks I have talked about some secrets to making marriage work.

 

·       Stay away from divorce, but play,

·       don’t expect a perfect marriage, but work for perfect moments,

·       plan fun and date regularly,

·       empty out the back pack of my junk and keep communicating,

·       give with words, listening, and touch & hugs.

This final discussion is both a summary of the five previous weeks and also a focus on appreciation.  Appreciation for the person who agreed to marry me.  The temptation is to rattle off the Spanish saying, "El amor es Ciego," love is blind.  The response to the temptation is appreciation.  Appreciate the perfect moments, the companionship, and the anniversaries.  Celebrate the appreciation.

We only have a limited number of Christmases & Easters, perfect moments and anniversaries.  Let’s not blow it.  Appreciate each one.

How many more do you have to celebrate?

               

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-03-09.mp3