Sunday Homily, August 9, 19th Ordinary Time

Buddies, Zoe and Emma arriving.

Readings:

2 Samuel  12, 1-14,  The verses of this reading are expanded because of the excellence of the story, King David and Bathsheba.

Psalm 32,  Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.

Galatians 2, 16-21,  If justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Luke 7, 36-8, 3,  She stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears.  Another beautiful reading.

14 seconds over Little Axe, OK, outside Norman, tore this car apart. Little Axe was hit the day before Moore, a middle class suburb of OK City.

Relief Work
in OK City

This morning I would like to talk with you about the trip I made to OK
City a week ago.  Three aspects, the time
and the geography of the tornadoes, gratitude, and the three teams.

You might not know it, but three tornadoes hit the area.  The third and second were E5’s, the kind with
winds over 250 miles per hour.  The third
was also the tornado with the diameter of about 2 & a half miles.  20 people were killed, including the 3
professional tornado watchers, but it mostly roamed the countryside, not living
areas. 

Maybe unrecognizable, a pick up, upside down, door and window gone, trailer on top, OU lawn chair I set up.

The middle tornado was the Moore tornado, Moore being a suburb of OK
City.  You drive north on I-35.  On the right you see devastation—of houses
like in Plano or Richardson.  On the left
you see devastation–of a large strip shopping complex like Collin Creek
Mall. 

Where is the little boy who practiced hoops on this basket? Little Axe, where the first of the 3 big tornadoes hit, is rural and comparatively poor with unpaved, dirt roads. This debris has been bulldozed to the edge of the road, where it will be picked up.

The first tornado, a day or two before Moore, hit Little Axe, a small
village of maybe 50 houses.  35 were
destroyed.  I would conjecture the
majority of the residences were portables, trailer homes.  This tornado spent 14 seconds on the ground
and you will see the result. 

Many of the 50 or so homes in Little Axe were trailer homes which were mounted on these I beams. The wind twisted the beams like spaghetti. These were long trailer homes with beautiful scenery around them.

We were sent to Little Axe because it had been neglected and forgotten
after Moore.  Moore was urban and middle
class.  Little Axe was rural and
relatively poor.  The roads were not paved,
just gravel and dirt.  Moore sucked up
all the press coverage and attention.  We
were sent to redress this neglect.

Debris piles being removed. 35 houses were swept away.

Secondly, the gratitude.  The
first thing I noticed, after the shock of seeing Moore from I-35 as I drove
north, was the gratitude of people.  We
wore our Bona Responds brown T shirts as we visited stores like Home
Depot.  Customers and staff all thanked
us for coming to help out.  At the Stihl
outlet where we went to buy chain saw parts, the staff comes out with Stihl T
shirts for all of us.  Jim gave them Bona
Responds T shirts.   It was humbling.   See the two types of T shirts.

Bona Responds team. Besides Jim and Jerry, two professors from St. Bonaventure, an OU chemistry professor and graduate of St. B. joined us with his daughter, Rose.

Thirdly, the teams.  Obviously, we
were the team from St. Bonaventure, the Catholic university.  Besides Jim, who is a finance professor,
there was Jerry, a chemistry professor. 

The second team was Israeli.  The
first morning I’m standing outside our barracks style quarters at this generic
church.  I hear these kids talking a language
I don’t recognize.  I look more closely
at them and see the obvious Israeli blue & white flag on their white T
shirts.  I ask them who they are and what
are they doing.  They say they have come
from Israel to help.  I am stunned.

Less than half of the Israeli team. These kids actually flew in to work relief in OK. They were living with us in the same complex of barracks. I heard them speaking a language I did not know one morning and asked, "Who are you guys?" The shirts have the Israeli flag.

A footnote on these kids.  When I
am driving to our site in Little Axe later that morning, the two girls in my
Prius see the Israeli kids and are all excited because they had worked together
at another site.  Guess where: New York
after Sandy.  They were like old friends
meeting.

The third group was a group of, get this, Muslim kids.  Marvelous young people.  Acting and looking just like us except they
were dark, the guys I talked with said they were from St. Louis.

The Israeli trailer of equipment. It says "Jewish Response to Disaster." Our kids had worked with the Israeli kids in NY after Sandy. They were old friends.

Both the Muslim and the Israeli groups obviously have organizations behind them on the ground in the U.S. 
They both had more equipment than we. 
Like, the Muslims had a generator with which they ran a saw that cut I
beams. 

In fact, during the afternoon I worked a lot with the Muslims.  They were cutting up I beams and I and some
others were carrying 6-9 foot sections up out of a valley to the edge of the
road where we had 3 piles, metal, wood, and trash.

While the Israelis were a delightful surprise for me, the biggest surprise came with the 3rd team, "Muslims for Humanity," as it says on the truck door. Meet Dwight, with whom I worked sawing the I beams into 9 foot sections so they could be taken over to the metals pile on the edge of the road. Humbling to work with these kids.

At one point I trip over some debris on the ground and fall.  Fortunately for sports in my early years I
learned how to fall.  Not hurt at all,
just rolling into ground.  Guess who the
first person to reach out to me was: not one of those Catholic kids, not even
an Israeli, a Muslim.   The others were not near anyway.  They did not even know I fell. Check the pictures of
the teams and equipment.

This open area once was a home. In the background is a tornado shelter. 13 people and a dog saved their lives a second or two before the tornado swept down on them by jumping into this shelter. Imagine opening the door of the shelter and looking where your house once stood.

I told you all how proud I am to be part of you, of this little community
which is so generous and makes such a positive difference.   You
people not only helped the people of Little Axe, but you helped these kids from
St. Bonaventure have a marvelous ecumenical and international experience.

Thanks.

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. 

Readings:   John 12, 12-16 (Story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem); Isaiah 50, 4-7, I gave my back to those who beat me; Psalm 22, My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?; Philippians 2, 6-11, He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave; Mark 14, 15, 1-39, The Passion.

The community processes out of the cafetorium into the hall where the singing begins and Mike & Ryan lead the procession back into the main celebration area

Because of the extraordinary amount of reading in this celebration, there is no homily.

The reenactment of the Entry into Jerusalem with palms

Special Note: Holy Thursday & Good Friday Services, the home of Curtis & Mabel, 7:00 P.M.

As each person enters into the cafetorium they and their palms are blessed and cleansed with water

Emma with the help of her mother, Beth, lights the 6 candles of Lent

Readings:    

Isaiah  53, 10-11,  The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.

Psalm 33,   Lord, Let you mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Hebrews 4, 14-16,   Let us confidently approach the throne of grace.

Mark 10, 35-45,  Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.

Leo arriving with tie.

Isaiah:

A review:  

Authors: at least 3 because there are 3 distinct parts to Isaiah the book.    

Time of Composition: near the end of the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., ca. 550 BCE.

 Subject Matter: warnings about impending doom because of the badness of the people in part 1 up to chapter 39.  The remaining two parts are called the Book of Consolation, letting the people know that a more peaceful & prosperous time is coming. 

Harper cruising the neighborhood with her bus

Today’s Selection:  (read all of chapter 53), Isaiah II,  4 observations—         

          A. This chapter in 2 Isaiah is not included as one of the 4 Suffering Servant Songs, though it presents the same theme.           

          B. The he, the servant that is talked about is

                    –for the Hebrews, the Jewish nation/people;

                    –for Christians, Christ.         

          C.  False Belief number 1?  The Jews thought Yahweh demanded suffering or sacrifice of valuable items ( e.g., sacrificial lamb, scape goat ) as payment for badness.   

          D.  False Belief number 2?  The Jews & Christians believed that an original great sin had been committed by our ancestors & that sin could only be paid for by a human-divine hero, Jesus.  He had to be sacrificed to this god.  Or as the first line of our official reading says, “The lord was pleased to crush him with infirmity.”  

Do you think God crushes people with infirmity?   Was there really an original sin?   Contemporary theology says no.

Harper's granny, Cathy.

If I don’t want to be 1^st, do I have to be a slave?

I want to talk today about being first and being a slave, or if I don’t want to be first, do I have to be a slave?  A story. 

You all know that Rosemary & I love to ride our bikes around White Rock Lake.  We go south on the White Rock Creek Trail from Royal Lane, then circle the lake clockwise with stops at the north bridge and the boat house at the south end, near the dam.  About 20 miles.

Leo & Harper, buddies

Homeward bound from the boat house we use West Lawther Drive, a beautiful little lane running between the lake and gorgeous mansions. Lots of bikers use this road and walkers and runners use the path meandering along closer to the lake.

There can be mini, spur of the moment competitions on this road heading north.

Leo & Sienna, buddies

One day I come down the hill near the boat house and see ahead of me about 3 bikers.  That sight can give me motivation and adrenaline.  “I am going to take those people.”  And so I do, two of them.

The third guy, a young black man, I pull up behind him.  After hesitating a bit because he was moving pretty good, I pass him too.  And I kick on the gas expecting to leave him behind. 

Leo visits the Altar

About a mile later I look in my little helmet mirror to see if I can still see him way back there.  Where is he?  Right on my rear wheel.  I am stunned.  So 2-3 times more I go all out thinking I will get some distance.  Never.  He stays with me all the way under the Northwest Highway Bridge, where Rosemary had her accident, and all the way up the Creek trail to Royal Lane. 

As I prepare to turn off to the parking lot, I signal him to come along, and I thank him for an excellent ride.  He laughed and agreed.  We parted.  I have never seen him again.   

Rob gets a Cupcake of The Week for Sixty Years!

Anybody not want to be first once in a while?  Be best in something?  Absolutely normal.  Look at sports, academics, appearance.  Despite having long ago accepted the fact that I am not first in anything, and that is okay, even at 72 I find the competitive passion kicking in occasionally.

So does that mean I have to be a slave or servant?  Very tricky statement psychologically. 

Sandra receiving Chuck's Cupcake of The Week for Seventy Four Years!

3 Observations:

1.  It is normal and okay to want to be first.  Certainly kids without much experience in life have the desire.
2. When Mark says “servant” and “slave,” do you see Mark’s hyperbole, his exaggeration, and his use of infinite demand?   This is his literary tool to make a point.  Which does not mean we dismiss it straight off.
3. Here is where I have seen the danger.  A person who is religiously obsessed poorly trained, spiritually & psychologically insecure, or scrupulous, this poor person can take the servant idea literally.  The motto, “Always better to give than to receive.”  No way.

I have known & worked with people in this situation.  The person cannot allow anyone to do anything for them.  For that matter, I have some of that stuff.  I don’t always like to be on the receiving end.  Giving and serving can be quite satisfying.

Our dear and U.T.'s special, Holly, with her brother, Ben.

Maturity does two things. It helps me to accept myself as I am.  It also challenges me to make a difference in our world.

How do you handle not being number one?  How do you make a difference? 

Readings: 

2 Maccabees 7, 1-2, 9-14, 7 brothers with their mother were arrested.

Psalm 17,  Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full

2 Thessalonians 2, 16-3, 5,  The Lord is faithful.

Luke  20, 27-38, There were 7 brothers.

Leo welcomes you.

2 Maccabees Observatons :

What :  another reading  from one of those unique dozen extra books.  A history of the Maccabee family.   This is the only time in the 3 year cycle
this book is used.  Perhaps it is only
used to support in some way Luke’s gospel about the wife of the 7
brothers. 

Date :  around 200 before Christ.

Subject: In order to
emphasize how God appreciates faithfulness, the author describes in vivid
detail the torture and murder of 7 brothers who refused to eat pork.  I wanted to read the whole story, but it is
too brutal for public reading.  Check it
out for yourselves.  

Buddy also welcomes you.

 What to Die for

I want to talk this
morning about an event that took place 24 years ago, November 16, 1989.  This Friday is the date.  I was back in the States about 2 years at
this time. 

The event I’m talking
about happened in the early morning of November 16, on a Jesuit university
campus, called Universidad Centroamericana, UCA for short.  This is a Jesuit university just like many others
you know of, U. of San Francisco, St. Louis U. Fordham, Georgetown, Marquette,
and the Loyolas.  This university is in
San Salvador, El Salvador. 

Emma with her momma, Beth.

There were 6 Jesuits
home that night, plus a housekeeper and her daughter in a rear apartment.  All was quiet.

Suddenly about 12:00
there was a great commotion at the door of the residence, lots of yelling and
banging.  The, Jesuits, thinking the door
was going to be bashed in,   opened the door and in burst about 40 soldiers
in camouflage and heavily armed. 

Zoe and her friend also welcomes you.

Continuing to yell,
the soldiers went room to room, busting down doors, smashing windows, storming
around, and ultimately dragging the 6 Jesuits out into their interior
patio.  Even the housekeep and her daughter
were dragged into the patio.   Can you
imagine the fear?

For an hour the
storming around and the noise continued. 
Then, a bit after 1:00, witnesses outside said shots began.  Each of the 6 Jesuits and the two women had
to lie on the ground on their stomachs. 
One by one they were shot in the back of the head and left.

William hanging out with his granddad, Jerry.

9
years before this, on March 24, 1980, a similar event had happened in the same
country, El Salvador.  Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot by a single
assassin in the middle of his Mass in a chapel at a hospital in San Salvador.

The
same year three American nuns and a lay woman volunteer were all killed on
their way to the airport one evening.

Kara looking beautiful.

I talk about this this
morning because, first, it still moves me and the anniversary is coming this
Friday.   Secondly, I talk about it
in reference to the 7 brothers who died rather than eat pork. 

Question:
what would you die for? 

James keeping cool.

Two
observations.

First,
what these Jesuits died for is something really worth dying for.  I can imagine all of us doing this, dying for
people dear to us.  The people dear to the
Jesuits were the poor of El Salvador, especially those abused by the military
dictatorship. 

Secondly,
while the 7 brothers showed heroic courage along with their mother, that they
were going through this because they thought God told them they should not eat
pork is just sad.  The don’t eat pork law
did not come from God, but from Jewish elders and priests. 

At
the time it may have been a health instruction. 
But religious people set this instruction up, not God.   Watch
out.  Religious leaders lay lots of loads
on people and say that God demands this. 
 Remember the prohibition to eat
meat on Friday?  You could go to hell for
this.

"Harper, where did you find that cupcake??"

I
would propose that we all die, that is, give our life for something or
someone.   Teachers give their lives for
their students.  That is what the Jesuits
did.  Parents give their lives for their
kids.  Coaches, like my friend Frank,
give their lives for their kids. 

For
whom or what do you give your life?

Georgie, one of our special loves.

"Welcome in, Everybody," says Bill.

Readings:

Sirach  15, 15-20, Before man life and death, good and evil

Psalm 119,  Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2, 6-10,  What eye has not seen.. What God has prepared for those who love him.

Matthew 5, 17-37  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out.

Thanks, Grace, for lighting today's candles while the girls are away for the week end.

Observations:  on Sirach—

What:  This is one of those 12 odd books in between the Old and the New Testament.

 Author: a Jewish teacher called Joshua.  The only identified author in the whole Old Testament.  He tells us who he is, that he is a teacher, lived in Jerusalem, and traveled a lot.  It seems he put his work together while running a school in Alexandria, Egypt.

Thanks, John, for reading today's Blessing of the Candles.

 His grandson translated the Hebrew work into Greek.  This Hebrew text was lost for centuries until the 19^th century, when 2/3 of it was found in Cairo.  Then other portions were found in Qumran and Masada, as late as 1964.

 Date: composed around 175 years before Christ.  About 90 years before Christ the Jews put together their official bible, but excluded Sirach because they could not find the Hebrew version, only the Greek. 

The bearer of gifts, Loretta, Richard, & Cody.

 Christians accepted the book as part of their bible in the 2^nd century after Christ.  The Council of Trent (keep 1555 in mind as a date) officially accepted it, making it part of that extra 12 books called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical.  Martin Luther rejected the book & so do many Protestant congregations today.

 Subject Matter: practical ethics, duties.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented.  Also, what about unconditional love??

Today's Team, John & John.

Subject today: you may choose good or bad.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented in the reading.    All is either good or bad.  No in between or both, which is more what we all are, both good and bad.  

It can be simplistic & Pelagian, that is, it is all up to you and you have all the strength needed to choose good.  Pelagians thought that you had to EARN your salvation.  Therefore, the more religious stuff you did, like the more Masses, the more pilgrimages to the church & shrines, the more novenas & rosaries,  the more merit you win for yourself.

Psalm 119: the longest of all the psalms.  A focus on observance of the laws, decrees, and statutes.

Communion time.

Matthew 5:  a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Note the figures of speech called “antitheses,” namely, “You have heard it said, but, I say to you.”  4 even 5 times.  Matthew is trying to establish the authority & authenticity of Jesus.

See if you can find any unconditional love in this passage?  

Sources: Good News Bible; New Interpreter's Bible; Reginal Fuller, S.J., David Westberg, S.J., & Larry Gillick, S.J., St. Louis U. Liturgies, on line; Wikipedia .

Communion helpers & cleaners

Wako Spirituality

We have been here before, Folks.  In fact, Mike says to me, “So, are you going to start with that same story again?”  Yes, Everybody, we begin with that same story.  Just a quick reminder.  Here we go.

When I was studying theology in Toronto years ago, like maybe 1970, an article came out in the local newspaper.  Some guy had read the passage saying that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  He did it, folks. 

Shonda & Ben, The Best.

 In this passage from Matthew there are five pieces of advice to the early Christians which taken literally can get a person all messed up.  Is there a positive as well as a negative to each? 

Two observations before I touch the five.  I have mentioned this so often that I hope you are not worn out.  First, infinite demand and infinite acceptance.  Watch out here for a lot of infinite demand.  I’ll give a positive & a negative for each.  Secondly, God, unconditional love.

Bill getting us ready for the Love for Kids picnic, this for handicapped kids.

Matthew’s five pieces of advice are 1. breaking the least commandment,  2. getting angry,  3. looking at a woman, 4. divorce, and  5. swearing.  Here goes.

• Matthew says that if you break the smallest commandment you will be the least in the kingdom.  Moreover, unless you are better than the Pharisees, you will not even get into the kingdom.  The positive here is that the bar is set high.  The negative is that all, all of us sinners will be kept out. It creates scruples and obsessive compulsive behavior.  

It always tastes better through the nose.

• Secondly, if you get mad at me and call me a fool, you are going to Hell.  I love it.  The positive here is the call to anger management.  I am challenged to know that all feelings are okay and need to be controlled.  The negative is that it gives me the idea that anger is not allowed, so stuff it.  Trouble is, it does not stuff well.  Not like a sleeping bag or tent.  It pops up in unexpected places.

• Looking at a woman with lust.  The positive here is teaching respect for all people.  This advice, written by men for men, was attempting to gain some respect for women who were looked upon as property.  I found this in Tanzania & Kenya.  Rosemary read me an article about some guy who cut off his wife’s ears and nose for reporting him for abuse.   The negative is that it teaches us that feelings are sinful.  In the old days, we thought we looked at a girl and we were going to hell.  This is doubly sad because I don’t think there is a hell anyway.

More of the same, please.

• Divorce is adultery.  The positive is that it reinforces the unity of marriage.  The negative is that people stay in abusive or addictive marriages long after it may even be safe.  Divorce is failure and we all fail sometimes even in tragic ways.  In order to escape using the word divorce the Catholic Church comes up with the more convoluted word Annulment.

• Swearing.  The positive is that it involves politeness and respect for others.  Even if I am okay with my anger I do not swear at someone.  The negative is that it tightens us up.  We forget the therapeutic value of cussing, maybe a healthy & fun way of releasing anger.  The healthy Jesuits I lived with certainly partook of this therapy. 

Welcome home, Loretta.

 The overall danger in these pieces of advice is that we really get messed up, forgetting two things.  First they are presenting infinite demand and they make no mention of infinite acceptance.

Secondly, where is the God of unconditional love?

 The poor guy in Toronto who blinded himself is an example of how we can mess ourselves up with goofy religion.  

 Where are you with these ideas?