Sunday Homily, June 11, 2017, Trinity

Ash Wednesday Services at Marlene's house.  2017 Keystone, Plano 75075 at 7:00.

Who let this ex-Jesuit student in here?  We need a sergeant at arms.  Is this the real Jim Shropshire?

Readings:

Leviticus  19, 1-2, 17-18,  You shall love your neighbor as yourself

Psalm 103,  The Lord is kind and merciful.

1 Corinthians 3, 16-23,  Do you not know that you are the temple of the Lord.

Matthew 5, 18-48,   Love your enemies.

Welcome back home from Seattle, Gloria

February 23 homily

The structure of our Christian Sunday service, still today, has an intimate relationship with our brothers and sisters who attended their Jewish Sabbath Synagogue Service yesterday. After they sang songs, and gave praises to God, a teaching was given to them from the Law or Prophets that contained an expectation for the coming of the Messiah.

Deacon Mike sharing his thoughts on our readings.

In like manner, we sang and praised God with psalms, and we also received a teaching from the Law given by the Lord to Moses that ‘We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.’ Recall the commentary present in the first reading. It informs us that we are not to judge, or take revenge, or hate, or hold a grudge, against a neighbor. 

Welcome, Annabella, to Dallas where your mother grew up.

A second reading was not present in the Liturgy of the Word of the Early Church. Sometime in the last century however, the Church began to include this additional reading to enhance the gospel teaching of the Sunday service. Today it prepares us to become temples of God’s Spirit, so that for we can welcome and live the wisdom of the words spoken by the Messiah in the written Good News of Jesus Christ.

Happy Mardi Gras Aggie & Allen.

Today’s first reading, “that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” is fulfilled by the inspired writers of the Matthew gospel with the teaching to us that instead, ‘We are to love our enemies and pray for those who seek to persecute us; That’s how we can become children of our Father in heaven!

Good Work, Tori.

So, how did Jesus of Nazareth live today’s gospel reading? He took upon himself to love others as he had been loved by the Lord; He kept the perfect law! In like manner he called out to the Father he loved as he was being crucified with the words, “Father, forgive them for they do not understand what they are doing!”

Candle Lighting time with the experts, Tori & Zoe & Buddy.

Could we be looking at Santa or Kevin??  Welcome in, Whoever you may be.

Readings:

Genesis15, 1-6; 21, 1-3    Look up at the sky and count the stars.  Just so shall your descendants be.

Psalm, 105,  the Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Hebrews 11, 8, 11-12, 17-19  By faith Abraham obeyed.

Luke 2, 22-40,   Simeon & Anna meet Jesus

Thanks, Dearest Harper, for bringing along you grandmother Cathy.

Genesis obserevations :

What : the very first book of the bible beginning with Adam & Eve, the two creation myths, Cain & Abel, Noah and the flood, the Tower of Babylon, and then the big 3 patriarchs of the Jewish nation.  They are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The book is a fun read.  It is not history, but speculation and tribal myth. 

Date: contemporary scholarship thinks that the work was composed either before or during the B.C., the all important Babylonian Captivity. Why?  Give the Jewish people a sense of historical identity and tribal cohesion.  

The "A" Team, complete with lights.

Today’s selection: all about Abraham, the first of the 3 Great Patriarchs.  Abraham is crying and lamenting the fact that he has no children.  Why?  Sarah was childless and Abraham was 99 years old.  A “we have a problem, Houston” situation.  The Lord hears Abraham and uses a beautiful metaphor to show Abraham what is going to happen. 

Because the editor of this reading has so taken the fun out of it, I want to read a bit more.  Sit back and enjoy the story of how Abraham and Sarah had a baby.   I'm including parts of three other chapters between chapters 15 and 21.

Ben, our Candle Lighter of The Week, in action.

David Vanderpool

This morning, the last of the year 2017, I have a New Years story for you. Actually, it comes from the front page of last Sunday’s Dallas Morning News.  Mike Carrell saw it and gave me a heads up.

There is a guy named David Vanderpool.  His dad was a surgeon and David attended St. Mark’s Boys’ School.  When David was 15, he made a trip to Israel.  In the town of Nazareth he happened to get into a conversation with another 15 year old, a girl from Nazareth and a Christian. 

Cheryl reading The Blessing of the Candles.

At some point the girl asked David what he planned to do when he grew up.  David had not thought a lot about it, but assumed he would become a doctor like his dad.  David was impressed by the girl.  She had taught herself English.  He asked her what she would do.

“I will carry water and have babies,” she responded.  There were no other options.  David was stunned and embarrassed by his affluent and free life.

Even after the spectacular Christmas Eve (200 plus), Shonda, Ben, and David sing and play on.  

So, David did go to college at TX Tech and became a surgeon, but the girl’s response stayed with him.  He married Lauri and they had two sons and a daughter.  During this time two things took place. 

First, they made a number of medical relief trips to countries in Africa and South America where there were crises.  Secondly, David and Laurie made a promise to themselves that when their last child, Jacklyn went off to college, they would move to a third world country in need.

So, all went well for some probably 15 years, until 2013.  Jacklyn was going off to college.  Decision time.

John & Alison bringing up the Offertory of Bread (baked by Alison) and Wine.   What??  No wine, not even grape juice for everybody?   Too cold, slippery, and dangerous to have Jan bring the communion cups.  Thanks, Jan for staying home.

What did they do?  Yep, they sold their house and all their belongs, including a $20,000 pet guitar, set up a foundation called LiveBeyond, and moved to Haiti.  Haiti was chosen because they had already spent some time there after the 2010 earthquake.  They had to go back.

In the four years since their move to Haiti, the couple have set up a 60 acre complex with a hospital and school.  There was no clean water, no sewage process, no electricity in the village they chose because of its poverty, a town called Thomazeau.

The Great Father & Son Team, Cody & Ben.

A special joy came this year in the person of Jacklyn.  She finished college at A&M and decided she wants to live and work with her parents.

How are you going to emulate the Vanderpools in your village and in your neighborhood this New Year of 2018?    

Happy New Year.

Who wears these light up shoes?    Hint: he's an altar server.

Readings:

Isaiah 60, 1-6,  Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem.  Your light has come.  (Nice reading)

 Psalm 72,    Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Ephesians 3, 2-3, 5-6,  The Gentiles are coheirs & members of the same body.

Luke 1, 26-28,   When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east arrived.

Georgie says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome into the New Year."

Isaiah 60:  observations–

1.   Who:  Can you guess which Isaiah this is, 1, 2, or 3?  Yes, this is Isaiah III who seems to have lived after the Babylonian Captivity, that is, 555 Before Christ

2.  Today’s passage: chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem as a symbol, which is in total destruction.    Isaiah  is trying to lift the spirits of the people who are depressed at seeing the mess that is Jerusalem.   He is saying that your day is coming, Jerusalem, when you will return to being the most splendid city of all, and by extension, the tribe.

Isaiah 3 should get a commission from the Jerusalem chamber of commerce.  

Hannah, Zoe, and Emma, also, say, "Happy New Year."

The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols:

2 observations & 2 postscripts–

Where to begin, folks.  There is so much symbolism in this liturgy, in Matthew, for sure, and in the combination of Matthew with Isaiah and Psalm 72.  I'll touch 2 points, each with 3 subdivisions.. 

The Picture of Delight, Leo with a Cupcake of The Week.

1.  The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are

a. Gentiles

b. They come from the east, considered the source of wisdom in the world of that time.  Where does the sun rise?  Where do stars rise?  A new son has been born and like the sun in the east or a star he will bring new light. 

c. They are searchers & symbolize every person’s search for meaning in life.    Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising for not searching, and the Gentiles. 

Jan with another Cupcake of The Week.

2.  The 3 gifts. 

 a.  Gold is given because it signifies royalty. 

 b.  Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity. 

 c.  Myrra signifies medicine.  Myrra is for human health.  It comes from a bush like tree that has a yellow, sticky sap on its bark.  The sap was good for skin infections and acne, asthma, colds, and flu, and even herpes.  It is found in Saudi Arabia & Somalia.

 A post script.  People in Europe used to write an inscription over their doors, e.g. 20+C+M+B+10.  The numbers are our year.  The letters are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.   Christians made it say, “Christ Bless our house or Maison the year listed.

Richard and Carol, celebrating their 40th, receive two Power Bars of The Week, because they got more sense than to eat cupcakes and keep themselves in great shape.

Another post script.  In New Orleans Epiphany starts Carnival season, which leads up to Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  The parades are starting, folks.

 Sources: Reginal Fuller, St. Louis U. Liturgy; Biblical & Theological Resources, the Voice Institute, on line; Wikipedia; and other sources.

And Tom, too, who receives a Power Bar of The Week for his birthday and because he is our official Marathon Maniac.

The Epiphanies around Us

A while back Rosemary & I went to the exposition of some paintings of about six or eight artists. Among the artists and the reason we were there was a childhood buddy, who after a career as a lawyer now does oil paintings.  And he sells them for mucho. 

 As we were wandering around we ran into another couple who are old friends.  We asked what brought them to this exposition.  They pointed across the room to a middle aged, middle class, blondish woman who was standing by some of her works.

Offertory with John & Karen, Judy and Dick.

 Here is the story the wife told me.

 The couple we know are both academics on the university level.  Some years ago the wife had been teaching and came to know one of her students.  The student was a mother with a son about 8 years old.  At some point in time the father had abandoned them and left them with nothing.  They were living in the mother’s car. 

 My friend says to me that this shocked her and she thought this cannot continue.  She described the situation to her husband and two sons who were about 10 & 12.  Guess what they did.

Communion (bread, wine in small cups, and grape juice) helpers.

 Yes.  They invited the mother & son to live with them until they got on their feet.  The two sons moved into one bedroom and the mother & her son took the other.  Here they lived for almost a year until the husband found the woman a job. 

 The woman now is successful and is developing as an artist, selling her works for significant sums.  The son graduated from Jesuit, graduated from college, and now is married with a couple of his own kids. 

The Delgado Corner missing most of the gang.

 Obvious from the fact that they were at the art exposition, my friends are still quite close with the mother & her son. 

 I would propose that this is what epiphany is, a pointing to a presence among us and in us.  The presence is acceptance and care for others.  It points to something beautiful, a wow experience.  I received a wow experience just from meeting that woman and hearing her story.

 Who is an epiphany for you?

 For whom are you an epiphany?

Elevation.

Readings: Joshua 5, 9-12; Psalm 34; 2 Corinthians 5, 17-21; Luke 15, 1-32 (The Great Prodigal Son Story) A pre-homily Sunday.

Joshua

The scene: Moses has died just as the Jewish people are getting ready to enter their new land. Joshua takes the leadership. This book describes the defeat of the Canaanite people, and the division of the land.

In our chapter the Israelite people are camped outside Jericho before attacking the town. Yahweh is saying that he has removed the shame of the people for being slaves in Egypt. They are feasting.

2 Corinthians

This section of Corinthians informs the people that in Christ they are new people, a new creation.

The Prodigal Son: A Work of Art

This story is my favorite of the whole Bible. Note one thing: this is story, not history. The author carefully crafts his work of art to show how much God loves us. Let me give you three observations about the son, three about the father, and an extra three to show you how astounding this story is.

First, the younger son:

1. He has no right to ask for inheritance. None. By asking he is saying he wishes the father and the older son dead. A symbolic murder. Father can kill him for this.
2. He works feeding pigs instead of asking for help from the temple. This means he rejects the religious tradition and is considered a traitor not only to the family, but to the religion.
3. So as a horrible failure as a son of the family and a son of the religious tradition, he decides to return. He makes up his little speech and heads home. He is hungry to the point of dying. Do this or die. Many listening Jews would say, Die.

The Father: he actually commits as many crimes and sins as the son:

1. He runs down the road to the son when he sees him coming. A very undignified action. Outrageous.
2. He embraced and kissed the son. Huge violation of Jewish religious custom and law. By doing this the father positions himself outside of the religious & cultural community. He is a reject like the son.
3. He cuts the son’s speech off before he can say finish, eliminating the last sentence, "treat me as you would one of your hired workers." And to make it worse, he orders the servants to bring the finest robe, ring, and sandals.

The robe, the ring, and the sandals:

1. The robe: restores the son’s dignity.
2. The ring: gives authority to the son, even equal to the father and certainly more than before he left.
3. The sandals: gives the son freedom. Slaves were not given sandals so they would not run away. The father is doubling the message he gave when he cut the son’s speech off before he could say the third part about being treated as a servant.

A word about the older son, because we so often identify with him.

1. That he tells his father how he feels. Great. In those days, it meant the father can kill him. Today: communication.
2. What is his challenge: acceptance of his brother, his father, and himself; focus on gratitude for all he has; move from trying to be a good boy to loving? Any one of these? Or all? All.

I apologize for so much data. There is even more. The point is that the story is a carefully crafted work of art attempting to describe how totally loving our God is, toward us.

How does this image of God reflect your image of God?

Download the homily as an mp3 file for your iPod.

Readings: 1 Samuel 3, 3-10 & 19, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening; Psalm 40, Here am I, Lord, I come to do Your Will; 1 Corinthians 6, 13-15 & 17-20, Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit; John 1, 35-42, We have found the Messiah.

1 Samuel: This is book one of two books.  The series is 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings; the characters being Samuel, the last of the Judge leaders of Israel-Judah; Saul, the first king; and King David. 

Authors:  Traditionally it was thought that 3 people wrote the book, Samuel, Gad, & Nathan.  Samuel, chapters 1-25; Gad was King David's historian, & Nathan was an editor.  Contemporary biblical experts think this unlikely & say that the works were put together at least 50 years after the time of the events.

Time:  The events take place ca. 1100-1000 BCE.  The compilation & recording of the events takes place ca. 950 BCE. 

Today's Selection: Yahweh is calling Samuel in a dream.  This ties in with the Gospel where three future apostles are called.  Samuel's parents were Elkanah & Hannah, and Hannah is famous because of a touching story about how she came to have Samuel.  She had been barren for years and even Elkanah's other wife ridiculed her.  One day the prophet Eli heard her crying and praying in the temple.  At first he accused her of being drunk.  Then when he talked with her, he promised that she would have a son. 

Hannah had promised Yahweh that she would dedicate to the temple her son, if she got one.  Consequently, our selection finds Samuel residing in the temple with Eli the prophet.  He would be about 12 years old.

Be aware that while these marvelous stories are mythological, the writer is attempting to convey to a simple people lessons about trust in Yahweh.

Eli Who?

     When I was a young pup of a Jesuit I got to know an old blind Jesuit who was living in the old priests’ infirmary at Grand Coteau.  I can still remember a tall, skinny Fr. McLaughlin doing pull ups on a bar in back of the big, four story building we lived in.

     I got to know him especially well the first Christmas I spent at Grand Coteau, my first away from home.  I had acquired a really good case of poison ivy and could not do much.  I had gotten the poison ivy one recreation day when we were out in the Achafalaya swamp.  I used some Spanish moss after a pit stop in the woods. 

     Fr. McLaughlin received tons of Christmas cards and being blind he needed someone to write for him.  That was my job, which I did mostly standing that Christmas.

     In the Jesuits we had a strong custom of having spiritual directors.  Fr. McLaughlin was my first.  He was a great raconteur of stories, but also a kind listener.  He helped me through my homesickness.

     I talk about Fr. Mac because he was an Eli figure for me.  Fr. Mac & the priest Eli were both spiritual directors.  I would like to talk about spiritual direction and directors.  Two observations.

     First, I highly recommend this old Jesuit custom.  Get a spiritual director. 

     I have one.  Most of you know him, David McKeon, a married priest from the Rochester, NY diocese, a spiritual man and a licensed psychotherapist. 

     I usually visit him every other month, usually just recounting to him the many blessings of life with Rosemary, the life of our community, and my insights.

     Spiritual directors come in professional and semi-professional sizes.  Some are counselors.  Characteristics include:

          1.  The person is a good listener

          2.  They are affirmative

          3.  Like Eli, they reflect back what they are hearing. 

          4.  They do not tell a person what to do.  No “You shoulds,” a really difficult thing for lots of adults to refrain from.  Actually, teachers are trained to do this—with students.

         Secondly, besides recommending that you get a spiritual director, I would suggest that you all are spiritual directors, the semi-professional size.  For years I was a spiritual director for nuns, priests, young Jesuits, and people from various areas of life. 

     Spiritual directors helped me all through the Jesuits and David McKeon still does.  I invite you to consider yourselves spiritual directors.  It happens at meals, coffees, at Tom Thumb, at receptions.  Follow the four characteristics I mentioned, listen, affirm, reflect back, and don’t tell adults what they should do. 

 Furthermore, I invite you to get a spiritual director or counselor. 

 Who is the Eli in your life?

Picture 1:    Georgie & Elizabeth

Picture 2:    Ashley, Jean & Cliff's granddaughter       

Picture 3:    The Kerns, Ben, Candy, Michael, & Mike

Picture 4:    Cole

Picture 5:    Buddy with his granddad, Gilberto

Picture 6:    Leo comfortable in Jean's arms