Sunday Homily 12-18-11, 4th Advent

 

 

Says Genevieve, "Happy Easter, Everybody.  It is my very first Easter."

 

Readings:

Acts  10, 34, 37-43,  You know what has happened all over Judea.

Psalm 118,  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

1 Corinthians 5, 6-8, A little yeast leavens all the dough.

John 20, 1-9,  Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark. 

 

And J.T. and his mom, Maria, say, "Happy Easter, Folks." 

 

 

Acts observations:

What:  This work describes the spread of Christianity though out the Mediterranean world.  The main characters are Peter & Paul.  It presents both an idealized view of the community and a look at the significant struggles that took place between Peter & Paul on policy.  

We will see Acts every Sunday until May 15, Pentecost.  

 

 

Kevin says, "Come on in, Folks, we are ready to celebrate Easter."

 

Resurrection People

This Easter morning I would like to talk about Resurrection people.  These are folks who have come back to life.  Some may not be local, others are right here in our marvelous community.   I have three people and a bonus.  Here we go.

Ever hear of Anthony Graves?  He is an exoneree.  What is that?  Anthony is a black guy who was pardoned or exonerated for a multiple murder near Bryan, TX.  He never committed the crime.  Anthony spent 18 years in prison, 12 of them on Texas death row.  The DA at the trial hid evidence and falsified testimony.  He has since been disbarred.  How could he live with himself!

 

 

Hi, Emma, is that an Easter package?

 

 

How do you think you would feel if you were released after spending 18 years in prison?  Anthony Graves came out not angry, not resentful, and not seeking revenge.  He came out grateful and at peace. 

As some recompense, Anthony was given 1 1/2 million.  Anthony would easily be excused if he just took the money and went off the radar screen. 

 

 

Hi, Ben, Love the metalic look.   Happy Easter.

 

As a matter of fact, Anthony has used the money for others unfairly imprisoned.  He has opened a free clinic in Houston where exonerees get medical help and counseling.  He also works on the cases of others he knows have been unjustly condemned. 

Anthony is a Resurrection Person for me.  

(Reference. Dallas Morning News, 3-20 & 23)

 

 

 

Hi, Charlotte, tell your daddy thanks for coming today & bringing you and Nora.  

 

There are others, too, closer to home and closer to me, members of our very own own community.  

Rosemary & I brought communion one Sunday a  year or so ago to Stacie when she was struggling with chemo and cancer recovery.   Stacie is now cancer free and this past February 17 we just celebrated Stacie’s wedding to Paul.   Guess where they had met?  On an airline flight.  They were seated together.  Stacie is one of my Resurrection People. 

 

 

Hi, Nora, thanks for coming today.  Remember Christmas?  Who was  Baby Jesus?      Ready for your baptism this Saturday?  

 

 

Also part of our community is Jackie.  She had one bout with cancer and I was with her when she danced in her driveway one afternoon after she had been declared free of that cancer. 

A year or so later, it returned.  After more treatment, the prognosis is positive and Jackie rejoices in being alive.  She has even become part of a small team of cancer survivors who share their stories with medical students at Baylor.  Jackie is one of my Resurrection People.

 

Happy Easter, Natalie.  You look terrific.

 

Finally, a bonus.  This person, who will remain nameless, had received a present from Santa of a new bike a couple of years ago.  A few weeks later on a beautiful Friday afternoon in January on a bike ride around White Rock Lake this person fell off of her bike and broke her left elbow so badly it needed 9 screws and a plate to put it back together.   Recuperation took some months.

You would figure, right?, that she would give up biking and take up walking the dog.   Nope.   She got back up on that bike and last summer rode around The Lake most weekdays.  In fact, she has become a wicked biker.  This is my special Resurrection Person. 

 

 

Anybody want to try to guess what Chloe & her grandmom, Denni  are plotting? 

 

Who are your Resurrection People? 

How are you an R.P?

 

An Easter Picture, Denni & her grandkids minus only Nora.

 

 

Readings: Isaiah 6, 1-8; Psalm 138, In the Sight of the Angels I will Sing Your Praises, Lord; 1 Corinthians 15,1-11; Luke 5, 1-11. 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Reflections on the Readings

 

A brief few words about our first reading from Chapter 6 of Isaiah.  This reading could in fact easily begin the book of Isaiah.  It gives us the call of Isaiah.  King Uzziah has died after reigning for over 40 years, 40 years of great security and prosperity. 

   

We are told of a vision, which the prophet sees of God, and notice the threefold repeating of the word Holy.  Only God is holy, all holiness.  The prophet proclaims that he is doomed because mere humans cannot look at God. 

 

 

In our second reading, from Paul, he reminds us that he too saw the Risen Lord, and his response, like Peter’s in our gospel reading, it is the same, unworthiness.

  

 The readings all show up the same response from humans when faced with God.  And in each case God is able to reach thru the response and draw the person into a relationship of discipleship. 

 

 

 

 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily

  

What happens when we come face to face with God?  In each of our three readings today this is what we hear about.  For Isaiah it is a vision of God who is Holy, holy holy! And Isaiah’s reaction is similar to Peter’s and later to Paul’s, one of unworthiness in the face of God’s goodness.  But God is able to reach thru that tendency to turn away and invite all three into a relationship of discipleship.

 

 

Our presence here today also comes from some kind of encounter with God, maybe not as Isaiah’s vision of God surrounded with angels, or Peter’s encounter thru the miraculous catch of fish, or Paul’s vision of Light, but in some way God has reached into our lives, whether thru the action of our parents having us baptized, or thru an encounter with someone as an adult, which caused us to want to be here, we each got up this morning and among all of the options available to us, we chose to be here! 

   

And as we celebrate our Liturgy together we too will acknowledge our own unworthiness, several times.  We start with our penitential rite, in the Our Father we ask God to forgive us, in the Lamb of God we sing “Have mercy on us” and before communion we say “I am not worthy”.  But God has managed to reach thru to us, which is why we are here. 

 

But now the question we need to start answering is “what does it mean to be a disciple?”  God enters my life, so what? 

 

  
 

Let’s take a simple example.  When two people become friends, their lives are different as a result, and depending on the kind of friendship, so too the effect on their lives.  When Gayle and I met, I was single and living in an apartment in Carrollton, and she was single and living in her home in Highland Village.  When we decided to be married, we both left the comfort of our previous lives and set off for California.  This had a big impact not just on our lives but also on the lives of our kids!!  I am sure each one of you can tell stories of how your lives were changed as a result of different relationships you entered into. 

 

So too with our relationship with God.  What is the change?  What does God want in a relationship?  For Isaiah, it was to be a prophet to the people of Judah, for Peter it was to become a “fisher of men” and for Paul, it was to tell the whole world, or as much of it as he could get to in those days, about God. 

 

Our instructions are equally clear, Love God and love one another.  How am I doing in that area?

  

In every relationship, one thing that has to happen is that we have to get to know each other.  Anna in the musical “The King and I” sings that lovely song “getting to know you”, and we too need to continue to ‘get to know God’.  We do so thru our presence here, by listening to his Word.  In any relationship, we will also go out for a meal.  And thru sharing food, we get to know each other better. 

  

And so we are here today celebrating a Memorial Meal with God.  We are reminded during the Eucharistic Prayer to “Do this in Memory of me”.  It is another way of our staying in touch with God.  As a people, we have heard the Church Bell, and responded by coming together as a People, to Listen to God’s Word and to “remember Jesus’ Last Meal with His disciples. 

  

 

What does all this mean for us today  We are called to be a people of Hope, of Love and Forgiveness, a kind of light of Joy to the World. 

 

In the words of St Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

 

Picture 1:  Mass beginning with Tony & Kevin

 

Picture 2:  Sean

 

Picture 3:  Gilbert with Georgie & Zoe in his lap

 

Picture 4:  Jo with Hunter, Audrey, and Dillon

 

Could we be looking at Santa or Kevin??  Welcome in, Whoever you may be.

 

 

Readings:

Genesis15, 1-6; 21, 1-3    Look up at the sky and count the stars.  Just so shall your descendants be.

Psalm, 105,  the Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Hebrews 11, 8, 11-12, 17-19  By faith Abraham obeyed.

Luke 2, 22-40,   Simeon & Anna meet Jesus

 

 

 

Thanks, Dearest Harper, for bringing along you grandmother Cathy.

 

Genesis obserevations :

What : the very first book of the bible beginning with Adam & Eve, the two creation myths, Cain & Abel, Noah and the flood, the Tower of Babylon, and then the big 3 patriarchs of the Jewish nation.  They are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The book is a fun read.  It is not history, but speculation and tribal myth. 

Date: contemporary scholarship thinks that the work was composed either before or during the B.C., the all important Babylonian Captivity. Why?  Give the Jewish people a sense of historical identity and tribal cohesion.  

 

 

 

The "A" Team, complete with lights.

 

Today’s selection: all about Abraham, the first of the 3 Great Patriarchs.  Abraham is crying and lamenting the fact that he has no children.  Why?  Sarah was childless and Abraham was 99 years old.  A “we have a problem, Houston” situation.  The Lord hears Abraham and uses a beautiful metaphor to show Abraham what is going to happen. 

Because the editor of this reading has so taken the fun out of it, I want to read a bit more.  Sit back and enjoy the story of how Abraham and Sarah had a baby.   I'm including parts of three other chapters between chapters 15 and 21.

 

 

 

 

Ben, our Candle Lighter of The Week, in action.

 

David Vanderpool

This morning, the last of the year 2017, I have a New Years story for you. Actually, it comes from the front page of last Sunday’s Dallas Morning News.  Mike Carrell saw it and gave me a heads up.

There is a guy named David Vanderpool.  His dad was a surgeon and David attended St. Mark’s Boys’ School.  When David was 15, he made a trip to Israel.  In the town of Nazareth he happened to get into a conversation with another 15 year old, a girl from Nazareth and a Christian. 

 

 

 

Cheryl reading The Blessing of the Candles.

 

 

At some point the girl asked David what he planned to do when he grew up.  David had not thought a lot about it, but assumed he would become a doctor like his dad.  David was impressed by the girl.  She had taught herself English.  He asked her what she would do.

“I will carry water and have babies,” she responded.  There were no other options.  David was stunned and embarrassed by his affluent and free life.

 

 

 

Even after the spectacular Christmas Eve (200 plus), Shonda, Ben, and David sing and play on.  

 

So, David did go to college at TX Tech and became a surgeon, but the girl’s response stayed with him.  He married Lauri and they had two sons and a daughter.  During this time two things took place. 

First, they made a number of medical relief trips to countries in Africa and South America where there were crises.  Secondly, David and Laurie made a promise to themselves that when their last child, Jacklyn went off to college, they would move to a third world country in need.

So, all went well for some probably 15 years, until 2013.  Jacklyn was going off to college.  Decision time.

 

 

 

John & Alison bringing up the Offertory of Bread (baked by Alison) and Wine.   What??  No wine, not even grape juice for everybody?   Too cold, slippery, and dangerous to have Jan bring the communion cups.  Thanks, Jan for staying home.

 

What did they do?  Yep, they sold their house and all their belongs, including a $20,000 pet guitar, set up a foundation called LiveBeyond, and moved to Haiti.  Haiti was chosen because they had already spent some time there after the 2010 earthquake.  They had to go back.

In the four years since their move to Haiti, the couple have set up a 60 acre complex with a hospital and school.  There was no clean water, no sewage process, no electricity in the village they chose because of its poverty, a town called Thomazeau.

 

 

 

The Great Father & Son Team, Cody & Ben.

 

A special joy came this year in the person of Jacklyn.  She finished college at A&M and decided she wants to live and work with her parents.

How are you going to emulate the Vanderpools in your village and in your neighborhood this New Year of 2018?    

Happy New Year.

 

 

 

Who wears these light up shoes?    Hint: he's an altar server.

Readings: Amos 61-7; Psalm 146, Praise the Lord My Soul; 1 Timothy 6, 11-16; Luke 16, 19-31. 

 

 

Intro to Readings

 

 

I want to talk about our first reading in a bit more detail than normal.  The Book of the Prophet Amos is extremely interesting in so many ways, yet we only have readings from it this year today and last Sunday, and on only one Sunday last year and none next year!! 

 

 

The book falls into the grouping referred to as the minor prophets, not due to their importance but more to the length of the books.  There are twelve books in this grouping, contrasting with the major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  The book was originally put together around the year 750 BCE and its main message is that the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah are in trouble because they have neglected the poor. 

 

 

Both Kingdoms are doing very well.  Both kingdoms have had peace and stable rule, but only some of the people are very wealthy.  Most are very poor.  One interesting aspect of the book is that it introduces the concept that all of the nations, not just the Jews, are under YHWH’s jurisdiction, and all will suffer because they have not followed God’s laws. 

 

 

Amos himself was a shepherd and his work is mainly a social commentary on the current injustices he sees in society.  He anticipates what we know will happen in 721, the invasion and destruction of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians.  Our reading today fits perfectly with the message in the gospel. 

 

 

 

Twenty sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily

 

I remember when the church changed the words of the “I confess” and added “and what I have failed to do”.  It added a new level to my understanding of sin.  It used to be that I sinned by doing something and now I was being told that I could also sin by NOT doing something! 

This is exactly what happens to the rich man in today’s gospel reading from Luke.  By all accounts he was a success- he did very well for himself by the world’s standards- he had very nice clothes and ate the finest foods every day!  There was only one problem – he didn’t do anything about the poor man parked outside his door.  Oh, he knew he was there, he even knew his nam.   He just failed to do anything about him.

 

The rich man saw himself as far superior to Lazarus.  Even in the afterlife he thought he could have Lazarus do his bidding.  He failed to see that all men are created equal and that we are all brothers and sisters in God’s eyes. 

It is worth noting that even though the rich man appears to have everything, he doesn’t have a name, whereas we do know the poor man’s name, Lazarus.  To further highlight the difference between the rich man and Lazarus, Luke gives us the detail about the dogs, which were considered unclean animals, licking Lazarus’ sores.

 

The story is aimed at the Pharisees, who thought of themselves as careful followers of the Law of Moses.  They were also wealthy.  Luke has two agendas running through the parable. 

One is the danger we fall into when we think we are doing things according to the law.  As Catholics our tradition could very easily lead us to fall into a similar trap.  If we obey all the rules, get all the boxes checked; so to speak, then we will end up in heaven.  It has a tendency to create a kind of mechanical process to our faith!  Plus we run the risk of then deciding that anyone who doesn’t follow those rules just won’t make it.  This was the whole problem, which so many of the Jews had with the whole message of Jesus.  They were scandalized by his behavior.  He ate with tax collectors and sinners!!

The second item on Luke’s agenda was the challenge of the resurrection!  The rich man thinks that if Lazarus would only reappear from the dead, then his brothers would change their behavior.  Belief in the resurrection isn’t as simple as seeing someone come back from the dead!

 

The message for us today:  make sure we are not mechanically just following a formula in our lives, and what does the resurrection mean to me today?

 

 

Picture 1:    Mass Beginning

 

Picture 2:   Communion

 

Picture 3:   Bobby handing over our check to CCAC

 

Picture 4:   Jackie receiving our $2000 monthly donation to the Collin County Adult Clinic

 

 

 Joshua 24, We will serve the Lord

Psalm 34, Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Ephesians 5, Wives should be subordinate to their husbands

John 6, Many of Jesus' disciples said, "This saying is hard."

 

 

Good News for Aggie & Alan, The doctor discharged Alan with a clean bill of health.  Congratulations!!

 

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Jackie, Mary, & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,     Richard & Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy for all these years & will miss you enormously, Becky

 

 

Thanks for excellent reading, Jackie.

 

Readings:

Download Readings 21st Ordinary Time 8-22-21

 

Homily by John Cade

Download Homily John Cade 08-22-21

 

 

And you too, Mary, great reading!   Thanks.

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;  For Alan Stryker;    For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique, & Frank;  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 Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

  

 

Today's team, John & John

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren  ;  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 12 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.

 

 

Peace, Cindy, Peace, Dee.

 

Birthdays:   Marilyn Ackerman

Anniversaries:   Banzhafs, 50

 

 

Richard sharing communion with Dee & John.

 

Community Finances,   August 22, 2021

Expenses: $200.10

Outreach: $300.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary reading her Special Blessing.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

May you learn to see your self

With the same delight,

Pride and expectation

With which God sees you in every moment.

 

To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue

 

 

Cheryl, the Dog Whisperer, and Aviana.   More Peace.

 

 

Readings:  Job, 7, 1-7, Is not man's life on earth a drudgery? (I will expand this reading); Psalm 147, 
Praise the Lord, who heals the broken hearted; 1 Corinthians, 9, 16-23; I have made myself a slave to all; Mark, 1, 29-39, They brought to him all who were ill.

Job:

Author: Unknown.  No book in the OT or NT has less known about it.  Called the most profound book of the OT.  It deals with the problem of evil, personal justification, and why bad things happen to good people.   Job himself could be historical, a literary creation, or a combination of the first two.

Date: It is guessed to be before the time of Moses and Egypt, i.e., earlier than 1300 BCE.

Structure: 3 poetic dialogs preceded by a prose introduction and ending with a prose conclusion.

 

Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People

I would like to talk this morning about why bad things happen to good people.

Once upon a time there was a good man named Job who lived in the land of Uz.  He had 7 sons and 3 daughters, a sign that he was especially blessed.  He not only had sons, but he had the special number of 7.

One day Yahweh was walking around heaven talking with his buddies when he ran into the devil.  "What have you been doing?" he asked.  "I have been walking around here and there," the devil responded. 

"Have you noticed how good my man Job is?"  "Yes,' says the devil, "but I bet he will curse you to your face if you stop protecting him and take away all his goodies."  "It's a bet," says Yahweh, "Just don't hurt him."

So a few days later while all of Job's 7 sons and 3 daughters where having a feast with their families, a storm blew up killed them all.  A messenger runs to tell Job of the horrible news. 

Shortly after that, another messenger races in and says lightening has just killed all his sheep and the shepherds.   Other messengers then run in saying Job's livestock have been rustled by robbers who killed all the farm hands.

Job is devastated, of course, but responds with the famous statement: "I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing.  The Lord gave, and now he has taken away.  May his name be praised." 

So Yahweh wins his bet.  But, when Yahweh and the devil meet up to settle their bet, the devil pushes by saying that he bets Job will curse Yahweh if the devil is allowed to hurt his body.  Not death, just hurt.  "Bet," says Yahweh.

The next day Job comes down with sores all over his body, like leprosy, and he has to go outside of town where the lepers go.  He sits in the town dump.  His wife now comes and his friends.  They all grieve. They also encourage Job to see what he has done bad.  Has he  cursed Yahweh?  Confess and repent.  Job proclaims his innocence.  But he is depressed and discouraged. 

(In East Africa I used to celebrate Mass for a small community of lepers.)

Finally, while not cursing Yahweh, he cries out his anguish saying (chapter 3): 

"Oh, God, put a curse on the day I was born; put a curse on the night when I was conceived!  Turn that day into darkness, God." (verses  2-4) 

"I wish I had died in my mother's womb or died the moment I was born.  Why did my mother hold me on her knees?" (verses 11-12) 

"Why let men go on living in misery?  Why give light to men in grief?" (verse 20) 

"Everything I fear and dread comes true.  I have no peace, no rest, and my troubles never end." (verses 25-26)

After some time in this situation, Yahweh comes along and speaks with him:

"Who are you to question my wisdom with your ignorant, empty words?  Stand up now like a man and answer the questions I ask you.  Were you there when I made the world?" (verses 2-3)

"Job, have you ever in all you life commanded a day to dawn?" (verse 12)

"Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea?  Have you walked on the floor of the ocean? "(verse 16)

"Have you been to the place where the sun comes up or the place where the east wind blows?" (verse 24)

After hearing all the numerous ways Yahweh reminds him of how insignificant he is, Job apologizes to Yahweh and promises to be a good boy from now on.  Yahweh restores his wealth and gives him 7 more sons and 3 more beautiful daughters.  He lives another 140 years a prosperous and happy man.

So does this answer the question why bad things happen to good people?  Contemporary scripture scholars find evidence that the happy ending of Job's story was a late addition, that the story ended simply with Job apologizing.  Not always is the Job story a happy ending.

For example, there is a kid, Timothy Cole, whose story still shakes me to this day.  He was a freshman at Tech in '85.  He was studying in his room in the apartment of his brother.  There were other kids in the house.  Timothy was accused of attacking a coed that same night and he was convicted.  The girl mistakenly identified him from a picture.  He was given a 25 year sentence. 

He was finally acquitted of the attack by a DNA match and the confession of another prisoner who did the attack.  The trouble was, the college freshman passed 14 years of his 25 year sentence.  Moreover, he died before he was exonerated.   Found dead in his cell.  An asthma attack. 

Pathetically the girl attacked repeatedly noted that the attacker smoked non stop and that she challenged him on it.  Timothy, because of his asthma, never smoked.  Moreover, when the guy who really did it tried to tell the local authorities in Lubbock, they did not even respond.  The guy had to write to the family of Timothy.  He said he heard Timothy crying in his cell and saying he never did it.

Timothy is a Job without a happy ending, a good kid who had a really bad thing happen to him.  This happens every day, folks. 

How do you answer the question?

Picture 1:    Delgados & Elwells, Bernadette & Gilberto, Marianne & George

Picture 2:    Jan & Geri

Picture 3:    Leo & pillow ready for nap

Picture 4:    Communion helpers, Mike & Rob & Beth

Picture 5:    John & Denni & Patricia

Picture 6:    The Kerns, Candy, Holly (on U.T. athletic scholarship, softball pitcher), Mike, Ben, Sam, & Stephen