Sunday Homily, October 29, 2017, 30th Ordinary Time

Leo says, "Welcome as long as you know the password" (e.g. You are The Best, Leo).

Readings:  

 Isaiah 50, 4-9,  The Lord opens my ear that I may hear.

Psalm 116,  I will walk before, in the land of the Living

 James 2, 14-18, What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Mark 8, 27-35,  Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself

Special Welcome to Barbara's sister from Germany, Gita.
 

Isaiah:  observations

What is it about: 1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd Isaiah?

1^st Isaiah, Chapters 1-39: predict doom for the Hebrews because they have not been faithful to their one god.  

2^nd Isaiah, Chapters 40-55:  this & the remaining chapters are called The Book of Consolation.  They try to assure the people who are now in exile that God will restore them to their former glory & peace.  In fact, in chapter 45 the composer even mentions the name of Cyrus, the king of the Persians who defeats Babylon & sends the Hebrews back to Jerusalem.  So the composer knew of Cyrus and a date can be narrowed down.

Emma at work on here specialty, Lighting the Candles.

This 2^nd  Isaiah section presents 4 suffering servant songs, #2 being our selection today.  Jews see the servant to be the Hebrew people/nation.  Christians see the servant to be Christ. 

Isaiah 2 is considered maybe the most influential O.T. book.  On Isaiah 2 Mark built much of his gospel, especially the story of the crucifixion.

Handel's Messiah uses 2nd Isaiah for its lyrics.

3^rd Isaiah, Chapter 56-66: more assurances of a return to peace & glory.

Georgie backing up the Candle Lighting ritual with The Blessing.

 Mark: observation

I do not like the line in Mark where he says we have to take up our cross.  I have seen the negative result of this.  Which is not to imply that we do not have to struggle to reach goals, like, say, 175 lbs.  

Welcome in, Ron.  Thanks for bringing Gita. 

Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead

This morning I would like to pick up on the line, faith without works is dead. 

First of all, to me the statement is simplistic & silly.  I know people who are unable to do anything for others, but they have faith, maybe in God, maybe in people, or in themselves.

Actually, we, I can look around and have greater faith in people because I see so many doing so many good things for others.  Actually, talking about this subject I feel like a fraud and that I am preaching to the choir, I see you people in our community doing so much.  Let me give you about 8 examples of people who inspire me.

A high level meeting of The Board.  A Brunch or not next week.

1^st, ever hear of the Cajun Navy?  Or the Baptist Men?  They are both over in the Carolinas doing rescue & recovery work right now.  On NPR yesterday morning, I heard the “Cajun Admiral” or “Captain” say he expected 1000 volunteers by Saturday afternoon.  They come with their fishing boats.  They were everywhere in Houston last year this time.

I’ve worked with the Baptist Men in Galveston and they come prepared with generators, a big kitchen, and showers installed in 18 wheelers.  I slept with about 20 of them in a dormitory in a church.  I wish I could be there.  Just have not got the stamina any more.

Georgie & Buddy, The Board has voted too double your stipends.

How could I ever forget Jim Mahar of St. Bonaventure, one of my patron saints, along with his local buddy, Bill Hammond.  The two of them have gotten me into so many projects.  It must even be close to the time Bill will be putting his sign up sheet out for the Love of the Kids Fall picnic.

Fifth, I am reminded that these first weekends of October are the weekends we used to plant trees.  How many did we have for our last big plant at Plano Senior High?,  I don’t know.  I do know, however, that we planted in an hour 400 trees.  Go see.

And another high level board meeting, this with dad & daughter.

Then, closer to home & me there is Brent with his marvelous work as director of Souls Harbor.  There  is Hue.  Do you realize that from 2005, when we started, Hue has been our sound man, Sunday after Sunday.  Then there is Jan, our faithful hostess.

And finally the picture takers like Rick, Connie, Mike, and even Rosemary on occasion.  Without everybody’s patience our blog without pictures would be pretty boring.

So, Leo, you are telling me that all these people knew today's password.  

So, even if you are like me and cannot do all the works you would like, who gives you inspiration and faith in the goodness of others?

Welcome back home, Dearest Harper.  It has been no fun without you while you were sick

Readings: Sirach 3, 17-29; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12, 18-24; Luke 14, 1-14

Sirach: this book was written after Jesus died.  It is basically a compilation of traditional Jewish wisdom material.  Our reading focuses on being humble and wise.

Humility a Side Effect?

A good friend of mine told me recently about a trip he made to Central Market. It was a week day, so the store was not so crowded. He went to the deli counter and there about a half a dozen people waiting.  Normally, when it is more crowded, customers take a number and wait to get the number called to get served. 

Because of the small number of customers this afternoon, people were not taking numbers. My friend said that often in a case like this people might try to jump ahead or get the sales person’s attention before it went to another customer. However, on this occasion people actually told the sales person, "No. It is not my turn. He is ahead of me." And everyone was doing this. No jumping the line. Waiting with patience and courtesy.

In Luke today he talks about taking the first place.  In fact, it is suggested that you take the second or last place so that you may be called up to the front of the line.  Some observations about this.

First, when I was going through the 2 year Jesuit novitiate emphasis was put on being humble.  Folks, I never felt comfortable with this.  Today I would rather focus on healthy humility being self acceptance.  Humility is really a side effect of self acceptance.  Self acceptance says, "Who cares whether I am first or last."

Second, I would even propose that if I have to be last or first, that need could be a symptom of something else, like a low self image or a sense of inferiority.  Maybe religious scruples or a religion addiction.

Thirdly, I would suggest that if I am choosinjg the last place or acting humbly so I will win esteem, whoa.  As the (famous?) poet David Budbill says,

I want to famous so I can be humble about being famous.                                                              What good is this humility when I am stuck in this obscurity?

Fourth, about inviting the guests to dinner. Rosemary says that the reason I get invited to so many dinners is because I fulfill all the requirements: poor, crippled, lame, and blind. 

Not to beat the acceptance idea to death, but I think a possible healthy approach is through acceptance of others as well as myself.  Ultimately, it is irrelevant whether you or I are rich or poor.  We are all rich and poor.  If I only focus on the materially rich or white or being from Plano Senior High or whatever, then maybe I got a problem and this may be the leading symptom.  Remember low self image?

Those folks in Central Market seem to have had some level of humility or acceptance. 

So, how are you doing accepting, yourself & others?

Megan, our September bread baker:

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Take this profile to find out your possible length of life: http://www.poodwaddle.com/realage.swf                                                                                           I will let you know my results next Sunday. 

Readings:  Wisdom 9, 13-18; Psalm 90, In every age, O Lord, You have been Our Refuge; Philemon 9-10, 12-17 (expand, 4-22); Luke 14, 24-33

Philemon observations:

Author: Paul in prison in Rome.

Time: around 60 C.E.

Actors:

—Paul

—Philemon, a leader of the Christian community in Colossae ( in Turkey today), maybe a slave owner

—Onesimus, maybe a run away slave, maybe a brother to Philemon.  This letter was used for centuries by slave owners to justify slavery.  Right up to the Confederacy.

What is going on:  Paul is writing to Philemon to request a warm welcome to Onesimus, who, as slave or brother, has apparently run off with money or goods of Philemon.  When Onesimus ran away, he met Paul and they became close, with Onesimus helping Paul while he is imprisoned.

We’ll read verses 4-24 for a broader picture of the letter.

Wisdom observation:  a book of counsel on behavior.  Basically, be good thrive, bad burn alive.  Not written by Solomon.

Sources: Good News Bible; Christian Inconnect (on line); New Interpreter’s Study Bible, pp. 2147 & ff.

Hate My Parents?  Renounce My Possessions?

I would like to talk this morning about the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred bike ride in Wichita Falls last Saturday.

Approximately every ten miles of the HHH there is a rest station.  You can get water, gator aide, pickle juice, pickles, bananas, watermelon, and other specialties.  The pickle juice & bananas are for potassium to prevent muscle cramps, which I have to fight.

I stop at every rest station except the ten mile station.  Last Saturday I was at the 30 miles station, a favorite because the ladies there bake chocolate chip cookies.  Trouble is, I can only eat one.  Or I’ll throw up.

I had made a resolution to lie down at each stop for a few minutes.  So I lie down in the grass near my bike.  Almost immediately another rider says to me, “You okay?”  I was perfectly okay I told him.  Thanks.

This caring for one another really touches me and seems contagious throughout the event.  Other people have asked me how I’m doing (maybe they think the old geezer can’t make it) and I ask others. 

My buddy and mentor Hammond tells me another story of people helping people.  He goes by a girl with a flat tire.  He remembers her well because she was all in pink, pink jersey, pink pants & shoes, pink helmet & bike, long blond hair.  Bill said there were about 5 guys all helping her.  I asked him if shortly there was a sixth.

Bill said he was telling Greg Moldovan the story at the next rest stop.  A guy near them in the crowd said, “Hey, I was one of those guys and we were only three.”

I tell stories about caring for one another to broaden Luke's demanding  message today.  Hate my parents?  Maybe not so hard to do sometimes.  My brothers & sisters?  Renounce all my possessions?  Hey, I’ve done this, actually twice.  It ain’t the answer.  What is the healthy approach?

Three observations.

First, we have here the old Christian dynamic of infinite demand—coupled with infinite acceptance.  It is not meant literally, but symbolically.

Secondly, this infinite demand can be healthy & useful.  What about healthy detachment for a greater good?  High school & college football practice is in full throttle right now.  When I played a bit of high school football, in order to get in shape we did all sorts of conditioning exercises. We did pushups so often I hated them for the rest of my life.

To achieve a greater good I may have to detach from my parents & my possessions. 

Thirdly, I have 4 examples of the caring-for-others-way being a greater good.

a.  Paul’s care for Onesimus in the second reading.

b.  Luke’s very own story of the Good Samaritan.

c.  The guy asking me if I was okay.

d.  Greg Mortenson’s stunning book, Stones into Schools, about building girls’ schools in Afghanistan

Whom do you care for?

Picture 1:   Mass Begins

Picture 2:   Mass Ends

Picture 3:   Georgie & Zoe enjoy the celebration

Picture 4:   Normally the one taking the pictures, Jan is caught by the eye of the camera.

Pcture 5:   The Gang, Sandra, Mike, John, Chuck, & Geri

Readings:   Terrific readings today–

Isaiah   55, 1-3,  Come, drink wine and milk.

 Psalm 145,   The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.  Also, That Line, The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love, Stanza 2.

Romans 8, 35, 37-39,  What will separate us from the love of  God?

Matthew  14, 13-21,  The feeding of the multitude.

Says Emma, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

Observations on the readings:

 1.  Isaiah 55: 3 beautiful invitations, come, come, come, come–4 times.  This is the very last chapter of Isaiah 2 trying to encourage the Israelites in the Babylonian period, ca. 550 B.C.

 2.  Psalm 145 & Romans 8.  That special line again, The Lord is gracious & merciful, does not get angry and is abounding in love.  

Paul is winding up Romans and is almost poetic, claiming that even cosmic events cannot separate us from God’s love.

CC, too, says, "Come on in, Folks, it's fun."

 3.  Feeding the 10 thousand.  This story is repeated in all 4 gospel stories.  In fact, it is told 6 times.

I have suggested for years that the real miracle here is that Jesus created enough trust and conviviality in the group that they shared the food that they would have most probably carried with them when they set out to listen to this man.  They knew there were no fast food places along the road. 

I saw this in East Africa.  People did not leave home without provisions stashed away.

I saw this trust and conviviality along the way in Iowa a week ago and would like to talk about it during the homily.

Amish Country. Just one of the gloriously beautiful Amish farms we saw along the Iowa roads.

It is not the destination, Folks.  It is the journey.

For over 40 years I have talked about how I see this story of the feeding of the multitude.  That the real miracle is that Jesus enabled these country people to trust each other enough to share their hidden stashes.  I really saw this in East Africa.

In light of my recent experience in Iowa, I would like to take a different slant this time.  In particular, I would suggest these folks were on a journey in their life, stopped to hear this man, and were greatly touched.  They were reminded that God is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love. 

Buddy and Tori ready for anything.

Three little vignettes from Iowa.

Probably on the third day of Ragbrai (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride across Iowa), I am riding along and see a sign for Iowa Conservation Assoc.  I stop because I know these people give out great bananas. There are probably 100 people at the concession and more than 100 across the highway at another concession. 

I am eating a banana when suddenly on my side I hear somebody playing Taps.  I think it is a pretty girl I have seen other years playing a trumpet.  Instead it is a guy.  His buddy has an American flag.  Both of them could be my age. 

Georgie ready to share her beautiful warmth with everybody.

At one point he starts playing the National Anthem.  The response was profound and electric.  Everybody stopped dead.  We all faced the man and the flag.  I was moved actually to tears, even remembering my years in East Africa when I was consoled just to see the flag blowing in front of the local American Embassy. 

After he finished and everybody returned to what they were doing, I crossed to the area where the two guys were and in a choking voice I told him how much I appreciated what he did.  He hardly even spoke a word.  Just gave me a hug.   A beautiful slice of Americana at a concession on the side of a road in Iowa.

Thanks to God every day for Wendy.

Later that same day, I am riding along again when I hear from the edge of the road at a concession, pop, pop, pop.  It is the sound of the Amish pie & ice cream concession. Yippee.  I had been looking for them.  We are in beautiful Amish country, especially during the last two days. 

The concession is on the right side of the highway and I am on the left.  It was too dangerous to stop with so many bikers, so I missed them that third day.  However, the last four days I stopped every day.  I even got to know their names and they would say when they saw me, “Here he is again.”  Their rhubarb-strawberry pie, their blueberry pie, and their churned on the spot vanilla ice cream were from another planet. Another experience of consoling Americana on the edge of the road.

Cupcakes of The Week for Harper's parents' 9th anniversary, Dawson, Cindy for herself and for her dad , Curtis at 85, and Linda and Hue.

Finally, there was the Marines’ chin-up bar.  We had pass through towns and overnight towns.  In the overnight town there was always a big expo with vendors of all types, lots of food, and the Marines’ chin-up bar.

I would see a cheering crowd and an amazing number of people who would step up and do pull-ups.  I saw a young maybe Philippino do 34 pull-ups.   Everybody was cheering him on, counting each pull-up. 

Offertory, Donna, Carol, David, Dawson, and Dana.

For me the most touching was a young girl, maybe 7 years old, shy and maybe Hispanic with olive skin and pretty black hair in a pony tail.  I don’t think she and her family were bikers, maybe residents.   I watched that little girl do 14 pull-ups.  I went over and told her what a marvel she was and that I could hardly do 1 pull-up.  Another touching slice of Americana right there in a little town in northern Iowa. 

As much as I was moved by the hospitality of the people who hosted us in the overnight towns, I was even more appreciative of the slices of Americana I witnessed all along the ride.  I was constantly being shown that the Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.

An ecstatic two cupcake Cindy, one for her birthday last week and one for Curtis, her dad, at 85.

It is not just the destination, Folks.  It is the ride.

How is your ride?

Genesis 18:  One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son."

Colossians 1:  It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

Luke 10:  "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

John Cade's Homily:    Download 07-20-25 Homily -16th Sunday in Ordinary Time                     

Paul reading from Genesis
 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben 

Carrie reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians

John sharing his homily

Outreach: $   320.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

David and Donna get a cookie for their anniversary

Rosemary's Blessing: