Sunday Homily, September 18, 2016, 25th Ordinary Time

Readings:   2 Chronicles 36, 14-23, Whoever among you who belongs to any part of his people, let him go up; Psalm 137, Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget You; John 3, 14-21, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “the light came into the world.”

Chronicles:

Author (s): Unknown

Date:  ca. 450-350 BCE, at least after The Babylonian Captivity.  You will see why. 

Ryan lighting The 4 Cancles

Subject:  a summary of the entire span of history to the time the people returned to Jerusalem, i.e., from Adam to the end of the Babylonian Captivity, 450 BCE.  Therefore, it begins with Adam & a genealogy up to King Saul and King David, through David's son Solomon & the building of the temple to the Babylonian Captivity with Nebuchadnezzar to Cyrus the leader of the Persians who defeated Nebuchadnezzar (what a fabulous name, 5 syllables)  and allowed the Hebrews to return to Jerusalem.  Note that Babylon was near Baghdad in Iraq, while Persia was Iran.

Our selection: this is the very last chapter of ca. 60 chapters, including Chronicles 1 & 2.  A bit of a summary chapter, it says that Yahweh was so mad he got Nebuchadnezzar to defeat the Hebrews and cart them off to captivity in Babylon.  Then some 50 years later he gets Cyrus to defeat Nebuchadnezzar and free the Hebrews to return to Jerusalem, which they do. 

Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

4 Candles representing Week 4 of Lent

The Nature of God

Anybody here know Bartholomew Granger?  Or who he is?  I’ll tell you.  He is from Beaumont and 41 years old.  Last Wednesday morning he was waiting outside the Beaumont courthouse where he was on trial for abusing a member of his family. 

At some point he reached into his pickup, pulled out his gun, and started shooting.  He killed a 79 year old lady just passing there.  He wounded three others including his daughter whom he also ran over with his pickup truck in an attempt to flee the scene.

Ryan with his dad, Jim

 Anybody hear about the 22 kids from Belgium on a spring break ski trip to Switzerland?  Killed in a bus that simply ran into a bridge returning to Belgium.  22 kids plus some adults.

Which, taking into account our readings today, leads me to ask you two questions.

First question, does God get angry and punish bad people?  The Bible certainly seems to say so. 

• For example, Chronicles says today that the "anger of the Lord was so inflamed that there was no remedy."  As a result he had the Hebrews killed, burned out, and carried away as slaves in Babylon.  For a symbolic 70 years, which seems to suggest that the Hebrews had neglected to rest on the Sabbath, 7 being a special number.
• For example, Yahweh got so mad at his earlier creation that he sent the great flood, killing everybody except Noah, his wife, and the animals.  
• For example, in John this morning you find out that you will be condemned if you do not believe in the name of Jesus. 
• For example, it is held that Jesus had to come and die on a cross and he did so to take away the Father's anger at us for our ancestors' sins.  Thus, the gates of heaven, closed up to that time, would be reopened.  True?

 Were the kids on the bus bad?  Is Granger bad?  The little 79 year old lady?   What about Sargeant Robert Bales, who allegedly massacred a handful of women & children this week in Afghanistan.  Are they all such sinners that they must be punished like happened to the Hebrews in Jerusalem?

So, what do you think, what do you believe?  Does God get angry and punish bad people as we see repeatedly mentioned in the Bible?  What we are dealing with here is what you think the nature of God is.  Which leads me to my next question:

John & Connie

Second question, who are the bad people?  Or who are the good? 

Obviously the man who killed the old lady and injured three including his daughter whom he ran over is bad.  He deserves what?  Sargeant Robert Bales?   Be condemned?  Forever? 

From my experience as a priest and as as psychotherapist, I have discovered two things. 

First, that nobody is bad, and nobody is good.  Everybody is both bad & good.  But what about Granger?  Bales   Are they not bad?  John says, "He who does wicked things hates the light."  They must really hate the light.

Robyn & Bryan at the Offertory

Secondly, I discovered that if I had grown up in the environment of many of these so called bad people and I had been forced to live in the horrible surroundings they saw daily, I probably would have done the same things.  I do not know how many times I have talked with people who have done similar things and discovered that they were horribly wounded people.  Inside they were deeply hurt.  Outside they vented their hurt through anger and, watch out, through violence.  

And look what we are finding out about Bales, on his 4th mission, 3 of them in Iraq.

Sandra & Denni 3-18-12

As a balance to this negativity and tragedy, let me remind you that we likewise see beauty in people.  I saw it in Ermy, the check in lady at the Jewish Community Center who greeted us cheerily Friday morning at 5:45 when we came for a spin class.  And the 20 or so friendly class mates.  I saw it in the courage of Michael Morwood yesterday who shared with us his own faith and understanding of the nature of God & Jesus. 

So, reconsidering Granger & Bales & the kids from Belgium and all the Bible stories about God being angry and punishing people, what do you think about the nature of God?

Georgie & Zoe with their dad, Randolph

Sources: The Center for Liturgy, St. Louis U.  Online Ministries, Creighton, U.  All on line.

Leo with his daddy, Ray

 Readings:

Jeremiah 1, 4-5, 17-19,  Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.

Psalm 71,  I will sing of your salvation.

1 Corinthians 13, 4-13, Love is patient, love is kind.

Luke 4, 21-30, No prophet is accepted in his own native place.

For those who don’t have a decent Bible or a book of the readings, here are two links that I use,

The Bible at Your Fingertips (http://st-luke-church.org/bible-at-finger-tips.php) and USCCB, The New American Bible (http://www.usccb.org/).  

The difference?  The first is Protestant more or less, and the second is officially Catholic and has the 12 little books in between the O.T. & N.T., called Deuterocanonical or Apocrypha. 

Both are good translations.  

Buying a bible?  The Jerusalem Bible.

The Reads, Taylor, Teresa, and Doug.

 Jeremiah observations:

Who:  One of the Big 3 and my second favorite behind Isaiah, whom we will hear from next Sunday.  Why a favorite: because he shares his feelings with gusto. 

Time:  you can guess it, before and during the Babylonian Captivity.  Notice how much prophetic energy is concentrated around this one event?  Shows how big it was in Jewish history.  Keep 500 before Christ as the beacon date.  

What: you can guess this, too.  Criticism of behavior, warning of punishment from God, and eventually a better day.

What today: Jeremiah’s call by God to be his man, really Everyperson’s call to be God’s special.  This call theme carries through our next 2 readings, especially the next one, The Big One.

Georgie arriving with free hugs.

 1 Corinthians, 13 

Here it is: Paul’s famous treatise on what love is.   

I used to get 1 Corinthians 13 fatigue, I heard it so often at weddings.  Lately, however, I appreciate it more because I never cease to need to be reminded of what love involves.   

Karina with her little doggy, Pelusa

 The Greatest of these is love.

When I returned from East Africa in May of ’86, I decided to study Spanish because I wanted to stay in Texas.  Plus, I discovered I had a gift for languages in East Africa learning Swahili.  So I went to Cuernavaca, Mexico where I spent 2 five week periods. 

The second 5 week period I stayed in the small house of a lady named Maria Luisa.  She had a crippled daughter named Karina.  Maria Luisa had two Mexican girls renting a little space in her house.  One of these girls was one of our teachers at the language institute.  I stayed in a little hut in the back and I stayed there because I wanted to live with people who spoke only Spanish.

Karina at the grave of her mom, Maria Luisa, who died last year in a car accident after surviving 3 cases of cancer. The little fenced area contains also the parents of Maria Luisa. An old cemetary in Cuernavaca.

When I returned to the States after running the Mexico City Marathon in September of ‘86, I continued to keep in contact with mother & daughter. A year or so later they lost their little house and had to move into the garage which had been an attached part of the house. 

Year by year I used to visit them, usually around Christmas when Rosemary & I would take a break in Mexico.  I think what started me helping the two women was when Karina fell down at some point, broke the apparatus she wears on her withered left leg, and did not have the money to buy a new one. 

CC and Emma.

Each Christmas we would visit with hopefully enough money to help them get through the year.  With the help of numerous people at St. Mark’s and then our community from 2004, I gave them as much as $2400 a year,$200 per month.    This was especially true when Maria Luisa started coming down with what turned out to be 3 cases of cancer. 

Six year ago, as Karina reminded me, we brought an extra thousand to help them establish a small shop.  They did and we were able to back off the support.  However, there were times when Maria Luisa was hospitalized and dependent upon Karina.  These times the shop did not get opened and I would help them with maybe a thousand. 

Sisters, CC and Kayla arriving.

This past fall, after having survived 3 cases of cancer, Maria Luisa was killed in a car accident.  Karina was panicked.  In fact, she feared she was going to be kicked out of the garage.  I sent her $600 and she seemed to level out.

Though I did not expect to get to visit Mexico again this year because of the rising cost of air fares, Rosemary & I decided I needed to check on the woman.  And so I went last Monday, coming home Friday.  Three points came up.

Zoe arrives.

1.  It was excellent that I went.  The visit calmed and encouraged Karina.  I gave her $700. 
2. She said she is afraid she cannot run the shop alone, is looking at selling out, closing, and taking up cleaning houses in her neighborhood.  There are some middle class homes in the area.
3. I asked her what can I help her with so that she can get her peace back.  Reluctantly, she said $2000 will help her clear all the bills from her mother and her own apparatus recently broke.  Then she won’t fear getting kicked out of her garage, which she says that she owns. 

Brother and Sister, James and Kara arrive.

For my part, I told her I would consult about the money.  I also suggested that now was the time in her life at 45 when she could put to use her considerable mental capabilities.  I suggested, too, that she broaden her contacts, especially with a couple of influential women I personally know in Cuernavaca who would empathize with her.

Why do this?  Why not work to alleviate the suffering of the thousands running from Syria or even poverty in Mexico?  Mostly I have never known how.  But I do know I can help a person here or there whom I care for.  I can show my love for one.  I don’t know how to do it for thousands.

“The greatest of these is love,” says Paul.  You people in this community are good at this.  But I will ask anyway, ‘To whom are you showing your love?’

Dembneys, Chris, Kate, and Susan arriving.

From Jim & John, "Welcome in, Everybody." 

Readings:

Ecclesiastes, 1,2; 2, 21-23,  Pretty pessimistic.  Author having a bad day?

Psalm 90, If today you hear his voice, harden not you hearts.  

Colossians 3, 1-5, 9-11,  Think of what is above, not of what is on earth

Luke 12, 13-21,  There was a rich man

So good to have you back, Dee, especially looking so good.

The First reading from Ecclesiastes reminds us that when a person passes he or she can’t take any of their worldly things with them.

Our Second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians reminds us that greed is idolatry; for it is a love of wealth; rather than a love of God.

Good Morning, Patricia!

Homily on the Gospel reading:

Here in Chapter 12 of Luke, a nondescript man comes to Jesus seeking a favorable decision regarding some inheritance that he is hoping to receive from his older brother. Jesus used this event to address the crowd with the wisdom to be on guard against all forms of greed.

Watch out for this crazy guy, Everybody.  I knew him way back when he was a nice little high school, kid.

Following Jesus’ advice the older brother has put their extended family in mind.  He will not allow himself or his younger brother to fail in their responsibility to put their extended family ahead of their desire for possessions.   The older brother had taken a course of action to enhance the harvest from their father’s land.

Three of the Candle Lighting Team, Zoe, Tori, & Georgie.

Now, there is nothing more in Luke’s chapter 12 about the relationship between the younger man and his older brother; however Luke has no intention of forgetting about them!  Each of the gospels form two complementary stories.   We will encounter the brothers again in a chapter 15! There, the younger son said to his father, “give me the share of the inheritance that would come to me.  The father divided the inheritance between them…and a few days later the younger brother took his inheritance with him to a foreign land where he squandered it on riotous living.

Mike homilizing on the Luke gospel.

Recall that when the prodigal son came home asking to be forgiven, the story did not end. Is there a story like this in your immediate family? Harden not your hearts.

Married life: carry your cross??

"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:

Genesis 11, 1-9,   The Tower of Babel story.  This comes from the vigil Mass of Pentecost, rather than the Sunday Mass.  A great story, which is why I chose to have it read.

Psalm  104,  Lord, send out your spirit, and renew the face of the earth

1 Corinthians 12, 3-13,  There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same spirit.

John  17, 1-11,  Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Who let these Crazies in? Marsha, Cathy, and Connie.

 Genesis

What :  The first book of the bible, very entertaining because it is imaginative story telling.  It starts with the two stories of creation and takes off.   It responds to the little kid’s question, “How did we get here, daddy?”

Who: there are at least 4 author streams, two primary ones, the Yahwist and the Elohist, and two secondary ones.  The Greeks have the Iliad and the Odyssey.  The Israelites have the Yahwist and the Elohist.  Why these two words?  Simple.  It is the word the stream uses in talking about God. 

Time:  The Yahwist stream was put into a written form about 900 years before Christ.  The others were put into writing in later centuries.

Our Passage:  The little kid asks, “Daddy, why do people talk differently?”  This is the answer proposed, the Tower of Babel.  

These guys, too. Who let them in? John and Joe.

Pass The Spirit, Please

I want to start this morning with a question.  How do I get the spirit?  Let me tell you.  Today’s story of the week.

As you all probably know, on Monday evenings Rosemary & I go dancing at the Farmers’ Branch Senior Center.  There are probably 50 people who show up every Monday and many of them can really dance. 

Cowboy Cole says again, "Hi, Folks, Welcome in."

At 6:00 there is a couple who provide simple dance lessons, ball room, swing, country western.  They spend 6-8 weeks on each type of dancing.

At 7:00 a live band comes on and plays until 9:30 or 10:00, one week ballroom, the other week country western.   You got to be 50 to get in, so a lot of you folks probably can’t get in.  They will card you.  There are lots of people who come alone and I admire their courage at getting out.  There is even a blind woman, Janice, about whom I talked once.

The Girl in the Pink Ribbon, Zoe.

This past Monday night during the live music dance session, at one point Rosemary and I were sitting out.  We are watching everybody dance what was something like a swing. 

One couple whom I had never noticed before, I noticed.  They were not dramatic dancers, but they really had beautiful flow and creativity.  They might have been using a cha-cha step.  When they finished up, I got up, went straight to them, and complimented them on being terrific dancers.

Another Girl in Pink, Tori.

Well, they were touched by the compliment and gracious in their thanks.   They thanked me a bunch of times and we shook hands.  Guess who else was touched.  Yes, I was.

How do I get the spirit?  First, you already have it.  Secondly, it is augmented by giving it.  By giving a compliment.  What is the spirit?  New life, new peace.

Candle lighter buddies, Leo and Cole with Erin helping out.

I remember when Rosemary & I did a lot of dancing, 4-5 nights a week.  We were good in those days.  People would compliment us and I would just be pumped.   New life.   We would thank them profusely.  Compliments are spirit gifts.  New Life, new peace.

I have a compliment I am holding for a special person.  This is a black lady about 55-60 who works at the Tom Thumb on our corner of Preston & Royal.  I see this lady often at about 7:00 in the morning when I am buying bananas after my morning spin class at the “J,” the Jewish Community Center.

Chuck, Cole's daddy, and Mike waiting for their Cupcakes of The Week.

This lady I so admire because she gets up about 3:00 A.M. to catch two buses to come open this grocery store by 6:00.  We know each other by name.

Last Monday I was waiting in her checkout line while she finished with another lady.  My friend’s name is Sondra.  She was being her usual friendly self with this white, elderly lady.  “Good Morning” and everything.  As she finished, she thanks the lady, who had said nothing, and welcomed her back again.  The lady left saying nothing.  

Cupcakes of The Week to Diane, Teresa, Chuck, Mike, and Zach.

I want to compliment Sondra on her non-stop friendliness to a lady who seemed to be an early morning  curmudgeon.  I was really hurt for Sondra and we chatted about other things.  I want to return and compliment her this week.

How do I get the spirit?   By giving it.  A compliment is an amazing spirit gift.   The Prayer of St. Francis says that in giving we receive.  

I compliment that couple on their dancing.  They get new life and new peace.  And their response gives it back to me.  

From whom have you received a compliment lately?

To whom did you give a compliment lately?  Next time?

Cole and Erin.

Readings: Acts 2, 1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12, 3-13, John 20,19-23, Pentecost.

Mothers’ Day Notes:

• The idea originated, ca. 1870, with 3 women who had worked in hospitals during the Civil War. 
• Julia Ward Howe (Battle Hymn), Anna Maria Reeves Jarvis, & her daughter, Anna Jarvis wanted a Mothers’ Day of Peace because of the horrors they had seen in the military hospitals.
• Woodrow Wilson, 1914, established the national holiday.

Pentecost Notes:

• The word signifies 50, in this case, 50 days (or 7 weeks).
• O.T.: the Hebrews celebrated the 50th day after the Passover (Egypt, first born sons killed by angel, Jewish sons spared, to threaten Pharaoh into letting the Hebrews depart Egypt).  The celebration eventually focused on agriculture & thanksgiving for the first fruits of the spring, and finally Thanksgiving for the Torah.
• N.T.: Christians tied this occasion to the spiritual fruits of redemption, the Spirit, 50 days (or 7 Sundays/weeks) after the Resurrection.
• Question: a 1 time only event or repeatable (e.g., Pentecostals)?

Mothers’ Day

In Thursday’s USA Today there is an article by Paul Aronsohn about two women, his mother & his sister, Margot & Patti.

When Patti was ca. 25 years old she was diagnosed with a rare disease that eventually would take her life, a disease that resembles M.S., but which does not seem to have a name or be very common.  This happened in ’89, almost 20 years ago.

As the years have passed Patti slowly went down.  Originally active athletically & intellectually, she first had to walk with a cane.  Then she took up a walker, then moved into a wheel chair.  Finally, a few years ago, she became bed ridden.  To eat she has to use a feeding tube, into which something like Ensure is poured, yuk.

During the years her three sibling and friends have helped her.  But the person who has helped her the most was her mother who was herself about 50 when the diagnosis was given. 

Today Patti is about 45, totally bed bound, fed through a tube, can talk a bit, is conscious, and is awaiting the end.  Her mother, Margot, is mid-70’s, takes care of Patti full time in Florida where they moved because of the milder weather than New Jersey.  During the day Margot has help, but at night she sleeps beside Patti’s bed in case Patti needs anything.

What kind of love is this!!  Remember Jackie Ritter’s story about landing in Holland instead of Italy?

Whom do you love this much?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-05-11.mp3