Sunday Homily, August 23, 21st Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 43, 18-25; Psalm 41; 2 Corinthians 1, 18-22; Mark 2, 1-12

Isaiah: Some reminders–

The Book of Isaiah is one of the Big 3, along with Jeremiah & Ezekiel, because they have a lot of chapters and therefore say a lot..  Isaiah has 66 chapters.

Author & Time: The book has at least 3 contributors.  Chapter 43, today's selection is from Isaiah 2, who seems to be writing  during the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews who lived in and  around Jerusalem.  The time was ca. 575 BCE.  Isaiah 1 wrote before the Captivity.  Isaiah 3's material might come from after the Jews returned to Jerusalem, the time after the Assyrians under Cyrus conquered the Babylonians.  Cyrus let the Hebrews return to Jerusalem.

Our Selection, Chapter 43: the writer has Yahweh speaking to his defeated and depressed people.  This is the Book of Comfort, and informs the Jews that times will get better, which they do, at least for these Jews' children & grandchildren. 

How Make Lent a Winner

There is a story floating around about this guy in Washington, D.C.  One cold morning in January he took his violin down into a subway station.  He set up his spot, pulled out his violin, and began to play for the throngs of commuters rushing to and fro.  He played for about an hour.

During the hour a few people paused and listened for a few moments, then hurried off to their train.  Another lady dropped in a dollar while she rushed by.   Others paused quickly and some tossed in a bill.  The people who most focused their attention on him & his music were kids.  They would stop dead in their tracks mesmerized.  Their parents would have to drag them on to their destination while the kids looked back over their shoulders.

After the hour the man had accumulated about $30.  Nobody cheered, nobody applauded at the end of his performance.  Nobody even noticed.  Not that the guy needed the money or the applause.  He was Joshual Bell, one of the best violin players in the world.  Two days before this, in fact, his concert in Boston had sold out with tickets averaging $100.  The violin he plays costs over 3 million.

The Washington Post had set up this event where Joshua Bell would perform in the subway station.  The goal was to see how people would respond to beauty in an ordinary place at a busy time.  Perhaps 1,000 people passed by Joshua Bell in that one hour during which he played 6 pieces of classical music.  No one actually stayed for the whole of even one piece.  Only a handful paused for no more than a couple of minutes.  Only the kids wanted to stay and listen. 

The wonder is, is this typical of us.  If I do not have enough time to pause 5 minutes and appreciate one of the best musicians in the world play some of the best music in the world, what other beauties am I missing?  And missing every day.

I tell this story because we are beginning Lent Wednesday.  I confess this is not one of my favorite times of the year, mostly because of the history I have with it being focused on sin and penance.  Give up this, give up that.  If you would like to take this as an occasion to become a better, more fully alive human, I would like to suggest two positives.

First, sensitivity.  Sensitivity to the beauty around me, like that music, to the beauty of people as a community and individually, and to the beauty of myself, my health, my gifts, my education.  It was not Lent, but last Wednesday I went to visit the new Trinity River Audubon Center in south Dallas.   Just the building I found  to be architectural poetry.  Maybe once a week something of this type is planned during the next five weeks.

The second positive has to do with the story in Mark about the four guys who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing.   I find this story so right on.  I love it.  The man could not get there on his own, but his friends could get him there.  Oops, when they get to the house where Jesus is, they find they cannot get through the crowd.  No problem.  They climb the roof, break a hole, and lower him down.

We had houses like this in Tanzania.  The roof is made out of tree poles laid across the house with about  1 to 2 feet of space between each one.  Other branches are placed on top.  Then a mud like clay is put on the branches.  Over the mud usually is a smoother clay.  We had a Jesuit house near the base of Kilimanjaro whose flat roof was cement and we would sit up there to watch the sunset against the mountain, every night 6:00 to 6:30.  Being on the equator sunset & sunrise takes place the same time every day and lasts 30 minutes.

So these guys cut a hole through the roof and lowered down their friend.  This is friendship and community at its best, me helping you when you need it and you helping me when I need it.  Hillary says it takes a village.  I would suggest it takes a community.

So the second positive to make myself a richer person in this Lent: service, help my neighbor with his roof.  Somebody needed to help Peter with the roof of his house.  I hope the four guys helped him.  Bill Hammond, Bob McGrath, & I are all going to work on housing in Galveston next week.  One small step, one small contribution.

So, if you want to make yourself a richer person in the next 5-6 weeks, if you don't want to pass by the Joshua Bells on your commute, and you like to help out, how about sensitivity and service?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-02-22.mp3

Picture 1:  Mass with T.J. Helping

Picture 2:  Birthdays, Maggie & Chloe, Ron, T.J. Dana (17), Rosemary, & Diane

Picture 3:  Clare (mom) & Chloe dancing & Ron Kovatis

Picture 4:  Communion helpers, Patricia, Geri, Don, Ron, & Beth

Readings: Isaiah 6, 1-8; Psalm 138, In the Sight of the Angels I will Sing Your Praises, Lord; 1 Corinthians 15,1-11; Luke 5, 1-11. 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Reflections on the Readings

A brief few words about our first reading from Chapter 6 of Isaiah.  This reading could in fact easily begin the book of Isaiah.  It gives us the call of Isaiah.  King Uzziah has died after reigning for over 40 years, 40 years of great security and prosperity. 

We are told of a vision, which the prophet sees of God, and notice the threefold repeating of the word Holy.  Only God is holy, all holiness.  The prophet proclaims that he is doomed because mere humans cannot look at God. 

In our second reading, from Paul, he reminds us that he too saw the Risen Lord, and his response, like Peter’s in our gospel reading, it is the same, unworthiness.

 The readings all show up the same response from humans when faced with God.  And in each case God is able to reach thru the response and draw the person into a relationship of discipleship. 

Readings:  Ezekiel 34, 11-17; Psalm 23 (Good); 1 Corinthians 15, 20-28;  Matthew 25, 31-46 

Ezekiel:  I've mentioned how Ezekiel is one of the Big 3 Prophets, #3 after Isaiah & Jeremiah.  I also mentioned how he lived smack dab in the middle of one of the two or three biggest tragedies of the Jewish people, the Babylonian captivity, from say 600 to 550 BCE.  He was there.

In American history we can look back and identify special presidential leaders, Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt.  They came forward in crisis times. 

Ezekiel was this type of leader in Jewish history.  He saw what had happened to other Jews of the the northern province of Israel (Jerusalem is in the southern province of Judah) after they had been carted off as slaves after a defeat by the Assyrians.  They intermarried and simply disappeared in the DNA of the middle east.

Ezekiel is in Babylon and is determined that his community would not lose its identity.  He did three things to help maintain the spirit of the community: he emphasized  1. observance of the Sabbath, 2. kosher diet, and 3. circumcision.

Eventually after ca. 50 years the community still was a cohesive unit and it returned to rebuild Jerusalem, at least most of them.  The Jews are one of the few peoples to be defeated and scattered, and still return to their original homeland.  They remained there until the Romans defeated them in 70 C.E., returning when?  1948, after the Holocaust.

Today's reading comes to us from an Ezekiel captive in Babylon, and has Ezekiel promising the people a return, a brighter day after the captivity.

Dillon's Dollar

Last Sunday something special happened in our community.  We had been talking about the family we are planning to adopt for Christmas, the mother with the three little girls and a baby on the way.  Beth Robinson had described how we would buy gifts and supplies for the whole family. 

The Mass ended and people were standing around talking and taking coffee & donuts.  At some point one of our special kids came up to Beth, said he would like to help the family with the little girls, said he had a dollar, took it out of his pocket, and gave it to her.  Guess who it was.  Dillon.

I asked if I could share this story of Dillon's dollar, because it speaks to two themes I would like to pick up this week, the theme of the Matthew's gospel about giving food to the hungry & drink to the thirsty, and the theme of Thanksgiving. 

First, with Thanksgiving coming this week it is appropriate and enriching to look back over the year to count our blessings.  What is your Blessing of the Year?  What are your three biggest blessings this year?  Write them down.  Ask the people you have Thanksgiving dinner with what is their biggest blessing of the year. 

I can give you my three: namely, 1. the exhilaration I felt in riding in the Hotter 'N Hell 100, something I had dreamed of doing for some years; 2. the consolation & joy I take from our weekly community gatherings with our Dillons, which is another dream each week; 3. and my biggest, the marvelous relationship I have (I think!) with Rosemary, something I never even dreamed would be part of my future. 

In connection with focusing on our blessings of the year, we want to present again this year our Blessing Tree.  We will arrange it a little different than last year.  We will have the tree.  We invite you to write your Blessing of the Year on a piece of paper and place it in a basket near the tree.  We will focus on this the next two Sundays, the Sunday just after Thanksgiving, when I expect a lot of folks will be away and the following Sunday, Dec. 7, when we will have the brunch, blood drive and food drive.   I will publish anonymously a couple  of blessings each week until Christmas Eve Mass.

The second idea I would like to touch is the big separation of the goats and sheep, one on the left, the other on the right.  Goats and lefties like myself get a bad deal in this story.  Three short observations.

a.  Beware of either or spirituality here.  I'm either a sheep or a goat.  We are all goats!  (Some more than others!) 

b.  Beware of letting fear enter your spirit and attempt to do it all, feed, give drink, clothe, visit the imprisoned. 

c.  Let this story be a gentle reminder to help out those less blessed, to chip in your Dillon's Dollar.

In summary, therefore, what is you blessing of the year and how are you chipping in your dollar?

Picture 1: Wendy, Shonda, Ray, Celeste

Picture 2: Dillon

Picture 3:  Birthdays–Megan, Diane, John, & Ron

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-11-23.mp3

Readings: Acts 5, 12-16; Psalm 118; Revelations 1, 9-19; John 20, 19-31

Acts of the Apostles

This book is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel. It tells the story of the spread of Christianity after Christ’s death.

Revelations

This book consists of a series of revelations that were encouraging to the early Christians who were being persecuted at the time.

A Fishing Pole

There is a saying that while it is necessary occasionally to give a person a fish to keep them from starving, even better is it to give them a pole and teach them to fish. I think I have a fishing pole story.

Christmas two ago Rosemary & I visited Karina in Cuernavaca. It is to her and her mother that we have been giving money to help them get through the year, about $200 a month. Karina is about 35 and horribly crippled because of childhood polio.

On this occasion Karina mentioned to me that if I could help her, she could set up her own little pharmacy. When her mother, Maria Luisa, is not sick with cancer, Karina works in a small Mexican pharmacy about an hour’s journey from where they live. It is a difficult process for her to walk up & down the hills to catch the bus.

I have often encouraged Karina to look into further schooling, because I sense how intelligent she is. So far it has been impossible.

Consequently, when I heard Karina’ idea, you would think that I would have jumped at the opportunity to help her become more independent. However, ever since I have worked in East Africa, I have had an automatic reaction to people who hit me up for money. It used to happen in Tanzania so much that I become immediately resistant when I hear that tone of voice.

Until I mentioned it to Rosemary, who said, Why not check out the numbers at least. So this past Christmas, a year later, Karina told us that she could rent a small place near a bus station for $50 a month and that she needed $2500 to open up her own pharmacy.

This is not you local CVS type pharmacy. In Mexico the local pharmacies have just a few tubes of toothpaste, some aspirin, and various popular needs. No prescription medicines.

Folks, I have decided I would like to help this woman. We have been giving her the equivalent of fish every Christmas. Without it who knows where they would be. Now there is an opportunity to give her a fishing rod.

I have passed this by the board for approval. For the next month, until Mother’s Day, I will put out a special little basket for Karina. I want to give her $3000, the extra $500 for her first few months’ rent. This will be separate from our Expenses and Outreach baskets. I don’t want to interfere with them. This money will be a pass it on loan. Every month or whatever we agree upon, Karina can help another person in need whom she knows.

Because you talked me into going back to taking pictures, the next time we are there, I hope to take some digital pictures of Karina’s pharmacy.

Who is the Karina in your life?

Download the homily as an mp3.

Guess who is saying, "Welcome in, Everybody."  Would you believe, Zoe & Tori & Harper.

Readings:

Deuteronomy   8, 2-3, 14-16,  Do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

 Psalm 147,   Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.  

1 Corinthians 10, 16-17, We, though many, are one body.

John 6, 51-58,   Eucharist 

Likewise, Kevin is ready and says, "Come in, Folks."

Father’s Day History:

 Four steps:

1. The Civil War started thinking about a Mother’s Day.  Anna Jarvis pushed it ca. 1907 and it was made official in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson.
2. Monongah, WV mining disaster, 210 fathers killed, Dec. 6, 1907 (just before Christmas & after the Mother’s Day activity).  Fairmont, WV.   Grace Golden Clayton pushed the idea. 
3. Spokane, WA, Sonora Dodd & influence of Mother’s Day.  Dodd’s dad had fought in the Civil War and all by himself raised Sonora & her 5 siblings.   
4. Pres. LBJ made it special, 1966.  Pres. Nixon made it a national holiday, 1972.

Even Buddy, roped up and ready to go says, "Hi, Everybody."
 

Father’s Day

This morning I would like to talk about Father’s Day, especially from the perspective of one of those special events that happens every now and then.  One of those events took place last night.

What happened was that a class I had been a part of at Jesuit as a teacher had a 50^th class reunion at one of the guy’s houses.  About 4 other teachers were invited, one of which was a Jesuit friend who likewise had departed and married 37 years ago, as he told Rosemary &  me.

Hi, Cody, Hi, Ben.  Great to see you, as always.

I loved these guys and I was doubly touched because one of the guys that organized the reunion and who personally invited me was a guy named Frank Hart.  I have been like part of his family since I was in 7^th & 8^th grade at Christ the King. 

I have mentioned often enough how Frank Sr. was such a positive influence in my last two years at Christ the King, like ’52, ’53, & ’54.  He was not just a coach, teacher, and Scout Master.  He was  a second father. 

Here they are, Everybody, Ben's beautiful family, Jack, Sophia, and Camille.

Frank is still alive and Friday afternoons I visit him at a convalescent home where he is just waiting to move to the other side.  He sleeps mostly and does not even know me. 

Some of you may remember when we planted trees on Marsh Lane from Northwest Hwy. to LBJ, Frank Sr. had a restaurant and invited the whole team to eat at his place after the planting, free. 

Would you buy a used car from either of these two characters, Sir Charlie & Gilberto?   Like, how about an Edsel?  Mint condition?

Some of you also may remember when we finished tree planting on numerous other streets the next few years, the picnic was always catered by a restaurant called Back Country Bar-B-Que.  That was Frank, Jr. the son and the former student who invited me & Rosemary to the reunion.  20 years ago or more I performed the marriage between Frank and his wife, Martha. 

Just to show those kids I am still an idiot, I had to borrow 5 bucks from Frank to pay the valet parking.  We were at the home of Mike McKool, 5 minutes from our house, and neither Rosemary nor I took any money. 

Shonda & Ben bringing The Magic.

Rosemary & I heard lots of personal stories.  One kid’s experiences in Viet Nam really touched me. 

I am not a real father.  But I have had the privilege of being nurtured by some good fathers and have tried to nurture some other young guys.  Last night some of those once young boys really touched me.

How have you been nurtured by the father figures in your life?

And how have you passed on the nurturing?

Says Sandra, "Happy Father's Day all you guys."

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles  1, 12-14,  All devoted themselves to prayer.

Psalm 27,   I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. (a good one)

1 Peter 4, 13-16,  Rejoice.

 John 17, 1-11,   I pray for them. 

"Welcome in, Everybody, " says Harper.

To dwell in the house of the Lord

This past Friday after Romeos, I headed across Central to Plano Cycling, one of my favorite places to visit.  I wanted one of my service friends to check Rosemary’s rear bike brake.  She had told me it was soft.  I can fix a lot of things on a bike, and love doing it, but I would prefer a specialist work on her brake for safety’s sake.

So says Seth likewise, plus, "Wake me up after that old guy stops talking."

So I go in about 2:30 and this is why I love to go there.  I walk in and hear, “Hi, John” from numerous staff, or “Hi, John Stack” from the service manger.  I confess it means a lot to be known by name in a store.

I look for my specialist friends, Darrell or Lorinda.  Not there.  A bummer.  But a new guy is there, about 28.   He is working on a bike and apparently is alone.  I tell him what I want and he says, “sure,” he will fix it while I wait. 

Our Candle Lighter of The Week, Leo

Turns out Rosemary needs more than a cable tightened.  She has worn out her brake pads and needs a new set.  Joey says, “No problem,” he can fix that in a minute.

So we begin to talk.  “What's your name?  Joey.  How long you been working here?  About 2 months.  How do you like it?  I love it.  How did you get here?”

Offertory,Bernadette, Gil, and Diane.

He proceeds to tell me he had a good office job with good money.  But he was not happy.  He used to bring work home.  He is married, but did not mention kids.  Everything was good, but he was not happy.  He had known Plano Biking since he bought his first bike there as a little kid.  He loved to just visit.

One day he was talking with somebody on the staff and saying how he loved bikes & working on them and how his job was not satisfying.   “We’ll hire you,” the person said.  Joey jumped. 

Prep time.

This exemplifies what it means

To dwell in the House of the Lord,

To see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

And you? 

How do you dwell in the House of the Lord?

What are the good things of the Lord that you see in the land of the living?

And what for recessional?

P.S.   A note to all of you who are celebrating our Memorial Day weekend at your lake houses, on cruises, like to Alaska, Mike & Geri, and to points south, like Tom and Teresa, and to all points in between, you, too, are seeing and celebrating the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

The Best Music, Shonda, Bethany for her last event, and David.