Sunday Homily 12-9-12, 2nd Advent C

Acts 15:  It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage.

Revelation 21:  The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.

John 14:  The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.

Tom reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben

The Kiss of Peace

 

Birthdays:   

Outreach: $  300.00   

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Brent, thanking the community for a $2,000 check for Soul's Harbor

Rosemary's Blessing:

Grant us, Lord God,

a vision of your world as your

love would have it: 

a world where the weak are protected,

and none go hungry or poor; 

a world where the riches of creation are

shared, and everyone can enjoy them; 

a world where different races and cultures

live in harmony and mutual respect; 

a world where peace is built with justice,

and justice is guided by love.

Give us the inspiration and courage to

build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

From “Engaging our  Faith”, www.ucc.org

 Readings: (for Christmas Eve, 4:00, Midnight Mass readings)

Isaiah 9, 1-6, The People who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Psalm 96, Today is born our savior, Christ the Lord.

Titus 2, 11-14, The grace of God has appeared.

Luke 2, 1-14, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus….

Our Bambino, Emmit

 Isaiah: author, date, subject, today’s selection–

   Author: This is probably my most favorite book in the Old Testament.  Isaiah is one of the Big Three OT prophets along with Jeremiah & Ezekiel.  This is because of the size of the work, 66 chapters, but even more so because Isaiah is so beautiful and influential in the Christian story. 

There are really three Isaiahs, chapters 1-39, 40-55, & 56-66.  How do we know?  Simple.  Different styles of writing, different vocabularies, different slants to the message.

   Date: 1 Isaiah, our selection is put together ca. 700 BCE.  2  Isaiah, ca. 500 BCE; 3 Isaiah, ca. 400 BCE.

Cole lighting 5 candles with his parents, Chuck and Erin

 Subject: As always, there have been predictions of doom & destruction because of the badness of the people. 

Today’s selection: This passage, however, is the flip of this.  Listen for words like rejoicing, making merry, joy, peace, a God-hero Child is born.

Source:  Good News Bible, Bishop John Shelby Spong

The Gerwer gang making their stage debut.

A Christmas Story

I have a Christmas story I would like to tell you this Christmas Eve afternoon. 

It seems that a short while back there was a young man named Hayden.  He is about 25 years old, married, and a father of a couple of kids.

Cupcake of The Week to Rosemary Beavers, 20 today.

He is driving along one day and gets stopped by a cop.  The cop says that his inspection sticker is out of date. 

Hayden says he has no excuse why he has not taken care of it.  He had to make a decision recently.  It was get the car inspection or pay his due bills and in particular feed his family.  His salary did not cover everything this month. 

More Cupcakes of The Week to Ashley and Jeremy Ekes, 25 the 23rd, Sunday

The cop said he still had to give him a ticket.  He wrote it out, folded it,  gave it to Hayden, and drove away. 

Sadly Hayden took the ticket, put it on the seat, and then opened it.

Santa and his Elf appear.

Inside was a hundred dollar bill.

Hayden broke down and cried. 

Santa and his kids.

A couple of observations.

First, the cop was Plano Police, one from our very own Plano, our very back yard. 

Jake with his granddad, Jack.

Secondly, he also wants no publicity.  Hayden’s grandfather told the police department about their caring officer, so they knew.  The officer, however, wanted no pictures and no name. Apparently he has done this before.

Soul's Harbor, Dicers and dish dryers with Barry, The Dish Washer

Thirdly, I found the story in the editorial section of The Dallas Morning News Friday morning, December 14.  Know what else happened that day?  Newtown, CT. 

There may be tragedy in our world.  Still God visits us in special ways.

I could  ask you now how have you been visited recently or this year.  A good question.   However, I want to ask this:

When did you last give someone $100?

When will you do it next?

Jim and other volunteers prepared to serve Christmas dinner to the 50 plus men residing at Soul's Harbor.

Source: The Dallas Morning, News, December 14, 2012

Readings:  Isaiah 5, 1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4, 6-9; Matthew 21, 33-43. 

Isaiah:

• The biggest of the big 3 prophets not only because of the book's volume, 66 chapters, but because of the beauty of some passages. 

• Time written: before the Babylonian Captivity (ca. 590) chapters 1-39 seem to have been composed by the prophet.  After the Captivity (ca. 540) at least two followers seem to have composed chapters 40-66.

• Today's selection: talks about a vineyard worker who labors carefully to bring forth good grapes, but gets only weeds.  What does he do with the vines?  This story matches up with Matthew's parable.

The Parable of the Landowner with a Vineyard

Sometimes I encounter a parable that I find really difficult to understand.  This is one of them.  I wonder why the landowner would send his son to the tenants after twice they had killed his servants when they went to collect the produce. 

Obviously, as in the case of all parables, we are faced with multiple layers of symbolism.  Of course, the landowner represents Yahweh.  The tenants are the Jewish people.  Remember Matthew is writing both to Jews and Gentiles. He is warning the Jews that they are going to lose their preferential place in Yahweh's plan if they do not accept Jesus as The Savior. 

The son is Jesus, the savior, the man the Jews criticized and condemned to death.  But why would He send his son? 

I have one story about this that gave me an insight into the mind set of Yahweh and Matthew's intention with the parable.  You may have heard me tell the story three years ago, but it is all I got even to this day.

It concerns a red oak I planted years ago on the corner of Willow Lane and Inwood.  This is the south eastern corner of the Jesuit property.  I had just started planting trees in Dallas.  It may have been fall of '87 or fall of '88.  I planted a whole row of trees on both Inwood and Willow, edging the campus. 

On the Inwood side of the corner is a bus stop and students from various schools used to catch the bus there.  The winter after I planted the five gallon red oak, it was pulled out and thrown away.  I replanted.  Later in the year it was pulled out and thrown in the creek again.  I was hurt, mad, and especially frustrated because it was the tree on the very corner, Willow side.  It one day would shade the bus stop, in fact.

I waited.  I reflected.  Eventually I decided to plant again in the fall, but this time I was going to plant a tree two times the size and two times the cost.  I thought, 'maybe the kids will respect the bigger tree.  I really hoped to have a nice tree some day shading the people waiting for the bus. 

So I planted.  And waited some more.  Today a beautiful red oak shades the people waiting for the bus.  It is almost twenty years old.  

The parable of the landowner presents the man as somewhat idiotic but also ready to take revenge on the tenants who killed his servants and son.  I think I see two levels of symbolism.

On one level the landowner represents Yahweh who has, first, tried to deal reasonably with the tenants.  Then, secondly, Matthew indicates that Yahweh will put the wretched laborers to a wretched end, meaning the Jews are going to get it.

I see a second level of symbolism, which maybe Matthew did not intend.  The landowner who seems so idiotic represents a Yahweh who is truly idiotic.  But he is idiotic over his people because He loves them.  We are his people.  We are the tenants.   

My experience with the tree showed me that I can do idiotic things to make our place a better place to live in.  I was fortunate. 

What is your image of our God?

AUDIO: sorry, none today.

Chloe says, "Happy Easter, Everybody."

Readings:

Acts 10, 34, 37-43,   Peter proceeded to speak.

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, 11-18,  Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.

Jude also says, "Happy Easter, Everybody, and welcome in."

Seeing the Lord

I would like to talk this morning about seeing the Lord.  I would, also, like to suggest we see the Lord constantly and seldom realize it.  I have three short stories to illustrate the idea.

The first event happened here about two, maybe three weeks ago.  We were in the middle of our Sunday celebration.  I am pretty sure we were singing, so it could have been at the very beginning or during the responsorial psalm. 

Not to be outdone by those big kids, Charlotte says, "Happy Easter Everybody; where is that Easter Rabbit?

During the singing Leo was playing at the feet of his parents as he often does.  At a point, he gets up and starts walking slowly in front of the table as he often does.  Suddenly, however, he vanishes from sight.  I don’t think I was paying much attention to him. 

Then I sense he is just at my feet.  He had decided to slip under the table cloth hanging down in front of the table which we use as an altar.  He climbed in under the table.  And there he was right at my feet.

Christopher says, "Happy Easter from Amarillo."

Poor Shonda, as soon as she could finish singing and get over here, she comes over, pulls him out from under the table, and carries him off.  Leo did not cry or squeal or anything.  He looked content.

This was a see the Lord moment for me.  Why?  Two reasons.        

First, Leo was not afraid to wander around up front with everyone looking on.  He feels accepted by you people, the community.  Occasionally, Emma does it, walking by sweetly smiling at everyone.  Georgie, you used to do a bit of this in your day.  This is amazing and I see the Lord in the kids and in you folks when you accept the kids.

The Roberts.

Secondly, Leo is not afraid of The Old Geezer.   Parents have told me since the days of St. Marks, “My kids think you are God.”  I am sure many of you can see the resemblance. 

I think when I was a little kid I saw the priest as some God figure.  Trouble was, they were all stern and scary.  I would never have done what Leo did, nor anything close to it.  I grew up with fear, ultimately, fear that I was going to hell because I was such a bad kid.

Emma, who is always ready to welcome everybody, says, "When do we begin that Easter egg hunt?"

So if Leo and the kids think I am something like God and they are not afraid of me, I am overjoyed.  This is one of my goals in our community.  No fear spirituality.

The second event took place last night in Granbury.  We did the wedding of Ron and Barb Senter’s second daughter, Rebecca.  I saw the Lord in those people and especially in Rebecca, who had a difficult time in her adolescent years and has turned into one marvelous person. 

"Where is that Easter Rabbit, say the Gerwers kids.

I was so touched by her.  As she walked down the aisle with Ron, her dad, she began to cry and cry.  Of course, that got me going.  I saw the Lord last night.

The third event took place Thursday afternoon.  See this turquoise thumb.  This says, “She made it, the last of 18 chemo treatments, success over ovarian cancer, NED, no evidence detected, Jackie Urbanczyk.”  We had a celebration at her house Thursday after her last treatment. 

There that rabbit is.

Three times in three days: Leo, Rebecca, Jackie, I saw the Lord. 

And you?

Fred and Maureen celebrating 51 years and Fred 76 years. So he wants 2 Cupcakes of The Week!

Says Rick, "You missed my birthday party yesterday, but I am still celebrating today.  Welcome in, Everybody."

Readings: 

Jeremiah 1, 4- 5, 17-19,   Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.

Psalm 71,  I will sing of your salvation.

1 Corinthians 12, 31-13 4-13,  As the body is one.

Luke 4,  21-30,  Today this passage is fulfilled in your hearing.

 This morning we will read the Gospel first, then Jeremiah, and finally Corinthians.  I want to highlight Corinthians, it is so special.   The homily will come after the first paragraph, before the special treatise on Love.

Good as it gets!

Jeremiah observations:

Who:  One of the Big 3 and my second favorite behind Isaiah, whom we will hear from next Sunday.  Why a favorite: because he shares his feelings with gusto. 

When:  you can guess it, before and during the Babylonian Captivity.  Notice how much prophetic energy is concentrated around this one event?  Shows how big it was in Jewish history.  Keep 555 before Christ as the beacon date. 

Suit up time.

What: you can guess this, too.  Criticism of behavior, warning of punishment from God, and eventually a better day.

What today: Jeremiah’s call by God to be his man, really Everyperson’s call to be God’s special.  This call theme carries through our next 2 readings, especially the next one, The Big One.

Can there be a better welcome than this from Cindy & Dee!

A Special Reading, 1 Corinthians

Years ago when I used to do a  lot of weddings, like at St Marks,  I would hear this treatise on Love and I would groan, ‘Not again.’

While still at St. Marks, all of a sudden at another wedding, I tuned in to the reading.  Love is patient.  Love is kind.  That applies to me.  I could be more patient and more kind.  I could be more loving.  (Don’t ask Rosemary)

Equally welcoming is Dear Jan who arranges communion for everybody.

Right around this time there was an instruction from the diocese or Fr. Smythe, ‘Don’t touch the kids.’  I thought about this and realized that I was not hugged enough when I was a little boy.  For one thing my mom was sick a lot and even had some operations.  I remember being taken in by some family friends and being homesick big time when I was a little guy, maybe pre-school.

Elevation Time.

So, once ordained & home from East Africa, I remember one Sunday standing in the entrance to the cafetorium ready to begin the 10:30 Mass.  I decided right then that I will continue to hug all these kids to show them they are loveable and good stuff.  Maybe they will think God really loves them.  A lot of those kids thought I was God once I suited up, so their parents said.

Having a  nice vision, Hue?

To send this message is also why I used to give kids, and, in fact everybody, two or three Hershey kisses whenever they came to me for reconciliation, especially for first confessions. 

The side effect of this, of course, was that my line went on forever and poor Deacon Mike had to stay late to shut down the church.  Everybody else was long gone.  I just wanted to say, ‘Kid you are not bad.  God thinks you are good and a neat kid.’  

Buddy reading our Blessing of The Winter Candles.

Emma lighting The Winter Candles.

I  have a handful of very special, positive Scripture passages.  They are like compasses.  This Corinthians passage helps me to continue to be patient & kind and to remind all of you that you are lovable.  (Well, maybe not Sir Charlie)

Teamwork!

Readings: 1 Kings 19, 16-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5, 13-18; Luke 9, 51-62.

1 Kings: This book continues the history of the Israelite kings begun in the two previous books of Samual. First was Samuel, a judge, then Saul, the first king, then the Great King David.  David’s activities make up a large part of this book.  When David dies the kingdom gets split into north and south.  Things go badly.  Along comes Elija the prophet.  This is a sign that times are bad.  We read in today’s section about the time Elija chooses Elisha as his successor. 

A Role Model

I would like to talk this morning about my Aunt Kitty with her glorious 100 years. She has always been a hero of mine and after our visit this past week she still is. We stayed in the retirement home where Kitty lives. Consequently, were able to make numerous small visits over the day & a half we were there. One attendant even asked me if I lived there now!

Since we had just been talking two weeks ago about the qualities of a peaceful & whole person, I was looking at Kitty with the 6 qualities in mind, e.g., curiosity & hope, gratitude & love, zest and, my own, humor. I spotted at least 3. 

Above all else, I was struck about how peaceful she was. At one point in our visits she said that while she had not wanted to live until she was 100, "It is not bad," she claimed. This said a lot to me, because over the past 10 years Kitty often told us that she did not want to live to 100. 

I asked her how she got to this peace & 100 years. "Golf", she replied.  She loved to play golf.  I think I see here that zest for living that I mentioned was one of the 6 characteristics of a whole & peaceful person. She, also of course, was famous for her yellow Buick convertible.  Which leads to the second quality I remember about her.

Her humor.  I can still remember her laughing at my uncle Frank and going into hysterics with my mom.  The two of them were close in age and spirit.  They laughed often over a time when the two of them as girls in Pittsburg were driving along behind a streetcar and went right out over a bridge. They had to get rescued. Kitty was notorious as an air head and my mom was right with her.   

One year when I was returning to East Africa from a home visit, I toured Kitty, my mom, and their older sister Pauline around Ireland in a little, two door, red economy sized car. Folks, it was lucky that Ireland is so small because we did not get started in the morning until about 9:30 or 10:00 and then we began looking for a place to stay around 4:00. Plus we stopped for lunch & morning & afternoon tea.  During all this time they laughed non stop.

During our visits Kitty often poked fun at her situation and age, when she remembered she really was 100. And when she did not remember, she laughed at herself. 

Besides humor and zest for life, Kitty loved her friends. While we were with her she said how much she missed her pals Jenny Gooch and Betty Lynch. Betty had three paintings on Kitty’s wall.  Especially she missed my mom. In fact, she was disappointed she had not heard from her recently.  Her long term memory is shaky. She did not remember that mom had died about 15 years ago.  She was even disappointed Pauline had not written her.  Pauline lived in NYC and died before my mom.

One moment after she forgot her age, however, she tuned directly into me and asked how I liked marriage, what was my relation with the Jesuits, and was I still working actively as a priest. Even though she became Presbyterian when she married my Uncle Frank, she has been totally interested in and supportive of my process.  And she remembed clearly. 

Of all the qualities my aunt shows, humor is her best. 

What is your best quality?

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