Sunday Homily 5-8-11, 3rd Easter
Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2, 14, 22-33; Psalm 16, Lord, You will show us the Path of Life; 1st Letter of Peter 1, 17-21; Luke 24, 13-35
Acts observations—(Author, Date, Place, Subject), a repeat from Easter
Author: This is Luke, the physician, the companion of Paul, the Gentile writing for Gentile Christians, and the same Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke.
Date: Around 65 years after Christ. Probably just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (70 C.E., a big date in Jewish history), or Luke would have likely mentioned it.
Place: most probably Ephesus, today a ruin on the west coast of Turkey south of Constantinople. Once this town was a major Christian center.
Subject: the material works like in concentric, expanding circles, beginning in Jerusalem and ending in Rome after touching Judea, Syria, Ephesus, & Europe. It treats activities in the early Christian community, some of which may describe they way they wished things were.
Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, St. Louis U. Jesuits’ Liturgical web
Mother's Day: a brief history–
1. Greece & Rome: Cybele was the mother of all gods
2. in the U.S.
a. Julia Ward Howe: during Civil War, ca. 1870, as a counter to the tragedy
b. Anna Jarvis: 1912, pushed for 2nd Sunday of May, Mother's Day, with emphasis on the apostrophe, i.e., a single mother of a family, not all mothers. Ended up regretting the day because of commercializaiton in the 40's before she died. Hated Hallmark Cards' canned messages instead of personal notes.
c. President Woodrow Wilson: 1912, made it a national holiday.
Sources: Legacy Project & Wikipedia
Cura Personalis
I have a Mother’s Day story for you. It comes from of all places, Rosemary’s home, NYC, naturally. We were just there this very hour last Sunday.
The scene is this. It is around 4:30 on a beautiful day, blue sky, 62 degrees. The Ride began at 8:00, all 32,000. We have traveled up 6th Avenue from Battery Park in Manhattan, through Central Park & Harlem, into the Bronx, passed through Queens into Brooklyn, and the 40 miles came to an end in Staten Island, near the Staten Island ferry, which we took to get to the starting line in Battery Park.
We have gone straight north and returned straight south. This has not been a race, like the Hotter ‘N Hell here at the end of August, rather a stroll or a promenade. I have never ridden in a tsunami of people until this event. 90 percent of the time I rode shoulder to shoulder with other riders, scrutinizing their every move so that I would not crash.
At 4:30 on this lovely afternoon Bernadette is just arriving at the last bridge, the famous Verrazano Narrows, a bridge that goes up a good way before it comes down into Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and the finish line.
Bernadette is pooped as she begins this final ascent. Everybody else in our group of 7 has already reached the end.
As Bernadette climbs bit by bit, she realizes that she cannot ride up to the top. She gets off and starts pushing her bike up the bridge. Remember, folks, this is New York City.
Shortly after she begins trudging up the bridge a young man in his 30’s goes by. Then he returns and stops. “Would you like me to push your bike up the bridge?” he asks. Remember this is New York City. And this is a New Yorker, in fact, from Brooklyn, Bernadette tells me.
Our New Yorker pushes Bernadette’s bike along with his own up to the top of the bridge.
When I was a Jesuit we were educated in a concept, cura personalis, which is Latin for personal care. Advertising has made this term into a expression of narcissism, meaning my personal care. In the Jesuits it was meant as a term for others, personal care of my brother & sister & my neighbor.
I would propose that this is a particular attribute of women, caring for others, which is what we celebrate today, Mother’s Day. It is not limited to women, however. This young man exemplified personal care. In Luke’s story about the two guys on the road to Emmaus, who is showing personal care? Jesus.
Today we honor the personal care of mothers. We all, however, male or female, adult or kid, we all are called to personally care for our people.
When was the last time you personally cared for yours?
Thanks, Bernadette, for letting me tell your story.
Picture 1: Mass begins
Picture 2: Cameron & Nikki with their grandparents, Mary & Frank Esparza
Picture 3: Cora
Picture 4: Liam up, for the moment
Picture 5: Liam down & totally at home
Picture 6: Liam & Cora with their parent, Megan & Dave plus Megan's parents Rob & Beth