Palm Sunday Procession begins.
Readings:
Entrance, Luke 19, 28-40.
Isaiah 50, 4-7, I give my back to those who beat me.
Psalm 22, My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?
Philippians 2, 6-11, God greatly exalted him.
Luke 22, 14-23, The Passion.
Holy Thursday & Good Friday, 7:00, Marlene's, 2017 Keystone, Plano.
Palm Sunday procession.
Palm Sunday continues.
Buddy reading The Blessing of the Lenten Candles, all 5 plus 1.
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: Zephaniah 12, 10-11, 13, 1; Psalm 63, My Soul is Thirsting for You, O Lord my God; Galatians 3, 26-29; Luke 9, 18-24.
Father's Day, A Brief History:
Mother’s Day background:
1. In reaction to the Civil War horror, Julia Ward Howe proposed a Mother’s Day, ca. 1870. It became a custom in some communities.
2. Picking up the idea later was Anna Jarvis who influenced President Wilson to declare it a national May holiday, 1912.
Father’s Day:
1. As a compliment celebration, Sonora Smart Dodd in
2. Her history played a role here, because she had great affection for her dad, a Civil War Vet, who took care of the family as sole parent when his wife died giving birth to their 6th child.
3.
4. LBJ finally designated it to be celebrated the 3rd Sunday of June. 55 other countries celebrate on the same day.
5. President Nixon finally got it established as a national holiday. Date 1972.
A Father’s Day Story
This event happened in mid-March. I was out in the back yard on a Monday morning about 7:30. I remember it was sunny, which was rare this past March.
Do not tell my physical therapist that I was out in the yard walking around with my cane or walker. I don’t remember which. I know I was still home bound for another couple of weeks from the second hip replacement. There was a fear I would fall down and dislocate the thing.
I know it was Monday because we have our recycle material pick up and I was out putting stuff in the container in the alley.
At some point I am walking back to the porch and the back door, taking the long route to see how many pecan branches had fallen in the yard. I’m out near the edge of our property where it touches the little north-
Along comes an elderly guy I had seen once or twice earlier in the year (probably younger than I am). He was headed to the Starbucks on Royal & Preston. We have a fair amount of foot traffic from the neighborhood pass our corner headed to Starbucks for their morning fix.
He says to me, “You have a really nice yard here.” Now when he says this, I’m thinking I did not hear him because our yard is a winter mess, lots of small branches still lying around from the first snow fall, everything ragged and unkempt.
So I say, “Thanks, but the yard is really a mess right now and I cannot do anything about it for another month or so.” And he responds, “Yes, but you really do keep a beautiful place here.”
I thank him again and he continues on toward Starbucks.
I was dumbstruck and touched. I do attempt to maintain a pretty place. It is like therapy for me. Yet this is the first time a passing stranger has ever complimented me on it. That compliment made my day and it stuck with me. It even gave me this shot of energy which made me want to go out and clean the place up, but I couldn’t.
The power of a compliment or positive stroke! They give life. I have subsequently found out this guy’s name is Harold and he is both a dad and a grand dad. He has a gift. It is a gift we all have
When and to whom do you dads put the gift to use?
Picture 1: Sienna helping with the beginning of Mass
Picture 2: Special Blessing of Males by the Women, Sandra
Picture 3: Kiddie Korner, Kayla & Cici
Picture 4: Sam with his Momma, Pam
Welcome in, Everybody. It gets no crazier.
Readings:
Genesis 15, 5-12, 17-18, The Lord God took Abraham outside and said to him, "Look up at the sky and count the stars."
Psalm 27, The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Philippians 3, 17-4, 7, He will change our lowly bodies
Luke 9, 28b-36, The Transfiguration.
The Irish are taking over, Joe with Marsha & Cathy.
Genesis observations
What : book 1 of the whole Bible which includes
The stories are mythological and fun reading.
Beware, Hue, it may be contagious.
Author: numerous sources, at least 4 big strands.
When: guess. Yes, compiled during the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ, to build cohesion in the tribe because it has a history, especially the point that they are chosen to be special by God.
Our selection: The story about Abraham and how God made a pact with the tribe led by Abraham, considered the founder of the tribe.
Welcome back home, Shonda & Bill.
Amusing note: in our reading Yahweh promises a section of land to the Israelite tribe. This genre of literature comes under the title of denial of responsibility, typified by ‘The dog ate my homework” or ‘God made me do it.’
The story is put together after the fact, after the event. The fact is, the Israelite tribe had to remove the Caananite tribe from the land. The Israelites slaughtered them all, men, women, and children, even the live stock.
Their observation years later, ‘Yahweh told us to do it.” Such was the origin of the Holy Land.
Emma has this candle lighting down perfect.
Philippians: another amusing observation
Paul says that his enemies and the enemies of the new Christianity have as their god their stomach. That could apply to me, too.
At your age, Buddy, I could never do what you do every Sunday. Congratulations.
Sunday Homily, 3-16-19, Transfiguration
This morning we celebrate the Transfiguration.
I would propose that our lives are filled with transfigurations, emphasis on the plural.
I would likewise propose that a transfiguration event produces in us peace, joy, and gratitude.
What's going on back there, Cheryl & Grace? You are missing one of your conspirators, Rosemary.
Six examples from my own life.
Kilimanjaro. I climbed that mountain 5 times and each time was a transfiguration. Each time was a special story and filled me with peace, joy, and gratitude. How high was I? 19 thousand feet plus.
Secondly, every time I biked across Iowa with Ragbrai. About 500 miles, 12-20 thousand other wakos. Talk about peace, joy, and gratitude. I could be riding along with tears in my eyes, just to be there pedaling along on a bright, cool morning, bike riders all around me. When I was younger and stronger, passing lots of people, I would greet everyone with a “Good Morning.”
The Best of all Teams.
More modestly, my early morning spin bike get togethers {M. W, F.) at the Jewish Community Center. 6 A.M. 15-18 people. Survival is a transfiguration, a natural high. And to think that there were days recently when I thought I may never do this again. To top it off, the first time I returned after the lumbar operation (another T.), they threw a welcome back-birthday party at the Monday session. Got me all choked up, which I know you find difficult to believe.
The Great Dougherty Team. Welcome home for Spring Break, Kevin.
Then there is Hilton Head, where Rosemary’s sister & brother in law live. It is always special. This trip tomorrow will be especially beautiful because the azaleas, the camellias, and maybe the Gardenias will all be in bloom. This is a re-booting trip after the disaster of our Thanksgiving trip
Did you notice the beauty of yesterday morning? It even reminded me of many equally cold, calm & beautiful mornings in Yosemite, especially my favorite, the Matterhorn Canyon trail.
Can you find happier kids?
Finally, it is a transfiguration trip for me each Sunday morning when we all get together. It don’t get no better.
Peace, joy, gratitude.
What are your transfiguration moments?
Communion team ready.
Rosemary's Blessing:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!
Taken from IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium
Thanks to the Team
Music, Shonda & Ben
Readers, Richard & Brent, Deacon Mike, & Buddy, the candle blessing
Eucharistic Prayer, John Cade
The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Ben & Becky
Final Blessing, Rosemary
Readings:
Acts of the Apostles, 1, 12-14, All devoted themselves to prayer
Psalm 27, I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
1 Peter 4, 13-16, Rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ.
John 17, 1-11, I pray for them.
Remembering………. This was taken in Yosemite ca. 2003-2004. A bunch of convicts on a week parole. The good old days. Quality went south after this trip: we went co-ed. We were invaded by sorts like Rose, like Beth, & Nicole.
See pix of new rectory at bottom of blog.
Reading 1
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles
When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?” He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud.
So they left the mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over half a mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place. All of them agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the men and women alike.
Our word for today.
Across Camellia from our house on Tulip Lane 3 homes have been bulldozed including the big one owned by the hockey player, Tyler Sagan. We should be out of our house in two months and into our new house (see below). Our old house will be visited by the bulldozer.
Reading 2
A Reading from the First Letter of Peter
Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.
If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you, that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!
Our word for today.
3 homes demolished on this one corner of Tulip Lane & Camellia.
The Lord be with you. A Reading from the Gospel of John
Raising his eyes in prayer, Jesus said:
Father, it’s time; display the bright splendor of your Son,
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human,
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth, by completing down to the last detail,
what you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.
I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced that I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them, not for the God-rejecting world;
They’ll continue in the world, while I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind, as we are one heart and mind.
The Good News of John.
Observations by Deacon Mike
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the words and actions of Jesus Christ come alive to us within the written gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
It is there that we become aware that the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within our hearts, calls us to forgive others as we have been forgiven; to bring love to others as we have been loved.
In our gospel from last Sunday, Jesus invited his disciples, and us, to follow his way, his truth and his life; so that we can come to be in him as he is in his Father.
We celebrate the Holy Spirit coming upon the Church
In the Feast of Pentecost; to begin the Church’s mission to the whole world; to Jew or gentile, slave or freeman, male or female, Catholic or Methodist, Baptist or Lutheran.
The Church today places a different emphasis in its selection of readings; they will now begin to come from primarily Luke’s Acts of the Apostles.
So we end our readings this morning that we have taken from primarily the John gospel during this past Easter season this way: “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent me so I send you.
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.
I will talk to the Father, and he will provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone who dwells with you and in you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth.
The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him; but you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will continue to do so!
Then, Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back for you. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me, because I am alive and you are about to come alive with me.
At that moment you will know absolutely that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
The Good News according to John
Please Remember these special people:
For all the medical personnel struggling to treat the tsunami of sick people, in particular, locally, Cindy's staff at Presby, Dallas and at Frisco Presby, the mother of Harper and Betsy, Kendle, working in labor & delivery; ; For Frank having hernia surgery this week; For Joe Hogan with cancer, For Loretta's aunt Alicia; For Ryan, Rosemary's nephew, who had surgery; For Bill Hammond, For Sydney; & For Sir Charlie; Shonda's mom; For Gilberto: for Michelle; For a friend, a neighbor, & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free.; For Hue; For John O'Donnell; For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health; For Anthony & Sabrina; For a young man who is suffering from depression; John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini;
Birthdays: Ray (80), Christi Occhipinti (45), Zaile Ekes, Shonda, Brent (13, AA), & Mabel (88!)
Community Finances, May 24, 2020
Expenses: $230.00
Outreach: $120.00 (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)
Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.
Welcome! Our New Home, the New Rectory
Address 7017 Helsem Lane, same zip code, 75230, Hillcrest Villas,
2.2 miles from 6107 Tulip Lane (to be bulldozed by the present owner, a former SMU student & basket ball player), S. of LBJ, north of Churchill, rustic motif in the whole subdivision (ca. 120 homes), car ports rather than garages.
We are blessed with a corner lot, slab vs pier & beam, ca. 2000 sq. ft. (1900 at Tulip Lane, & so much for downsizing).
The couple selling us their house said that Rosemary' personal letters letting people know we were interested in buying their house really decided them to call us. A very nice couple with 3 grown kids.
Happy Memorial Day from Helsem Way!
Readings:
Acts 4, 34, 32-35 The community of believers was of one heart and mind.
Psalm 118, Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
1 John 5, 1-6, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God.
John 20, 19-31, Thomas.
Acts reminders:
Author: Luke, the same who wrote the gospel. He was an educated, urbane Jew.
Date: the years 75-80
Subject: This is a travel log, detailing the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and the Mediterranean in between.
Today: we have a passage pretty universally admittedly idealistic. All is perfect and harmonious. We view a community which is a commune, a utopian vision of life and the foundation of communism.
Do Not be Unbelieving, But Believe
This week Rosemary and I will head south to Mobile, Alabama, where two events are taking place. First, we plan another reunion of my old ’58 class Jesuits will get together. Secondly, 50 years ago we graduated from Spring Hill College and there is a homecoming event staged by the college.
Of course, all this has me reflecting fondly on our years together. Three memories.
First, there was a neat spirit among the 25 or so guys I entered with. Most of these guys were amazingly normal, intellectually gifted, and some were amazing athletes.
Secondly, as a group we lived a rigorous monastic life. Silence, formal prayer times, work, study, and three recreation afternoons, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. We wore a black cassock & cincture or we wore long sleeved shirts and long pants, even to play touch football & baseball in 100 degree heat & Gulf Coast humidity. We took only three showers a week, a left over reflection of the old Catholic phobia about nakedness.
There is a story funny today about the odor or sanctity. This was how you could tell a fake Jew from a true Catholic during the time of Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain, say 1492. Catholics did not bathe, Jews did bathe once a week. Guess what the odor of sanctity was.
The third thing I remember is our life at Spring Hill College. For me it was a marvelous release from a cloistered life to life on a campus with guys and girls, not that we were allowed to, as it was termed, fraternize with the college kids.
I graduated 50 years ago with a degree in secondary ed, maybe grooming myself for administration in one of our 6 regional high schools. I also spent the three years studying Catholic philosophy in Latin. It was totally boring to me. We had the adversaries and we had to learn how to out argue them. We took our finals in Latin.
It was during these three years that a lot of my classmates began to question the whole process. It was Vatican II time, the murder of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King. At this time I never questioned. I just went along. I admired the guys, but was content. I survived because I played a lot of touch football and I took care of a fleet of boats & motors we used at a villa across Mobile Bay. I could go there every weekend and for two marvelous weeks in the summer. We also had three hot, excellent meals a day.
The overall training made me grow up quickly. I look back now, however, am somewhat embarrassed, and ask myself how could I believe in some of those practices. And I know. It was believe, believe in the process, in the company, in those who have gone through this before me, and look at them, how successful they are.
Doubting Thomas, the subject of our Gospel today, is a hero of mine. I think I would like to have been more like him in those early years. Which would have been impossible at the time, I know. I believed. Paradoxically, I think the training itself ultimately gave me the self-confidence and intellectual curiosity to enable me to have doubts & questions. Want to know when I started questioning? East Africa.
The danger with the "do not be unbelieving, but believe" statement is that it is a "do not think" statement. I become a sheep following the footsteps of whoever is in front of me with a feeling of security. Doubts can be scary, questions confusing. Without them I am less than fully human.
Like with Thomas, what are your doubts & questions. What do you do about them and how do you feel about them?
Thanks to the Team
Music, Shonda & Ben
Readers, Sandra, Mary Hall, Deacon Mike, & Buddy, the candle blessing
Homily & Eucharistic Prayer, John Cade
The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Becky & Ben
The Final Blessing & sharers of Vows, Rosemary & John
Readings:
Acts of the Apostles, 2, 14, 36-41, Then Peter stood up and proclaimed.
Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want (a good one)
1 Peter , 2, 2-25, To this you have been called.
John 10, 1-10, Whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate….
The Brain Center
Reading 1
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out: “All Israel, know this: There’s no longer room for doubt—God made him Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom you killed on a cross.”
Cut to the quick, those who were there listening asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers! Brothers! So now what do we do?”
Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized each of you, in the name of Jesus the Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our God invites.” He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”
That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Our word for today.
Brain Center??
Reading 2
A Reading from the First Letter of Peter
My sisters and brothers: If you’re treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.
This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Jesus lived. He suffered everything that came his way, so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.
He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.
They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross, so we could be rid of sin—free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing.
You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
Our word for today.
The Lord be with you. A Reading from the Gospel of John
Jesus said to his followers: “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen, instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate, the gatekeeper opens the gate to him, and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out. The sheep follow, because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice, but will scatter because they aren’t used to it.”
Jesus told that simple story, but his listeners had no idea what he was talking about. So, he tried again. “Listen. I’ll be explicit. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—they’re sheep stealers. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life—more of it, and better than they ever dreamed of.
The Good News of John
Birthdays this week, Cole, 11; Patricia, 74; Ron Senter, Warren Philip Wittek, 5
Anniversaries:
Bill & Patty Hammond, 52nd
Joe & Marsha Farmer, 36th
Stack & Rosemary, 15th
Please Remember these special people:
For all the medical personnel struggling to treat the tsunami of sick people, in particular locally, Cindy's staff at Presby; For John & Connnie's good froends, Bob with cancer & his wife, Judy; For Joe Hogan with cancer, For Loretta's aunt Alicia; For Ryan, Rosemary's nephew, who had surgery; For Bill Hammond, For Sydney & her dear Husband, Hugh, who just moved to the Other Side, & For Sir Charlie recuperating from surgery; Shonda's mom; For Gilberto recuperating from his gall bladder operation: for Michelle; For a friend, a neighbor, & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free.; For Hue; For John O'Donnell; For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health; For Anthony & Sabrina; For a young man who is suffering from depression; John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini;
Alexa for Geezers:
John Cade's Homily on Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew and the Jewish Synagogue—Talk Six
For Matthew the Easter moment is the climax of his story, God’s ultimate revelation.
Before we consider the many contradictions in the Biblical accounts of the resurrection, let’s see where there’s agreement. They all say that the Easter experience forced them to see Jesus with a radically new understanding. Whatever Easter was, its effects on those who live in time and space were real, even measurable. E.g., the behavior of the disciples was changed: Those, who at the moment of Jesus’ arrest had forsaken him and run off, suddenly demonstrated major courage. They showed a willingness to go anywhere and do anything that would support the reality they had come to know. Also, following their Easter experience the disciples found they had to alter their understanding of God. The concept of the oneness of God, so central to Judaism, had to be stretched to the place where Jesus could be included in that God definition.
[In the New Testament, Paul was the first to speak of this when he said that somehow the reality of God had been met and engaged in the life of this Jesus (2 Cor. 5:19). He and others began to try to explain how it had happened that “God was in Christ.” Paul says that, whatever Easter was, God had somehow brought Jesus into the very meaning of God (Rom. 1:1-4). Next, Mark suggested that at Jesus’ baptism, God had infused the human Jesus with the divine presence and reality. Then Matthew, and soon after, Luke, suggested that God had entered Jesus at the moment of conception (Matt. 1, 2 & Luke 1, 2). Finally, John, the last gospel, suggested that there never was a moment in time or in history when Jesus was not part of the reality we call God.]
The New Testament is clear about the nature of the Christ experience being some kind of God experience, one that is transcendent. This raises a question: Can an experience be real if the explanations of that experience are inconsistent and divergent? Spong certainly thinks so, and explains it as a human language issue. There is no “objective language” or “God language.” We have to talk about our experiences of God in human language. And every word human beings speak is a subjectively understood symbol.
There is agreement in the New Testament about the reality of the Easter experience, but there’s a wide divergence in explaining that reality. The New Testament provides us with five story themes that put the Easter experience into words. There is little consistency in them.
1st Example: Paul knows nothing about the burial tradition with Joseph of Arimathea. The Joseph character is not introduced until Mark’s gospel. Mark calls Joseph a “ruler of the Jews” (Mark 15:43). Matthew calls him “a rich man” (Matt. 27:57). Luke calls him “a good and righteous man” (Luke 23:51). John calls him “a disciple of Jesus” and adds that together Joseph and Nicodemus performed the burial, and made the burial quite elaborate with “about a hundred pounds” of “myrrh and aloes” (John 17: 38-40).
2nd Example: Paul has no story of a tomb, so no one visits or finds it empty. The women coming to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week enters tradition in Mark, though there’s no agreement about who they were, except for Mary Magdalene. Mark names Salome (Mark 19:1); then Matthew, writing with the Mark Gospel right in front of him, omits Salome (Matt. 28:1). Luke adds Joanna and “some other women” unnamed (Luke 24:10). John insists Mary Magdalene was alone (John 20:1). And did the women see Jesus at or near the tomb? Mark says no. Matthew says yes. Luke says no. John says yes; but only Mary Magdalene and only on her second visit. Of course, these inconsistencies are a literalist’s nightmare.
3rd Example: Where were the disciples when they experienced all this? Paul gives no place or setting for his list of those the Christ appeared to. Mark has a “messenger” (an angel) simply announce the resurrection and has the women tell the disciples to go to Galilee and “there you will see him.” However, Mark never describes that appearance (Mark 16:8). Matthew says it was in Galilee that the disciples saw Jesus, and he describes it in detail (Matt. 28:16-20). Luke says that appearances of the raised Christ were never seen in Galilee by anyone, only in or near Jerusalem (Luke 24). Luke adds that Jesus’ appearances continued “for forty days” and then came to an abrupt end. John says the original appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the disciples was in Jerusalem the evening of the first Easter in an upper room. He also says this experience was repeated in almost identical form eight days later (John 20:19-29). John’ also says there was another Easter experience in Galilee, but much later.
4th Example: Who was the first to “see” the resurrected Jesus? Paul says it was Peter. Mark never has the raised Christ appear to anyone. Matthew says it was the women at the tomb. Luke says it was Cleopas and his companion in the village of Emmaus. John says it was Mary Magdalene alone.
5th Example: Was the resurrection physical? Paul seems to say no. He says that “what is raised is imperishable” suggesting something that is no longer subject to death and decay (1 Cor. 15:42). He adds “it is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body” (1Cor. 15:44). Also in Paul Jesus does not rise; he is raised. So who or what raised him? Into what was he raised? Paul writes: “It is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God (1 Rom. 8:34). The implication is that Jesus was raised not back into the life of this world, but to the right hand of God.
There are three stories in the Hebrew scriptures of people being raised into God that could have supplied Paul with the image of resurrection that he appears to hold—a resurrection that is “real”, but not physical?
First, Enoch, known as the father of Methuselah and grand-father of Noah, was introduced with a line in the Book of Genesis: “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, because God took him” (Gen. 5:24).
[Interest in Enoch led to the Book of Enoch, written about a hundred years BCE. It became listed as an Apocryphal O.T. book (so not in the Catholic Bible). It was lost in the late 4th century and re-discovered in Ethiopia in the 18th century. Enoch’s story included the part that, as a reward for “walking with God” on this earth, he was said to have escaped death to live in the presence of God.]
Second, there is Moses, to the Jews God’s greatest prophet. In Deuteronomy it says only God was present with Moses when he died. (Deut. 34:5, 6). A common story was that Moses didn’t really die, but rather God raised him into the life of God.
And third, Elijah; it was said he was raised from life on earth to life in God. His story was quite dramatic. He was transported into the presence of God by a magical fiery chariot, drawn by magical fiery horses (2 Kings 2).
These three O.T. resurrection stories would be well known by Paul, and by Matthew, since they were part of the Law of the Torah, the scripture scrolls read in the Synagogue in their entirety, each and every year. Any one of these, or all three, could have shaped how the resurrection of Jesus was understood in a Jewish context.
On the other hand, we also can see the resurrection story evolving and becoming more and more physical. Mark never has the raised Christ appear to anyone; in his story the women fled in fear and said nothing to anyone. Matthew, contrary to Mark, his source, has the women grasp the risen Christ, taking “hold of his feet”. This is the first hint in the Easter narratives that ‘resurrection’ was beginning to be viewed as the physical resurrection of a deceased body. Of course, by the time this physical aspect of resurrection appeared, it was already the ninth decade, about year 82 CE, 52 years after Jesus’ death.
Luke is the gospel author who does the most to transform ‘resurrection’ into something understood as physical resuscitation. The raised Jesus can walk, talk, and eat, all physical accomplishments. And Luke has the story of the appearance of Jesus to Cleopas and his travel companion. Jesus suddenly, out of nowhere, began to walk with them, unrecognized. At the end of the story “he vanished out of their sight” (Luke 24:29). He just de-materialized! So even in the physical understanding of resurrection in Luke’s story, there was a mysterious non-physical reality.
The resurrection narratives are contradictory and confusing, but all of them were written out of the conviction that the boundary between God and the human, between heaven and earth, between life and death, had been broken in the life of this Jesus. The early followers of Jesus had tried to use words to explain what was beyond words. Their stories were later literalized in Christian history so much that ‘resurrection’ came to be seen as a literal, objective miraculous event. Claims were made that violate everything we know about how the world operates and how death functions.
A body deceased for three days came back to life. A heart that had not beaten from Friday till Sunday started to beat again. Brain cells, deprived of oxygen for at least thirty-six hours, were restored to fully functioning health. Flesh that had already begun to smell of decay, was rehabilitated. The natural world was turned upside down by the invasion of the supernatural world. Literalism produces disturbing, irrational narratives.
It’s no wonder why Christianity, presented in literalistic terms seems to more and more people in the modern world to be unbelievable! Can the resurrection of Jesus be real and yet the explanations of the resurrection be nothing more than mythical language? Should mythical language ever be literally understood? Our answers to those questions may actually determine the future of the Christianity itself.
Next week, the final chapter—a pulling together of how the Matthew Gospel was written as a liturgical document; how it was told against the background of the liturgical year of the Jewish synagogue; and how Matthew wrote it as an interpretation of the teaching and the meaning of Jesus himself.
Community Finances, May 3, 2020
Expenses: $1835.00
Outreach: $2350.00 (often Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)
4/28/20 we donated $1500 to Souls Harbor via N.T. Giving Day (the amount was matched that day)
5/3/20 we also donated $2000 to Souls Harbor because of a generous contribution via B.T. Giving Day (also a matched amount)
This is our best week of income in a couple of months. Very humbling. Thanks, Everybody.