Sunday Homily, November 9, 2014, Lateran Basilica

Readings: Leviticus 19, 1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103, The Lord is Kind and Merciful (the best); 1 Corinthians 3, 16-23; Matthew 5, 38-48.

Homily

 “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  But we are not, and so the Sacrament of Penance, the fourth in the list as we learned it! 

 So far we have discussed the first three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, and come to the understanding that they are best identified as Sacraments of Initiation.  Moreover, in their original expression, they would all have been celebrated as one sacrament. 

As we received the sacraments as children, we almost received them in this order.  Except that Penance was dropped in before we made our First Communion, and so intruding in the sequence.

Today I want to try to cover, briefly, the history of the sacrament of Penance.  The very early Christian community didn’t have the sacrament.  The thinking was quite simple, if one repented and believed in Jesus and was baptized, one would not sin again! 

 This early community was a very close community, and was also being persecuted for its faith, and so they knew each other very well and we have several references in Paul’s letters to the need to throw someone out if they sinned. 

By the year 150 we do find that the communities recognize three sins, which required special handling; murder, adultery and heresy.  For this there began a practice of what we will call “Canonical Penance”.  It was not pleasant! 

 Since it seemed inconceivable that a baptized person would sin, then they were excluded from the community.  They had to perform all kinds of public penance, wear special clothes and fast; and maybe, after many years of this, they might be welcomed back into the community on Holy Thursday.  And by the way, you could only ask for forgiveness once in your lifetime!  And so began the practice of “death bed” forgiveness. 

Baptism was generally recognized as the sacrament for having sins forgiven, and so it became common to delay receiving baptism until one was an adult and past the youthful years of indiscretions.  This almost ended the life of the sacrament of Penance. 

But then along came the Irish Monks!!  Sitting around in their monasteries, they began to talk with one another and there developed the practice finding a “Soul Friend” or Anam Cara to tell ones sins to.  This was the beginning of Confession as we know it, but there was still one missing ingredient.  Absolution. 

 This action did not get officially added until the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.  But back to the Irish Monks.  They ended up bringing Christianity back to Europe since it had been all but wiped out there by invading barbarians. 

To help with this type of confession, they began to develop penances appropriate to the sin and thus developed books with prescribed penance.  And these penances were extremely harsh, no three Hail Marys for the Irish! 

 Of course given man’s ingenuity, the next thing we find is that those with some money could hire others to do the penance for them! 

 It was Peter Lombard in the twelfth century who first listed Seven Sacraments, with penance being number four, and it was also in this century that we first meet the famous words “Ego te absolvo” which were quickly defended in the next century by St. Thomas Aquinas as the only way to have sins forgiven. 

 By the time the Reformation came some four centuries later, we find the Council of Trent only further declaring that this was the way penance always was and would always be celebrated!! 

 Now in our time, with the aid of better church history, the Second Vatican Council began to restore the communal aspect of the sacrament, and focused on Reconciliation rather than on penance and confession.  

That effort has tended to fall on barren ground as two things have happened.  One was that we all stopped going to confession altogether and, secondly, it seems that the current hierarchy are bound and determined to undo much of what Vatican II introduced.

 Why did we stop going to confession?  I believe there are a couple of reasons.  Traditionally people were not well educated and therefore took everything which the church said without question. 

In the last century, most of us have been educated at least to secondary level and a large number thru third level.  We are able to think for ourselves.  The push by Vatican II towards ‘personal responsibility’ in our relationship with God further aided this. 

 Right after Vatican II came the Encyclical Humane Vitae, on birth control, which most adult Catholics choose to ignore.  Follow that with the current pedophile crisis and who wants to confess to a priest!!

 But as I said at the very beginning, we do sin.  So now what can we do about it?  Well recall that penance is not the only sacrament in the business of forgiving sins.  Baptism does, so does the Sacrament of the Sick, (more about that sacrament on another Sunday) and so does the Eucharist. 

 Recall that there are numerous times in our celebration when we acknowledge our sinfulness and even hear the words “this is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”.  So the church is possibly heading towards greater recognition of the need for reconciliation rather than confession. 

 I am going to suggest that during one of the Sundays in Lent, we have a celebration of Reconciliation with our Eucharist.  There are even two Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation in our missals, but more about this later.  There is no question, but that we sin.  There is also no question but that the whole message of Jesus was one of reconciliation: remember the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep.  God does love us, and definitely does not want us to stay away when we fail. 

 Just because Confession has vanished, sin has not.  And we can too easily become very casual about our relationship with God and our community.  There is a place for reflection and acknowledgement of our sins, we have it each time we celebrate mass at the beginning with the Penitential Rite, and maybe its time we found an Anam Cara, a Soul Friend.

Picture 1:   Mass beginning    

Picture 2:   The Nursery, Zoe, Michelle, Torri & Buddy, Randolph, Georgie, Leo & Bernadette

Picture 3:   Leo with Wendy

Picture 4:   Torri with her granddad, Gilberto

From Jim & John, "Welcome in, Everybody." 

Readings:

Ecclesiastes, 1,2; 2, 21-23,  Pretty pessimistic.  Author having a bad day?

Psalm 90, If today you hear his voice, harden not you hearts.  

Colossians 3, 1-5, 9-11,  Think of what is above, not of what is on earth

Luke 12, 13-21,  There was a rich man

So good to have you back, Dee, especially looking so good.

The First reading from Ecclesiastes reminds us that when a person passes he or she can’t take any of their worldly things with them.

Our Second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians reminds us that greed is idolatry; for it is a love of wealth; rather than a love of God.

Good Morning, Patricia!

Homily on the Gospel reading:

Here in Chapter 12 of Luke, a nondescript man comes to Jesus seeking a favorable decision regarding some inheritance that he is hoping to receive from his older brother. Jesus used this event to address the crowd with the wisdom to be on guard against all forms of greed.

Watch out for this crazy guy, Everybody.  I knew him way back when he was a nice little high school, kid.

Following Jesus’ advice the older brother has put their extended family in mind.  He will not allow himself or his younger brother to fail in their responsibility to put their extended family ahead of their desire for possessions.   The older brother had taken a course of action to enhance the harvest from their father’s land.

Three of the Candle Lighting Team, Zoe, Tori, & Georgie.

Now, there is nothing more in Luke’s chapter 12 about the relationship between the younger man and his older brother; however Luke has no intention of forgetting about them!  Each of the gospels form two complementary stories.   We will encounter the brothers again in a chapter 15! There, the younger son said to his father, “give me the share of the inheritance that would come to me.  The father divided the inheritance between them…and a few days later the younger brother took his inheritance with him to a foreign land where he squandered it on riotous living.

Mike homilizing on the Luke gospel.

Recall that when the prodigal son came home asking to be forgiven, the story did not end. Is there a story like this in your immediate family? Harden not your hearts.

Married life: carry your cross??

 Readings:

1 Samuel 1, 20-28, Hannah conceived and bore a son whom she called Samuel.

Psalm 84, Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

1 John 3, 1-2, 21-24, We are God’s children.

Luke 2, 41-52, After 3 days they found him in the temple. 

Candles lit, Mass begins

Samuel observations: who, when, what, our passage with a story

Who:

          –about whom: Samuel, the last judge ruler of the Israelites and the first of the Big Three, that is, Samuel, Saul, and The Great King David, a fascinating Old Testament character. 

          –by whom: not written by Samuel, but a compilation of numerous sources.

When:  The Samuel figure lived around  1000 years before Christ.  As far as being put together into a unit, being familiar as you are with the Big Three Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, when they did their prophet job,  and the influence of the Babylonian Captivity, around 600-550, yes, you are right if you guess that the work apparently was assembled at this same time.  The Jewish leaders were attempting to preserve their community as a tribe-nation.  

What:  a Jewish history lesson, fantasized greatly, and attempting to give a divinely chosen character to the Israelites’ heredity.  Originally there were two books, Samuel and Kings.  Now there are 4.  How come?  A simple answer.

Originally, it seems, Samuel was one scroll written in Hebrew.  It was translated into Greek.  Hebrew has no vowels and therefore takes up less space.  Greek has vowels.  Therefore, two scrolls were needed to write out the book of Samuel and thus it became Samuel I and II.   Sort of amusingly simple.

Our Emma

The Story: (chapter 1)

          The 4 characters: Samuel’s mom, Hannah; her husband Elkanah; Elkanah’s second wife, Peninnah; & the temple priest, Eli.

          There was this man, Elkanah, who lived with his two wives in Ramah.  He loved them both.  Over the years Peninnah had numerous children, but Hannah had none.  Despite this, Elkanah had a special love for Hannah.

Peninnah used to laugh at and mock Hannah, who became depressed, often would not eat, and cried a lot.

One day Hannah was in the temple crying over her inability to have children.  At one point she promised that if she had a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service.  She continued to pray, mouthing her prayer silently.

Eli, the priest, was sitting in the back of the temple watching Hannah.  He thinks she is drunk and scolds her, “Stop making a drunken spectacle of yourself.  Stop your drinking and sober up.”

Hannah, of course, is mortified and defends herself, saying she has no children and is miserable.  Eli believes her and tells her to go in peace and may God give you what you ask.

Guess what happens….

Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter's Study Bible, Bible Gateway.com, Wikipedia

Our Harper

The Family

This morning I would like to say a few words about the family, especially in connection with what happened in Newtown, CT. 

When the news first hit me, like millions of others, I think I was in denial, then angry, then in tears.  As time went on I would occasionally hear or see some snippet of news asking the question why this boy went off like he did.   Everyone seemed perplexed by this.

John & Karen

When I thought more, taking into my experience as a priest and with psychology, I kept thinking, this is not difficult.  I see three factors: nurture, nature, and environment.  And maybe all three together.  This is how it touches us.  Let me explain each one.

Nurture.  I immediately asked myself, what did he not get that he needed to grow up balanced.  What basic needs were not met?  What did I need, what did you need growing up?  I would propose 4 things, affection, acceptance, encouragement, and training.  I would include time here, too, though it is assumed with the first three. 

What happens when I do not have these needs attended to, the result?  I am hurt.  How does hurt often manifest?  Anger.

Cupcake of the Week to Tom & Teresa for 45 years

Nature.   This is a tough one.  Psychological disorder.  I have seen young kids who probably were getting nurture, but were out of control, impulsive, even violent.  The result: anger. 

Modern medication can certainly help a young person with such a disorder.  Sometimes it just does not work.

Environment.  This obviously involves the home atmosphere.  But it includes extended family, school, and neighborhood.  A lot of abuse can take place at school.  Bullying.   Result: hurt.  Manifestation: anger.

Cupcake of The Week #2 to Meredith on her birthday

Also under environment I would include what is offered on TV, electronic games, and news from other tragedies.  Who right now are the young people out there who want to emulate Newtown or Columbine?  The example is contagious for a kid. 

What has this got to do with you and me?  It has this to do with you and me: we are family.  We can nurture, whether we are parents, grandparents, teachers, mentors, coaches, scout leaders. 

One of the people who nurtured me in 7^th & 8^th grade was Frank Hart, my old coach, scout leader, and teacher.  We are still close friends.

Shonda and Ben

We as a Catholic spiritual community have the honor and privilege of nurturing all the marvelous kids who join with us on Sunday mornings.  May they take away a positive image of themselves from their time here.  May they take with them an image of an affectionate and accepting God. 

Affection, acceptance, encouragement, training.  For whom are you doing this today?

Readings:

1 Kings  3, 5, 7-12,   The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream one night.

Psalm 119,   Lord, I love your commands.

Romans 8, 28-30,  All things work for good who love God.

Matthew  13, 44-52,  The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.

Starting Mass

Homily

Some of you are aware that Judy and I were recently in Iowa for a memorial celebration of her mother’s life.   Judy’s mother came to what would be our birthplace in Iowa from a farm in Missouri to take Nurse’s training from nuns of the order of St. Francis who came from Peoria, Illinois. They had had been sent there some years earlier to serve in a hospital and to assist doctors who were also being trained in Keokuk.  These nuns served another purpose for us by catechizing Marie; she received the sacraments of the Church there when she was 21. The good news of Jesus Christ, the treasure buried in the field, the pearl of great value, the net used by the disciples to catch men, and the instruction on the kingdom of heaven had become the desire of her heart.

John reading 1 Kings

This town where Judy and I were born has a beautiful park.  It is the heart of the town and Judy began the first part of our memorial celebration of Marie there, with a reading from the Proverbs 31; the reading was part of the old spoken of in today’s gospel.  The theme of our celebration was Marie as a giver of goodness and justice.   I carried the theme forward with a reading that I gave to begin the service we had at the gravesite.  It was from the Letter of James where he reminds a sect of Jewish Christians of the Perfect law, we are to love one another as Christ has loved us.  This new way of loving had fulfilled the Royal law from Leviticus of the OT, to love your neighbor as yourself.  

Jean reading Romans

 In our first reading today from First Kings, Solomon has asked God for an understanding heart so that he could better serve God’s people wisely.  How were we shown this in 1 Kings? Recall the parable where Solomon determined which of the two prostitutes was the true mother of the child they had brought to him.

Mike

The wisdom that a scribe had read or heard about Solomon inspired him to construct that parable.   We were told last week that the seed sown by Christ spoken of in the parable was the Father’s word given to us by his Son. Today we were told that the treasure buried in the field, and the pearl of great value and the net sown in the sea to capture people is the good news of Jesus Christ that fulfills the wisdom of Solomon of the first reading.

Wendy, Shonda, & Ray

When the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, the priests disappeared.  Scribes who were the interpreters of the Law and Prophets were still involved in the Sabbath Synagogue Service for Jews.  Recall that this service was built around a calendar of readings from the Law and the Prophets  and the singing of the Psalms to praise God and a teaching by the Scribes on the OT reading.  [It was the liturgy of the Word of the Jews.] For the Jews who became Christians, disciples of the kingdom of God, the Christian Liturgy of the Word would fulfill the Sabbath Synagogue Service. The gospel reading would  fulfill the expectation of the coming of the Messiah given in the OT reading; the homily given on the gospel reading replaced the OT teaching.  [This couldn’t happen, however, until the first gospel was written, copied and given to the Scribes. But who were the inspired writers of the gospels and its parables, and where did they come from?

Zoe

 I propose to you that today’s gospel reading suggests to us that a good number of Scribes had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah. They believed that the sayings and teachings and writings of Jesus fulfilled that expectation given within the Law and the Prophets. They not only believed but wanted a good news of the Messiah preserved. Inspired Scribes, who were rabbis and disciples of the kingdom of God, were like a head of a household who took from their treasure both the new and old. The old was taken by the scribes from the OT; the new taken from the writings, teachings and sayings of Jesus, or in the case of this Matthew gospel, from earlier gospels.  The Sabbath Synagogue Service that kept Judaism alive they fulfilled by writing the gospels in parables so that Christianity, in harmony with the Law and Prophets, would be preserved.

Georgie

Kevin and Leo

Readings:

Isaiah  42, 1-4, 6-7  I have formed you to open the eyes of the blind.

Psalm 29,  The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Acts  10, 34-38,  God shows no partiality.

Matthew 3, 13-17, After Jesus was baptised, he came up from the water.

Bailey says, "Hi, Everybody, welcome."

Isaiah reminders—

 Author: This is Isaiah #2, the composer of chapters 40-55.  Isaiah is my favorite book and Isaiah 2 I love the most.  As John Cade pointed out a while back, Isaiah 2 is used by Handel in his work, The Messiah, another of my favorites.

 Date:  Ca. 555 before Christ.  The Jewish people of Jerusalem are in the Babylonian Captivity.

Delaney, Bailey's big sister, says, "Yes, welcome to a fun community."

 Today’s Message: Hope and promise of a better time with emphasis on 1. being chosen, and 2. being chosen to bring light to the other nations, sight to the blind, and freedom to prisoners, very consoling and moving even today. 

Isaiah 2 is aiming his remarks at the Jewish tribe.  Later, after Jesus has come and died, the gospel writers applied the message to Jesus, saying God had chosen him  to do all the things the Prophet mentioned. Handel takes this approach.

Brady and Cameron ready to celebrate their 6th Birthday

Open the Eyes of the Blind?  Me?  I’m blind myself.

This morning, Folks, I would like to talk about the beautiful lines from Isaiah II, where he tells the people that they are chosen for good things.

In particular, they are chosen to give sight to the blind and freedom to prisoners.  This is what we are baptized to.

Reid and Trey say, "Guess whose 6th birthday is Thursday."

The message of this passage has motivated me as a Jesuit, as a priest, as a psychotherapist, and in my decision to go to East Africa.  I think to myself, ‘Maybe I can bring a little light and a little freedom to someone.’   Physically not so much as psychologically and spiritually. 

Trouble is, I constantly discover that I am the blind one or the one more in prison.  I can give you the most recent example. 

As the newest member of our community and a new jewel in our world, Charlotte gets a Cupcake of The Week along with Chloe, Andrew, and Claire.

Rosemary & I have returned to dancing, as some of you probably know. Every Monday night we go to the Senior Center where they specialize in dancing for old geezers.  All types of dancing, ballroom, country western, line, swing, and so on.  And can some of those geezers dance.

We have met some neat people and we have noticed some special couples.  One couple looks like they are out on their first date.  They always dance close and slowly.

Emma at the beauty parlor, "who is next?"

We saw another couple that had us curious.  The guy was a nice looking elderly guy, slender, and a good dancer.  He looked a little like Colonel Sanders, but without the beard.

With him and always with him was an attractive young girl, really young like in her late 20’s or 30’s, long black hair and slender figure.  While Rosemary & I will dance 2 or 3 dances and then sit one out, this couple never sits out and they always stay close together. 

Kiera says, "Where has this community been all my life?"

Guess what.  My curiosity and speculation level was really high with this couple.  I asked a lady we know one evening and she responds that, yes, the couple is a curiosity for everyone.  All are wondering.  This lady tells us that there is an age minimum to get in, like 50, and she is quite a bit younger than 50.  She should not be there and is only there because he brings her and dances every dance with her.

They seem quite congenial, dance well together, and pretty much keep to themselves.   Naturally, I am surmising the guy has a young, trophy bride.

Makela, Kiera's big sister, arriving full of charm.

Until I happen to ask another lady we know if she knows the couple.  And the story is.  The young girl has recently gotten divorced, is still hurting, and does not want to get married again or even date.  But likes to dance, and knows the guy from somewhere else.

He, on the other hand, is married, but his wife is not doing well health wise.  He loves to dance and they have all 3 agreed that the husband and the girl go dancing at Farmers’ Branch.  The wife totally supports it. 

How can I bring sight to the blind when I am so blind myself?  Talk about creating a whole fabric out of superficials.

To whom are you blind?   How do we get rid of this blindness.

The family, Georgie, Zoe, and Tori.

Readings:

Proverbs 31, 10-13, 19-20, 30-31, When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.

Psalm 128,   Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5, 1-6,  You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day.

Matthew 25, 14-30,  A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.

Kevin says, "Welcome in, Everybody."

Intro and homily by John Cade

The Book of Proverbs was also called in earlier times the Book of Wisdom.  It is written in poetic verse form and its first verse lets us know it is intended to ‘teach wisdom’.  It is a compilation of several collections of such sayings about life both secular and religious.  The collections were written at various times and are one of the few Old Testament books not connected with the destruction of Jerusalem and Babylonian captivity.

"What's next," Says Leo.

About Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he formed this community in Greece about 50 after Jesus’ time.  Apparently his preaching and gathering converts to the Jesus group caused quite a disturbance among the Jewish people living there, to the point that, to prevent further disorder, Paul left Thessalonica (Thessaloniki in Greek) and went on to Corinth where he wrote both letters to them.  I’ll speak more from this later. 

There is a parable of the talents in Luke similar to today’s in Matthew.  The word often translated as ‘talent’ actually referred to a goodly sum of money in Jesus’ time.  Some biblical studies say the parable wasn’t about how we use our ‘talents’ but was an attack on the scribes who were not fair in their treatment of the poor and marginalized, and not caring in their sharing the wealth of God’s mercy. 

John begins, celebrating his 80th.

Homily

For many years I didn’t like the Sunday readings at the end of the Church year, and the scary ‘you better watch out’ sermons.  It always seemed to be doom and gloom and scary judgment upon us.  Kinda like ‘you better not pout, you better not cry, you better watch out, I’m telling you why’ but much worse—not just Santa will punish you, we’re talking God.

Turns out we can find more hopeful and positive messages about us and what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the readings at this time of year.

I like the verses in Paul today to his community in Thessalonica: “Friends, you’re not in the dark…..You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day.  We live under wide open skies and know where we stand….So walk out into the daylight…dressed up in faith and love and hope….

Freddy, who loves to snuggle with his mom, Joey, who is John's daughter.

Last night I had a party celebrating my 80^th birthday. I want you all to know that, if it were possible, every one of you would have been invited.  The 70 or so people who were there are all friends and all mentors of mine in one way or another, including Leo and Freddie my grandsons, who show me a fresh look at everything in the world. 

All those friends have treated me as a son of Light and never tried to diminish me for any reason.  I have always felt received and accepted, as I do with you here.  My friends and I have not always completely understood where each other was coming from and that’s human and natural and OK.

Sam, John's second daughter, next to Cathy, John's sister.

What also stands out is their enduring connection with me through life and work and times of crisis and so many good times.  My three living sisters all traveled to Dallas to be with me and I find that very touching.  Even more so, because, like most families, my family too have had our share of hard times and hurt feelings and broken connection, a theme many of you have shared with me.

  Isn’t that what the Mass, the Eucharistic Meal, is all about?  Jesus took bread and broke it. We can see in this a symbol of our brokenness, and then we share the bread, a living symbol that we are indeed connected one with another. 

Harper says, "Cupcake time yet?"

I chose words from Paul’s letter today because I heard him talking about his friends in Thessalonica as sons of Light, daughters of Day, who demonstrated their connection with one another through acceptance and loving care. 

My question for us today is how do we show our connection with our friends and our family, and how do we appreciate and celebrate the connection with us from all the people we have had in our lives? 

"Yes, Harper, it is Cupcake time, but for your grandmother. Maybe you will get a bite."  (If not all of it.)