Sunday Homily 7-5-09, 13th Ordinary Time

We are sorry that the Blog has not been published these past 2 weeks.  We had a tornado and lost our internet connection among other things (we still don't have internet).  I am down at a neighbor's house who has internet.  Thanks Jane for letting us use your internet.

 

Homily:

 

All Saints, 2019-11-02

I want to talk about saints I’ve known, not from years ago, not from this year, but from last October 21, The Morning After.  For me a saint is anybody trying to dance a good dance.

First, a couple of young dads with their young sons.  Yes, I’ve already mentioned them last Sunday.

These guys just walked up and started moving tree branches from around the house to the curbs.  The house was battered and our trophy trees were stripped of their branches.  These guys worked all day.  These dads & their sons are saints for me.

Next, the St. Marks boys.  They started roaming the Preston Hollow neighborhood with water.  As the week progressed they began distributing food.  You realize that I say this as a former Jesuit student & teacher.  St. Marks was always our opponent in sports & debating, everything.

Some of the food the boys were distributing came from a corporate saint.  Central Market, which is just around the corner from us, a ten minute walk.  The store was devastated.  So what did they do?  They set up a large white canopy tent in the parking lot and they distributed breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four days, free! 

On Saturday Rosemary got 6-8 lunches which she shared with the truck drivers and chain saw workers who were cleaning up our debris.  And let me confirm, the meals were not just cold cuts and energy bars.

Then, of course, I saw 8-10 saints from our community, Tom Goode, Tom Froelich, Grace & Doug with his chain saw, John & Connie, Loretta who fed us enchiladas, Andy & Mike (Mike Moran??!!,  a saint?  Maybe I need to clean my lens a bit.)

Finally, another group of saints, the Dallas police, in particular the guys who spent their nights in the cars all lit up with red & white lights.  They were all night and day right at our corner of Royal & Camellia.  The guys’ flashing lights were a comfort, knowing we were safe.  I offered them coffee, but they always declined.

These are some of the saints I have been privileged to meet just these past 2 weeks.

Your saints?

 

 

 Readings:   Acts 3, 13-19, I know that you acted out of ignorance; Psalm 4, Lord, let your face shine on us; 1 John 2, 1-5, Whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him; Luke 24, 35-48, Peace be with you.

Acts: A review–

Author:  Luke, the author of both The Gospel and Acts.  Today we get Luke twice, in the first reading with Acts and in the last reading, today's Gospel. 

While we are on the subject, Luke's gospel story today is a compliment to last week's gospel story by John.  Both John & Luke find the apostles in a locked room, Jesus appears, and he says, "Peace."  Both focus on the physical, last week on Thomas demanding to see the wounds, this week Jesus eating.  What does he eat?   Why so much focus on the physical? 

Date:  written about 40-60 years after Jesus death, i.e., ca. 70-100 A.D.

Subject: Two parts.  Part one covers chapters 1-8, which focus on the resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost, plus their effect on the community.  The rest of the book, i.e., chapters 9-28, the focus is on Paul, his conversion & travels.  

Today's Selection:  

The scene is this, just like last week.   Peter & John have just healed a lame man at the door of the temple.  The people come rushing to see.  Peter & John say, "Hey, we did not do it."  In fact, Jesus did it and he has been raised from the dead.  This caught the attention of the priests and authorities who had the two arrested and put before the council.  They are released the next day after a warning not to talk about this Jesus.  Then they return to the local community of believers. 

 Today we go back to the time just after the healing of the lame man.  The people have rushed to see the phenomenon and ask Peter & John to explain.  Today's reading is their explanation.

 

Where is The Lord Here?

This morning I want to talk about something that has been tearing up my spirit.  Anybody heard of a little dog named Justice? 

He was a street dog, a puppy.  He died mercifully a week ago Friday.  Justice was apparently a peaceful, affectionate little puppy running around the streets of Pleasant Grove. 

One day he had the misfortune to be noticed by some teen boys who were loafing around looking for some amusement.  They decided to amuse themselves with little Justice.  So, as happens occasionally in a group of boys, they began to pester him. 

Things got bad.  One kid put a rope around Justice’s neck and tried to hang him from a fence.  When that did not satisfy them, another boy doused the puppy with charcoal lighter fluid and set him on fire.  He ran around frantically.

At this point some woman in a nearby apartment ran out with water & an old T shirt to aid Justice.  Someone else called the police and they found Justice shivering & hiding behind an air conditioning compressor. 

They called an animal shelter who called DFW Rescue Me, because Justice needed intensive care.  A big rig truck driver from Denton got involved and actually shuttled Justice around from his daytime treatment to his nighttime treatment.   To the very end, even when his blood pressure was so low, Justice continued to wag in appreciation his little white tipped tail.

What would you like to do to those boys?  There is a $5000 reward.

Luke’s message today describes how the Lord appeared among them two times and said, “Peace be with you.”  Is he present in this event?  I   would like to propose that yes, God is in this event, even as ugly as it is.  I see three possibilities. 

First, I see God in the woman who had the courage to come out of her apartment and rescue Justice.  She did not know what would happen.  Those boys could have turned on her.  It happens.

Secondly, I see God in the truck driver who shepherded Justice between his day & night treatment centers.  His name was Wenger.  He is from Denton.  This happened in Pleasant Grove, opposites in the Metroplex.  Wenger showed great kindness to the little street puppy. 

Finally, the boys. Yes, God is in the boys.  They acted out of their shadow sides, but they are still works of God.  I have worked with kids and adults like this.  Two speculations coming from my experiences.

First, I bet you when these boys were puppies they, too, were treated badly.  Maybe not set on fire, but hurt & hurt repeatedly to a point where they are responding to the world with anger.  Hurt breeds anger, anger breeds violence.  I want to hurt others because I hurt.

Secondly, I bet that because of feedback that they are bad, they think they are bad.  And act it out.  The kid has nothing to lose.  He is already a loser.  I thought I was bad when I was a kid and I wasn’t. 

So, where do you see The Lord in all this?

Reference: Dallas Morning, News, Jacquielynn Floyd, Metro section, April 18, 2012

 Video:  Candle Lighting (2 Min.)

  

 

 

 

Readings:

Nehemiah  8, 2-10,   Do not be sad and do not weep.

Psalm 19, Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

 1 Corinthians 12, 12-30,  A body is one though it has many parts.

Luke 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21,   He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives.

 

 

  Victoria says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in.  We got a brunch today."

 

Introduction  

 

 Our first reading is from Nehemiah, Ezra, a scribe and priest, reads and teaches from the written Torah in Jerusalem, brought back by those returning from the Babylon Exile. The Torah, of course, begins with the Book of Genesis and the creation story. 

Later the NT and then, Sufi Islam would make known that we are made in the image and likeness of God. A bond begins!  Our second reading from 1 Corinthians follows last Sunday’s teaching on the spiritual gifts.  Today’s reading describes how we are one in the Spirit as the body of Christ in the world.

 

 

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

 

 

Homily by Mike  

Remember the story about the tax collector and the Pharisee who went to the temple to pray.  The Pharisee praised himself and ended his prayer by saying, ‘I am glad that I’m not like the tax collector standing over there.  The tax collector however was beating his breast saying, ‘Have mercy on me a sinner.’   The Pharisee was self-righteous instead of being humble. He chose to look down upon others as if they were morally inferior.  He committed the sin of pride, the first of the deadly sins and he, too, like the tax collector, should have been seeking forgiveness.

 

Hi, Cathy, Welcome in to you, too.  Thanks for bringing Harper.

 

Don’t be surprised when Pope Francis formally asks the Jews to forgive us for being self-righteous toward them for so many centuries prior to World War II.  Unfortunately we had a part in the Holocaust for our prior teaching that the Jews could not be saved unless they became Christians. 

 

Sez Genevieve, "I want to sing, too."   Watch out, Folks, she can almost walk.

 

Francis has been calling us to recognize the bond that exists between Jews and Christians; it’s called the Spirit, blows were it wills, and is present within the inspired writings of both Jew and Christian.  Jesus was a Jew. Most of the NT was written by inspired Jews who believed that the Messiah had come.  Francis is encouraging us to visual this graphic relationship: within every Christian there is a Jew. 

 

Buddies, Leo & Genevieve.

 

Today’s gospel is about what happened when Jesus entered the Sabbath synagogue service.  The reading for that day, as you have heard, were the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me….’  The one who gave the reading would then give a teaching on why and to whom Isaiah had said these words.

 

The entrance, Here they come, Folks.

 

 For example, Isaiah could have been referring to the Jews to whom Ezra was reading and explaining the newly written Torah that had been brought back from Babylon after the exiles had been set free by Cyrus the Great.   Instead the inspired writers have Jesus fulfilling Isaiah’s words using them as an expectation for the coming of the Messiah.  In doing so, the structure of the Christian Liturgy of the Word would forever be identified: the words of Christ would fulfill the expectation of the reading from the Law and/or Prophets for the coming of the Messiah.  

 

Mike, sharing The Idea.

 

What Jesus said, of course, was, ‘This day these words are fulfilled in your hearing.’   Those in the synagogue who were receiving the good news, then, were the poor in spirit, the captive being set free, and the blind being given the opportunity to see. 

 

 Does it get any better?

 

So there is an intended spiritual harmony between OT and NT, between the Sabbath synagogue service and the Christian Liturgy of the Word, and between Jew and Christian.  Within every Christian there is a Jew.  Let us open our hearts to the words of our creed today that addresses all who seek to be led by the Spirit. 

 

 Buddies, Michelle & Georgie.

 

 

 

 

Welcome, Everybody, to our new home.  And thanks, Becky, for all you have done to welcome us.

 

 

Readings:  

 Exodus 24, 3-8,   This is the blood of the covenant

 Psalm 116,   I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord

 Hebrews 9, 11-15,    He is a mediator of a new covenant.

 Mark 14, 12-16, 22-26,   The Eucharist   

 

 

 

 

John with his long awaited arm operation done.

 

 

Exodus:   8 points on the readings, including 2 on Exodus, 4 on points from the other readings, 2 more on Exodus

    1.  This is the 2nd book of the Torah/Pentateuch, the first section of the Old Testament.  Deuteronomy, which we visited last week, is the 5th & last book.

 

 

 

Emma doing her candle Magic.

 

 

    2.  Story: This is a fabulous and edifying fable that tells how the Israelites got out of slavery in Egypt with the leadership of Moses. 

    3.  Passover: the night the angel passed over the first born male children of the Jews because they had smeared lamb blood on their door posts.  But the angel killed all the Egyptian first born sons to make Pharaoh let the people go.  Remember, this is not history, rather like a fable, like Aesop's Fables.  There is a story about the burning bush in the Holy Land, for tourists.  Tourists are told this bush was the bush that burst into flame and from which Yahweh spoke to Moses.

 

 

 

 

Welcome in, Harper.  I cannot wait to meet your new little sister, Betsy.

 

 

    4.  Covenant vs Contract: in a contract two parties agree to do something.  If one fails, the contract is often null.  In a covenant two people agree, and even if one party fails, the other party honors the covenant.  The Covenant between Yahweh & the People:  the people will honor Yahweh as their only god; Yahweh will protect and care for them as his chosen, and bring them into a new land.

    5.  Sacrifice & holocaust: ancient tribal belief that I must offer to my god (s) things precious to me to appease the god's anger or win his favor, for example, animals, prisoners, and the most beautiful girl in the community.  Jesus was seen as this sacrifice to appease the god, and also as the high priest who usually performed the sacrifice.  Thus the emphasis on blood & death.  Today scripture scholars as well as ordinary folks don't believe in a God who was so angry that he demanded special sacrifice.  We do not have a vengeful, angry God.

 

 

 

 

Sandra reads our Blessing of the Candles.

 

 

    6.  12 tribes: the 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob (or Israel; the 3 patiarchs were Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob-Israel).

    7.  Author & Date of Exodus: not Moses.  Rather a compilation of material from different centuries, that was mostly put together after the Babylonian Captivity, e.g., ca. 550 BCE.

    8.  Our Selection from Exodus: the people have been wandering in the desert and are now being given laws and customs they must observe.  The Covenant is being sealed.

 

 

 

 

The Best, Shonda & Ben.

 

 

A Banquet of Joy

In  honor of it being the feast of Corpus Christi, which is a celebration of our relationship with someone who totally loves us and accepts us as we are, I want to tell you a banquet of joy story.

These banquets take place morning, noon, and night.  It does not matter.  In fact, my dad was part of a morning banquet every week day at Christ the King parish, as I mentioned last week.

 

 

 

 

Rita & her admirer at the JCC gym, Jewish Community Center.

 

 

The banquet I was part of was in the morning about 6:00, at the Jewish Community Center, in the second floor gym, in fact.

There is a little lady named Rita.  She is black, about 60, big hair, somewhat round, and walks slowly into the gym with a walker.  She arrives with a DART bus, the small type bus that picks up individuals.

She comes maybe twice a week and settles on a recumbent bike which she pedals easily for 30-40 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

If that crazy Parkinson won't let the right hand behave, Jackie makes for a great substitute right hand.

 

 

I noticed her because she was unique in the gym.  And I really admired her for doing it.  So I started greeting her and we exchanged names sometime during the past year.  Last April I told her that I would be gone for a couple of weeks.  Rosemary & I were going to France.

She was so excited and asked me to bring her a little key chain statue of the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

Want to know why Rosemary played hookey from Juliettes Friday?   These two little critters, great nieces Rosemary (how about that!) and Alice, flew into Dallas with their mom, Kristine.   

 

 

I told Rosemary and, lo and behold, one afternoon in a tiny town curio shop in the Perigord region we found just what she wanted.

It was a week or two until I saw her come in one morning.  I got the Eiffel Tower key chain, went to her bike, bowed, and gave her the gift.

She went so crazy over that little token of my affection for her that I was almost in tears.  Her delight was my Banquet of Joy.

 

 

 

 

Coming up, Cupcake of The Week Time, everybody's favorite part of our celebration.

 

 

When was the last time you had a Banquet of Joy?

 

 

 

 

Sez Leo, "Cupcake time yet??"

Deuteronomy 4, Moses said to the people.

Psalm 33, Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. 

Romans 8, Those who are lead by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Matthew 28, The disciples went to Galilee to the mountain.

 

 

 

Thanks……

Music,  Ben & Shonda

Readers, Jackie & John Simari & Buddy, our candle blesser

Gospel, Deacon Mike Carrell

Homily,  John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,    Richard and Mike and Hue and David

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

 

 

 

Jackie reading from Deuteronomy.

 

Readings for Trinity Sunday

Download Readings Trinity Sunday 5-30-2021

 

Homily for Trinity Sunday

Download Homily by Cade 5-30-2021

 

 

 

John Simari reading from Romans.

 

Remember these special people:

For Alan Stryker;  For Joe Hogan;    For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie ;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique & Frank with shingles;  For all the medical personnel struggling to treat the tsunami of sick people, in particular, locally, Cindy's staff at Presby, Dallas, and at Frisco Presby, the mother of Harper and Betsy, Kendle, working in labor & delivery, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands,   For Loretta's aunt Alicia;  For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy, Mike Carol's wife. Judy 

 

Mike Carol reading The Gospel from Matthew

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg & gall bladder op.; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa;  For Anthony & Sabrina;    For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little 4 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

Today's celebrants, John & Mike.

 

Birthdays:   Shonda and Mabel Ekes

Anniversaries:

Community Finances,   May 30, 2021

Expenses: $1,295.00

Outreach: $700.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Taken from IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

 

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

 

 

Rosemary sharing her blessing.

 

 

 

Readings: Acts 7, 55-60; Psalm 97; Revelation 22, 12-20; John 17, 20-26.

"That They May All be One

Last Wednesday I took the Dart train downtown.  I got on the 12:44 at Forest Lane and exited 22 minutes later at Akard & Pacific.  I love to ride this train.  I sit in the first seat of the first car so I can watch the road ahead through the conductor’s cubicle.  On this Wednesday I was going to have lunch at Miguel’s Cantina and spend an hour talking Spanish with a good friend of mine.

After lunch and a great hour of Spanish conversation I caught 2:14 north bound, Parker Road train for Forest Lane & home.  We passed through the underground station of City Place and then arrived at Lover’s Lane.  At this station I watch the conductor come out of his cubicle and lock the door.  I am thinking, Is he taking a coffee break?

What he does, however, is go to the exit door, flip down a metal ramp, and extend part of it out of the train onto the raised platform.  Immediately in comes a young girl in a well used electric wheel chair.  She wheels over to the space right in front of me, spins diagonally, and parks. The conductor picks up the metal plank, unlocks the cubicle, settles himself inside, and off we fly.

The ambience in that train car does a 180 degree turn from casual indiference to awe struck reverence.  The girl was about 15, cute with an auburn pony tail, nice features with light freckles, and a trim upper body with a purple T shirt.  She was talking on the phone.  I never determined what the trouble was with her legs, or if she had any.  All I know is that she had the confidence in manuvering that wheel chair that came only from a lot of practice.

At Walnut Hill the conductor emerged from his cubicle again, did the arrangement with the door, and the girl wheeled out, saying a sweet, "Thank you," as she passed the conductor.  When the conductor came back in, the man across the aisle from me said to him, "Makes you grateful for what you got."  The conductor agreed. 

That young girl did two things in that Dart car just by getting on in her grateful and courageous way.  We were all more grateful for what we have.  Secondly, for a while we were one.  There was a felt difference in each of us, black, white, brown, young, and old. 

Jesus says he wants "That they may all be one."  Wow, do we blow this one!

Nevertheless, despite the past, today we are again called to help others: 1. appreciate, and 2. unite.  Granted, to enable others, I got to be in myself appreciative and united.  A subject for future homilies. 

This young, pony tailed girl touched us all just by her simple presence. 

How do you touch others into appreciation and unity?

Download the homily as an mp3 file.