Sunday Homily 2-19-12, 7th Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 43, 18-19, 21-22, 24-25, In the desert I make a way; Psalm 41, Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you; 2 Corinthians 1, 18-22, He has put his seal upon us; Mark 2, 1-12, They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Laissez les bons temps roule! Let the good times roll!
This is Mardi Gras weekend. There’s lots of information online about Mardi Gras and its history. A few things:
- There was a mid-February celebration in ancient Rome in the 2nd century honoring a Roman pastoral god. When Christianity arrived in a big way after the year 300 and Emperor Constantine, a Christian interpretation was given to that custom, gradually changing it to a festival prior to Ash Wednesday and the Lenten preparation for Easter. As Christianity spread throughout Europe and the western world, Mardi Gras went with it.
- Centuries later, when the French explorer Iberville landed near the mouth of the Mississippi River, south of what is now New Orleans, it was on March 3, 1699, which was Mardi Gras Day in France. Iberville named the spot where they landed and set up camp “Point du Mardi Gras”, Mardi Gras Point.
- Much more recently, in 1827, when some college students returned to New Orleans from France, they brought with them the Mardi Gras celebration with the elaborate costumes. In 1872 the Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch Romanoff visited New Orleans and was given the honor of choosing colors for the Mardi Gras celebration. When he chose purple, gold and green, merchants purchased cloth and other merchandise in those colors. There is a story that LSU bought up most of the purple and gold cloth and that Tulane then bought up what was left, the green cloth. Today LSU’s colors are purple and gold and Tulane’s colors are green and white.
- The biggest celebrations today, outside of New Orleans, are in Lafayette Louisiana, the Cajun area I’m from, Mobile Alabama and Galveston Texas, and of course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A traditional food in Cajun Louisiana is boudin sausage, traditionally made from rice, chopped liver and hot pepper spices. I brought some boudin to share after Mass.
We also have Mardi Gras beads (thanks to Chuck and Sandra) which are symbolic of the joy we share through-out the Mardi Gras season, which runs all the way from the 12th day of Christmas (Jan. 6) to the day before Ash Wednesday. We will pass them out now for you to wear. I am wearing a fancy one given to me years ago.
A word about today’s readings.
The reading from Isaiah has the author speaking for God saying, “I am doing something new. ..It is I who wipe out your offenses, your sins I remember no more.”
The reading from 2nd Corinthians is Paul telling the community that Jesus was not sometimes ‘yes’ and sometimes ‘no’; he is always “Yes” for us…and that is what we say Amen to when we come together in liturgy.
The Gospel of Mark is basically a Passion Drama with an extended introduction. The final 6 chapters out of only 16 are about Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem and his suffering and death. Today’s reading in Chapter 2 is one of those introductory stories that demonstrate the tension building between Jesus and the Pharisees leading up to the Passion Story. It is also one of the stories about forgiveness freely given.
Sermon, John Cade
I have a few thoughts as we celebrate Mardi Gras time and prepare to enter the season of Lent and Easter. My thoughts come from memories of myself and my classmates at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in the early 50’s. I have memories of the life I was living in the seminary—mainly of study, prayer, silence and a sense of austerity and seriousness.
I remember well the ‘examination of conscience’ we practiced together in the chapel every night. I remember how I, and my classmates, spent that time in self-examination and really self-judgment about our faults and weaknesses and our bads. This could easily turn into a habit of diminishing ourselves, of judging ourselves as ‘less than’. I have questioned how helpful this was in becoming more sensitive to the goodness and blessings touching us every day.
I remember also how, on special occasions, we were allowed off campus. Believe me, this was BIG. We would put on our black suits, white shirts and black ties and black fedoras—the required outfit. Often I would visit my sister who lived nearby in uptown New Orleans. She and her husband had small children then and I remember my nieces and nephews as not just smart and talented, but fun and playful and full of life.
Sometimes, when it was Mardi Gras weekend, I would join them on their own street, Henry Clay Avenue, or on Magazine Street or Carrollton Avenue, to view one of the many Mardi Gras parades. Those were exciting and fun times, full of festivity and life. When I returned to the seminary that evening, the contrast was tangible, almost like a time warp.
I have three thoughts that arose from those memories.
First, there is a place for self-reflection and mindfulness and peaceful recollection that can enrich our lives and make for a deeper connection with our earth and universe and with God who calls us to forgiveness and connection. Of course, experiencing forgiveness and connection is more likely if I’m not stuck in negative judgment of myself.
Second, there is place for sharing our joy and peace, and our pain and struggles, as we live together in the circles of family and work and community. We can develop more sensitivity to our connection with others and with the Spirit moving in these circles of life. One ‘revelation’ is to discover, and hopefully accept, that the people in our lives are truly ‘other’; they are not me and need not become like me or what I want them to be.
Third, these places are not separate worlds. Our inner lives with ourselves, and our relationships with all the others in the circles of our lives, are intertwined and always connecting. Forgiving and accepting myself, and bringing that forgiveness and acceptance to everyone in all the circles of my life, is a way of saying “Yes” to life itself. Next week John will share some concrete ways we can say ‘Yes’ for others in our larger community. Today, as we come together around the table, we are called to say ‘Yes’ to the possibility of forgiveness and acceptance for ourselves and in all our relationships.
The question I leave for us today is: As we move from Mardi Gras to the Passion Drama and Easter, in what ways will we say “yes” to ourselves and to those around us?
Picture 1: Mass Begins, John Cade celebrating
Picture 2: Offertory, Ray & Claire with CC & Kayla
Picture 3: Lambrini & Caliope
Picture 4: Chuck
Picture 5: Mardi Gras in person, Cathy & Diane at brunch
Picture 6: Brunch with Maureen & Fred, Joe & Sandra
Picture 7: Gerald & Charlie
Picture 8: Bethany & Ray