Welcome, Everybody, to our new home.  And thanks, Becky, for all you have done to welcome us.

 

 

Readings:  

 Exodus 24, 3-8,   This is the blood of the covenant

 Psalm 116,   I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord

 Hebrews 9, 11-15,    He is a mediator of a new covenant.

 Mark 14, 12-16, 22-26,   The Eucharist   

 

 

 

 

John with his long awaited arm operation done.

 

 

Exodus:   8 points on the readings, including 2 on Exodus, 4 on points from the other readings, 2 more on Exodus

    1.  This is the 2nd book of the Torah/Pentateuch, the first section of the Old Testament.  Deuteronomy, which we visited last week, is the 5th & last book.

 

 

 

Emma doing her candle Magic.

 

 

    2.  Story: This is a fabulous and edifying fable that tells how the Israelites got out of slavery in Egypt with the leadership of Moses. 

    3.  Passover: the night the angel passed over the first born male children of the Jews because they had smeared lamb blood on their door posts.  But the angel killed all the Egyptian first born sons to make Pharaoh let the people go.  Remember, this is not history, rather like a fable, like Aesop's Fables.  There is a story about the burning bush in the Holy Land, for tourists.  Tourists are told this bush was the bush that burst into flame and from which Yahweh spoke to Moses.

 

 

 

 

Welcome in, Harper.  I cannot wait to meet your new little sister, Betsy.

 

 

    4.  Covenant vs Contract: in a contract two parties agree to do something.  If one fails, the contract is often null.  In a covenant two people agree, and even if one party fails, the other party honors the covenant.  The Covenant between Yahweh & the People:  the people will honor Yahweh as their only god; Yahweh will protect and care for them as his chosen, and bring them into a new land.

    5.  Sacrifice & holocaust: ancient tribal belief that I must offer to my god (s) things precious to me to appease the god's anger or win his favor, for example, animals, prisoners, and the most beautiful girl in the community.  Jesus was seen as this sacrifice to appease the god, and also as the high priest who usually performed the sacrifice.  Thus the emphasis on blood & death.  Today scripture scholars as well as ordinary folks don't believe in a God who was so angry that he demanded special sacrifice.  We do not have a vengeful, angry God.

 

 

 

 

Sandra reads our Blessing of the Candles.

 

 

    6.  12 tribes: the 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob (or Israel; the 3 patiarchs were Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob-Israel).

    7.  Author & Date of Exodus: not Moses.  Rather a compilation of material from different centuries, that was mostly put together after the Babylonian Captivity, e.g., ca. 550 BCE.

    8.  Our Selection from Exodus: the people have been wandering in the desert and are now being given laws and customs they must observe.  The Covenant is being sealed.

 

 

 

 

The Best, Shonda & Ben.

 

 

A Banquet of Joy

In  honor of it being the feast of Corpus Christi, which is a celebration of our relationship with someone who totally loves us and accepts us as we are, I want to tell you a banquet of joy story.

These banquets take place morning, noon, and night.  It does not matter.  In fact, my dad was part of a morning banquet every week day at Christ the King parish, as I mentioned last week.

 

 

 

 

Rita & her admirer at the JCC gym, Jewish Community Center.

 

 

The banquet I was part of was in the morning about 6:00, at the Jewish Community Center, in the second floor gym, in fact.

There is a little lady named Rita.  She is black, about 60, big hair, somewhat round, and walks slowly into the gym with a walker.  She arrives with a DART bus, the small type bus that picks up individuals.

She comes maybe twice a week and settles on a recumbent bike which she pedals easily for 30-40 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

If that crazy Parkinson won't let the right hand behave, Jackie makes for a great substitute right hand.

 

 

I noticed her because she was unique in the gym.  And I really admired her for doing it.  So I started greeting her and we exchanged names sometime during the past year.  Last April I told her that I would be gone for a couple of weeks.  Rosemary & I were going to France.

She was so excited and asked me to bring her a little key chain statue of the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

Want to know why Rosemary played hookey from Juliettes Friday?   These two little critters, great nieces Rosemary (how about that!) and Alice, flew into Dallas with their mom, Kristine.   

 

 

I told Rosemary and, lo and behold, one afternoon in a tiny town curio shop in the Perigord region we found just what she wanted.

It was a week or two until I saw her come in one morning.  I got the Eiffel Tower key chain, went to her bike, bowed, and gave her the gift.

She went so crazy over that little token of my affection for her that I was almost in tears.  Her delight was my Banquet of Joy.

 

 

 

 

Coming up, Cupcake of The Week Time, everybody's favorite part of our celebration.

 

 

When was the last time you had a Banquet of Joy?

 

 

 

 

Sez Leo, "Cupcake time yet??"

 

Welcome in, Everybody, from Jean & John.

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah 66, 18-21,  I come to gather nations of every language..

Psalm :  Go out to all the world and tell the Good News

Hebrews 12, 5-7, 11-13, Endure your trials as discipline

Luke 13, 22-30,  Many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.

 

 

 

Welcome in, Everybody, from The Team.

 

Isaiah 66 observations:

Author: Isaiah III.  The book of Isaiah is one of my favorites, as you have heard me say often enough.   Some beautiful passages.  Remember, 3 primary authors are responsible for the 66 chapters, and we are reading the very last. 

This book is one of the Big 3 O.T. prophets, along with Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Why? because the works are the longest.  There are 12 minor prophets.

 

 

Trouble in the bleachers with Richard & Mike.

 

Time of composition: ca. 555 to 777,   The Assyrians annihilated the northern Jewish provence or kingdom, called Israel, vs the southern kingdom called Judah, where Jerusalem is.  10 tribes were lost in this destruction, the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel. 

Remember, there were 12 tribes.  Why?  Because of the 12 sons of Jacob, who was one of the 3 great patriarchs or founders of the tribe, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, who was also called Israel. 

 Message of Isaiah III: Mostly consolation after the catastrophic mess of Jerusalem that greeted the Jews on their return from Babylon. 

 

 

 

Do I have a deal for you on a almost mint condition red Studebaker.

 

What is the activity of a prophet?  1.  criticism, 2. prediction of dire consequences, 3. consolation.

Today’s specific message: this being the last chapter of the whole work, you might guess.  Yes, consolation.

To check out the state of the world, check in with Dona, Bernadette, and Tera (from Iran).

 

Psalm  117:  The best line in the whole bunch of readings.  Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Hebrews observation:

 The best thing about today's selection: we have to read Hebrews only one more week.  Awful reading today.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome in, Jim & John.

 

Go Out to All the World and tell the Good News

You all know well  that I love to celebrate birthdays, like we do here at our Sunday celebrations.  I have carried this over to the 6:00 A.M. spin classes at the J.

Consequently, I am often asking people when is their birthday.  Then at the end of our session I get up front and tell everybody that this person is celebrating a birthday, and give them a BelVita cookie package.  I used to try to sing, but gave it up because singing is not my gift.

 

 

 

With only her first cataract removed, Connie can see!

 

There is a lady named Haya.  I don’t know her last name..  I only know that I am touched and humbled by her.  She is probably 5’1”, and has a scar on the back of her right shoulder.  She and I are the same age part of every year.

Because I am intrigued and humbled by the background & history of these Jewish people, I often ask a person how their family was effected by the Holocaust.   With Haya having the same age as I have, I was especially curious to know what she was doing while I was growing up in University Park.  So I asked.

 

 

Who are those two characters messing with Ben?

 

Turns out that Haya and her family lived in a small town in Poland.  Her father and his two brothers had a small business.  When the Germans took over Poland in late ’39,  Haya’s dad took the family and ran to Marseilles.  The brothers decided to ride it out.

As things got worse Haya’s dad took the family to the Holy Land even before the Jewish State’s establishment.  Finally the family migrated to New York City and somehow got settled there despite some anti-imigration sentiment in the government.  Haya,  therefore, grew up in NY City.  She never heard what exactly happened to her two uncles and their families.

 

Candle Lighting team in operation.

 

Now days Haya seems to be in a good place.  I think she has a son and a daughter and maybe her husband is deceased.  Whatever, Haya has a  house in the Glen Lakes gated community on Walnut Hill and Central, a condo in Manhattan, and a condo in Tel Aviv.  She seems to bounce around all three locations.  So on her birthday, which is August 25, I announced to the class and gave her a BelVita.

 On her way  out she whispered to me, “You made this the happiest day of my life.”   I was stunned and touched.

 

 

Thanks, Tom & Denni, Karen & John for bringing up our gifts

 

 I cannot believe what I just heard.   On the one hand, I am touched that such a small gesture can mean so much to her.  On the other, does this say something about her life?   What has she seen in life that I have never seen? 

Why talk about her this morning?  Two reasons.   Because she is Good News.  The Psalm says, “Go out and tell the Good News.”  People are The Good News.   I want to know her story.

Secondly, I want also to contextualize the negativity of Hebrews and Luke. 

 

 

Elevation time.

 

There was a strong belief in these times that God was definitely a conditional love God.  Why did the Babylonian Captivity take place?  The Israelites were bad.  Jeremiah says it, the Isaiahs say it.   And so it was written.  In fact,  according to a minister here in Dallas,  God punished the people in N.O. for their badness.  Remember Katrina?

Pretty much this opinion of God has been discarded.   Is sickness a penance for a sinful, bad life?   Is this why I got Parkinson?

 

 

 

 

 

Today's Communion team.

 

Me?  I believe and I propose that people are The Good News, that you are The Good News.  God takes Delight in you

And you?   A God who scourges and demands penance or a God who proclaims that people are The Good News?

Haya?  Her birthday will be celebrated tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

Who is this scary person, Harper?

Readings: Isaiah 35, 1-10; Psalm 146, Lord, Come and Save Us; James 5, 7-10; Matthew 11, 2-11. 

Intro to Readings

 Remember what I had said on the First Sunday of Advent, it is a time when the Church turns towards not just the coming of Jesus at Christmas but gives greater focus on the Second coming of Jesus at the end time.  We can see this very clearly in our readings today.  It is a common theme; “when is the world going to end?”  “what will be the signs?”  For the Jews there was an expectation that it was when all wrongs would be made right.  

 

The second reading is interesting.  It is a letter from James.  There has been much speculation on who this James is.  The apostle James or the James mentioned as the ‘brother of the Lord’.  We just don’t know and there are different supporters for each position.  The letter is more like a sermon than a typical letter from the time.  The main purpose of the letter seems to be to warn the hearers of the danger of having just an abstract faith.  Faith must be implemented in every action of our lives.  It can become too easy to make it theory and nothing more.

 The responsorial psalm is worth thinking about carefully.  It too picks up the same theme of the results of God’s activity in human lives!

 
 

Homily

 This past week the Church celebrated two big feasts, on Wednesday it was the Immaculate Conception and then today Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Certainly a big week for Mary.  The Immaculate Conception is a statement about Mary’s birth, namely that she was conceived to be free from sin.  I am not too sure what to make of that statement, but it is the Church’s way of honoring her as the mother of Jesus.  As we get closer to Christmas I would like to spend a few minutes reflecting with you on what Christmas might mean for us today.

 I remember many years ago reading a book on Quantum Mechanics and it was examining the question whether light traveled as a wave or a particle!!  A great book!  The feast of the Incarnation, namely God becoming human, is one of those events beyond our ability to understand.  I am sorry to have to keep saying it but God is way outside our ability to comprehend. 

 
 

The Jews were smart when they basically adopted the use of the name Yahweh without the vowels, in other words a name you could not say.  It sounds like something JK Rowling dreamed up for the Harry Potter world!  And yet our faith has gone to the trouble of coming out with proclamations about God in great detail.  One of the great blessings of both Luke and Matthew’s infancy stories about the birth of Jesus is that they are very easy to understand, which is what makes Christmas a wonderful event!  We can all relate to a baby’s birth, in fact we have all gone thru one!!

 The insight I have had this past few weeks was that since God is outside of time, then that event, God becoming human, even though it was an event in our experience that happened over two thousand years ago, since God is outside of time, it is an event which is always happening for God!  Look around you.  God is present in each one of us.  We have been given clues by Jesus of this:  remember “where two or three are gathered” or “as often as you did it for one of these”. 

 

 In Jesus’s response to John’s disciples he tells them to go back to John and tell him what they see, and there is almost a direct quote from our first reading from Isaiah about the blind seeing etc.  Remember last Sunday John sharing about his Jesuit friend Fr. Larry Gillick.  His blindness was taken away by his Jesuit colleagues who read to him and helped  him so that he could pass the exams!  Maybe that is how the blind see!!

 This Christmas, as we go about our busy days, trying to get too much done in too little time, pause!  Not only are the people you meet bringing God into your life, but you are also bringing God into theirs.  It may be that you will have an opportunity to help the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear and the poor have the good news preached to them.

 

Picture 1:    Mass begins

Picture 2:   Eleanor with her grand dad

Picture 3:   Dillon lighting the candles

Picture 4:   Our Father

Picture 5:   Ben & Amanda

  

 

Readings: Micah 5, 1-4; Psalm 80, Lord, make Us turn to You; let Us see Your Face and We shall be saved; Hebrews 10, 5-10; Luke 1, 39-45

Micah: author, date, subject, our selection–

Author: one of the minor prophets (because of length, 7 chapters), Micah is considered to be the author of these words.

Date: probably around 700-690 BCE, a contemporary of Isaiah, living in Judah.  He had witnessed the destruction of the northern half of the kingdom, Israel, by the Assyrians, ca. 720 BCE.  He watched Judah pay tribute to Assyria.  He forsaw the Babylonian disaster coming to Judah, the southern half of the kingdom, which finally took place in 590.

Subject: like all prophets, he predicted doom and destruction for Judah because of the injustice of the people, especially the rich over the poor.  Micah learned from Israel's destruction by Assyria, which he attributed to God's anger with those people. 

Then, of course, he predicts a return to peace and prosperity after the people are purified.  He speaks to Bethlehem as if to a persona and says that a new ruler will come from the town who will shepherd the people.  Why Bethlehem?  Because David was born there and the new David was supposed to come from the same royal village.

Asked what God wants of us (like penance, sacrifices of animals, goods, even children), Micah states one of the great lines in scripture: "What God requires of us is: 1. act justly, 2. love tenderly, and 3. walk humbly with our God." (6, 8)

Our Selection: God promises a just ruler will be born in Bethlehem, the place where King David was born, a royal village.

Sources: Wikipedia, John Shelby Spong

Jesus is Coming

Remember hearing the Christmas carol that goes, "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a partridge in a pear tree"?  Ever wonder what on earth it means?  What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially a partridge in a pear tree have to do with Christmas?  Here is the rest of the story.

In England many years ago, the king, Henry VIII, got mad at the pope.  Know why?  He wanted to marry another wife, Anne Boleyn.  The pope would not grant him permission, so Henry banned Catholicism in England and destroyed churches & monasteries, collecting their money.  This started around 1550 and it lasted until about 1800, a long time.

Masses were forbidden and people were hung for breaking the law, especially during Henry's daughter's time, Elizabeth the daughter of Anne.  A number of Jesuits snuck into England at this time, celebrated secret Masses, were caught, tortured, and killed.  Rosemary & I even visited a delightful little town called Shrewsbury near the border with Wales.  A series of fun novels is written about a Brother Cadfill who lived in the Shewsbury monastery.  We saw the remains of the monastery destroyed by Henry's men.

What Catholics had to do was speak in code.  This Christmas carol is all code.  It was like a catechism for the people.  Here is the symbolism explained:

   The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus.

• Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments.
• Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
• The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John.
• The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
• The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
• Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
• The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
• Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
• The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
• The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
• The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed.

Whenever Catholics sang this Christmas carol they were singing about what they believed despite the danger to themselves. 

How are you celebrating the freedom we have to openly sing our Christmas carols?

Picture 1:  Advent Altar

Picture 2:  Mass beginning with Kevin

Picture 3:  Nikki & Sabrina

Picture 4:  The Cookie Shoppe with Nikki & her brother Cameron & Angela in the background

 

 

 

Readings:  Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12 

Isaiah 60: 3 observations–

1.  This is Isaiah III who seems to have lived around the time of the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., 575 BCE., not at the time of Isaiah I (chapters 1-39) who lived ca. 800.   (& Is. II, chapters 40-50)

2.  Therefore, our passage from chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem which is in total destruction.          

3.  Isaiah is saying that your day is coming, Jerusalem, when you will return to being the most splendid city of all.  See the double meaning?  Jerusalem is a city & also a symbol of the Jewish people.

Psalm 72: 3 observations–

1.  King David is considered the author or at least the editor of the psalms.

2.  When written and sung the Jewish people were asking Yahweh to endow and bless their current king, i.e., Saul or David or later kings.

3.  The image of king over the years becomes a symbol, a symbol of the savior.  The expectation of the Jews was that a mighty King David type was coming.  Post Jesus the attributes of the king in this psalm are applied to Jesus.

Epiphany, The Coming of the Wise Men on January 6:

   3 observations–

1.  The word means an enlightenment, a WOW moment.

2.  Celebrated since ca. 300 & Constantine on January 6, 12 days from the birth, the 12 Days of Christmas.

3.  Considered a second Christmas, to the Gentiles, personified by the Wise Men, who were not Jews, but Gentiles.

The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols

Where to begin, folks.  There is so much symbolism in this liturgy, in Matthew, for sure, and in the combination of Matthew with Isaiah and Psalm 72.  I'll touch five points & end with a story.         

1.  The Wise Men.  Matthew uses them to  symbolize every man's search for truth & meaning in life.  They were like astrologers, searching the skies for meaning.  The search theme permeates this whole presentation and is Matthew saying, "Go, and do the same search."  You can sense in this story Matthew's esteem for how the Gentiles search and discover the savior, unlike his fellow Jews.

The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are Gentiles and they come from the east.  Where does the sun rise?  Where do stars rise?  A new son has been born and like the sun in the east he will bring new light.  Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising in this presentation, and the Gentiles. 

2.  The Jews are getting put down for their blindness.  Here in the city of David, Bethlehem, another symbol because this ties Jesus up with the lineage of King David, here in this special city the chosen people do not have a clue about what a monumental event is taking place.  Even in the great city, the city of pilgrimage, Jerusalem, the people are blind.

3.  The star.  It is mentioned as rising.  Where do stars rise?   Another symbol for the rising in the east. 

4.  The O.T. quote.  Even though the chief priests and scribes in Jerusalem knew their scripture, they don't go to Bethlehem.  They quote chapter 5 of the prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah III, who says, "Bethlehem, a ruler is going to come from you."  Micah thought of a ruler who would lift the Jewish people out of bondage, but Matthew turns it around, the ruler coming from Bethlehem being Jesus, not a powerful king, but a servant.  This is one of Matthew's most common tools of convincing his listeners.  He quotes O.T. passages to say that the passage is being fulfilled by this man Jesus, or baby in this case.  He is like a debater or attorney carefully crafting arguments for his case. 

5.  The 3 gifts.  Gold is given because it signifies royalty.  Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity.  And myrra signifies being human.  Myrra is medicinal.  It comes from a bush like tree that has a yellow, sticky sap on its bark.  The sap was good for skin infections and acne, asthma, colds, and flu, and even herpes.  It is found in Saudi Arabia & Somalia.

The story.  A week ago today Rosemary and I had the privilege to bring gifts to the mother & daughter we have been supporting since I first met them in '86, when I studied Spanish in Cuernavaca.  We did not bring gold, but about $450 to help them with their little shop. 

Carina, the daughter, proudly informed us that this March they have been open for business two years.  Their merchandise is candles of all types, colors, aromas, and decorations, most of which they provide themselves.  They sell incense and herbs for coughs and colds.  They are both so grateful to everyone who has helped them out. 

We took them out to a simple restaurant twice and it was probably last year with us the last time they went out to eat.  Carina rides the local buses an hour to work and is open from 8:00-6:00.  It is a strenuous trip for her because of her being crippled.  In fact, she fell in the street earlier this year and is saving up enough money to either fix or get a new apparatus for her leg.  The old one, which we gave her some years ago, broke in the fall.

I am so humbled by this young woman's responsibility, her cleanliness in the little shop, her do diligence with the humble products she is selling.  While we were with her & Maria Luisa in the shop one afternoon, I saw how Carina graciously welcomed and chatted with a half dozen customers she had. Among other things, I watched her sell 4 three foot long white bees wax candles that she had decorated with a brown ribbon & bow & some decorations embedded in the wax.  She sold each for ca. $5.00. 

She had to take out two loans of about $500 each to buy up her merchandise and she is diligently paying it back step by step.  The $450 we brought will help with either the loans or her leg apparatus.  Her mother is her buyer and they bring in the candles from the region around Acapulco. 

In a quiet moment I asked Carina how has she planned for when Maria Luisa dies.  She has already had three cases of cancer & is 66.  Carina told me she is more vulnerable than she looks and is sick often.  She also told me she has no special plans for when her mother dies.  She can continue to live in the garage they live in now.  And she can maintain herself with the candle shop.  Thanks to you all.  It may be impossible to save the world, but you have helped two people to survive.

What will we do next?

AUDIO:   http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-01-04.mp3

Picture 1:  Birthdays & Anniversaries–Tom Fleming, Rich & Carol Eshelbrenner, and Roy Strom

Picture 2:  Carina & Rosemary & Maria Luisa in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Picture 3:  Carina's Candle & Herb Shop

Picture 4:  Carina & John & Maria Luisa

 

 Readings:    

Numbers  11, 25-29,  Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all.

 Psalm 19,   The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart

 James 5, 1-6,   Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.

Mark 9, 38-43, 45, 47-48,  If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

INTRODUCTION:

 Our First reading is from the book of Numbers.  The words of Moses spoken to Joshua are in expectation for the words of Christ in today’s gospel reading that were given to the disciple, John.

 For the past five weeks our second reading has been from the Letter of James.  The letter was addressed to all of the Jews who became Christians across the Greek-Roman world. It is the first of what we call the universal letters, followed by two letters from Peter, three letters from John, and the letter from Jude. 

 I will be giving you an insight that today’s Church has failed to recognize until now.  Today’s reading from the Letter of James is a reprimand to those who have stored up a worldly [instead of heavenly] treasure in their hearts.

 

HOMILY:

 Remember that the inspired writers of the gospels do use Jesus’ words to address what’s happening in the early Church. Jesus has just given his disciples time to reflect on their arrogance when John, seeking to show their more favorable side, reveals, instead, their arrogance again.

 Someone who they do not know has been proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. When his words were welcomed, this Spirit filled man baptized him; forgave the man his sins, in the name of Christ.  John told Jesus that he and the other disciples put an end to that, for the Spirit filled man was not of the Church. What did Christ do? He does not say, ‘Well done, I’m glad you denounced him.’ Rather, ‘Are you out of you mind? Those who are not against us are for us!’ 

 

 In the Matthew gospel the disciples are told, ‘You are not to call yourself teacher, you have one teacher [Christ].  Jesus has nothing positive to say about human tradition either, ‘You count leaves of herbs for your tithe; but you ignore justice, mercy and truth!’ 

 Last week, I returned with Judy from my 55^th High School Reunion.  I went with an apology to give to two classmates.  One was for Art; one for Jim my best friend in High School. Art’s twin brother died from a heart defect when we were in 12^th grade. Two girls, friends, had died the year before in a car accident. One was dating my best friend.  I didn’t go to any of the funerals. I wanted to be there; I needed to be there. But I was not allowed to go! 

 It was prior to Vatican II, and a practicing Catholic was required to believe that the Catholic Church was the only way to salvation; Such arrogance! At that time a Catholic was not allowed to follow his conscience if it disagreed with a teaching of the magisterium; More arrogance. A Catholic was not allowed to enter the doors of a protestant church, for the Church taught that they were not part of the body of Christ; Mea culpa, mea culpa! 

 I was in Graduate School when John the 23^rd opened its doors to the Holy Spirit. It was another 20 plus years before the Church presented the finished documents of Vatican II. The very first congress of leaders within the Church included Peter, James and Paul to address a faction of Jewish Christians who were teaching that gentile converts to Christianity needed to become Jews first.

 We read in Luke Acts that both Paul and Peter replied that the gentiles received the Holy Spirit at Baptism, not Circumcision. Its doors were to remain open to the gentiles; a letter with this decision was taken to them. Were the Jewish Christians who had previously given the teaching excommunicated? No!  However, in the middle of the Letter to James is the following parable.

 It begins with James telling them that few are to be teachers. Why; because everyone can make mistakes, and such teachers will be judged with strictness.  [Since this sets the stage for the rest of the parable, it will address the grave mistake they have made.] James describes himself with two metaphors.

 He is the rider of a horse, with a big mouth, [those who are teaching that gentile converts need to be circumcised]. James, the rider, controls their big mouth by using a bit [this parable, personally explained to them]. 

 Second there is a ship being tossed about by the wind and waves. James is the rudder seeking to control of the Church during this schism. Their teaching is like a fire that could engulf the whole forest, the Church.  He describes them as someone who from the same mouth blesses God and curses those who have been made in the image of God [the newly baptized gentiles] ‘This ought not be so!’ 

 The living waters [good news] and bitter waters do not flow from the same source [mouth]. Therefore you who are wise and understanding [of the mistake you have made], show goodness.  In like manner this is our prayer to the magisterium, ‘Be wise Shepherds; ‘Those who are not against us, are for us!’