Readings: Isaiah 9, 1-6, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Psalm 96, Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord; Titus, 1, 11-14, The Grace of God has appeared; Luke 2, 1-14, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled.  Terrific Readings!

 

Isaiah, a quick review. 

This beautiful passage is just one of many reasons why I love the Work of Isaiah.  

 Yes, this is Isaiah I, who composed before the Babylonian Captivity around 600 before Christ.  In fact, he wrote even before Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, around 750 before Christ.  He saw it coming.

 

Incarnations 

    Folks, it happened two weeks ago, that beautiful Saturday, December 10.  Rosemary & I were volunteers at a picnic in Flower Mound for underprivileged kids.  We were specifically employed at crowd control in front of a photo shop in a large pavilion where all kinds of things were going on, lunches, dances on a stage, face paintings, and so on.  Horses for riding were outside.    

    Then there were tons of kids, about 3000 according to one count.  60 school buses, 850 volunteers, and 4500 hot dogs which were totally gone in a nano-second.  We had about 35 members of our own little community.  

    A whole bunch of events touched me, but three stand out. 

    The first person who touched me was Joey, a cute little black girl about 6 years old.  I chatted up everyone in the line, but seemed to spend more time with Joey, which is how I came to know her name.  She just told me. 

    At one point in our conversations she handed me a small trinket she had glued onto her blouse.  She said, “That’s yours.  I made it.”  I was so touched.  Then she got her picture taken and was gone, happy as could be. 

    Another time I was watching a black woman chaperon or bus driver.  She was rounding up her kids and had them all sitting on the cement floor just beyond my line for the photo shop.  When I talked with her she was up to 45 in counting her kids and had more to go.   Her care for all those kids knocked me over. 

    Then there was a little black girl who was afraid.  She, too, was about 6 and was with about five other girls a bit older and an adult lady.  In the line ahead of her was a black man who was totally dressed as a clown, face painted white, and everything. 

    I’m standing next to her and she whispers to me, “I’m scared of him.”  I was touched that she told me.  So we talked.  Eventually I moved into her sight line so she could not see him, because it was like she was obsessing about the guy.  

    She told the others and they scoffed at her.  However, I was able to let her know that fear was okay and that here she was safe.  I would not let the clown hurt her.  That seemed to calm her; she got her picture, and went happily on her way. 

  

    These were incarnation events for me, the spirit of God right there in this crowd of kids on a picnic.  I suggest that these sightings take place daily, in people like the ones I mention, in people who make up my daily life, and in events, to say nothing about nature.

    What was your last incarnation event?

Picture 1:    The Team 

Picture 2:    Emma as angel 

Picture 3:    The Nativity Drama   

Picture 4:    The Nativity Drama 

Picture 5:    The Nativity Drama 

      Video:     The Nativity 

 

 

 

Sunday, 12-26-10, Holy Family: Sirach 3, 2-14; Psalm 128, Blessed are Those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways; Colossians 3, 12-21; Matthew 2, 13-23.

 

Intro to readings

 We could easily believe that political correctness is a recent development, but I want to show you how it existed in the first century of the Church. 

 Our second reading today from the letter to the Colossians is a great example of “spin”.  Lets take a moment to consider the setting. 

 There are 13 letters which have Paul’s name associated with them.  Modern scripture scholarship has determined that seven are indeed written by Paul, there are three, which he definitely did not write, and there are three where there is doubt about his authorship. 

 

 Understand that when Paul wrote for instance to the Romans, he was writing to a small Christian community within Rome, something not unlike our little community here.  Society in the Roman Empire at that time was strongly patriarchal, namely it all centered on the man! Women, children and slaves were considered similar to possessions, namely they had no rights! 

 Now the extraordinary thing about Paul’s preaching was that he saw all people, by virtue of their baptism being equal, all belonging to the body of Christ.  Recall one of his familiar lines: “in Christ all are equal, there is no male or female, no slave or free”.  

 

 In the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7 we meet the “radicalism of Christianity”, – just as Jesus shocked the authorities by dining with sinners, Paul sees all as God’s children and equal.  So in his letter to the Corinthians he says husbands and wives are equal.  He is very careful to make sure that both have the same rights – they are equal! 

 Now take a look at the extended section of today’s second reading and we will see the spin put there by someone after Paul’s death.  In an attempt to make Christianity “fit” better into Roman society we have the phrase ‘wives be submissive to your husbands’.  Paul would have never said such a thing!  Yet he gets the blame for it today!! 

 

Feast of the Holy Family – Homily

 Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, that of Joseph and Mary and the child Jesus, whose birth we celebrated yesterday.  I would like to reflect a little on the images we have of the Holy Family and how we are part of that family by our Baptism. 

 In the gospel we read today, this family experienced what many families today have to go through, namely living in a strange land.  Matthew doesn’t tell us how things were for them in Egypt, but at least they stayed there a few years, they were not killed.  When they returned, it was to settle in a different region, to Nazareth.

 

 Thanks to a global economy, unlawful governments, wars, or the plague of drugs, many people today are forced to move, either within their own country or to foreign lands.  They come as strangers into our midst.  But we don’t have to be from somewhere else to feel like a stranger.  Sometimes due to misunderstandings, or fear or hurts we can just as easily feel like a stranger in our own family.

 The Feast of the Holy Family gives us time to reflect on our actions.  By our baptism we are part of that Holy Family.  Jesus is our brother. 

 The challenge, which the gospel puts before us today as Christians, is how well do we welcome our brothers and sisters.  Remember the words of Jesus, when I was hungry, or lonely or sick, you did it to me.  Out of fear we too quickly can build walls to keep others out, either out of our country, or out of our lives.

 

 At St Vines, we do reach out.  Over the past year we certainly have helped the sick, through our participation both by volunteering and financial aid to the CCAC.  We have served meals at Thanksgiving; we have helped build the houses with Habitat for Humanity, given toys to kids who might otherwise not have them, and food to the Food Pantry.  These are great things and we need to continue to do them.  But we can too easily miss opportunities to tear down walls within our own family.

 As we begin a New Year, a time when we make all kinds of resolutions to do better, lets not forget to see how we may become more conscious of the Family of God and those who are lonely, from another place, struggling. 

Picture 1:    Jack

Picture 2:    Ryan with cookie

Picture 3:    The Reads, Teresa, Taylor, Doug, & Zack

Picture 4:    Emma, one of the 5 Bambini

 Picture 5:    Santa arrives

Picture 6:    All the Good Kids awaiting Santa 

 

 

Readings:  

Acts 1, 15-17, 20-26, Lord, You know the hearts of all;

Psalm 103, The Lord has set his throne in heaven;

1 John 4, 11-16, If God so loved us, we also must love one another; 

John 17, 11-19, That they may be one just as we are one.

 

Acts: a review–

Author:  Luke, the author of The Acts & The Gospel

Date: ca. 50 years after the death of Jesus

Our Selection: Believe it or not, we are now back to chapter 1 after getting as far as chapters 9 & 10.  What is going on is this.  The chapter opens with an introduction and then a description of the Ascension, Jesus going up in the sky.  Apparently the event took place about a half mile outside Jerusalem on the Mt. of Olives. 

Afterward, all the community come together in the room they had been hiding in. About 120 are present and Peter gets up to speak.  We read Peter's words. 

John's letter: There is a great line in this selection.  See if you can spot it when you hear it.  I'll tell you after the reading, but a hint, it is the last line.

Sources: Good News Bible; The New Interpreter's Study Bible

 

Catch Sienna in a most unusual pose, with her mom, Erin

Our World, Bad or Good?

In the past 10 days I have been part of a couple of extraordinary events.

The first took place outside of Boston in Thompson, Ct.  The wedding of Jessica Bresson & Steve Craig.  It was one of Those Special Weddings.  Two things.

First.  I usually invite couple to speak their own vows.  Memorize them if they want.  I give them a simple vow template and let them know they can use it, change it, or write their own.  My thought is they are sharing with each other their vows, not mine.

Jessica and Steve composed such a beautiful vow statement that I copied it and will give it to future couples.  Then, they pulled a new one on me.  I am always looking for something unique & special.  We had talked about a unity candle or sand glass.  They were not inclined that way. 

 

It took place right after the vows.  I read which started out, “Steve, take Jessica’s hands, palms up, and look at them.”  Then it went on to say, “These are the hands that will hold you, support you, and console you.” “These are the hands that will hold your baby.”   They had put together about 8-10 of these “These hands” phrases.   

I was totally touched and had to take extra time to stop or at least slow the tears.  In fact, I was so impressed that I lost my place, invited them to share a kiss, said a few parting words, and was preparing to introduce them to the community, when Jessica whispers, “You forgot the rings!”  

                                                                                                            

Jessica & Steve made this event their unique wedding.  I loved it.   I told John & Connie that they took us all to the top of my old friend, Kilimanjaro.

The second event took place last evening in Highland Village and was at the other end of the emotional spectrum.  We held a memorial service in honor of Andy, 23 years old Tuesday.  He died of an overdose just a day or so before he was scheduled to depart for rehab in Utah.   More tears.

I did not personally know Andy, but hearing the stories his friends & family shared, I came to know him.  He has twin sisters 3 years younger whom he loved and tried to protect.  He was described as live as an electrical wire sparking.   One mother describe how when he was a little kid, she offered him and her kids lobster tacos.  Not one kid wanted one.  Except Andy.  “I’ll try one.” 

These two events are our world, some of it beautiful, some sad.  Despite the Gospel of today indicating that the world is a pretty bad place, which was a common thinking pattern in those days, I would propose that our world is supposed to be and often is a wonder.  Even in the sad events, there is beauty as I witnessed in the beauty of the people who talked about Andy last evening.

The challenge for us: continue to make it even more beautiful for the Jessica & Steves, and for the Andys so they don’t lose it. 

This morning we are privileged to have with us a group which is doing just that: The Bona Responds Group from St. Bonaventure outside Buffalo and their professor sponsor, Jim Mahar.

I especially want to thank John & Connie for letting me share about Jessica & Steve.  And I thank Beverly for letting me share about Andy, her son.

What are you doing to make our world more beautiful?

 

 

 

Readings: Acts 5, 12-16; Psalm 118; Revelations 1, 9-19; John 20, 19-31

Acts of the Apostles

This book is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel. It tells the story of the spread of Christianity after Christ’s death.

Revelations

This book consists of a series of revelations that were encouraging to the early Christians who were being persecuted at the time.

A Fishing Pole

There is a saying that while it is necessary occasionally to give a person a fish to keep them from starving, even better is it to give them a pole and teach them to fish. I think I have a fishing pole story.

Christmas two ago Rosemary & I visited Karina in Cuernavaca. It is to her and her mother that we have been giving money to help them get through the year, about $200 a month. Karina is about 35 and horribly crippled because of childhood polio.

On this occasion Karina mentioned to me that if I could help her, she could set up her own little pharmacy. When her mother, Maria Luisa, is not sick with cancer, Karina works in a small Mexican pharmacy about an hour’s journey from where they live. It is a difficult process for her to walk up & down the hills to catch the bus.

I have often encouraged Karina to look into further schooling, because I sense how intelligent she is. So far it has been impossible.

Consequently, when I heard Karina’ idea, you would think that I would have jumped at the opportunity to help her become more independent. However, ever since I have worked in East Africa, I have had an automatic reaction to people who hit me up for money. It used to happen in Tanzania so much that I become immediately resistant when I hear that tone of voice.

Until I mentioned it to Rosemary, who said, Why not check out the numbers at least. So this past Christmas, a year later, Karina told us that she could rent a small place near a bus station for $50 a month and that she needed $2500 to open up her own pharmacy.

This is not you local CVS type pharmacy. In Mexico the local pharmacies have just a few tubes of toothpaste, some aspirin, and various popular needs. No prescription medicines.

Folks, I have decided I would like to help this woman. We have been giving her the equivalent of fish every Christmas. Without it who knows where they would be. Now there is an opportunity to give her a fishing rod.

I have passed this by the board for approval. For the next month, until Mother’s Day, I will put out a special little basket for Karina. I want to give her $3000, the extra $500 for her first few months’ rent. This will be separate from our Expenses and Outreach baskets. I don’t want to interfere with them. This money will be a pass it on loan. Every month or whatever we agree upon, Karina can help another person in need whom she knows.

Because you talked me into going back to taking pictures, the next time we are there, I hope to take some digital pictures of Karina’s pharmacy.

Who is the Karina in your life?

Download the homily as an mp3.

Readings:  Job 38, 1-11; Psalm 107, Give Thanks to the Lord, his Love is Everlasting; 2 Corinthians 5, 14-17; Mark 4, 35-41 

 

Job:  

Today: You see the story in the papers about Jake Fleming?  20 year old UCLA student & tennis player, in town to visit best friend at SMU, part of group going to a concert at Fair Park, after the concert another group of white kids argue & one kid sucker punches Jake, he falls & hits his head on the street, is in an induced coma now because of bleeding inside his skull.  This kid bad?  He was planning on teaching little kids tennis during the summer.  Why do bad things happen?  Why suffering?  This is why the story of Job got put together.

The Story: Job is a good man, pious, married, affluent, 7 boys, 3 girls, obeys the Lord & his laws.  Satan makes a bet with Yahweh: you take away Job's goodies, he will curse you.  "Deal," says Yahweh.

Shortly after that, one day servants come to tell Job: 1. rustlers have taken his cattle & killed his servants; 2. lightning has killed his sheep & shepherds; 3. more rustlers took his camels & killed their caretakers; 4.  a storm has killed his 10 kids.  Job does not curse.  In fact, he makes the famous statement: "Naked I entered the world, naked I leave.  Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Satan then proposes another bet with Yahweh: let me afflict him bodily, he will curse you.  "Deal," says Yahweh.  Job is struck with leprosy and is expelled to the trash heap outside the town.    Job does not curse Yahweh, but he does say, "God, put a curse on the day I was born."

Then Job's wife and three friends all attack him, basically telling him to just die, because he is obviously a bad man.  Job says, "No, I've done nothing wrong."  Eventually he is rewarded by Yahweh, lives 140 more years and has 7 more sons and 3 daughters, plus more wealth.  

How many questions do you have?  How does a person's badness or goodness effect the bad things in his life?  Bad things don't happen to good folks?  That is the main proposition of Job, they do.  How about Yahweh making bets with Satan?  What about a Satan?

Author: not Moses.  A compilation of sources. 

Structure: a central poetic section with  a prose entry and a prose exit.  Perhaps the happy ending was also added.  Again, a parable, a fable, a myth, not history.

Date:  the present form was probably put together after the famous Babylonian Exile, i.e., ca. 550 BCE.

Our Selection: after Job complains, Yahweh responds rather critically, saying, "Who do you think you are," and, "Do you forget who I am?"   

Sources: Fr. William Most on line, Good News Bible, Wikipedia          

All Pro Dad

Being dads' day I have one story about my dad and 3 ideas about how to be an all pro dad. 

I do not know how we all survive adolescence, folks.  When I was a bratty teen-ager, my dad knew that anything he would say I would discount.  One of my best friends was pretty much the same way, my friend Pete, who was at the wedding, the FBI guy.

So my dad and Pete's dad made an arrangement where the four of us went out to eat at a restaurant once in a while.  I would talk with his dad while Pete would talk with my dad.

I admired his dad because he had worked in the FBI and was an exec at the local Chance Vought Air Plane company.  I still remember him telling me, "You can't fight city hall, John."  I guess I was, at school and in the neighborhood. 

    Suggestion 1: take the kid out for the special meal, just the two of you or with his/her pal & dad.  How often?  Maybe seasonally.  Then ask normal questions, how you doing, how is school, how is life at home?  What do you like best, your best friend?  Listen & converse.

    Suggestion 2: family meal, ideally 6-7 days a week, at least 3-4.  Again, ask normal questions, listen & converse.

    Suggestion 3: be a fun person by creating fun things to do, go camping, go to the beach, go canoing (down the Trinity), do a late night Baskin Robbins trip, bike (around White Rock or the Dallas & Plano trails), cook (like my dad used to make a cake every Saturday afternoon & he saved the bowls for me to lick clean).

 

So, how are you going to be an all pro dad?  All Pro Person?

Source (which I edited considerably): All Pro Dad (a helpful weekly service for dads), http://www.allprodad.com/playbook/viewarticle.php?art=5

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-06-21.mp3

Picture 1: Dads Tony & Jerry, plus other suspects

Picture 2: Dads Mike, Tom, & Ray

Picture 3: Dads Charlie, Ray, & Tom

Picture 4: Julie & Doug at 23 years

 

Readings: Jeremiah 317, 7-9; Psalm 126, The Lord has done Great Things for Us; we are filled with Joy; Hebrews 5, 1-6; Mark 10, 46-52.

Jeremiah.  One of the “great prophets”.  The book covers one of the most turbulent times for the Jewish people, a time we have been discussing with a number of our other prophets of recent weeks, namely “The Exile”.   Jeremiah witnessed the fall of a great empire, the Assyrian, and the rise of the Babylonian Empire!  His writings cover a period of about 40 years. 

 

  

 

The main issue he deals with is the People's turning away from Yahweh and towards worshiping idols.  Due to the nature of the period, the major political convulsions in the region, we find there were several prophets at this time.  Jeremiah stands out from this group in his ability to show God’s love for his people and the People’s duty to God through the covenant ties.

   

Our passage today is very interesting in that it shows God’s loving care of His people compared to that of a Father for his firstborn.

 

 

The Way  (Tony O'Donovan)

  

The very last sentence in today’s Gospel is what I want us to focus on this morning!  “Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way”.  I want us to spend a little time on this “Way of Jesus”.  Remember two weeks ago we had the gospel story of the rich young man, who was quite anxious to do whatever to “inherit eternal life”.  Remember he had observed all the laws from his youth, but when Jesus challenged him to sell all and “follow me,”  he went away sad.  He was unable to follow Jesus.

 

I want to step back a bit and take a look at where we are in Mark’s Gospel.  Remember Mark wrote the first Gospel, it is the shortest of the Gospels.  If we look at how it is written we find that it neatly falls into two parts, the first beginning with the Baptism of Jesus at the Jordan by John, and ending with the famous confession of Peter to the question “Who do you say I am?”. 

 

The second part is the Journey to Jerusalem and the death of Jesus.  This “journey” begins with a miracle, the gradual healing of a blind man.  He declares that he can see shadows, and gradually his sight returns to him.  And then the one we have today, just as Jesus arrives in Jerusalem.  There is a strong suggestion that these “blind stories” are there as a comment on the apostles inability to see what Jesus was about.  Remember last weeks gospel had James and John asking Jesus if they could sit on his left right side in heaven!!

 

 

 

Now, back to the way of Jesus.  If we are familiar with the stories about Jesus from the Gospels, we will begin to discern very easily a pattern as to what was Jesus’ Way.  He went about trying to get people to understand what God wanted of us.  He summed up the commandments to two, “love God and love your neighbor.”  And he practiced that in his actions of healing the sick, and most especially showing that the society had become trapped by the rules.  He reached out to sinners, he dined with them and worst of all, in the eyes of the authorities, he forgave people their sins!!  This was Jesus’ Way.

  

We are here this morning because presumably we have accepted the invitation “come follow Me”.  How are we doing on the Way, on that journey we call life?  Human nature is interesting, particularly as I reflect on my own life.  I have had the best of intentions but the reality of my actions often fall way too short!  Thankfully I have a forgiving and loving God who is constantly inviting me to get back on “the Way,” and supporting me with the community I belong to, the Church and its sacraments. 

 

Picture 1:  Tony

   

Picture 2:  Our Man in the NY Marathon this Saturday, Tom Fleming receiving the blessing of The Community

 

Picture 3:  Sean & Cara with their parents, Ed & Christine

 

Picture 4:  Bill with Nancy & Helen