Sunday Homily, September 25, 2016, 26th Ordinary Time
Readings:
Amos 1, 1 4-7 , Woe to the complacent in Zion.
Psalm 146, Praise the Lord, My Soul.
1 Timothy 6, 11-16, You, man of God, pursue righteousness, faith, & devotion
Luke 16, 19-31, The Rich Man and Lazarus. (A good one.)
Says Victoria and her buddy, our gorilla mascot, "Welcome in, Everybody."
Amos observations :
What : One of the 12 minor prophets, only 9 chapters.
Who: the book presents the thoughts and observations of Amos, who was a sheep herder and a fig farmer. He was born in the southern kingdom of Judah in a little town south of Jerusalem, but he is condemning the people, especially the rich, of the northern kingdom, Israel.
Time: Amos was active around 755 before Christ, but his words and message were revised and edited down through the years, especially during the Babylonian Captivity, around 555 before Christ. He lives just before the Syrians destroy the northern kingdom of Israel, around 700 before Christ.
And Genevieve says, ""Hey, I got a belly button. You, too?"
Message: prayer and sacrifice don’t make up for social injustice and oppression of the poor by the rich.
Today: God will punish you rich and prosperous for your abuse of the poor. Amos may have seen the threat coming from the Syrians.
Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia
Says Buddy, "Where did all this rain come from?"
7 Devils
I admit that the gospel today is so rich I would like to talk about it. However, I really want to talk about our recent 10 day back packing trip in the 7 Devils region of central Idaho. 7 Devils refers to 7 mountain peaks in a straight row, very rough, vertical, probably needing technical equipment to climb.
There were 7 of us. Beth and her swim buddy, Lynn, both excellent hikers and campers. Mike, Bill, Ray, myself, and Andrew Sokolowski, a friend of Mike. All these people are excellent, experienced campers and hikers.
Hi, Zoe, I missed you last week.
Three observations about the trip and the group.
First, there was a marvelous spirit of congeniality, fun, and joy among everybody. This was evident always, but especially around 4:30, when we would have Happy Hour. We begin this hour with an old tradition I learned the many years I went back packing with the Jesuits. Everybody gets 2 oz. of Jack Daniels and a slice of cheese, Gouda, Muenster, or some other.
You can picture this. We have been hiking during the day most often. We have taken showers in the lakes or rivers. Mike & Beth even swam in Shelf Lake where he measured the water temp at 52 degrees. We are hungry and it is getting near twilight. Mike and Ray have built a campfire. Ray is cooking the freeze dried main course in a pot over the little stove. Everyone is sitting around the fire on logs or bear canisters. The camaraderie and joking around is the best.
It is enchanting. It is why I go every year.
Offertory with Claire & Ray & Bernadette & Bill (two of whom, campers. Guess whom.).
Secondly, there is a spirit of generosity and mutual responsibility. We have to purify our water. So we take pots of water from the lakes or river, pour them into a 1 gallon plastic bag that has a tube with a filter. The water runs through the filter into another 1 gallon plastic bag. We get our drinking water from the second bag.
This takes constant care and refilling. Mike and Andy always kept the first bag filled.
Every evening during Happy Hour Ray was cooking the freeze dried main course, chili, Chicken tetrazzini, and others. Mike brought chocolate bars for deserts.
The Campfire, Beth, Mike, Ray, Bill, Stack, & Lynn. Andy on camera.
In the morning I always knew when it was time to get up, even if it was dark. Ray would be banging pots, while he filled one and heated it for coffee and oat meal, whatever each one brought for their breakfast.
Bill would be checking the maps to see exactly where we were headed that day. He was always our guide on the paths.
The Campfire again, Mike, Stack, Beth, Ray, & Bill.
And then there is the third. Just when I think I am a pretty hot camper, I make a couple of small mistakes. Humiliation.
We had pulled into this drop dead gorgeous campsite on the western edge of Shelf Lake. It had a beautiful fire ring, two, in fact.
The time was about 3:00 and the trail had been totally dry. The campsite was even a bit dusty. It was warm and sunny.
The Campfire again, Stack, Beth, Ray, Andy, Bill, & Lynn.
I set my tent up in a delightful little grove of trees. I wanted the shade so I could take an afternoon nap after my shower. We intended to spend 3 nights and 2 days doing day hikes out from the campsite.
The first day we cut short our day hike to get back to camp because it was looking like rain. We had our usual Happy Hour and dinner. I went to bed. I had asked Andy to seam seal my tent earlier, so I was content.
About midnight a wind like a tornado blew in. Dust everywhere, even filtering into my tent. Then all out rain. It stopped and then about 3:30 it blew again and it poured. No problem, I went to sleep.
Swim anybody? Delightful, beautiful Shelf Lake, ca. 7 thousand feet, and a fresh 52 degrees. Swim and you will look like Mike and Beth.
In the morning, yes, in the morning, I wake up. I am on an island on my Therma rest air mattress. Water had seeped up through my floor.
Two silly mistakes. First, I set my tent in a slight depression. Secondly, since it had been so dry when I set up, I forgot to put hand sized stones around the tent under the edge of the ground cover.
What had happened was that the water from a little trail in the woods near me emptied out near one corner of my tent. The water jumped over my ground cover and settled under my tent floor, ultimately seeping inside.
Ray on top of the World. We day hiked up here from Lower Bernard Lake.
Fortunately, the day was good and we were staying another night. I dried my tent and moved to another spot.
30 years of camping, and I still can make beginner mistakes. Rather humiliating.
Without emulating the mistakes, where do you find similar camaraderie, joy, and mutual support?
Cooling off in the snow before returning to the Dallas heat.