Sunday Homily for January 6, 2018, Epiphany

Acts 12:  Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell.  He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.”

2 Timothy 4:  The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it.

Matthew 16: He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

John Cade and John Stack ready to start Mass
 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben & Shonda

The Kiss of Peace

Outreach: $   490.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Paula gets a cookie for her birthday

Rosemary's Blessing:

Readings:  2 Samuel 7, 1-16; Psalm 89; Romans 16, 25-27; Luke 1, 26-38. 

2 Samuel:

Date compiled:  650-600 BCE, probably in Jerusalem.  David lived ca. 1000 BCE

2 Samuel is part of a 4 book assembly: 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. 

Subject matter:      a)  Samuel as Judge

                              b)  Saul as King

                              c)  David as King

Sources:          a)  The court history of David written by Gad

                       b)  Samuel wrote chapters 1-24 of 1 Samuel

                       c)   Anti-monarchy source

                       d)  Pro-monarchy source 

                       e)  Redaction & editing by Nathan   

King David, Jesus' Ancestor   

 In the spirit of anticipating Christmas, I would like to tell you an Old Testament story this morning, a story about one of my most favorite O.T. characters, King David.  We Catholics do not have a tradition like Protestants do of hearing over & over the stories of the great ancestors of our religion and culture.  Today we can rectify this a bit.    

To get the scene you have to go back 1,000 years BCE.  David and two other great leaders are all living at the same time.  Samuel is the first of the three and he is the last ruler of Israel who is a judge.  Saul is the second person.  He follows Samuel as leader and is the first king of Israel.  

What is happening is that Saul is doing a bad job of being king.  If you know any psychology you will detect that he is bipolar or manic depressive.  He has big mood swings.  Yawheh has tired of him and has whispered to Samuel that Samuel needs to go find a new king.  Yehweh deconsecrates Saul as king.  He directs Samuel to go visit a man named Jesse with 8 sons in a special little town.  Name that town.  Bethlehem.  This is significant to N.T. writers like Luke and you will hear it mentioned in the Christmas readings. 

As each son is brought before Samuel Yahweh whispers in his ear, "No, not this one," even though Samuel thinks each one would make a good choice.  After the seventh son is rejected, Samuel prepares to leave, but asks Jesse if he has any other sons.  Jesse says that, as a matter of fact, he does have another son, his youngest, who is out in the fields tending the livestock.  When David comes before Samuel, Yahweh whispers, "This is The Man."  Samuel consecrates David then and there the future king of Israel.

With that David moves into King Saul's palace as a page and becomes a favorite to Saul.  David can interpret dreams and he can play a soothing guitar that calms Saul when he has some of his dark moods.  David pleases Saul so much that eventually David marries his daughter Micah.

Life goes on peacefully this way until one day the Philistines come to attack.  The Hebrews are terrified, in fact doubly terrified because of one giant guy who is killing everyone and challenging any & all Jews to come out and fight him.  Guess who this guy is.  The Famous Goliath.  Guess who volunteers to come out and fight.  David.

This part of the story we all know.  David dings Goliath with a stone from his sling shot, then whacks off his head with Goliath's own sword.  David becomes very popular with the people.  David becomes unpopular with Saul who begins to feel the poison seed of jealousy.  The jealousy expands so much that eventually Saul dedicates all his efforts to killing David.  David hides in the desert and ultimately Saul dies.

At this point David becomes the king and is successful in all he does.  At one point, in fact, after a successful military campaign against their enemies, David comes dancing joyfully into the city of Jerusalem leading the military parade.  From a nearby window his wife Micah is watching and as the Bible says, she is disgusted.  When David returns home and is greeted with the derision of Micah, he defends himself and declares that he will continue to dance his joy before the Lord.  Yahweh is not impressed with Micah' criticism and she never has any children.

Not all the time does David join his armies in the field.  On one occasion he is strolling on the roof of his house in the afternoon.  He looks over to a neighboring roof and discovers a woman bathing.  David is bitten.  He sends his servants to invite her to dinner at the king's palace.  A month or so later, guess what.  The lady sends word that she is pregnant.  Guess who this lady is.  The famous Bathsheba.

David decides that he can't let it be known that he is the father.  He sends for Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, who is one of his best soldiers.  He invites him for dinner, gets him drunk, then tells him to go home and sleep well.  Uriah, however, is a man loyal to his comrades and decides that he will not go into his house to sleep when his fellows are sleeping in the fields.

So the next morning David sends him back to the field with a note to the commander.  The note instructs the commander to put Uriah in the front of the fight and when they are all engaged to pull everybody back but Uriah.  Uriah gets killed. 

Shortly after this David is visited by a local prophet who has received a message from Yahweh.  Nathan tells David a story about a rich man who took a poor man's sole beloved sheep and slaughters it.  Nathan asks David what should happen to that rich man and David says he should be severely punished.  Nathan says, "You are that rich man."  So David acknowledges his failure and does penance. 

Meanwhile Bathsheba has a son.  The Great Solomon.  He who built the Jerusalem temple which the Jewish people are still lamenting since its destruction by the Romans.

You will see Luke make a big deal out of the lineage of Jesus, that he is of the house & family of David.  Solomon, the son of David & Bathsheba is his great, great grandfather.

There are so many lessons in this story.  I have just two observations.

1.  Jesus comes out of a lineage with a unique event.

2.  God forgives even some big sinners.  We can take consolation from this & know that we are accepted.

What about David do you like the best? 

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-12-21.mp3

Picture 1:  Our Father

Picture 2:  Maggie McGrath & Tom (dad)

Picture 3:  Cliff Wright

Readings: Ecclesiastes 1,2; 2, 21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians, 3, 1-11; Luke 12, 13-21

Eccllesiastes: this book contains the thoughts of the "philosopher," a man who reflected on how short and contradictory human life it.  He could not understand the ways of God.  Nevertheless, he advised people to work hard and to enjoy the gift of life as much and as long as they could.  In our selection you will see how he is pessimistic & depressing. 

I’ve chosen to expand the reading to give you a better view of his style.

The Gift: Celebrate it and Share it

Last Saturday evening our group of seven set up a campsite above the shore of the second of a group of three High Sierra lakes ten thousand feet high. The lakes are called the Rae Lakes.The next morning we planned to climb 12,000′ Glen Pass, which was standing straight up in front of us. The Rae Lakes are exactly at the line where trees cease to grow very well, so we were camping on somewhat open granite & shallow soil. 

Our menu that night was beef stroganoff and because we always had more than we needed, we invited three women at the neighboring campsite, a mother & daughter and another young woman.  The two younger women turned out to be teachers in the San Francisco area, teaching mostly underprivileged & handicapped children.  The girl traveling by herself had once even brought a group of 7th graders out to the wilderness. The three were eventually planning to climb Mt. Whitley and then exit. 

The next day Rose spent a lot of time climbing & talking with the girl who was hiking alone.  As a result, the two became good friends and discovered that they shared a number of the same dreams, to teach kids and to teach about nature.  The girl even recommended a neat little Italian restaraunt in Fresno, our town of arrival & departure. 

Our readings today all seem to indicate that life is futile and useless.  Why do anything?  Just eat dirt. 

Two observations on this.

First, life does not have to be looked at as useless.  It can be seen as a gift.

Secondly, the gift can be celebrated and shared with others. 

Let me work backwards.  I was impressed with those women because they were into sharing the gift.  The two young girls were teaching.  The mother came into the wilderness to share the gift with her daughter, even though the mother did not look like the backpacking type. 

We also saw numerous scout troops during our nine days.  Once we ran into a group of fourteen, about four adults and ten boys & girls about 15 or 16.  When we asked them who they were they said they were a camp.  We think they were taking a group of troubled teens on a wilderness trek.  This is sharing the gift. 

Before I share it, however, I think I got to celebrate the gift.  Which is exactly what we were doing in the High Sierras, and do every year.  Which is what we do here on Sundays.  We celebrate the gift of life. 

How do you celebrate the gift and share it?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-08-05.mp3

Readings: Acts 4, 32-35; Psalm 118, Give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good, His Love is Everlasting; 1 John 5, 1-6; Luke 24, 35-48.

Acts:  Just a reminder–

Author: Luke who is writing a continuation of his Gospel.  Much of his Gospel material is copied from Mark's Gospel.

Date: maybe 40 years after the death of Christ, or ca. 70-100 A.D.

Subject:     

•    First, the spread of the Christian movement in Jerusalem

•    Second, the spread of the movement through Palestine, i.e., the Holy Land

•    Third, the spread of the movement throughout the known world

Our selection:  Peter & John have just healed a cripple at the temple door.  Peter has told the gathered Jews that he did not do it.  Jesus gives them the power.   And, moreover, Jesus has risen from the dead.  Peter & John get arrested for this talk and then are released with a warning to not go around talking about Jesus Christ as risen from the dead.  The men return to the local group of believers where they share their adventures.  At this point Luke sets aside a couple of paragraphs to describe the local group of believers. 

You will note that the believers live a communal life.  This is what I lived as a Jesuit and it was comfortable.  It is also why I knew I was taken care of as long as I was a member.  Leave and I depart with nothing.

To Obtain that Peace, Face that Fear

A couple of years ago when I did the wedding in Scotland, I was hosted graciously by Katie McGrath, Bob & Jackie's daughter, who lives with her Scotch husband in Edinburgh.  I arrived a couple days early so I could look around a bit.  One beautiful day Katie took me to a huge book fair in the center of town.  While there we took in a couple lectures.

In one of these lectures there were three people discussing something which I have no memory of.  However, during the course of the lecture one of the people quoted one line from a poem that I had noticed and started to memorize.  As the lecture wound down I got this crazy idea.  I could show my appreciation for what these three people had done so well.  I might stand during the question time and recite the whole poem. 

Folks, I hate to get these ideas.  Where do they come from?  They can come up as questions, too. 

I'm sitting there thinking to myself, I don't want to get up in front of all these people and recite a poem, which I may not even remember.  I was pretty fearful.  At the same time, I am thinking, "Stack, you will be disappointed in yourself if you do not do this."  I have been in this place often.

Guess what I did.  Yes, I stuck my hand up, was called upon, stood, and recited the poem, stumbling a bit on only a couple of words.  People even helped me when I stumbled, which showed me that I was not the only person who appreciated the poem.  I told the panel I dedicated it to them and they seemed appreciative.  Even more grateful was I, however, that I could overcome my initial fear.

Which leads me to our Gospel story today.  Here we have the followers of Jesus, 8 or 10 of them, petrified and hiding behind locked doors.  Jesus comes in and says, "Peace."  I would like to say a couple of things about fear and peace and their relation.

I would propose that there are three types of fear.  One is therapeutic, one is non therapeutic or unhealthy, and the third sort of hits in the middle.  Therapeutic fear is when I meet a bear in Yosemite.  The adrenalin pumps and I want to run rather than getting mauled.  Good idea.  The apostles had this fear in that room, because if they went out maybe they too would get crucified. 

Another type of fear is of the ultimate, the fear of dying.  The response to this is just the opposite.  I may take numerous appropriate measures to cure myself, but in the long run we all will walk the path.  The response to the walk is acceptance. 

My little hero, a Dominican monk whose statue is in the Campo di Fiori in the heart of Rome, Giordano Bruno, seems to have accepted his fate to be burned at the stake one winter morning in 1600.  This was despite the fact that he spent 8 years in two inquisition prisons, Venice & Rome, defending his thinking and writing, fighting for his life.  He was brilliant little man ahead of his time by a few centuries.

The third type of fear was what I experienced when that crazy thought entered my mind.  Fear of humiliating myself, fear of looking like an idiot in front of those people, the old fear of talking in public which fortunately I seldom am cursed with any more.  The reason why Thomas in this gospel is a hero of mine is that he had the courage to say I don't believe this until I see with my own eyes.  He questioned. 

How do you deal with these types of fears.  Sorry to tell you for those who have it, face it and overcome it.  Join toastmasters like a number of people I know, including Rosemary's sister, Claire, volunteer to talk or read before people, ask questions at lectures. 

The result of dealing with these three types of fear?  Peace.  The Peace He is talking about in the Gospel.  Obviously, when I run from that bear in Yosemite, I will have peace. 

Especially I will experience peace when I accept my death, whatever form that may take.  And I will experience peace when I face my non therapeutic fears, like the fear of humiliating myself in front of others. 

I think this is what God created us to experience.  Inner peace.

The poem?  By W.H. Davies, Leisure

What is this life if, full of care, we have not time to stand and Stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs and stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance, and watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.

How are you dealing with your fears? 

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-04-19.mp3

Picture 1:  Mass begins with T.J. & Lorynne & Lacee

Picture 2:  Emily & Lindsay bring up the bread & wine

Picture 3:  Genny Holcolm

Picture 4:  Barb Wittek, Teresa & Doug Read

Thanks so much John & Mike & Buddy for helping me out when I could not come in this morning.  It's been a long time since I came down with a chest cold like this one I picked up.

Readings:

Genesis 22, 1-2, 9, 10-18,  Yahweh tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Psalm 116,  I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Romans 8, 31-34-22,  If God is for us, who can be against us?

Mark 9, 2-10, The Transfiguration.

Good Morning, My Dearest Tori.

Our First Reading is about Abraham from the Book of Genesis. I will share something about it later.

Our Second Reading contains my favorite verse from Romans

Thanks, Emma, for always being ready to light our candles.

Homily:

In our Liturgical Calendar, the gospel on the second Sunday of Lent is always that of the Transfiguration.  In our three year calendar today’s gospel is according to Mark.  Last year it was from Matthew, and next year it will be from Luke.  The Church also chose, at some time in the past, to have similiar texts about Abraham as the First Reading on the Second Sunday of Lent

Today we listened to the messenger from heaven telling Abraham,  ‘Since you did not withhold from God your beloved son, He will bless you with descendants as countless as the stars of the sky.’

Mike homilizing.

With regard to this myth about Abraham’s relationship with God in the Book of Genesis, it touches not only upon Jews, but today’s Muslims and Christians as well.  One of our favorite VBS hymns is ‘Father Abraham.’

In today’s gospel reading, Elijah and Moses represent the expectation of the Prophets and the Law for the coming of the Messiah; His words fulfill theirs.

Thanks, Mike.

Today’s visually brilliant presentation of the Father’s beloved Son, reminds us of the many times in the Gospel where not only Jesus is called the Light of the World, we too have been given that name when the Spirit transforms us to be the Body of Christ in the world.  We are God’s sons and daughters.

Think about the story of Elijah where the bowl of flour and the jar of oil never run dry, it is fulfilled by the Bread blessed and broken who has come down from heaven, celebrated in our liturgy of the Eucharist for all time.

No wonder you are such a neat kid, Buddy.  You are a Longhorn.

The prophecy of Moses, is that God will send to us the New Prophet, who will speak the words of God.  It is fulfilled by his beloved Son, with this command to us, ‘Listen to him.’

This week when and where will we find a secret place to listen to him to transform us?

Sorry, Ben, I could not help you this morning.  I was totally in bed, a strange place for me in the daytime.

Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1, 12-14 (post Ascension, Wednesday), Psalm 27  (good), I believe that I shall see the Good Things of the Lord in the Land of the Living;

also verse 4, One thing I ask of the Lord, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.  

1 Peter 4, 13-16; John 17, 1-11

Acts:

Observations & a final review—(Author, Date, Place, Subject)

 Author: This is Luke, the physician, the companion of Paul, the Gentile writing for Gentile Christians, and the same Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke.

 Date: Around 65 years after Christ.  Probably just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (70 C.E., a big date in Jewish history), or Luke would have probably mentioned it. 

Place: probably Ephesus, today a ruin on the west coast of Turkey south of Constantinople.  Once this town was a major Christian center.

 Subject: the material works like in concentric, expanding circles, beginning in Jerusalem and ending in Rome after touching Judea, Syria, Ephesus, & Europe.  It treats activities in the early Christian community, some of which may describe they way they wished things were.

Today's selection in chapter 1 takes place just after the Ascension of Jesus, which was officially celebrated this past Thursday.   

 Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, St. Louis U. Jesuits’ Liturgical web

That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord

 It may have been a year ago when I talked about Rosemary having a breakdown on her bike riding around White Rock Lake.  To refresh your memory, she had ridden around about half of the lake.  She is down at the south end near the dam.  Her chain fell off and she did not know how to fix it. 

 So she starts walking it in.  She may have phoned me, but I did not answer because I was riding.  People go by.  She walks.  Finally a guy asks if she needs help.  She says yes, he stops, and he puts her chain back on.  Simple.  But significant.

 I was so touched by this guy’s action, that I had decided that I would always ask people if they need help when I see them stuck beside the road.  I talked about it here and somebody special in our community actually assisted a woman whose car had broken down.

 This stopping can be hard, folks, especially for us obsessive compulsive bike riders.  I got to maintain my 16 or 17 or 18 miles per hour average.  Or I have to finish up and run home.  Whatever, for the past year I have pretty faithfully checked with people as I pass, often hoping they don’t need help.  And they did not.

Until this past Wednesday morning about 7:00.  We had already gone around the lake and were heading north on the White Rock Trail, which runs from the Lake all the way up to Valley View and Hillcrest.  I was passing just north of the Greenville Avenue bridge, going behind a building on Royal Lane, when I come around a bend and see a guy working on his bike in the grass. 

 I yell out, “Need any help?”  And he responds, “You got any air?”

Yes, I did have my emergency air pump and I knew how to work it.  So I stopped. 

 He had repaired a front flat tire with a new tube, but had no air pump.  So we pumped it up.  I took off the pump.   The tire went back down.  Whoa, bad news.  I think he pinched his tube when he put it and the tire back on the rim of the wheel.  The tubes are so skinny & fragile. 

 So I had to leave him.  He said he could call his wife and she would pick him up.  His car was at Valley View & Hillcrest.

 Folks, even though my efforts did not get the guy going again, I was so happy I had had enough resolution to stop.

 I talk about this because of the line in Psalm 27, which says, “One thing I ask of the Lord, to dwell in his house all the days of my life, to gaze on the loveliness of the Lord, and to contemplate his temple.

Two comments:

          1.  To be aware that we are dwelling in the house of the Lord, we are challenged to do what is mentioned in the last line, contemplate.  We are invited to be contemplative people, that is, to reflect, to stop and look, to appreciate.  I think this is what I was doing when I appreciated what the guy did for Rosemary.

 Contemplation focuses on the loveliness of people as well as the loveliness of the lake, the mountain, the flower. 

          2.  Secondly, when I was a Jesuit we were educated to be contemplatives in action, that is, appreciating the loveliness of the Lord and helping others to do likewise.  Comptemplation of my blessings leads to gratitude.  Gratitude leads to sharing.

 We are invited to appreciate the beauty of the lake and the bike ride, and to help others do the same.  It may mean simply stopping to fix a chain or pump up an inner tube.  

 When was the last time you contemplated the beauty of the Lord?  And helped someone do likewise? 

Picture 1:   Beginning, with Leo in Jackie McGrath's arms, Shonda & Ray

 Picture 2:   Offertory, Tom & Lynda

 Picture 3:   Leo joining the music team

 Picture 4:   Tom & Theresa Quinn with their daughter, Colleen & her kids, Quinn and Shannon

 Picture 5:   Alison is back!  With her husband John and Cliff