Sunday Homily, October 27, 2013, 30th Ordinary Time C cycle
Readings:
Sirach 35, 12-14, 16-18, He hears the cry of the oppressed.
Psalm 34, The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 16-18 I have competed well.
Luke 18, 9-14, Two people went up to the temple to pray.
Sirach observations:
Again we take
up one of the books of the Apocrypha, the 12 books written in Greek and not
originally considered part of the Bible. This book is basically a
collection of Jewish wisdom statements and teachings, like, "A father who loves his son will whip him often, so that he can be proud of him later." 30, 1
Who: Joshua, who was translated from Hebrew into Greek by his grandson.
Date: ca. 200 years before Christ.
Our selection in chapter 35 talks about the nature of god
and what happens to the person who serves god. It sets up Luke's parable
about the pharisee & the tax collector in the temple.
I love this little parable about the two people who went up to pray in
the temple. Two lines are especially
sneaky. The first line is where Jesus
says he has a parable about people who are convinced of their own righteousness
and who despise everyone else. That old
sense of superiority.
That’s me! I’ll give you an
example.
I mentioned once that I think I am a hot bike mechanic. Well, I also can think I am a hot shot bike
rider. I have ridden the 5 Boro in NY, the Hotter ‘N Hell
Hundred, and I have ridden across Iowa for a week. Hot Stuff. Am I not super?
One morning this past summer Rosemary & I went for a ride around The
Lake, White Rock, The Jewel. We picked
up the White Rock Creek Trail at Northwood Park on Royal Lane just east of
Central. It is about 4 miles to The Lake.
I have what I call “rabbits.”
Rabbits are other bikers I want to beat,
motivators for me to really push it.
This particular morning as Rosemary & I are getting our bikes set up
at the parking lot, I see three guys go zooming by heading for the lake. When I tell Rosemary that I think I see some
rabbits, she knows what that means. We will
start together and I will race ahead to catch these characters. Then I will wait for her at our arranged meeting
place on the north bridge over The Lake.
So I take off after these three bikers. I can see them in the distance
occasionally. They have all the colorful
clothing and good street bikes as opposed to hybrids. They are a challenge. I follow them under the bridges at Walnut Hill,
Fair Oaks, Abrams, Skillman, and even the Dart Bridge.
I finally come up behind them just before the Northwest Hwy. Bridge. I follow them for a bit, watching for an
opportune straight stretch so I can pass them.
We are all moving at a good pace, 16-20 miles per hour.
Suddenly I notice something about the third guy. He has a withered right leg. I don’t even know how he pedals his bike, let
alone pedaling at such a pace on this winding trail. His leg is there and his foot has a shoe, but
it is like shriveled up. He must use the leg as just dead weight to
push down the right pedal.
I cannot pass them. I am
embarrassed at my own sense of superiority and impressed with his
achievement.
Where they finally went I do not know.
We parted when I stopped at the north bridge to wait for Rosemary. I have never seen the guy again. Was he some divine messenger sent to humble
me, to say to me ‘Whoever thinks he is superior will be humbled’? The second good line.
A blessing hidden in biking is that just as soon as you think you are hot stuff, along comes somebody who rides by you like as if you are waiting for the Dart train. Try, try, and try as I might, I cannot catch that person.
I confess I still chase rabbits, but I often think about the man with
the withered leg. And feel appropriately humbled.
Over whom do you feel superior?