Readings:
Acts 7, 55-60, They threw Stephen out of the city, and began to stone him.
Psalm 97, The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth
Revelation 22, 12-14, 16-17, 20, I, John, heard a voice.
John 17, 20-26, I pray that they all may be one.
Sorry no homily today.
Readings:
Acts of the Apostles 6, 1-7, Select from among you 7 reputable men.
Psalm 33, Lord, Let your mercy be upon us as we place our trust in you.
1 Peter 2, 4-9, You are a chosen race.
John 14, 15-21, If you love me you will keep my commandments.
"Hi, Everybody," says Zoe, "And Happy Mother's Day."
Mother's Day History:
1905-08: Anna Jarvis of West Virginia began this celebration for her mother, Ann, who cared for wounded Civil War soldiers of both sides. She campaigned to make it a national day and in
1914: Woodrow Wilson made it national.
The spelling: always singular, according to Anna.
Hallmark Cards: Anna hated them because she felt you know what.
"From me, too," says Tori, "Happy Mother's Day."
It’s Mother’s Day !
In honor of it being Mother’s Day I want to tell two stories about my mom. One story is about a compliment she gave me and the second is about a trip we made together.
The first story took place around ’89 or ’90. I had already returned from East Africa and had already put in a year in a Hispanic church the Jesuits ran in downtown Houston. I was now living at the high school community.
Welcome home, Dawson, from first year at Ole Miss.
It was early afternoon. We were on westbound LBJ heading toward what used to be called the Deadman Hospital at Webb Chapel. The name has been changed. Mom was going to the hospital to have some minor surgery, and would stay overnight.
As we drove along she reached out her left hand, patted me on the leg, and said, “I’m proud of you.”
The bells are ringing, time to start.
I may be wrong, but I don’t remember my mom ever doing that before. You got to remember that she had always been bummed about me joining the Jesuits and she had never spoken to a Jesuit for about 7 years after I had gone to East Africa.
She thought I had been sent despite my insistence that I had simply accepted an invitation.
Our Candle Lighter of The Week, Leo.
Offertory time with Warren, Barb, and Bill.
I was already probably 50 years old at the time mom complimented me. I had been around a bit. That compliment really touched me.
The second story took place on one of my home visits from East Africa. Mom got her two sisters to join her and invited me to drive them around Ireland one Fall on my return to East Africa.
Communion helpers, Mike, Geri, Claire, Beth, and Rob.
We met in London, which is a story for another homily. We went to Dublin and leased a little red, two door car. We drove counter clockwise through County Cavin, where they looked in graveyards for our ancestors, through Northern Ireland, and through the northwest until we arrived at Shannon Airport.
They were like three teen aged girls, laughing, and telling stories about their early day. Thanks to the smallness of Ireland, we were able to make good progress even though we would usually not be ready to depart in the morning until 10:00 or 10:30. By 11:30 they wanted to stop for tea.
Buddies, Zoe & Harper.
12:30 or 1:00 lunch. 3:30 for tea and pastries. Finally, by 5:30 I had to start looking for a place to stay & eat. And this was a process. I had to check it out. Then my mom checked it. If she gave the okay, in everyone went to eat dinner and laugh themselves silly until 11:00 or 12:00 midnight.
It was one of the fun trips of my life and I was most touched that mom had invited me to be their driver.
Buddies, Mike & Rosemary.
The power of a mother to give life through a simple compliment.
How has your mother given you life?
Readings: Ezekiel 37, 1-14 (1-11 not in lectionary); Psalm 130, With the Lord there is Mercy and Fullness of Redemption; Romans 8, 8-11; John 11, 1-45, The raising of Lazarus
Ezekiel 37, observations: (Author, When, Message)
Author: Ezekiel, for real. He is unique because he was not only one of the Big 3 Prophets (along with Isaiah & Jeremiah), but he was also a priest working in the temple.
When: before & during the Babylonian Captivity, therefore around 585 before Christ. His audience was these people.
Message: Like the classic prophet, he condemns, warns, and consoles. We pick up on the consolation end. I want to read the first verses which lead up to our selection, because it is the fun dry bones story, about which we have the Spiritual. It is a shame the richer story is not included. This is metaphor. The dry bones can stand for the people in captivity; they can stand for me. Get out of that tomb!
Sources: New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Good News Bible, St. Louis U. with Reginald Fuller, Daniel Westberg, Larry Gillick, Jesuits.
Get out of that tomb!
One of the blessings of travel for me is the deepening of gratitude in me for how fortunate I am right here. Another blessing comes with meeting special people along the way.
I met one of these special people in Normandy on our trip to France. When we arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, we immediately took the train to a little village called Bayeux in Normandy.
The next day we took a moving tour of the June 6, D Day landings on Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, three of the cemeteries, plus a handful of other memorials.
The following day we visited a place I was to discover was one of the four Middle Age pilgrimage sites. First off, I did not know of four. Know the other three? Jerusalem, Rome, & Santiago de Campostella in the NW province of Galicia in Spain.
The place we visited was called Mont San Michel and has been a Benedictine monastery for centuries, since around 900. It is built on a large rock off of the coast of France, reached only by a causeway because high tide surrounds the rock with water.
Visiting the monastery, which was actually used as a prison for about a century after the French Revolution in 1789, was moving. Equally moving for me was the woman who took us out there, the second point.
One of those special persons. She was simply driving a hotel van from Bayeux to Mont San Michel. She could have said nothing. Instead, she was full of personality and information about everything. I came to really admirer her, especially when she shared her story.
She said she had gone through a painful lay off and could not find work. So she went to plan B, as she called it, driving the van for the little Churchill Hotel in Bayeux.
She did not just drive. She described everything along the way and shared more about the history of Mont San Michel than I had even read. She became a friend to such an extent that we went out with her the next afternoon, after she did her morning drive, to a little town she told us we would love, Honfleur. We did.
Why talk about her? Because she exemplifies what is being talked about here, getting out of the tomb where we are half dead and coming to fuller life. She said getting laid off just about killed her, especially when she could not find any replacement. She was in the tomb, she was not alive.
The message is ‘get out of that tomb.’ Where am I stuck? We know the places, the addictions & the obsessions, the laziness and the over indulgence. The goal is simply to be a person more fully alive.
Where is your tomb?
Picture 1: The Community
Picture 2: Leo & his daddy, Ray
Picture 3: Maggie & her daddy, Tom
Picture 4: Mont San Michel, Normandy, France
Picture 5: Wedding of Jill Carleton & Stephen Egal
Readings: Wisdom 9, 13-18; Psalm 90; Philemon 9, 10-17; Luke 14, 25-33.
Wisdom: This is another of the books called Apocrypha, because they are not part of the original Old Testament. The work makes use of traditional Jewish material, as well as ideas borrowed from Greek philosophy, in order to teach that God rewards those who are faithful to him.
Our section this morning is simply saying, Who knows or who can guess God’s mind or intentions for us. This sets up the Gospel which is rather confounding at first reading.
Hate my Mother, Father, & Wife?
A few summers ago Rosemary & I made a three night back packing trip through Zion National Park in Utah. We entered the north west corner of the park by getting a farmer to drop us off, and we hiked back to the center of the park where the headquarters, lodges, and our car were.
Somewhere in the middle of the hike after climbing some switchbacks, we came to a vista point and took a break. Suddenly from below comes a muscular college kid running up the switchbacks. When he arrives at the top he stops for a break and some water.
Being very outgoing, he explains that he is from Notre Dame, is planning on entering the Olympics, and is in training. He runs in one day the whole trip we used four days to cover.
Unfortunately, we never did notice whether he showed up at the Olympics or not. Whether he did or not, he was motivated.
Luke’s gospel today talks about motivation, but in exaggerated terms. This is hyperbole, hype, exaggeration to make a point. It is coach talk.
So what is the goal? "Being my disciple," Jesus says. What is that? I would propose that it means being a whole person, a balanced, maturing person, a peaceful person. To achieve the goal takes self discipline and effort. These are the means to the goal. What is mentioned by Luke is the means, even though hyped.
What are the signs of my progress? The author I’ve been reading says there are three signs: more outgoing, more self confident, and more loving-caring.
Teachers can watch the process with kids they teach. Initially we are self focused, self absorbed. As we grow we turn from our self to others.
This outgoing characteristic is strengthened as I become more self confident, which, in turn, grows because I am accepted and loved by others. With this foundation I can risk more. Success increases my self confidence.
Then I, too, love and care for others. The self focused child becomes the caring parent, teacher, or volunteer.
Our Notre Dame boy would probably think this passage about hating your mother, father, spouse, even your own life is silly. Yet, he is doing what it recommends if you can see it as saying the ultimate goal is so good it is worth devoting everything to it with passion. He is focused on an intermediate goal, the Olympics, but in that focus he is maturing and becoming a more whole & peaceful person.
What are you passionate about?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-09-09.mp3
Readings:
Joshua, 24,1-2, 15-17, We will serve the Lord, for he is our God.
Psalm 34, Taste & See the Goodnesss of the Lord (3rd week)
Ephesians, 5, 21-32, Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife.
John, 6, 60-69, Master, to whom shall we go?
Joshua:
Who is Joshua and what is this booklet about: Joshua was Moses' assistant, his lieutenant when the the Israelites wandered in the desert. The booklet is the story of the Israelite invasion of Canaan under Joshua's leadership.
Author: somewhat amusingly, the fundamentalists say that Joshua wrote most of the booklet. More scientific scholars say the work is a compilation of a number of sources.
Date of composition: again fundamentalists state that the booklet was composed 1400-1370, i.e., while Joshua lived. Scholars of a broader vision suggest that even if a Joshua existed the work was put together 800-700 BCE.
The work combines a number of traditions about battles & destruction of cities to create a nationalistic narrative that justifies the Israelites' taking another peoples' land for their own.
Ethical Question: genocide. This is a bloody book. Yahweh commands that the Israelites exterminate every breathing thing, including women & children & livestock.
The battle of Jericho is characteristic. For 6 days the Israelites marched around the city, blowing horns and menacing the people. On day 7 they marched around 7 times and the walls came tumbling down, as in the spiritual. Then every person except one woman & her family were slaughtered. Lots of debate and rationalization over these events.
Our Selection: The last chapter of the booklet. Joshua, who is dying, calls the people together at a place called Sechem and puts it to them. Stick with Yahweh who has done all these things for you (which are mentioned in the text but are long & tedious) or choose another path of your own.
Sources: Good News Bible, Got Questions.org, Wikipedia
Rosemary be Subservient to Me as to the Lord?
A crazy thing happened to me some time ago that I will never forget. I was standing in a line. Around me were families with kids. At one point a nice looking family with two or three young kids got into a small disagreement over something involving the kids. The wife wanted to do one thing, the husband another.
At a point the husband says to the wife, “you are to be subservient to me because the Bible says so.”
I almost dropped my teeth. I could not believe what I was hearing. I even think the wife let him get away with this justification. Can you imagine me getting away with this with Rosemary?
I love this passage because it exemplifies the danger of taking the Bible literally. The passage is so easy to explain in terms of contemporary psychology and the value of a human person, male or female. Here is how we see it today.
Three models of family interaction.
1. The patriarchal. This model considers the male the superior, like in Paul’s instruction. It is based on an old belief that females were inferior. This model certainly exists today.
When I was in East Africa the men considered themselves the master of the household. Muslim examples abound these days, even to horrible stories of disobedient women being beaten, starved, and locked in underground rooms.
2. The matriarchal. In this example the wife or mother is considered the head of the household. There are many amusing examples of families where the male thought he was the head, while everyone knew the household was ruled and organized by the wife.
3. The equality model. Both husband and wife are seen as equal and complimentary. Today this model is more common in many societies, though not all. Today both the husband and the wife have graduate degrees and professional careers. The model is teamwork rather than dictatorship.
Paul sounds pretty archaic and chauvenistic today, but actually at that time he was trying to elevate men’s treatment of women. Treating a wife with respect was pretty radical for Paul’s time.
Whatever the model chosen, it comes down to a choice by the couple. Even this involves equality and mutual input. Today equality is so taken for granted that a husband saying to his wife that she must obey him because the Bible says so sounds ridiculous.
Obviously the one couple I was watching took it literally. I wonder where they are today.
Which of the three models do you choose?
Homily
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has studied death and dying probably as much as anyone. She was a Swiss doctor, and I remember many year ago attending one of her seminars on the subject in Sacramento CA. During the session she showed a very brief film, which I will always remember. She was discussing how we grieve, and the film showed a herd of elephants gathered around an elephant that had just died. The elephants had formed a circle and they each had their trunk resting on the dead elephant. They were grieving. Today, we too are really not that different. One of our community, Ray Williams, has died. Our faith at a time like this offers us hope, hope that there is a life beyond this one, a place where “every tear will be wiped away”, a place where we will all meet again. That is our faith, and it keeps us going at a time like this.
But a death is also a time for each one of us to reflect on our own mortality! Its one of those things where you can run but you can’t hide from!! And today I would like us to focus on our own lives. How should we be living? Ray Williams was a man I knew only slightly. For a long time I would meet him when I went around with the sacrament of the sick during our mass. He stood back there and quietly received the sacrament. I met him once at his home when Gayle and I brought communion to him. But last Tuesday I learned a great deal more about him and would like to hold him up as an example of someone who seemed to live out his faith in everyday quietness. During the eulogies two people stood up and shared their memories of Ray. One was an elderly gentleman from Taiwan whom Ray had gotten to know through a Plano city project to twin Plano with a city in Taiwan. But it was what the man said which will stay with me for a while. I don’t know how long he has been living in the US but he said that Ray was the first American home he had ever been invited into. Ray lived hospitality! The second person was a young Mexican man who told us how Ray had made such a huge difference in his life and in the lives of many poor Mexican kids by coaching them in various soccer leagues. Some of these young kids went on the win soccer scholarships to college. Ray made a difference in these kids’ lives.
During this time when we mourn Ray, let’s also take his example of living life to it’s fullest by seeing God in those around him. St. Irenaeus is reported to have said, “the glory of God is man fully alive”. From listening to the different people share their memories about Ray Williams it is no stretch to say that Ray was one of those people. Our community is a little less by his absence; heaven is a bit better by his presence.
Sorry, no pictures this week.
"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 19th 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 2nd 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.
It always tastes better through the nose.
More of the same, please.
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?