Readings:  Amos 7, 12-15; Psalm 85, Lord, let us see Your Kindness and grant us Your Salvation; Ephesians, 1, 3-14; Mark 6, 7-13 

Amos:   

Author: Amos or his scribe.  He was a shepherd of sheep & tended sycamore trees.  One of the 12 minor prophets of the OT, minor because of smallness of the works.  Amos has only 9 chapters.  Usual pattern of prophets: 1. predictions of dire times for evil behavior; 2. predictions of better times in the future. 

Date: Ca. 777 (a memory help), after the kingships of David & Solomon, time of King Jeroboam of the northern kingdom, called Israel vs the southern kingdom, called Judah (where Jerusalem is).   

Geography: Note the two kingdoms, Judah in the south, Israel in the north.  Amos tended sheep in a little town called Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem, in Judah, the south.  He is sent by Yahweh to Bethel, a small but important town in the northern kingdom, 10 miles north of Jerusalem, to warn the people of Israel & their king Jeroboam that Yahweh was mad at them.  The wicked high priest of Bethel, Amaziah condemns Amos for his interference.

The Setting: a time of prosperity.  But Yahweh is mad at the greed of the wealthy and their oppression of the poor (which ties into our gospel talking about walking lightly through life).  We know the people of this kingdom of Israel are headed for annihilation by the Assyrian nation.  And they will disappear as a significant body.  

Our Selection, chapter 7: (reading all of chapter 7) Amos describes three visions or dreams he has.  Amaziah gives it to him for spreading these visions around.  Then, Amos responds and socks it to Amaziah with a hammer.

Mark:  a couple of reminders–

    1.  Mark is the first of the 4 gospels written, ca 70 C.E.  Note: Jerusalem & the Temple were smashed by the Romans in 70, after a Jewish rebellion.  In 73 the famous Masada battle took place.  More about this event another day.  Just think, from this date until 1948 a Jewish state did not exist.

    2.  The first written documents were by Paul, his letters.

Sources: Grace Institute of Biblical Leadership; Catholic Encyclopedia; Wikipedia

 

Traveling Light through Life

A couple of weeks ago I called this guy from the city of Dallas.  The city provides a special service for people with lawn sprinkler systems.  They come out, check it, and offer recommendations for how to make it more efficient.  One of our neighbors told me about the service and I thought, "Why not?" 

So I get our system as efficient as I think possible, fix all the heads so they are not watering the street, have the grass all clipped, and invite the man out.  He comes in a fancy painted up little car and turns out to be a great guy, very affirming. 

He checks each of our three zones, notes how everything is working well, compliments me on how everything functions, gives me a print out, and departs.  I am feeling pretty great because I got into this sprinkler business a number of years ago when I found out how expensive even just a visit from a professional is.  I discovered that sprinkler systems are basically like Lego toys. 

So I take the print out and am scanning it.  I see that he has noted the amount of water one zone puts out per minute.  I had seen him out at the curb checking the meter.  I read the amount, then read it again unable to believe that it can be correct. 

The paper says one zone uses 100 gallons per minute.  There must be a mistake.  I add it up.  I usually run a zone for 10 minutes. That is 1000 gallons of water.  I got 3 zones, so I am watering my St. Augustine for 30 minutes.  3000 gallons every time I water!  I want to throw up. 

Making it worse, I had just read an on line info about water shortages coming.  Like El Paso and San Antonio are running out of water.  I am scrupling over using a toilet that consumes 3 gallons.  And here I am watering a our precious St. Augustine with 3000 gallons. 

I was reminded of this when I read this passage from Mark, part of which I have liked for years.  Where he says, "Take nothing for the journey."  Two thoughts.

First, this is obvious exaggeration, hyperbole, the old spiritual principle of infinite demand plus infinite acceptance.  If I had taken nothing for the journey on any one of the trips I took by motorcycle in Tanzania, you would not be stuck listening to me here today.  I've talked in past years about taking a journey or two where I did not travel prepared, like when the train broke down & was out nowhere for about 48 hours.  And I had not even brought water.

Second, I take this word journey as symbolic.  It  could mean a trip we take to Houston or Europe.  For me, however  it means the journey of life.  It is a challenge to walk lightly through the journey of life.  It means minimize stuff and toys.  It means travel free, be free.

By nature I am pretty comfortable with traveling light through life.  I did it for years in in East Africa.  Living as a Jesuit with a vow of poverty, which shamed me, also sharpened my sensitivity to simplicity. 

Yet here I am faced with watering St. Augustine with 3000 gallons of water.  This is going to be hard to simplify.  Even normally I only water 2 times per week.  Now I want to water once a week.  I got to look at zero landscaping.  Achieving simplicity & freedom on this is going to be difficult

There is a cynical saying going around that he wins who has at the end the most toys.  Delusion!  He with the most toys is probably the most trapped.  In the Jesuits we had an image we used sometimes, the monkey & the banana.  The banana is in a cage.  The monkey holds it but can't get his hand out while he holds it.  Stuff can be our banana.  Jesus says, "You want to be free?  Travel light."  I'm wondering if my St. Augustine is my banana.

What is your banana?  Your St. Augustine?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-07-12.mp3

Picture 1:  Beginning Mass with Lorynne & T.J.

Picture 2:  Anthony & Sabrina

Picture 3:  Maggie

Picture 4:  Chloe with her mom, Clair

 

Genesis 22, 1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Take your son Isaac.  You shall offer him up as a holocaust; Psalm 116, I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living; Romans 8, 31-34; Mark 9, 2-10, He was transfigured before them.

Introduction to Genesis 22

 The concept of a covenant between God and His people is one of the central themes of the Bible. The First Reading last week was the covenant God made with Noah. This week it is the covenant God made with Abraham, and next week it is the covenant God made with Moses.  Of course, as Christians, our belief is that we have a covenant with God through Jesus Christ. 

God, with infinite love for us brings salvation to the Table in the covenant won for us by Christ.  What are we to bring?  We are to live the spoken Word in our lives with gratitude!

 Before Bill Poncik gives the first reading, I want to share a story he emailed me a couple of weeks ago.  The mother of a young boy knowing that he had a terminal disease and only a few weeks to live asked him what he wanted to do that day. He replied that he would like to go to the Fire station for maybe he would have been a fireman.  She called the neighborhood fire station in Phoenix where they lived, told the chief there the situation and asked if her son could come for a visit. The chief asked for his height and weight and told her to bring him at 9:00 AM and plan to stay awhile. They were greeted by the morning shift of 16 men who made him a fellow fireman for a day, gave him a fitting safety helmet, yellow protective coat and boots. He and his mother began a wonderful tour; but he was told that if he heard the bell ringing that one of the 16 firemen would escort him to one of the trucks. Three times that day the young boy lived his dream.  A few weeks later his mother called the station once again to tell them that the angels would be coming for her son, that he was still awake but not for long. She was told to open the window of his bedroom when she heard the siren. That day 16 firemen climbed the ladder and entered his window fully dressed in their yellow and red. They were there, when the boy left them, dressed like the angels who had come to carry him to paradise.  16 men were living Christ’s words with gratitude in answer to God’s gift of salvation.

 

Homily from Mark 9:2-10

 

 Again, to better understand a reading, one must consider the context in which it has been placed.  So, in the teaching that precedes this transfiguration event, a man is seeking to be in a covenant relationship with God through Christ.  In this process of coming to faith he observes those around Jesus to be ‘like trees that are walking.’ 

What does this mean?  Christ’s disciples have to commit themselves to Christ’s words. The seed has been planted; but they have no roots, no foundation. They have failed to understand that he is the Messiah. That teaching does end with Peter coming to the realization that the Messiah has come to them; however, he misunderstands Christ’s mission and the disciples’ responsibility in response to God’s plan of salvation.

 

 Secondly, let’s look at the purpose of Christ’s mission in the very first verses of this Mark gospel realizing that since they are in the summary of the gospel we will find them somewhere in the later text of the Mark gospel.  When the Mark gospel begins we find that when Jesus comes forth from the waters where John was baptizing, the Holy Spirit comes upon him with the voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my son the beloved.’  These words are present twice in the Mark gospel. Here in the beginning of the summary of the Mark gospel—the second time, of course, is in today’s gospel. 

 Thirdly, we need to look at the very beginning of the Bible in the covenant God made with Abraham in the Book of the Law.  When Moses came up from the waters of the Red Sea leading the Israelites to freedom the Spirit came upon him.  Later, when Moses went up the mountain, by himself, the second time to receive the 10 commandments, Moses face continued to give off some light for he had been close to the radiance of God when the covenant had been made with him.

 

  In today’s reading, Jesus takes his inner circle of Peter, James and John up the mountain where Christ’s divinity is revealed to them. Streams of light come forth Him, for he was dazzling bright. When Moses and Elijah appear Peter is still in the dark, for he wants Jesus to abide in the presence of Moses and Elijah.  It is then we hear, with Peter, the voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, Listen to Him!’ (Exclamation point) No one is there but Jesus. The words of Moses and Elijah are to be understood as an expectation of the Law and the Prophets for the coming of the Messiah. When one listens to, and puts into practice, the words of Christ with all their mind and heart and soul, they enter into the new covenant with God through Christ through grace.  The words of Christ fulfill the covenants that required circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic Law.

 

 Some might be saying, ‘Well, yes, I understand; but be more specific about that to which we are to listen.”  Well, now we know why the inspired writers of the Matthew Gospel have a Sermon on the Mount! That sermon is to enlighten us. Not only is it a summary of how we are to live our lives; but it informs us that it is how we are to illuminate others to come to glorify God. During Lent I would recommend that we all reread it. It begins at Matthew’s Chapter 5.  How are you going to remember where it is in the Matthew gospel? Just look at one of your hands—five fingers—Chapter five.

 If you read the Letter of James written to the Jewish Christians its inspired writers tell us that in the New Covenant there is one perfect law.  Since in that letter there are many references to the John gospel, it’s not hard to realize what those inspired writers meant.  In the John gospel Jesus presents his disciples with one commandment.   We are to love one another as Christ loves us!  When we do that we are truly living the entirety of Christ’s words—the perfect response to the covenant God has made with us in Christ Jesus.

 

 Reflect for a moment on something you plan to do this coming week. How will you illuminate those moments to those who around you by your words and actions?  Remember, we show our gratitude to God only to the degree we show our love toward others!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily

  

What happens when we come face to face with God?  In each of our three readings today this is what we hear about.  For Isaiah it is a vision of God who is Holy, holy holy! And Isaiah’s reaction is similar to Peter’s and later to Paul’s, one of unworthiness in the face of God’s goodness.  But God is able to reach thru that tendency to turn away and invite all three into a relationship of discipleship.

 

 

Our presence here today also comes from some kind of encounter with God, maybe not as Isaiah’s vision of God surrounded with angels, or Peter’s encounter thru the miraculous catch of fish, or Paul’s vision of Light, but in some way God has reached into our lives, whether thru the action of our parents having us baptized, or thru an encounter with someone as an adult, which caused us to want to be here, we each got up this morning and among all of the options available to us, we chose to be here! 

   

And as we celebrate our Liturgy together we too will acknowledge our own unworthiness, several times.  We start with our penitential rite, in the Our Father we ask God to forgive us, in the Lamb of God we sing “Have mercy on us” and before communion we say “I am not worthy”.  But God has managed to reach thru to us, which is why we are here. 

 

But now the question we need to start answering is “what does it mean to be a disciple?”  God enters my life, so what? 

 

  
 

Let’s take a simple example.  When two people become friends, their lives are different as a result, and depending on the kind of friendship, so too the effect on their lives.  When Gayle and I met, I was single and living in an apartment in Carrollton, and she was single and living in her home in Highland Village.  When we decided to be married, we both left the comfort of our previous lives and set off for California.  This had a big impact not just on our lives but also on the lives of our kids!!  I am sure each one of you can tell stories of how your lives were changed as a result of different relationships you entered into. 

 

So too with our relationship with God.  What is the change?  What does God want in a relationship?  For Isaiah, it was to be a prophet to the people of Judah, for Peter it was to become a “fisher of men” and for Paul, it was to tell the whole world, or as much of it as he could get to in those days, about God. 

 

Our instructions are equally clear, Love God and love one another.  How am I doing in that area?

  

In every relationship, one thing that has to happen is that we have to get to know each other.  Anna in the musical “The King and I” sings that lovely song “getting to know you”, and we too need to continue to ‘get to know God’.  We do so thru our presence here, by listening to his Word.  In any relationship, we will also go out for a meal.  And thru sharing food, we get to know each other better. 

  

And so we are here today celebrating a Memorial Meal with God.  We are reminded during the Eucharistic Prayer to “Do this in Memory of me”.  It is another way of our staying in touch with God.  As a people, we have heard the Church Bell, and responded by coming together as a People, to Listen to God’s Word and to “remember Jesus’ Last Meal with His disciples. 

  

 

What does all this mean for us today  We are called to be a people of Hope, of Love and Forgiveness, a kind of light of Joy to the World. 

 

In the words of St Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

 

Picture 1:  Mass beginning with Tony & Kevin

 

Picture 2:  Sean

 

Picture 3:  Gilbert with Georgie & Zoe in his lap

 

Picture 4:  Jo with Hunter, Audrey, and Dillon

Readings: Acts 14, 21-27; Psalm 145; Revelations 21, 1-5; John 13, 31-35.

“Love One Another as I Have Loved You?”

Occasionally in our lives extraordinary moments come along. We experience a special consolation and come away profoundly touched. Last night’s get together was one of those moments.

We had people celebrating publicly 1, 2, 15, 25, 35, 50,& 60 years of marriage. I felt privileged to be part of the group. I felt doubly privileged to be on the stage with my old coach, teacher, & friend Frank Hart & his wife, Mickey, who knock me over with their 60 years of marriage.

Two things strike me about what I was watching. First, the people who are celebrating 25, 35, 50, & 60 years of marriage have a peace and happiness about them.

How am I different after two years of marriage? I am certainly more peaceful than ever. I’ve always felt a lot of inner peace; I feel even more now.

Secondly, I’ve also discovered that my old insights into marriage still have meaning, namely acceptance and having fun. I hear it said that marriage is work, it is hard. So far I have not seen it. On the contrary, every day Rosemary & I spend together we have fun. We work at planning the fun.

In the gospel, Jesus tells his followers to love each other as he has loved them. Maybe we are hearing “infinite demand”.

Psalm 145, our psalm for today gives a picture of how he loves. The line says he is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.

That is our challenge.

Whom are you loving this way?

Sorry no audio today.

Readings: 2 Samuel 12, 7-13; Psalm 32, Lord, Forgive the Wrong I have done: Galatians 2, 16, 19-21; Luke 7, 36-8, 3.

 

Sunday Homily 6-13-10, 11^th Ordinary Time

 

Preliminary observations:

The First reading today is from the Second Book of Samuel and it is about King David.  The Jewish people had reached a time in their history when they wanted to be just like their neighbors, who all had kings!! 

 

 

 

The prophets viewed it as not a good thing but basically we find Yahweh saying “let them have their king”, and so Saul is the first king and he is followed by David.  David is one of those huge figures in the Old Testament, and even gets mentioned frequently in the New Testament since Jesus was from the house of David. 

 

 

King David was a very interesting character, very human and very much loved by Yahweh.  The time frame for this is about the year 1000 BCE.  Before we listen to today’s reading I need to set it up.  The Book of Samuel, if it were being reviewed today by those who do those things would get an “Adult Only” rating.  I don’t want you to let your kids read this book, it is full of sinning and murder and other bad stuff!!

 

 

One day David is out walking around on the roof of his palace and he sees Bathseba bathing.  He takes a fancy to her, but she is already married.  No problem if you are the king.  He simply has her husband Uriah sent to the front lines of a battle where he is killed.  Getting a woman to be your wife this way is not good, even if you are the king, and God gets a little upset!!  Now just before our passage today we have the following piece in the Book of Samuel and I want to read it to you.

 

 

“The LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him, he said: "Judge this case for me! In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.  The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers.  But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. She shared the little food he had and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom. She was like a daughter to him. 

 

 

Now, the rich man received a visitor, but he would not take from his own flocks and herds to prepare a meal for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man's ewe lamb and made a meal of it for his visitor."

 

 

 

David grew very angry with that man and said to Nathan: "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death!  He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity." 

 

 

Then Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king of Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul.  I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for your own. I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more.  Why have you spurned the LORD and done evil in his sight? You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife as your own, and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites.  Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.'”

 

 

Our Second Reading is Paul to the Galatians, and Paul is very upset.  Remember first that Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles.  Initially in the early community the thinking had been that when someone who was a Gentile became a Christian all they had to do was be baptized, then the requirement to become a Jew was added, namely circumcision. 

 

 

Paul had come to the opinion, based on his revelation of the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, that baptism was all that was needed.  There was a whole lot of friction between Paul and the Church in Jerusalem who felt that Sabbath Observance, Dietary Laws and Circumcision were required.  In today’s reading we hear a phrase from Paul, “justified by works of the Law” that meant obeying the Torah law.  For Paul, having Christ in him was all that was needed, namely having a relationship with Christ.

 

 

Eleventh Sunday – Homily

 

 

The message today is primarily about forgiveness, but I want to begin before forgiveness with a session on sin, which I am an expert on!!  Because the practice of frequent confession seems to have disappeared there is a danger that we could lull ourselves into thinking that sin too has gone away, and I’m afraid that this would be a big mistake on our part.  Lets start with what sin is. 

 

 

Any action, which damages our relationship, either with God or another person, is sinful.  Now that kind of statement is pretty sterile on its own, so lets try to put some flesh on it.  Imagine you have someone in your life who loves you very very much.  Now you have done something, which hurts them, accidentally or not, it doesn’t ever matter.  Imagine how you would feel. 

 

 

The problem with our sins is that I’m afraid we don’t realize how much we are loved by God, for some reason it just doesn’t really sink in enough, because if it did, then sin would devastate us.  It seems to me that woman in our Gospel was very aware of what her sins were doing.  For some unexplained reason, maybe listening to Jesus speak somewhere, and it hit her.  We clearly see her response. 

 

 

David has a clear vision of his sin.  Paul is taking the position that if Christ is living in us, than we are alright, we are forgiven, and we don’t need to be doing extra things.  The hard piece for us to understand is that God’s love for us is so great that we are forgiven, even before we ask for forgiveness.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for sin.  We know there are.  David’s son died because of his father’s sin, the woman in the gospel story was an outcast in her society. 

 

 

The lesson for me in today’s liturgy of the word is how closely am I aware of my sins, and the need to change sinful behavior?  Just because I am forgiven thru God’s love doesn’t mean I can just continue to sin.  If I truly love someone, would I want to continue hurting them just because they readily forgave me?

 

 

Picture 1:  Mass Begins, welcome!

 

Picture 2:  Communion, Tony, Richard Baack & Richard Froebe

 

Picture 3:  Communion, Tom Fleming & Teresa Read

 

Picture 4:  Fred & Maureen

 

Acts 15:  It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage.

Revelation 21:  The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.

John 14:  The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.

 

Tom reading from the Acts of the Apostles

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben

Outreach: $  300.00   

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Brent, thanking the community for a $2,000 check for Soul's Harbor

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Grant us, Lord God,

a vision of your world as your

love would have it: 

a world where the weak are protected,

and none go hungry or poor; 

a world where the riches of creation are

shared, and everyone can enjoy them; 

a world where different races and cultures

live in harmony and mutual respect; 

a world where peace is built with justice,

and justice is guided by love.

Give us the inspiration and courage to

build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

From “Engaging our  Faith”, www.ucc.org