Reminder, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 18, 2020

Readings: Isaiah 40, 1-11; Psalm 104, O Bless the Lord, My Soul; Titus 2, 11-14, 3, 4-7; Luke 3, 1-22.

 

Baptism & Original Sin: traditional & contemporary theology

 

Traditional theology on baptism & original sin:

 

a.  Original sin: the 1 sin of Eve & Adam, the eating of an apple, ruptured the relationship between God & Humans.

 

b.  Why we baptized: purification & removal of that original sin inherited by all babies.  A new born baby was a sinner & would go to Limbo forever if not baptized before dying. 

   

 

Contemporary theology on baptism & original sin:

  

a.  Original sin:

 

1.  no original sin

  

2.  Genesis story of the fall is allegory, not fact.  No Garden of Eden and no Adam & Eve.

  

3.  from Darwin's Origin of the Species the idea has developed that in our human infancy, we needed certain behaviors to survive.  For instance, killing another person & stealing (like food).  As our ancestors formed communities, norms of social behavior emerged, for example, the 10 commandments. 

  

4.  St. Augustine, ca. 400: 

 

–A major, if not the major influence on Christian/Catholic theology of original sin and human nature from his time to today 

–After conversion from a rather lusty life at 32, he had a pessimistic view of human nature, different from early Christianity

–St. John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), Pelagius, a British monk, & Julian of Eclanum, Italy, a bishop, all found nature good and fought against Augustine

–Augustine used all means to vanquish his opponents with their positive view that nature was good, even to sending a gift of horses to the pope to influence his decision.  Augustine won.

   

 

b.  Why we baptize today: (using the contemporary theology)

  

1.  To celebrate a new life

   

2.  To ritually & formally welcome the new person into a family, a community, and to a God famous for love and acceptance.

  

3.  To cleanse after the journey

 

Sources: Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent; John Shelby Spong; Wikipedia

 

 

We are Getting Better

 

I have one more Christmas story to celebrate this baptism today. 

 

There are three people in the story.  My good friend, her little daughter, and her niece, who is about 16 or 17.  The story took place at Collin Creek Mall one or two days just after Christmas.  Guess what they were doing.  Bringing things back. 

 

It happened that the niece had offered to take the daughter to the mall to have girl fun while her mother went to the mall to return various items.  After they had been there a while, the niece phoned to say that it was getting to be time for her to leave.  So could she return the daughter? 

 

They agreed that the easiest way to arrange the swap was for the niece to take the girl in her car, drive over to where my friend's car was, and then transfer the daughter & her car seat.  So they met in the parking lot, my friend's car in a parking place, the other car in the aisle behind the first car. 

 

Mother goes into the niece's car, unbuckles her daughter, and places the girl in her car.  Then she disconnects the car seat and reconnects it in her own car, securing her daughter in place.  Somewhere in this process she set her purse down.  Yep, you guessed it.

 

Who knows where she set it down.  Maybe by her niece's car, maybe by her own.  But apparently outside. 

 

She gets into her car and drives off.  Almost immediately she notices her purse is missing.  She calls her niece and asks her to look in her car.  No purse. 

 

So they both return to where the car was parked.  They drive around, ask people.  No sign of the purse.  The niece finally departs and mom  goes home.  She calls her mom, then she calls the mall security.  Nothing had been reported or brought in.  Security says to call the police.  The police do not know what to do.  Was it stolen?  Or was it forgotten? 

 

She thinks of her credit card, of getting a new license, she thinks of her phone.  So, using her mom's phone, she starts calling her phone hoping someone will answer   No one answers. 

 

 

Time passes.  A few hours later in the evening, her mom gets a phone call.  It is young boy, a high school aged kid.  He has the purse.  He says he and his dad found it in the parking lot and simply used the phone's incoming calls to call the number identified as "Mom."

 

The mom who got the purse back was Bobbi Jo Whitley, mother of Dillon, Hunter, and Audry.  Bobbi's mom is Jo Whitley, who read this morning.  The purse came back.  Nothing missing.

 

Are there not lots of good stories like this?  Are we not evolving into a better people?  Scott Burns said so in his column in the Dallas Morning News a couple of weeks ago.  A great Jesuit geologist and paleontologist, Teilhard de Chardin, thought so, saying that the human race is slowly becoming more mature, more sensitive, more peaceful.  I think so, too.  For lots of reasons.

 

What do you think?

 

Picture 1:  Mass begins with Kevin helping

 

Picture 2:  Daniel (Mr. A&M) & Beth

 

Picture 3:  Bob & Jerry with 2 new knees

 

Picture 4:  Georgie

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing Video:

 

 

 

 

 

Emma lighting the candles.

 

Readings:  

 Jeremiah 23, 1-6,  Woe to the shepherds who mislead the flock.

 Psalm 23,   The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.   (a good one!)

 Ephesians 2, 13-18, He is our peace.

Mark 6, 30-34,  They were like sheep without a shepherd.

 

The Offertory with Cindy, Bill and Marlene.

 

 

Homily:

 

I was asked by my older brother’s extended family to lead them in a Memorial Service at the National Cemetery in Keokuk, Iowa this past week.   It was special; binding us together from coast to coast.

                                                                          

John at the Consecration.

 

In last Sunday’s gospel reading, when Jesus gave his apostles power over unclean spirits, he sent them forth. They were to stay with those who welcomed the Good News, preaching to them to repent and receive the Holy Spirit.  Those who chose to be led by the Holy Spirit were anointed with oil receiving forgiveness from their transgressions.

 

The Eucharistic Ministers, Patricia, Jan, Claire, Lynda, Tom and Geri.

 

Recall that the twelve were told to take nothing with them on their journey, except for one thing. Do you remember what it was? I propose to you that it was obviously a tradition of the Early Church which still exists. For example, if our Bishop Edward Burns would have come to our community, this morning, his purpose would have been made known to us by the fact that he carried a staff on his journey here; It signified that he came as the Good Shepherd, who would spread this table before us, with the fish and bread, the Liturgy of Word and Eucharist.  

                                                                                                                            

Mike sharing his Homily with us.

 

At the end of the celebration, he would have also anointed each of us with oil, to become Christ in the world, to be the Anointed One, who not only receives; but bestows spiritual healing, to those in need. The spiritual health we grant to one another with the anointing at the end of Mass engenders a faith to be healed not only spiritually but physically, too.

                                                                                                                   

Communion.

 

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read and think about the very short story between last week’s reading from the Mark Gospel and this week’s reading.  The story gives an example of the worldly power that made John the Baptist collateral damage.

                                                                                                                                       

 

 

 

The Our Father.

Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2, 14, 22-33; Psalm 16, Lord, You will show us the Path of Life; 1st Letter of Peter 1, 17-21; Luke 24, 13-35

 

Acts observations—(Author, Date, Place, Subject), a repeat from Easter

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

Mother's Day: a brief history–

1.  Greece & Rome: Cybele was the mother of all gods

2.  in the U.S.

    a.  Julia Ward Howe: during Civil War, ca. 1870,  as a counter to the tragedy

    b.  Anna Jarvis: 1912, pushed for 2nd Sunday of May, Mother's Day, with emphasis on the apostrophe, i.e., a single mother of a family, not all mothers.  Ended up regretting the day because of commercializaiton in the 40's before she died.  Hated Hallmark Cards' canned messages instead of personal notes.

  
   

c.  President Woodrow Wilson: 1912, made it a national holiday.

Sources: Legacy Project & Wikipedia

 

Cura Personalis

I have a Mother’s Day story for you.  It comes from of all places, Rosemary’s home, NYC, naturally.  We were just there this very hour last Sunday.

 The scene is this.  It is around 4:30 on a beautiful day, blue sky, 62 degrees.  The Ride began at 8:00, all 32,000.  We have traveled up 6^th Avenue from Battery Park in Manhattan, through Central Park & Harlem, into the Bronx, passed through Queens into Brooklyn, and the 40 miles came to an end in Staten Island, near the Staten Island ferry, which we took to get to the starting line in Battery Park. 

 

 We have gone straight north and returned straight south.  This has not been a race, like the Hotter ‘N Hell here at the end of August, rather a stroll or a promenade.  I have never ridden in a tsunami of people until this event.  90 percent of the time I rode shoulder to shoulder with other riders, scrutinizing their every move so that I would not crash.

 At 4:30 on this lovely afternoon Bernadette is just arriving at the last bridge, the famous Verrazano Narrows, a bridge that goes up a good way before it comes down into Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and the finish line. 

 

 Bernadette is pooped as she begins this final ascent.  Everybody else in our group of 7 has already reached the end.  

 As Bernadette climbs bit by bit, she realizes that she cannot ride up to the top.  She gets off and starts pushing her bike up the bridge.  Remember, folks, this is New York City.

 Shortly after she begins trudging up the bridge a young man in his 30’s goes by.  Then he returns and stops.  “Would you like me to push your bike up the bridge?” he asks.  Remember this is New York City.  And this is a New Yorker, in fact, from Brooklyn, Bernadette tells me.

 Our New Yorker pushes Bernadette’s bike along with his own up to the top of the bridge. 

 

 When I was a Jesuit we were educated in a concept, cura personalis, which is Latin for personal care.  Advertising has made this term into a expression of narcissism, meaning my personal care.  In the Jesuits it was meant as a term for others, personal care of my brother & sister & my neighbor. 

 I would propose that this is a particular attribute of women, caring for others, which is what we celebrate today, Mother’s Day.  It is not limited to women, however.  This young man exemplified personal care.  In Luke’s story about the two guys on the road to Emmaus, who  is showing personal care?  Jesus.

 Today we honor the personal care of mothers.  We all, however, male or female, adult or kid, we all are called to personally care for our people.

 When was the last time you personally cared for yours?

 Thanks, Bernadette, for letting me tell your story.

 Picture 1:   Mass begins

 Picture 2:   Cameron & Nikki with their grandparents, Mary & Frank Esparza

 Picture 3:   Cora

 Picture 4:   Liam up, for the moment

 Picture 5:   Liam down & totally at home

 Picture 6:   Liam & Cora with their parent, Megan & Dave plus Megan's parents Rob & Beth

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $  130.00

  Outreach: $   

 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Ray gets a cookie for his birthday

 

 

1 Kings 3: Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong

Romans 8:  Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Matthew 13:  Jesus said to his  disciples: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, …

    

 

 

 

 

John Stack Ministries now meets at:  The ArtCentre of Plano, 902 E. 16th St, Plano

 

Apologies for overlooking these two important reminders.

1.     Saturday night remember to set clocks back an hour, "Fall back."

2.     Let's honor the people we love who have moved to the other side by bringing their pictures to our celebration.

 

And for Halloween,