Sunday Homily, August 18, 2019, 20th Ordinary Time

Readings:

1 Kings  3, 5, 7-12,   The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream one night.

Psalm 119,   Lord, I love your commands.

Romans 8, 28-30,  All things work for good who love God.

Matthew  13, 44-52,  The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.

Starting Mass

Homily

Some of you are aware that Judy and I were recently in Iowa for a memorial celebration of her mother’s life.   Judy’s mother came to what would be our birthplace in Iowa from a farm in Missouri to take Nurse’s training from nuns of the order of St. Francis who came from Peoria, Illinois. They had had been sent there some years earlier to serve in a hospital and to assist doctors who were also being trained in Keokuk.  These nuns served another purpose for us by catechizing Marie; she received the sacraments of the Church there when she was 21. The good news of Jesus Christ, the treasure buried in the field, the pearl of great value, the net used by the disciples to catch men, and the instruction on the kingdom of heaven had become the desire of her heart.

John reading 1 Kings

This town where Judy and I were born has a beautiful park.  It is the heart of the town and Judy began the first part of our memorial celebration of Marie there, with a reading from the Proverbs 31; the reading was part of the old spoken of in today’s gospel.  The theme of our celebration was Marie as a giver of goodness and justice.   I carried the theme forward with a reading that I gave to begin the service we had at the gravesite.  It was from the Letter of James where he reminds a sect of Jewish Christians of the Perfect law, we are to love one another as Christ has loved us.  This new way of loving had fulfilled the Royal law from Leviticus of the OT, to love your neighbor as yourself.  

Jean reading Romans

 In our first reading today from First Kings, Solomon has asked God for an understanding heart so that he could better serve God’s people wisely.  How were we shown this in 1 Kings? Recall the parable where Solomon determined which of the two prostitutes was the true mother of the child they had brought to him.

Mike

The wisdom that a scribe had read or heard about Solomon inspired him to construct that parable.   We were told last week that the seed sown by Christ spoken of in the parable was the Father’s word given to us by his Son. Today we were told that the treasure buried in the field, and the pearl of great value and the net sown in the sea to capture people is the good news of Jesus Christ that fulfills the wisdom of Solomon of the first reading.

Wendy, Shonda, & Ray

When the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, the priests disappeared.  Scribes who were the interpreters of the Law and Prophets were still involved in the Sabbath Synagogue Service for Jews.  Recall that this service was built around a calendar of readings from the Law and the Prophets  and the singing of the Psalms to praise God and a teaching by the Scribes on the OT reading.  [It was the liturgy of the Word of the Jews.] For the Jews who became Christians, disciples of the kingdom of God, the Christian Liturgy of the Word would fulfill the Sabbath Synagogue Service. The gospel reading would  fulfill the expectation of the coming of the Messiah given in the OT reading; the homily given on the gospel reading replaced the OT teaching.  [This couldn’t happen, however, until the first gospel was written, copied and given to the Scribes. But who were the inspired writers of the gospels and its parables, and where did they come from?

Zoe

 I propose to you that today’s gospel reading suggests to us that a good number of Scribes had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah. They believed that the sayings and teachings and writings of Jesus fulfilled that expectation given within the Law and the Prophets. They not only believed but wanted a good news of the Messiah preserved. Inspired Scribes, who were rabbis and disciples of the kingdom of God, were like a head of a household who took from their treasure both the new and old. The old was taken by the scribes from the OT; the new taken from the writings, teachings and sayings of Jesus, or in the case of this Matthew gospel, from earlier gospels.  The Sabbath Synagogue Service that kept Judaism alive they fulfilled by writing the gospels in parables so that Christianity, in harmony with the Law and Prophets, would be preserved.

Georgie

Kevin and Leo

Readings: Ezekiel 37, 12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8, 8-11; John 11, 1-45.

Ezekiel: Again we make a big jump, from Samuel & David to the prophet Ezekiel. The time is ca. 580 B.C, the time of the defeat of the Hebrews and the Babylonian captivity.  Ezekiel is warning the people of the calamities that come and ends eventually envisioning a new Jerusalem.

How Many More Years You Got to Appreciate?

We hear it said all the time that we have around 75 years of life in us.  That means we got 75 Christmases to enjoy, 75 springs and summers, and 75 Thanksgivings.  And that is from the age of Cameron & Reid, Brady & Trey.  Now you kids who are 10 or 15 only have 65 or 60 more birthdays and Easters.  Those of you 50 have only 25 more Christmases.  I have, guess, only 7 more according to the profile. 

Marriage at 25 means 50 years of fun & companionship.  I got married at 65.  Not much time to experience the fun & companionship. 

Over the past 5 weeks I have talked about some secrets to making marriage work.

·       Stay away from divorce, but play,

·       don’t expect a perfect marriage, but work for perfect moments,

·       plan fun and date regularly,

·       empty out the back pack of my junk and keep communicating,

·       give with words, listening, and touch & hugs.

This final discussion is both a summary of the five previous weeks and also a focus on appreciation.  Appreciation for the person who agreed to marry me.  The temptation is to rattle off the Spanish saying, "El amor es Ciego," love is blind.  The response to the temptation is appreciation.  Appreciate the perfect moments, the companionship, and the anniversaries.  Celebrate the appreciation.

We only have a limited number of Christmases & Easters, perfect moments and anniversaries.  Let’s not blow it.  Appreciate each one.

How many more do you have to celebrate?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-03-09.mp3 

Readings: 2 Kings 4, 42-44; Psalm 145, The Hand of the Lord feeds Us; He answers all Our Needs; Ephesians 4, 1-6; John 6, 1-15 

Kings: 4 observations–

Subject Matter: The Kings, naturally.  Especially Solomon after the death of his father, David.  But also treated:

    1.  The temple.  Solomon builds it.

    2.  The death of Solomon who held the nation together.

    3.  Division: Israel in the north breaks away from Judah in the south.

    4.  Israel destroyed completely by the Assyrians, ca. 720.

    5.  Fall of Jerusalem & destruction of the Temple; Nebuchadnezzar & the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 585 BCE.

    6.  Cyrus of Persia releases the Jews to return to Jerusalem after defeating the Babylonians (remember Babylon was near present day Bagdhad).

Date: from 900 – ca. 550 BCE, or from Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar & Cyrus

Authors: a compilation of many sources that was put together at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 550 BCE.

Our Selection: There are 2 significant prophets, Elijah & Elisha, his son.  In this piece, Elisha it telling a man with 20 loaves of bread to feed a crowd.  This is a lead into the Gospel of John about feeding the multitude. 

Sources: Encyclopedia of Judaism, Wikipedia

The Miracle of Sharing My Food

I hate to do this to you folks, but every time I read this story about 5 loaves and 2 fish feeding a crowd of 5,000 men (to say nothing of the women), I am reminded of my days in Tanzania, East Africa.  You who have heard these stories, please forgive me.  They just clarify so much.  Here we go.

I was on an overnight train.  I was traveling from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the capitol, to Moshi, a town near Kilimanjaro, where the Jesuits had a small one to three person house, which I used as a base when I was not traveling around Tanzania, Kenya, & Uganda giving seminars and retreats.

I had arrived in Dar es Salaam late for some reason and could not make an advance reservation for a first class cabin, which was the only way to go.  You shared a little compartment with another guy.  Because I was without reservation, I had to buy a coach ticket.  These trains are marvelous old antiques from the colonial age, but travel by coach is mayhem.  They are packed.  Don't dream of getting a seat.  Just be grateful that you can get inside.  Which I did, sitting on my one small suitcase, expecting to be awake all night listening to the kids, chickens, ducks, and snores of the few who had a seat and the ability to sleep through it all. 

You board this train for a 7:00 P.M. departure.  You expect to arrive Moshi around 5:00 A.M.   This particular night the train came to a halt at about 1:00 in the middle of nowhere.  Naturally, nobody knew why we stopped and for how long.  We stayed in that spot all the rest of the night and all the following day until about 6:00 P.M. 

Everyone on that train had food & water hidden away, except one gringo, who tried to sleep on the rocks on the edge of the roadbed, knowing he would hear the train move and could get up and get back in.

I was actually rescued from dying of thirst in the heat of the day by a young German couple in the first class compartments, the only other white folks on the whole train.  I was afraid to drink the water of the Tanzanians because they often did not purify it. 

I tell this story because the Tanzanian people on the train I suspect would be similar to the Jews listening to Jesus in that crowd of 5,000 men.  People like these do not go away from their base unprepared.  Not only do they carry food & water, they hide it so as to not have to share with someone too stupid to bring his own.  The women, especially, can hide in their robes lots of things.  Hoarding in the cultures we are talking about is no sign of inferiority.  It is survival. 

What Jesus did that was confounding is that he got these country folks to share their cache.  He takes some of the bread & fish and passes it on.  The person who receives it takes some, but feels uncomfortable only taking.  So the person puts a portion of his or her own in the basket.  What do they end up with?  Twelve wicker baskets of leftover food.

This interpretation of the 5 loaves & 2 fishes is as old as when I got ordained back in 1971, and before that.  I find it fascinating because we can go and do likewise.  You & I cannot multiply bread & fish, but we can share treasures.  We can share and we can invite others to feel secure enough to share. 

I finally arrived home to Moshi in the middle of the next night.  I even caught a thief with his hand in my right pocket at a little kiosk lit with a kerosene lamp.  The train had stopped at some tiny station and a lady was selling little pieces of rice bread or something.  I pulled that man's hand out of my pocket, grabbed him by the shirt, and threw him back.  If I had yelled "thief!", he might have been killed on the spot.  I knew the custom and the language, and he knew I knew.  He ran. 

I also got to know the German couple, even climbing Kilimanjaro with them one of my 5 times.  So, folks, sorry for repeating a favorite story of mine.  The question, too, is the same.

How am I overcoming my temptation to hoard & sharing my food?

Picture 1:  Mass with T.J.

Picture 2:  Bill Carey & Ron Kovatis

Picture 3:  Ron donating $2000 to CCAC with Claire & Ray, Jackie & Cathy

Picture 4:  Barb & her sister Evie from Germany

Readings: Zephaniah 2, 3; 3, 12-13; Psalm 146; 1 Corinthians 1, 26-31; Matthew 5, 1-12.

Zephaniah: The three chapters of the little book of Zephaniah were composed some 6 centuries B.C.  The theme is a common prophetic line: doom is the lot of the people because of their evil ways and eventually Yahweh will restore his people to his favor.  Note that the Babylonian defeat & captivity will come in another half century or so.

Preparation for a Great Lent: 7 Secrets of Marriage

I do not know how many times I have mentioned in here that because of being married I know I am a better, more integrated, and more peaceful person, priest, and psychotherapist.  As a way of making Lent different and more positive this year, I was thinking I would like to run a series of homilies on marriage.  I feel like a novice in this enterprise and like to tap the wisdom of some of you couples who have 30, 40, 50, and 60 years of marriage, like we witnessed last cinco de mayo when we had our annual anniversary party at Fairview Farm. 

However, in doing some reading on this subject, as well as considering my own experience married and likewise as a marriage counselor, I have put together Seven Secrets of Marriage.  We may run past Lent, but it really does not matter. 

Today’s Secret is: Divorce?  Never!  Murder?  Lots!

The first part of this is serious.  The second, play.  Marriage is entered into with the determination that it is forever.  I know lots of couple who started out with this determination, but did not carry through because the commitment wavered.   Commitment to make it work, which involves communication and murder, lots of it.

Murder is what I want to do when I don’t get my way or get hurt.  The temptation is to go passive aggressive or just plain aggressive.  What about to say instead, "I want to murder you."  I say this before I get too angry & too hurt.  It is a joke & used as a signal to let the other person know I have a problem.  It builds and is built on an atmosphere of play. 

Any reason for divorce?  Yes.  The three A’s: abuse, addiction, adultery.  A comment about each one because they are seldom black-white.

There are different shades of abuse, for example, verbal and physical.  Physical abuse is a blow or slap & is never tolerated.  One blow, out of there.  One blow always leads to others.  Once started and the poison is planted.  The temptation: this was a one time event because of stress.  The rule is clear: one blow is one too many.  Get out, get help.  Verbal abuse is tougher to deal with because it can range from cynical put down jokes to screams and temper tantrums.  It kills relationship & friendship.  When the yelling is accompanied by breaking things.  Watch out.  Dangerous.

Addictions, too, are hard to determine.  First of all, almost all addicts deny they are addicts. Secondly, what are the deadly addictions?  Alcohol and drug addiction are considered deadly.  However, what if my spouse only gets drunk or high on week ends?  Is one or two bottles of wine, or a six pack alcoholism?  What about addictions like work, or smoking, or TV, or exercise?  One thing for sure: treated & dealt with early reduces later family dysfunction. 

Adultery is often considered a black-white issue.  It happens, I’m gone.  Healthy.  What happens when the person gets into recovery, regrets and reforms?  And wants the marriage to be reestablished?  How does forgiveness and acceptance figure in here?

Of the three A’s, physical abuse is the most toxic and the easiest to respond to.  Out.  I have worked with couples who have dealt with the other forms of the A’s and because of their determination to avoid divorce, they have gotten into recovery and lived healthy lives. They might even have gotten to a point where they could play at murdering each other. 

How is you marriage going?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-02-03.mp3

Readings: Isaiah 49, 14-15; Psalm 62, Rest in God alone, my Soul; 1 Corinthians 4, 1-5; Matthew 6, 24-34.

Isaiah reminders—

 Author: This is Isaiah #2, the composer of chapters 40-55.  January 6 we had a first reading from this same chapter 49, verses 4-5, talking about Yahweh’s people being a servant and light to the nations.  I talked about the taxi driver whose son had been killed for his pickup truck in Cuernavaca.

 Date:  Ca. 575 before Christ.  The Jewish people of Jerusalem are defeated, crushed, & in the Babylonian Captivity.  Isaiah #3, chapters 56-66, is writing after the Babylonian Captivity.

 Today’s Message: Even though life is bad, Yahweh says he will never forget his people, somewhat similar to the reading from January 6.

Sources: Good News Bible

Don’ Worry About Tomorrow? 

 Yesterday afternoon I did a funeral celebration for a lady named Rebecca Sides.  It took place at Turrentine Funeral Home on Ridgeview.  She died of cancer at 58. 

 I did not ever know Rebecca personally.   I knew her through Jean Atwood’s son Sean, who married one of Rebecca’s three daughters, Terra.  Rebecca was the payroll supervisor for the city of Plano, so there were numerous Plano City people there, including her supervisor and an assistance police chief, both of whom gave excellent talks. 

 Of all the things I heard about Rebecca the quality that struck me the most was the way she had her priorities in order.  Her number one priority was her family.  She seemed like the family matriarch, a magnetic force that brought members together, especially her 4 grand kids. 

 I talk about her because she exemplified what Matthew’s two lessons are trying to teach us today and what he has been trying to teach us all during this sermon on the mount.  Namely, getting our priorities in order.

 I want to say a word about each of Matthew’s points, serving two masters and not worrying about tomorrow.  One preliminary reminder.

 Matthew is again using exaggeration, hyperbole, and infinite demand to convey his message.  Do you not want to say, ‘Are you nuts, are you crazy?’  There is another half, infinite acceptance, like the line, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.”  Psalm 103 & other places. 

 First, ‘Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, your body, what you will wear.  All these things will be given to you.’  Everyone can see this is like crazy.  And this is the negative aspect.  So it all gets dismissed. 

 The positive is the word  ‘worry’ repeated four times and the reference to the birds and flowers.  We can have our priorities and goals without worry.  We can emulate the birds and flowers to a point.  Worry leads to anxiety, to high blood pressure, and to strokes. 

 Secondly, the idea that we cannot serve two masters.  The negative part of this lesson is that it is either/or, black or white, God or mammon.  More exaggeration. 

 More positively, do we not serve a number of masters in our life?  God may be an ultimate master.  Do we not have numerous sub-masters?  Could it be possible I am my own master?  I wonder.

 All these lessons seem to be telling us to get our priorities in order.  From what I heard, Rebecca had hers in order.

 What are your 3 biggest priorities in life?

 Picture 1:   Leo with his baby sitter, Lynda  

 Picture 2:   Marlene & Cindy

 Picture 3:   Penny

 Picture 4:   Zoe

Readings: 

Sirach 35, 12-14, 16-18, He hears the cry of the oppressed.

Psalm 34,  The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 16-18  I have competed well.

Luke 18, 9-14, Two people went up to the temple to pray.

Could it be Halloween time again? Spider Man Cole.

Sirach observations:

Again we take
up one of the books of the Apocrypha, the 12 books written in Greek and not
originally considered part of the Bible.  This book is basically a
collection of Jewish wisdom statements and teachings, like, "A father who loves his son will whip him often, so that he can be proud of him later." 30, 1

Who:  Joshua, who was translated from Hebrew into Greek by his grandson.

Date:  ca. 200 years before Christ.

Our selection in chapter 35 talks about the nature of god
and what happens to the person who serves god.  It sets up Luke's parable
about the pharisee & the tax collector in the temple.

Sophia.

 Self-righteous,
Me?

I love this little parable about the two people who went up to pray in
the temple.  Two lines are especially
sneaky.  The first line is where Jesus
says he has a parable about people who are convinced of their own righteousness
and who despise everyone else.  That old
sense of superiority.

Zoe with her Cupcake of The week for 5 years.

That’s me!  I’ll give you an
example.

I mentioned once that I think I am a hot bike mechanic.  Well, I also can think I am a hot shot bike
rider.  I have ridden the 5 Boro in NY, the Hotter ‘N Hell
Hundred, and I have ridden across Iowa for a week.  Hot Stuff.  Am I not super?

Ben with his Welcome Home Cupcake for him and Sophia.

One morning this past summer Rosemary & I went for a ride around The
Lake, White Rock, The Jewel.  We picked
up the White Rock Creek Trail at Northwood Park on Royal Lane just east of
Central.  It is about 4 miles to The Lake. 

I have what I call “rabbits.” 
Rabbits are other bikers I want to beat, 
motivators for me to really push it. 

Mr. Buddy ready for Halloween.

This particular morning as Rosemary & I are getting our bikes set up
at the parking lot, I see three guys go zooming by heading for the lake.  When I tell Rosemary that I think I see some
rabbits, she knows what that means.  We will
start together and I will race ahead to catch these characters.  Then I will wait for her at our arranged meeting
place on the north bridge over The Lake.

Zoe and Emma.

So I take off after these three bikers.   I can see them in the distance
occasionally.  They have all the colorful
clothing and good street bikes as opposed to hybrids.  They are a challenge.  I follow them under the bridges at Walnut Hill,
Fair Oaks, Abrams, Skillman, and even the Dart Bridge. 

I finally come up behind them just before the Northwest Hwy. Bridge.  I follow them for a bit, watching for an
opportune straight stretch so I can pass them. 
We are all moving at a good pace, 16-20 miles per hour. 

Harper.

Suddenly I notice something about the third guy.  He has a withered right leg.  I don’t even know how he pedals his bike, let
alone pedaling at such a pace on this winding trail.  His leg is there and his foot has a shoe, but
it is like shriveled up.   He must use the leg as just dead weight to
push down the right pedal.

I cannot pass them.  I am
embarrassed at my own sense of superiority and impressed with his
achievement. 

Torri at it.

Where they finally went I do not know. 
We parted when I stopped at the north bridge to wait for Rosemary.   I have never seen the guy again.  Was he some divine messenger sent to humble
me, to say to me ‘Whoever thinks he is superior will be humbled’?  The second good line.

A blessing hidden in biking is that just as soon as you think you are hot stuff, along comes somebody who rides by you like as if you are waiting for the Dart train.  Try, try, and try as I might, I cannot catch that person.

I confess I still chase rabbits, but I often think about the man with
the withered leg.  And feel appropriately humbled.  

Over whom do you feel superior?

Emma arriving ready.