"Welcome in, Everybody," says Bill.

 

Readings:

Sirach  15, 15-20, Before man life and death, good and evil

Psalm 119,  Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2, 6-10,  What eye has not seen.. What God has prepared for those who love him.

Matthew 5, 17-37  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out.

 

 

Thanks, Grace, for lighting today's candles while the girls are away for the week end.

 

Observations:  on Sirach—

What:  This is one of those 12 odd books in between the Old and the New Testament.

 Author: a Jewish teacher called Joshua.  The only identified author in the whole Old Testament.  He tells us who he is, that he is a teacher, lived in Jerusalem, and traveled a lot.  It seems he put his work together while running a school in Alexandria, Egypt.

 

 

Thanks, John, for reading today's Blessing of the Candles.

 

 His grandson translated the Hebrew work into Greek.  This Hebrew text was lost for centuries until the 19^th century, when 2/3 of it was found in Cairo.  Then other portions were found in Qumran and Masada, as late as 1964.

 Date: composed around 175 years before Christ.  About 90 years before Christ the Jews put together their official bible, but excluded Sirach because they could not find the Hebrew version, only the Greek. 

 

 

The bearer of gifts, Loretta, Richard, & Cody.

 

 Christians accepted the book as part of their bible in the 2^nd century after Christ.  The Council of Trent (keep 1555 in mind as a date) officially accepted it, making it part of that extra 12 books called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical.  Martin Luther rejected the book & so do many Protestant congregations today.

 Subject Matter: practical ethics, duties.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented.  Also, what about unconditional love??

 

 

 

Today's Team, John & John.

 

Subject today: you may choose good or bad.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented in the reading.    All is either good or bad.  No in between or both, which is more what we all are, both good and bad.  

It can be simplistic & Pelagian, that is, it is all up to you and you have all the strength needed to choose good.  Pelagians thought that you had to EARN your salvation.  Therefore, the more religious stuff you did, like the more Masses, the more pilgrimages to the church & shrines, the more novenas & rosaries,  the more merit you win for yourself.

Psalm 119: the longest of all the psalms.  A focus on observance of the laws, decrees, and statutes.

 

 

Communion time.

 

Matthew 5:  a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Note the figures of speech called “antitheses,” namely, “You have heard it said, but, I say to you.”  4 even 5 times.  Matthew is trying to establish the authority & authenticity of Jesus.

See if you can find any unconditional love in this passage?  

Sources: Good News Bible; New Interpreter's Bible; Reginal Fuller, S.J., David Westberg, S.J., & Larry Gillick, S.J., St. Louis U. Liturgies, on line; Wikipedia .

 

 

Communion helpers & cleaners

 

Wako Spirituality

We have been here before, Folks.  In fact, Mike says to me, “So, are you going to start with that same story again?”  Yes, Everybody, we begin with that same story.  Just a quick reminder.  Here we go.

When I was studying theology in Toronto years ago, like maybe 1970, an article came out in the local newspaper.  Some guy had read the passage saying that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  He did it, folks. 

 

 

Shonda & Ben, The Best.

 

 In this passage from Matthew there are five pieces of advice to the early Christians which taken literally can get a person all messed up.  Is there a positive as well as a negative to each? 

Two observations before I touch the five.  I have mentioned this so often that I hope you are not worn out.  First, infinite demand and infinite acceptance.  Watch out here for a lot of infinite demand.  I’ll give a positive & a negative for each.  Secondly, God, unconditional love.

 

 

 

Bill getting us ready for the Love for Kids picnic, this for handicapped kids.

 

Matthew’s five pieces of advice are 1. breaking the least commandment,  2. getting angry,  3. looking at a woman, 4. divorce, and  5. swearing.  Here goes.

• Matthew says that if you break the smallest commandment you will be the least in the kingdom.  Moreover, unless you are better than the Pharisees, you will not even get into the kingdom.  The positive here is that the bar is set high.  The negative is that all, all of us sinners will be kept out. It creates scruples and obsessive compulsive behavior.  

 

 

It always tastes better through the nose.

 

• Secondly, if you get mad at me and call me a fool, you are going to Hell.  I love it.  The positive here is the call to anger management.  I am challenged to know that all feelings are okay and need to be controlled.  The negative is that it gives me the idea that anger is not allowed, so stuff it.  Trouble is, it does not stuff well.  Not like a sleeping bag or tent.  It pops up in unexpected places.

• Looking at a woman with lust.  The positive here is teaching respect for all people.  This advice, written by men for men, was attempting to gain some respect for women who were looked upon as property.  I found this in Tanzania & Kenya.  Rosemary read me an article about some guy who cut off his wife’s ears and nose for reporting him for abuse.   The negative is that it teaches us that feelings are sinful.  In the old days, we thought we looked at a girl and we were going to hell.  This is doubly sad because I don’t think there is a hell anyway.

 

 

 

More of the same, please.

 

• Divorce is adultery.  The positive is that it reinforces the unity of marriage.  The negative is that people stay in abusive or addictive marriages long after it may even be safe.  Divorce is failure and we all fail sometimes even in tragic ways.  In order to escape using the word divorce the Catholic Church comes up with the more convoluted word Annulment.

• Swearing.  The positive is that it involves politeness and respect for others.  Even if I am okay with my anger I do not swear at someone.  The negative is that it tightens us up.  We forget the therapeutic value of cussing, maybe a healthy & fun way of releasing anger.  The healthy Jesuits I lived with certainly partook of this therapy. 

 

 

Welcome home, Loretta.

 

 The overall danger in these pieces of advice is that we really get messed up, forgetting two things.  First they are presenting infinite demand and they make no mention of infinite acceptance.

Secondly, where is the God of unconditional love?

 The poor guy in Toronto who blinded himself is an example of how we can mess ourselves up with goofy religion.  

 Where are you with these ideas?

 

 

Readings:  Sirach 3, 17-29; Psalm 68, God, in Your Goodness, You have made a Home for the Poor;  Hebrews 12, 18-24; Luke 14, 1-14

 

 

Introduction to the Readings

 

 

 

The first reading today is from the Book Sirach, which used to be better known as Ecclesiasticus.  It was written about the year 180 BCE by Jesus, son of Elcazar, son of Sira, and later translated by his grandson into Greek.

 

 

Sirach was a highly respected scribe and teacher, a person who traveled quite a bit, may even have been a diplomat to foreign courts.  Later in his life he started a school in Jerusalem where he tried to pass on to the young people the great love he had of the Scriptures combined with what he had learned from his own experiences about life. 

 

 

 

The book is part of the Wisdom literature and the reason for its older title, Ecclesiasticus is that in the past it was one of the most used and quoted books by the Church!   Our reading today fits well with the topic in the gospels, humility.

 

 

 

The second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews.  The author is unknown, although for a long period of time it was assumed to be Paul.  But today most scholars agree that the style is too different and the Greek used is the best in the New Testament. 

 

 

 

The overall message of the letter is one of encouragement to hang in and not get too complacent with the faith.  Probably written late in the first century, the main theme is the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus.  This is the letter where we come across the many references to Jesus as the High Priest. 

 

 

 

I sometimes wonder if this focus was due to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (ca. 70 C.E.) and the end of the priesthood as the Jewish people would have known it, and so to fill the void the author holds up Jesus and his sacrifice as the one true sacrifice. 

 

 

 

Another important theme is the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem, and it is on this topic that our reading is taken from for today.

 

 

Homily

 

 

The theme of the readings today is humility.   From a careful reading of the gospel, I am left a little confused because it seems to me that the main point Jesus could be making is how to get more recognition by being humble.  That said, since I have nothing good to say about it, I want instead to take advantage of the fact that today we are going to be baptizing Emma and welcoming her into our community, and so would like to offer some thoughts about baptism. 

 

 

 

If we go right back to the earliest days of Christianity, we find baptism!  Early in Mark’s gospel Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan.  In Matthew’s gospel the apostles are instructed by Jesus just before his ascension to “go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit”.   And through out the Acts of the Apostles it becomes clear that baptism was the way to join this community. 

 

 

 

It was the Rite of Entry!  And all of the people who were being baptized did so after hearing the message or the teaching as Matthew puts it.  If kids were baptized, it was only because the family was joining. 

 

 

 

It wasn’t until the fifth century when St. Augustine stated that only the baptized could get into heaven that the focus and practice shifted.  This of course created a huge pastoral problem for those who died before being baptized.  It was only in the 12^th century that Peter Abelard came up with the notion of Limbo, for those who had died unbaptized. 

 

 

 

One of the consequences of all of this was that religion was taught to kids, and not to adults!!  When was the last time any of you were at a formal class or session on your faith, outside of mass?  Think about it! 

The catholic faith as most of us have it was given at a kid level.  This might have been fine at a time when most adults were not educated beyond the 6^th grade, if even that, but today most adults have at least completed high school and a large number even college. 

 

 

 

Let me be clear, when I take about “faith” I am specifically referring to our personal response to God, our relationship with God.  Our acceptance of the invitation from God, to love God.  The information stuff, the doctrines, etc., are secondary.  When we were baptized as infants, someone else made that decision for us.  Today while Emma is being baptized, can we take a moment to reflect on the decision made for us, and make it for ourselves!  What does it mean in your life today, that you are baptized?

 

 

Picture 1:   Emma's welcome into the community baptism

 

Picture 2:   Emma's family, godparents Bobby & Tanya, parents Tom & Beth

 

Picture 3:   Sisters, Megan & Emely Kite.  Megan off to teach in Spain for a year.

 

Picture 4:  Chloe

 

Picture 5:  Jackie & Cathy accepting from Mike our monthly $2000 donation to the CCAC

 

Numbers 11, Would that all the people for the Lord were prophets.

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

James 5,  Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder.

Mark 9,  If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

 

 

Shonda & Ben bringing us together.

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Beth & Rob & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

Beth reading the first reading from Numbers.

 

Readings: 

Download Readings 26th Ordinary time 09-26-21

 

Homily by John Stack,  

Download Homily 26th Sunday 9-26-2021

 

 

Rob reading from James.

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;   For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson  & Frank;  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, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands,   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

 

Jan & Charlie saying, "Hi, Everybody!"

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren  ;  For Anthony & Sabrina;    For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little 12 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & a nephew; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Mary, Connie, & John singing the beautiful hymn "On Eagles' Wings."

 

Birthdays:   Ben's daughter, Sophia, 14 (yesterday), Judy Carol, Leo (11?), Jackie Johnson

Anniversaries:  

Fred & Patricia

Tom & Becky Good

Ron & Nancy Kovatis

 

 

Cathy, Fred, & Ron updating the news of the week.

 

Community Finances,   September 26, 2021

Expenses: $600.00 

Outreach: $5.00 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary sharing her beautiful Blessing of the Week.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

“Rivers do not drink their own water;

trees do not eat their own fruit;

the sun does not shine on itself

and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.

Living for others is a rule of nature.

We are born to help each other.

No matter how difficult it is.

Life is good when you are happy

but much better when others are happy because of you.

Let us remember that pain is a sign that we are alive,

problems are a sign that we are strong and

prayer is a sign that we are not alone.

If we can acknowledge these truths and

condition our hearts and minds, our lives will be more meaningful,

different and worthwhile.”

Pope Francis

 

 

Peace, Everyone!

 

 

Revelation 11:  A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

1 Corinthians 15:  Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Luke 1:  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

 

John Cade's Homily: Download 08-17-25 Homily -The Assumption

 

 

Linda reading from the Book of Revelation

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben  & Shonda

The Kiss of Peace

 

Outreach: $  30.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Janice gets a cookie for her birthday

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

 

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.

This is to have succeeded.

 

Success – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Readings:  Isaiah 55, 6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1, 20-27; Matthew 20, 1-16

Isaiah:

• Time: Isaiah himself may have lived ca. 750 B.C.  The book was written and put together from what seems to be 3 sources (chapters 1-39; 40-56; 57-66) after the Babylonian Exile ca. 550 B.C.

• Message: Isaiah criticizes strongly the corruption of the ruling class & wealthy and condemns them for their lack of concern for the poor.

• Today's reading: a somewhat mild criticism of the scoundrel & the wicked.

 

Celebrating the Gift of the Moment

Two stories exemplify the meaning of today's gospel. 

Just a while back I was on the DART train again, headed downtown in the middle of the day.  As usual, I was in car #1 because I love to watch where we are going.  I was on the right side about row 4, on the aisle.

Across from me in the first seat on the aisle was a mother with two little kids, one in a stroller, the other by the window.  Behind her was another mother on the aisle likewise with a little kid sitting next to the window.  Both mothers were young, both kids next to the windows were girls about 5.  The mother & kids in the first seat were white, the mother & daughter in the second seat were black.

As I watched, the girl in the first seat, who was blue eyed, blond pony tailed, and blessed with a terrific little smile, she looked around the left edge of her seat, saw the little black girl, and turned around so she could kneel on her seat and look over the seat top. 

The little girls started talking a little bit at a time.  They continued to talk, the white girl leaning over the back of her seat, the black girl with little pig tails sitting.  The black girl seemed to be doing the majority of the chatting while the white girl would ask a question and smile.

This continued all the way from Forest Lane to the Thanksgiving Square stop where I got off.  As I left, they were still into their conversation. 

I was so touched.  The kids are color blind, I thought.  They just enjoyed talking with each other and their mothers let them go at it.  For me it was a special gift of the moment.

The second story.  Yesterday morning, Saturday, I was walking back home from the Tom Thumb store at Royal & Preston.  I crossed Preston and was passing in front of the corner Starbucks.  It was early, about 6:30, and hardly anybody was moving around, not even at Starbucks. 

In front of Starbucks, however, was one guy in his late fifties or middle sixties, perhaps a little younger than I.  He had a baseball hat on & shorts.  He was facing me as I approached and I caught his eye for a second.  I said, "Morning!"

……  Nothing.  When I spoke he looked away with a face of no affect. 

Well, this type of thing can get me going.  I wanted to go back and turn his table over.  At least, say, "Hey, man, I said 'Morning.'"  Get in the guy's face type of response. 

What I did actually was nothing.  Nothing but think about the event and my response.  Who am I to judge?  Maybe he was just laid off this week, or last year, and last night could not sleep for worrying?  Maybe his wife & he had a falling out?   Whatever the case, this may be as big a gift of the moment as  the two little girls on the DART were.  I could easily see how the girls were a gift.  Maybe the guy gave me a challenge gift of the moment. 

Matthew tells us that all the laborers who worked in the vineyard got paid the same wage by the landowner, whether they had worked 8 hours or 1.  I read that I want to say "injustice!"  How can this parable make any sense.  Three comments.

1. First, we may be comparing the dynamic of the kingdom with that of contemporary labor relations.  In the kingdom we meet a landowner, God, who is universally generous and treasures each of us with magnanimous acceptance.  He does not portion out wages.  Justice is not his criterion.  He invites everyone into the banquet

2. Secondly, we are all the workers of the last hour.  In fact, we are really the non-workers.  We say to ourselves today, well what about that person who was good all his life, that priest who gave it all up, that nun who spent her whole life working with the destitute in Calcutta?  Don't they deserve more?   Question: is virtue its own reward?

3. Thirdly, we are invited into this banquet today, not just at the end of it all.  The Challenge: to accept the the gift of the moment.  The gifts are abundant and the feast is daily. 

I look at the two encounters I had as gifts of the moment.  Granted, the second gift I call a challenge gift, but still special. 

What was your gift of the moment this week, yesterday?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-09-21.mp3

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome in, Dearest Harper.  I wish I could have been with you this morning, but next week for sure.

 

Readings: 

1 Samuel 1, 20-22, 24-28, In those days Hannah bore a son

Psalm 84,  Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.   

1 John 3, 1-2, 21-24, See what love the Father has bestowed upon us.  

Luke 2,  41-52,  When he was 12 years old they went up according to the festival custom.

 

 

Thanks for your beautiful welcome Cindy & Dee.

 

HOMILY     

Since the Church has always taught that Jesus was truly human, I like it when the Scripture gives an example of the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus as an actual, real human family.

 

 

Rick, you make an excellent candle lighter.  Thanks for your help.

 

 

Today’s Gospel gives such an example. Luke’s story hints at a family conflict caused by Jesus’ behavior. Luke gives us just a glimpse of the conflict, but I can imagine it going something like his mom, Mary saying, “How could you do this to us? Not telling us where you were all this time. This was hurtful to your father and me. We’ve been looking for you since last night; and were worried to death all this time! Don’t you know how disrespected we feel? We taught you better than this”…(and perhaps, both concerned parents, either Joseph or Mary said)…“Do not do this to us again!”

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your company yesterday, Mike.  You sure helped me to wait patiently while my surgeon got delayed for almost 4 hours.  We actually had fun in that OR waiting room.  Like with the lady who was wanting nothing but a coffee while she waited.

 

As for Jesus, I can imagine his side too. Some claim Jesus had brothers and/or sisters. Whether he had siblings or not, he was twelve, equal to a teenager today, a time kids are practicing behaviors that are rebellious or just plain independent. Working with your Dad learning carpentry isn’t bad, but Jesus may have begun to experience it’s limitations. And being in the big city for the first time as a 12-year old probably exposed Jesus to opportunities he hadn’t considered before—like a chance to talk about the Scriptures with temple scholars.

 

 

 

Hi, Jan, Where is that crazy guy you hang out with, like you know, that Sir Charlie?

 

Luke had his own goal in mind, building up Jesus’ credentials as a kid wise beyond his years and already showing an advanced knowledge of the Scriptures. So we don’t get the whole story here, of Joseph and Mary and Jesus, being a working class Jewish family living all those years in a small town.

 

 

The Best Music with Shonda, Ben (where is your hat), and David.

 

Though just a glimpse, in this story Luke gives us a hint of the holy family being like a regular family I can identify with. How about you? Can you imagine from Luke’s story how the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus acted and lived—and had conflicts—much like your own family?

 

 

John sharing another of his insightful homilies to end the year of 2018.