"Welcome in, Everybody, sez Ken.

 

Readings:

Isaiah 58, 7-10,  Share your bread with the hungry.  (A beautiful passage. Note: I lied. I thought we were done with Isaiah until next Advent, or so  I read.  I am happy to be wrong.)

Psalm 112,  The just man (person?) is a light in the darkness to the upright.

1 Corinthians 2, 1-5,  I came to you in weakness and in fear.

Matthew 5, 13-16, You are the light of the world.

 

 

It takes a team.

 

Isaiah reminders, again—(I lied again, Folks.  I thought we were finished with Isaiah, my favorite, until next Advent.  Nope.  Not really sorry, though.  We have him again Feb. 26, last Sunday before Lent.)  Where did I get my research?

 Author: This is Isaiah #3, the composer of chapters 56-66.  Isaiah #3 lives after the Israelites have returned to the ruined city of Jerusalem.  It is a very depressing experience after the exuberance of being allowed to depart from slavery in Babylon.  Like returning to your shattered home after a tornado, hurricane, or forest fire.

 

 

"Nuts, Sandra, I think I lost that thumb drive."

 

 Date:  Ca. 555 before Christ, the composition.  The Jewish people of Jerusalem are home again.

Subject:  A great day will come for you Jews.  You will be a bright light at dawn and your wound will be healed (of your defeat and slavery), if you take care of your neighbor, providing food, clothing, and shelter.  The corporal works of mercy.

 

 

Good Morning, Bill & Cindy.

 

Your Light must shine before Others

This is the fourth or fifth Sunday we have dealt with delightful readings that involve light, either receiving light or giving light.  Guess what.  I want to talk again about 3 people who are lights for me.

I have talked before about that guy whom I greatly admire, Jim Mahar, a professor of something like economics at St. Bonaventure University near Buffalo, NY.  This guy just continues to amaze and humble me. 

 

 

 

The Candle Girls at work.

 

I first met Jim through Bill Hammond.  He, I, and others,  all went down to Galveston to help with the clean up and repair of the city after hurricane Ike in 2008.  It seems to me like yesterday and, yet, it is incredibly long ago.

There were 20-25 of us, mostly students probably on spring break.  We stayed in a very hospitable Protestant church.  The pastor himself was most friendly and accommodating. 

 

 

Buddy reading The Blessing of The Candles>

 

The kids had bunk beds on the left & right of the church.  We old guys bedded down in a rectangular room with about 20 Baptist Men volunteers.  I could talk about those guys all day, they are so good.  The only problem that time: one guy in our dorm snored like a bear. 

These guys had an 18 wheeler trailer that they had rigged up with a number of showers.  The people in the church community fed us 3 meals a day. 

 

 

The Offertory a family affair,  Gil, Michelle, & Bernadette.

 

This was the first time I worked with Jim Maher.  I also went to Moore, OK, a suburb of OK City to help with a tornado that passed through a little trailer town called Little Ax.  And now  I get a facebook note from Jim, working with a bunch of St. Bonaventure kids in maybe the Bahamas.

Jim is a bright light in my life.  In fact, his light is blinding.  I am exhausted just following him from one disaster to another.   He and some kids even came to help in Rowlett once a few years ago.  I did not get to help out, but Bill Hammond was there. 

 

 

The Minor Elevation.

 

Secondly, Pope Francis.  And not just because he is a Jesuit.  Ever hear of Palazzo Migliori at St.  Peter’s square in Rome?  I just saw this in a news bulletin. 

I am proud of Francis and his team because he is taking a rich 19th century palace on the edge of St. Peter's square and turning it into a home for homeless.  The palace could  have been sold or rented out for an enormous sum.   "Beauty heals" was Francis' observation when he inaugurated the palazzo.

 

 

Communion Time.

 

About 50 men & women now sleep in the palazzo, which has 16 bedrooms.  Volunteers provide hot meals.  Among the volunteers are some Americans.

 

 

Bill give a pretty good health report.

 

 

The third group: our kids.  They don’t have to do anything and I love them.  I am so delighted with their presence, which brings light to our celebrations.  Look at Betsy, our most recent arrival.   Betsy, this does not include the monster who brings you, though I am exceedingly grateful to her, not only bringing you, Betsy, but also your big sister, Harper.

I have always welcomed little kids at the Masses I celebrate, and for sure, at St. Marks.  I would normally invite them up around me during the Eucharistic prayer.  One time in the big church a little boy knocked over the standing candles and another time a little baby barfed on my shoulder while I was welcoming her or him for maybe the first time. 

 

 

Sez Betsy, "Wow!  What is this??"

 

Guess what, everybody was so timid and cowed that Sunday they did not even stop me to let me know the baby had thrown up on my shoulder.  Only after the Mass, when even I was beginning to wonder about where that smell was coming from, did someone speak up.  These events both took place in the big church, not the 10:30 cafetorium.   That 10:30 crowd would have spoken up, probably laughing at me.

Again the questions:

Who gives you light?

To whom do you give light?

Anybody know who these character are??

Readings:

Isaiah  6, 1-8,   “Here I am,” I said, “send me.” The call of Isaiah.

Psalm 138,  In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

 1 Corinthians 15, 1 – 11,   I am the least of the apostles.

Luke 5, 1-11,   The big catch of fish.

 

Says Kevin, "Welcome in, Everybody, we are ready."

 

Observations:   Isaiah (I) 

This is The Great One.  The Prophet.  My favorite.  In general, this work has three parts put together by three different people.  It is time dependent: before, during, and after the, you guessed it, the Babylonian Captivity.  Keep 555 before Christ in mind as an easy date.  You can guess that this is Isaiah I, being chapter 6 (of 66 chapters)

Last week we heard the story of the prophet Jeremiah’s call by Yahweh.  This week we have Isaiah’s call. 

 

Harper, too, says, "Hi, Folks, Welcome in."

 

Psalm 138

Want to hear something beautiful?  Listen to today’s psalm.  Another of my favorites. Thanks, thanks, and more thanks.

1 Corinthians 15

In last week’s Corinthians’ reading Paul described his vision of love.  Today he continues talking to the people of his church in Corinth, focusing on how he was called by God.

So, today we have a theme of call & gratitude.  Even the gospel has a sub-theme of call.  Pretty neat.

 

 

 Candle Lighters of The Week, Cole and Leo.

 

Have a Happy Lent?

This morning, Folks, I want to talk about how to have a happy Lent, a Lent positive spiritually-psychologically and even physically.  

I got a story to exemplify my ideas. 

Last Friday morning at our 6:00 A.M. spin class at the Jewish Community Center, I had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of our trainer, a girl in her thirties named Jennifer.  She did not know this was coming.

 

                           

The Best, Shonda & Bethany, Ray & David,

 

She had told me the date of her birthday when I asked her a couple of weeks before if she was going to give me a birthday gift the week of the 26^th.  I asked for the theme of Rocky, my favorite work out music.  At the same time she said yes to Rocky, she said her birthday was the 5^th.  I tucked it away.

So, just before she started cranking us up at 6:00, Friday, I got off of my bike and addressed the 20 or so other bikers saying that is was Jennifer’s birthday.  We sang and then I gave her a gift with a ribbon Rosemary had added.  The gift?  A Cliff bar.  I figured she might beat me if I gave her a cupcake.  She eats healthy and it shows.

 

                                   

Ugh, Oh, Folks, that girl is loose.

 

At the same time the kid that mans the entrance desk walks in with a big piece of poster paper and tapes it on the glass wall.  It said ‘Happy Birthday, Jennifer.’  I had told him about it being her birthday and never expected such a positive response. 

Jennifer was obviously touched.  I became the teacher’s pet with hopes of future preferential treatment.   A dream.

 

 

Ugh, Oh, again, Gen, You are hanging out with dangerous people, that is, Leo and Zoe. 

 

Back to Lent.

I have mentioned before how I have a gloomy reaction to Lent mostly because of my early Jesuit experience with extra penance.   Like, we had chains we wore on our thighs a couple of times a week and we had little whips which we used to scourge our backs a couple of evenings a week before we went to bed in our cubicles.  I think we were sane enough to laugh at most of this.

So, how do we make Lent this year a positive experience?  I think most of us are into a fine tuning zone, a little here, a little there.

 

Jennifer and Kennedy, baptism time.  Welcome into our world, Kennedy.

 

So, physically, what needs fine tuning?  Myself, normally I have to watch the big 3, sugar, butter, salt.  I love them all, but they do bad things to me.  My goal: trim off maybe 5  pounds, weight I have gained from Thanksgiving, through Christmas, to my birthday the end of January.

So, where do you want to fine tune, lose a pound or two, exercise a bit more?

 

                         

Hi, Kennedy, Thanks for bringing your mom & dad and your  god parents,  Nick and Stephanie.

 

Spiritually-psychologically?  I would propose two positives:

1. Take time to contemplate, appreciate, and give thanks for something.
2. Make an effort every day to do something positive, like singing happy birthday to Jennifer.  I was lucky to have that opportunity to celebrate her. 

 

 

The Braun family,  Don & Debbie, Kennedy & Jen &  Kyle, Eric, Heather & Mckinley. 

 

Rosemary & some others of you have suggested we keep a jar, write down on a small piece of paper the positive thing we did that day, and put the paper in the jar.  A one a day vitamin.

The positive gesture can tie up with the gratitude. 

Rosemary will say a word about this at the time of The Blessing of The Week.  

So, how are you going to celebrate a Lent that is happy?

Readings:

Wisdom 18, 6-9,   Your people awaited the salvation of the just.

Psalm 33, Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Hebrews 11, 1-2, 8-19,  Descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Luke 12, 32-48, Do not be afraid any longer.

 

 

To be afraid or to not to be afraid

I would like to talk this morning about fear.  It is certainly mentioned all through the readings.  The idea is that you got to be on guard.  The master will come when you are not watching and you will get beaten or worse. 

At the beginning of the gospel, however, it says, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock.”  So which is it?  The whole Bible is full of messages about fear and punishment.  God’s love seems totally conditional. 

 

I would propose, however, that the core message is do not fear and that God’s acceptance of us is unconditional.  We are challenged, nevertheless, to be aware and to be vigilant.  To what?  To all the ways his love touches us in life. 

 

I have a little story that exemplifies what I am talking about.

 

A while back I was out at the big airport to pick up somebody, I don’t even remember whom.  On this occasion I had parked and come in to the waiting area.   I am hanging around and somehow got talking with a guy even older than you know whom.

 

He lives in Dallas and is waiting for a guy about his age coming in from Germany.   They are old buddies.  How did they get to know each other?  It was during the Second World War.  The man waiting next to me was a guard in a prison camp in the U.S. for captured Germans. 

 

During the man’s time as a prison camp guard, he got to know one of the German prisoners.  They found out they had a lot in common.  For one thing, the German spoke English.  Time passed, the war ended, and the German prepared to return home.  It came up that they both would like to keep in touch. 

 

Over the past years this is exactly what they have done, one visiting the other and vice-versa.  The families of both men have gotten to know each other, the kids included.  

As I watched, the German came out and the two men hugged.  They may both be widowers, but they still have a friendship they discovered and developed in a prison camp.   

 

When the Bible talks about being on guard and being vigilant, I would
propose that we can take that to mean being on guard to spot that ray of God’s love.  It may be a friendship that blossoms in a prison camp, it may be the beauty of nature, it may be simply the joy of being alive.   These two old guys were on guard more than figuratively, and they found something special for the rest of their lives.

What about forgetting fear and being on guard for the special sign of God's love in your life?  Today.

 

 

 

 

Say Rosemary & Cathy, "Happy Kentucky Derby Weekend and welcome in."

 

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles  2, 14, 36-41  Let the whole house of Israel know.

Psalm 23,  The Lord is my shepherd.  (Beautiful, consoling)

1 Peter 2, 20-25, By his wounds have you been healed.

 John 10, 1-10,  Whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd. 

 

 

 

Welcome back to Dallas, Ann, and to our community.  You are one of our best all time friends.

 

The Three Best

Whenever I go on a trip like the one Rosemary & I just did with Viking on the Elbe River in Eastern Germany, I get questions.  Like, ‘What was the best thing?’  I would like to talk briefly about 3 best things that struck me, a Berlin chapel, a church door, and a concentration camp. 

 

 

 

This bell tower is all that is left of the old gothic Kaiser Wilhelm church in central Berlin.  It is preserved as a remembrance.

 

In the heart of Berlin there used to be a large gothic church called Kaiser Wilhelm Church.  It was bombed badly in the war and all that is left is a large, beat up bell tower.  Bullet wounds and bomb damage from bottom to what is left of the top.   The bell tower has been preserved as is to remind.

 

 

 

Interior of the Kaiser Wilhelm chapel .   The blue ambiance comes from bricks with glass circles tinted blue, very moving.

 

Next to the tower a chapel has been built, very plain, a grey box on the outside.  After looking at prewar pictures of the old church, just for the heck of it, I decide to go inside the rather plain chapel.  I am stunned by the simple beauty.  The curved front wall is made of cement blocks with round blue bottle like glass.   A gold, ascending, larger than life-sized Christ hangs right in the middle.   Simple wooden pews.  The blue and gold ambience was stunning. 

The half destroyed bell tower and the stunningly moving chapel symbolize for me the story of Berlin.

 

 

View of interior from right aisle.  The bell tower in union with this simple chapel symbolize the old and the new Berlin.

 

Second best experience.  Wittenberg and the church where Martin Luther posted 95 theses, exactly 5 centuries ago on October 31.

All my training about this event gave me a misconception.  Namely, that Luther was out to start a church revolution.   Nope.

 

 

Wittenburg, Church door where Martin Luther posted his 95 theses 500 year ago this year.  It was a university bulletin board.

 

The story goes like this.  Luther was a professor at the Wittenberg University.  The church door was a bulletin board.  Professors would post theses which the students were expected to debate the pros and cons of.   Everything was hand written in Latin.  Luther even titled his material as Disputation on the Power & Efficiency of Indulgences.  Disputation is the key word and implied debate of the pros and cons.  It was only later that year or the next that Rome got wind of them and a year later excommunicated Luther and the ideas went viral.

 

 

 

Wittenburg town center.

 

3 samples of theses:

#21.  Those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.

27.  They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.

32.  Those who believe they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

 

St. Mary's Church, Wittenberg.  This is not the Luther church which was more of a college chapel. 

 

I spent three years, ’62-’65, studying philosophy at Spring Hill College in Mobile.  There were a hundred plus Jesuits engaged in this process.  We debated theses and we debated in Latin.  I took all my philosophy exams in Latin, written and mostly oral.   We had the church position and we had the adversaries.  We were expected to be able to verbally ace those adversaries.  Luther was probably one of our adversaries. 

 

 

 

A small number of the survivors of Ravensbruck. 

 

This was so déjà vu for me.  I could feel exactly what was going on, no revolt, just debate.  Somebody copied those theses, got them to Rome, and some priest, bishop, or pope over reacted, excommunicated Luther, and a revolt took place among the people.  Could this be taking place today?

 

 

Revensbruck compound & barracks.  100,000 plus women were concentrated here.

 

Thirdly, Ravensbruck concentration camp for women.  For years I have read about the camps, in particular Ravensbruck.  This camp was set up for women and it was this camp where medical experiments were performed on the women. 

 

 

 

Ravensbrook compound.  The camp is 60 miles north of Berlin.

 

We drove straight north out of Berlin about two hours on a beautiful day.  When I walked onto the compound I felt I was walking on hallowed, sacred ground. The barracks have all been removed, but the official buildings are still there, the infirmary, the clothes sewing hall, and the men & women officers’ houses.  I stood on the morning assembly ground and could see it all. 

As human beings we are capable of such horror and such beauty. 

 

 

Ravensbruck today.  The barracks have been removed, but the outlines are still present.  On the left are the work building and the infamous infirmary.  The picture is taken from the assembly area.

 

Readings:

Wisdom   2, 7-11,  I prayed and prudence was given to me.

Psalm 90,    Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy.

Hebrews  4, 12-13, The word of God is living and effective.

Mark 10, 17-30,  It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom.

 

"Hi, Everybody," says Genevieve, "Welcome to my baptism.  This is my mom, Mary, and my grandmom, Jill."

 

Wisdom:

Date of Composition: 100-200 BCE, which is why it is considered significant.  It provides a glimpse into the cultural & social milieu which prevailed just before & during the time of Christ.   We had Wisdom for our first reading 3 weeks ago.

Place of Composition: Alexandria, Egypt.

The Composer: a Jew who wrote educated Greek.

Unique Quality: Wisdom is one of a set of 12 (or 14) books written in Greek considered not part of the original 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, the O.T.  This blew up around 350 CE when St. Jerome, one of the Fathers of the Early Church, i.e., a church leader who influenced a lot of church dogma, said the books were not genuine.   He was opposed by St. Augustine.  It was the Council of Trent (ca. 1550), that declared the 12 books okay.  Another person doubting the validity of the books was Martin Luther. 

Rich, Ray's dad, and Jill and George, Mary's parents, with The Queen.

 

You probably won’t find these books in the Protestant Bibles.

Our Selection in Chapter 7: the book of Wisdom generally says that good guys get rewarded by God, bad guys don’t.  This selection personifies the virtue of wisdom, using the feminine pronoun she, and praises her as above all other values & pleasures.  I loved her even more than health or beauty, the composer declares.

 Sources: The Good News Bible, Got Bible Questions on line.

 

                         Genevieve's moment has arrived.

 

Mark, an observation

I do not want to talk about the Gospel this morning, but I would like to give you a head's up about one line, It being easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter the kingdom.

1.  I've been there and done what it says.   I am left with the belief that we don't have to be so hard on ourselves.  We are talking about infinite demand.  Balance that with infinite acceptance.

2.  Change the perspective.  Instead of the infinite demand focused on saving my soul for eternity, focus on the kingdom being present tense. Peace is the kingdom now.  Do we often push ourselves to achieve a goal in this life?  And with the goal do we experience peace?  I experienced peace in going to East Africa even though it tore my heart out to leave my mom and friends.

 

              "Robert, Ray, where have you seen God most recently?"

 

Don’t Judge that Book by the Cover

I did it again, Folks.  I judged the book by the cover.  In fact, I did not realize I was doing it.  The book, the German People living during the 3^rd Reich and the War.   

This is not saying that I had not met some marvelous Germans when I worked in Tanzania.  In fact, I even visited two German medical sisters in their homes on my various home visits.  One lived in Bonn, the former capital while Germany was divided.  The other lived in Cologne, which we visited this past trip on the Rhine. 

 

               "When I saw this perfect little girl this morning."

 

There was a series of insights into the German people on this journey, but in particular there was one Sunday afternoon in a little town called Speyer.  We had docked overnight, been toured around the town in the morning, and then the afternoon we were free.  Around 6:00 we would depart Speyer. 

Rosemary was pooped, so I told her I would just walk over to the plaza in front of the church and look around.  I had walked around for maybe an hour when I decided to simply sit on a park bench in the shade and watch the people.  It was a beautiful, contemplative afternoon for me.

 

                Today, even the gorilla gets a hug from Kevin.

 

In the park I was struck by the simple family enjoyment, parents with kids and people with dogs.  Europe is very dog friendly.  Rosemary & I saw three elderly ladies seated at an outdoor coffee shop, and the fourth seat, a little white poodle.  The dog was very well trained and polite.

The little town of Speyer was also neat and clean and people had red geraniums in almost every window sill.  I saw this in every German town and city.

 

It takes preparation, bread, wine, readers, and song books, and Jan coordinates is all.

 

On top of this, Germany is just drop dead beautiful, as Ron A. has told me repeatedly.  Green, hilly, forested, and dotted with these lovely towns. 

I have a bad habit of judging the book by the cover.  This is the first time I discovered that I have judged a whole people.  I had been shifting, I admit, because Rosemary has been feeding me these gripping novels about the conscientious German during the Reich. 

 

                                   Ray & Leo, dad & son.

 

 

How to survive if you disagreed with the program, when even a word overheard by a person could get you reported, visited in the night by the S.S., and then sent to a death camp.   There were a number of priests and Jesuits who encountered this.

 

                 Cupcake of the Week to Angela on her birthday.

 

I have come to see how I have been judging this book by its cover, the German people.

What is the book you are judging by its cover?

 

                        Not only does Jan coordinate everything.

 

Readings:

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

Psalm 103,  One of the best lines in the Bible, 3^rd stanza, The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in love.

1 Corinthians 2,  6-10,  The spirit of God dwells in you.

Matthew  5, 38-48, When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.

 

 

Observations on Leviticus

What :  the 3rd book of the Bible and one of the 5 books of the Torah.

Who:  a compilation of sayings accumulated over centuries, not Moses, as was thought for some years.

Date: sometime after the Exile in Babylon, ca. 555 before Christ.

Subject:  rules about how to live, how to worship, and the penalties for transgressing.  This is based upon 2 beliefs:

1. The world has been created good, but is vulnerable to sin.
2. Enactment of proper ritual makes God present and ignoring proper ritual compromises the harmony between God & people.

 

 

Some unique rules:

1. Cursing, death.   24.14
2. Unkempt hair, God will smite you.  10.1
3. Tatoos.  19.28
4. Trimming your beard.  19.27
5. Cutting the hair on the sides of your head.  19.27

Today’s Subject:  the best line in the whole work, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”   19.18

Sources:  Good News Bible, Wikipedia

 

I want to help people.  That’s what I’m for.

Ever hear of a guy named Clarence Griffith?  I read about him in the Dallas Morning News this past week.  Three things are unique about him.

1. He was born in 1913.  Know anybody that old?  101 years.
2. When he was 94 he received triple heart bypass at Baylor, Dallas.
3. Ever since his recuperation he regularly goes to console and help people in the Baylor cardiac waiting room.  He gets them coffee, food, and offers them support, praying with them or just letting them talk.  He says,  “That’s what I’m for.  I want to help people.”

 

 

For me, Clarence Griffith has accepted that, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in love.”  Moreover, he is making himself live that image.

Last week we looked at infinite demand that was followed up with promises of hell.  A fear based program.

 

 

This week we look at a different infinite demand equally challenging.  The demand is to get rid of fear in our relationship with God using that description, and to help others to do so.

This is one of the biggest reasons I have been and am a priest, and even a psychotherapist, to help others get rid of fear in our relationship with God.

Which leads me to three demands presented by Matthew.  If you reflect upon it, these three are a result of knowing that our God is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in love.

 

 

First, Matthew says, using his favorite little figure of speech, ‘You have heard it said, but I say to you…’, when someone hits the left side of your face, offer the right and don’t resist the person who is evil. 

Is this insanity or what?  Has it ever been tried?  Yes, you say, by dead people.   Impossible.  This is the message of the pacifist, a person mostly ridiculed by the rest of us.  Know any?  Sure, John Dear, once a Jesuit, Roy Bourgeois, once a Maryknoll. 

 

 

I wonder what would happen if we really did this.  I confess I have not been able to get there. 

Secondly, give to the person who asks from you.  Another tough one.  How do you feel passing the men & women begging at stop lights?  I, for one, feel horrible, even though I know they have a number of shelters, like The Bridge and Austin St. Shelter.   I can work in those places and know that we as a community help them, but I still feel horrible passing those people on the corner.

 

 

Thirdly, love my enemy.  I really don’t have any serious enemies that I know of, even though I have come to know that some hate me for what I am doing with this community.  For that matter, some of these people hated me at St. Marks.   

Despite failure to live up to these demands, which are infinite, our God is still infinitely accepting, specifically gracious and merciful, never get angry and is abounding in love.   Moreover, relevant to our weakness, he says in the following line, “Not according to our sins does he deal with us.”

 

 

101 year old Clarence Griffith is showing people this image of God in the Baylor hospital waiting room.

Who shows this image to you?

To whom do you show the image?