Sunday Homily, October 23, 2016, 30th Ordinary Time, C
Readings:
Sirach 35, 12-14, 16-18, The Lord 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 finished the race.
Luke 18, 9-14, The Pharisee and the tax collector.
Says Liam, "Welcome in, Everybody. Thanks for coming to my party."
Sirach observations:
What: 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.
Kevin, too, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."
Casey’s Convenience Store
In Iowa there is a chain of convenience stores. Everywhere in the towns. These little stores are like our 7-11’s, but they don’t sell gas. They are called Casey's.
It took me my first year riding RAGBRAI to discover how helpful these little places could be. I found out, for instance, that for $1.10 I could get a large coffee in the morning. Plus, they had all the typical foods that convenience stores carry.
So, one morning on this past summer’s week long ride, I woke up right around dawn, put my wet tent in a plastic bag, rolled up my sleeping bag and thermarest air mattress, stuffed them in my foot locker, and placed the locker next to our bus.
Cole, our semi-pro Candle Lighter, at work.
The other 25 members of our group were just getting up when I pulled away from the curb and headed to the nearby Casey’s for my coffee. I pulled in and was surprised that only a few bikers were outside drinking their coffee. Usually these little places are mobbed for coffee. But our campsite was 4 miles from the center of this little town. It was the third morning, I think.
I walk in and, feeling terrific about the fun of the day ahead, I said “Good Morning” to the young girl at the cash register. She barely looked up and perhaps only grunted a response.
Welcome back, Diane & Norm. So good to see you two.
I am sort of disappointed because I myself feel so great. I am feeling, also, somewhat negative toward the girl. To further turn me off of her was that I noticed she had tattoos on her arms. Sorry, folks, this is a weakness of mine. But, at that moment, I felt pretty critical.
I get my coffee and approach the girl to check out. We are the only two in the store. I decide to take one more shot, so I ask her, “How you doing?”
She starts crying!
Kevin & Georgie, you got to let Buddy know that he needs to look like he is at least fascinated by whatever nonsense that old guy is saying.
Suddenly, I am no longer in my superior, critical mode. I begin to listen. Turns out her mother is home dying of cancer, she had a tough night, and the girl has to work to keep making money to live on. She had even tried to get a substitute for a couple of hours. No one was available.
Know that, after being so critical of that girl, I was ready to volunteer to work at that Casey’s for a couple of hours to let her go home, plus give her the hourly wage. I probably would not have done it, but I mentioned it to her and she said I would have to be a registered employee.
Welcome to Lindsay, Ontario and to the spectacular fall color display from last week.
So, after relating to the girl like that pharisee in the parable, I left quite humbled and disappointed in myself. Next time, please don’t be so arrogant.
With whom do you relate as did the Pharisee?
Last Tuesday we had this color display. Wednesday & Thursday, rain.
