Sunday Homily, April 20, 2014, Easter, Cycle A

Genesis 22, 1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Take your son Isaac.  You shall offer him up as a holocaust; Psalm 116, I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living; Romans 8, 31-34; Mark 9, 2-10, He was transfigured before them.

Introduction to Genesis 22

 The concept of a covenant between God and His people is one of the central themes of the Bible. The First Reading last week was the covenant God made with Noah. This week it is the covenant God made with Abraham, and next week it is the covenant God made with Moses.  Of course, as Christians, our belief is that we have a covenant with God through Jesus Christ. 

God, with infinite love for us brings salvation to the Table in the covenant won for us by Christ.  What are we to bring?  We are to live the spoken Word in our lives with gratitude!

 Before Bill Poncik gives the first reading, I want to share a story he emailed me a couple of weeks ago.  The mother of a young boy knowing that he had a terminal disease and only a few weeks to live asked him what he wanted to do that day. He replied that he would like to go to the Fire station for maybe he would have been a fireman.  She called the neighborhood fire station in Phoenix where they lived, told the chief there the situation and asked if her son could come for a visit. The chief asked for his height and weight and told her to bring him at 9:00 AM and plan to stay awhile. They were greeted by the morning shift of 16 men who made him a fellow fireman for a day, gave him a fitting safety helmet, yellow protective coat and boots. He and his mother began a wonderful tour; but he was told that if he heard the bell ringing that one of the 16 firemen would escort him to one of the trucks. Three times that day the young boy lived his dream.  A few weeks later his mother called the station once again to tell them that the angels would be coming for her son, that he was still awake but not for long. She was told to open the window of his bedroom when she heard the siren. That day 16 firemen climbed the ladder and entered his window fully dressed in their yellow and red. They were there, when the boy left them, dressed like the angels who had come to carry him to paradise.  16 men were living Christ’s words with gratitude in answer to God’s gift of salvation.

 

Homily from Mark 9:2-10

 

 Again, to better understand a reading, one must consider the context in which it has been placed.  So, in the teaching that precedes this transfiguration event, a man is seeking to be in a covenant relationship with God through Christ.  In this process of coming to faith he observes those around Jesus to be ‘like trees that are walking.’ 

What does this mean?  Christ’s disciples have to commit themselves to Christ’s words. The seed has been planted; but they have no roots, no foundation. They have failed to understand that he is the Messiah. That teaching does end with Peter coming to the realization that the Messiah has come to them; however, he misunderstands Christ’s mission and the disciples’ responsibility in response to God’s plan of salvation.

 

 Secondly, let’s look at the purpose of Christ’s mission in the very first verses of this Mark gospel realizing that since they are in the summary of the gospel we will find them somewhere in the later text of the Mark gospel.  When the Mark gospel begins we find that when Jesus comes forth from the waters where John was baptizing, the Holy Spirit comes upon him with the voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my son the beloved.’  These words are present twice in the Mark gospel. Here in the beginning of the summary of the Mark gospel—the second time, of course, is in today’s gospel. 

 Thirdly, we need to look at the very beginning of the Bible in the covenant God made with Abraham in the Book of the Law.  When Moses came up from the waters of the Red Sea leading the Israelites to freedom the Spirit came upon him.  Later, when Moses went up the mountain, by himself, the second time to receive the 10 commandments, Moses face continued to give off some light for he had been close to the radiance of God when the covenant had been made with him.

 

  In today’s reading, Jesus takes his inner circle of Peter, James and John up the mountain where Christ’s divinity is revealed to them. Streams of light come forth Him, for he was dazzling bright. When Moses and Elijah appear Peter is still in the dark, for he wants Jesus to abide in the presence of Moses and Elijah.  It is then we hear, with Peter, the voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, Listen to Him!’ (Exclamation point) No one is there but Jesus. The words of Moses and Elijah are to be understood as an expectation of the Law and the Prophets for the coming of the Messiah. When one listens to, and puts into practice, the words of Christ with all their mind and heart and soul, they enter into the new covenant with God through Christ through grace.  The words of Christ fulfill the covenants that required circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic Law.

 

 Some might be saying, ‘Well, yes, I understand; but be more specific about that to which we are to listen.”  Well, now we know why the inspired writers of the Matthew Gospel have a Sermon on the Mount! That sermon is to enlighten us. Not only is it a summary of how we are to live our lives; but it informs us that it is how we are to illuminate others to come to glorify God. During Lent I would recommend that we all reread it. It begins at Matthew’s Chapter 5.  How are you going to remember where it is in the Matthew gospel? Just look at one of your hands—five fingers—Chapter five.

 If you read the Letter of James written to the Jewish Christians its inspired writers tell us that in the New Covenant there is one perfect law.  Since in that letter there are many references to the John gospel, it’s not hard to realize what those inspired writers meant.  In the John gospel Jesus presents his disciples with one commandment.   We are to love one another as Christ loves us!  When we do that we are truly living the entirety of Christ’s words—the perfect response to the covenant God has made with us in Christ Jesus.

 

 Reflect for a moment on something you plan to do this coming week. How will you illuminate those moments to those who around you by your words and actions?  Remember, we show our gratitude to God only to the degree we show our love toward others!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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?

 

 

"Welcome in" says Georgie.

 

Readings:  

 Deuteronomy 6, 2-6,  You shall love your God.

 Psalm 18,  I love you Lord, my strength

 Hebrews 7, 23-28,  The law appoints men subject to weakness to be priests.

 Mark 12, 28-34,   Which is the first of all the commandments?

 

 

 

Jan our special hostess at her welcome to communion table.

 

 

Deuteronomy observations:

1.  The work is the last of the 5 books of the Pentateuch, following Genesis,  Exodus, Leviticus, & Numbers.

2.  The work is organized as a series of addresses given by Moses to the people of Israel in the land of Moab, where they had stopped at the end of the long wilderness journey and were about to enter and occupy the land of the Canaanites.

3.  The theme of the book is that God has saved and blessed his chosen people, whom he loves.  They are to remember this, and love and obey him.

4. Joshua is commissioned as the next leader of the people, i.e., God's (Yahweh's) people 

 

 

 

Buddy reads our Blessing of The Candles.

  

Pittsburgh

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, worked as a primary care physician, was deeply active with HIV victims especially when it started, infamous for his bow ties.

Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and his brother David, 54.  Cecil was outgoing & gregarious while David was more self contained.

Richard Gottfried, 65 neighborhood dentist, married with a Catholic wife.

 

 

 

While her brother reads The Blessing, Zoe lights our candles.

 

Irving Youger, 69, when you walked into the synagogue, Irving was the first person who would welcome you and help you find your seat.  He had been a little league coach and a real estate agent.

Daniel Stein, 71, and retired.

Joyce Fienberg, 75, a research specialist at the U. of Pittsburgh, petite with huge personality.

 

 

 

The Offertory Team, Marlene, Bill, & Cindy, all Ekes family.

 

 

Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband Sylvan, 86, considered the sweetest couple who, 62 years ago, wedded in this same synagogue.

Melvin Wax, 88, full of jokes, a passionate Pittsburgh Pirates fan, was always in a good mood.

 

 

 

Sez Leo, "Welcome in, Folks."

 

Rose Mallinger, 97, spry, vibrant, full of life, sharpest wit, with her family being everything in her life.

Judah Samet, 80, Hungarian, was in the parking lot, saw the shooter.  He survived the Nazi holocaust as a child of 6.

 

 

 

 Even with the massacre of Pittsburgh, we will give thanks this month.

 

Readings: Isaiah 35, 1-6, 10 (again beautiful); Psalm 146; James 5, 7-10; Matthew 11, 2-11

Isaiah: Again today’s selection from this marvelous book put together some 8 hundred years before Christ presents a dream and a vision of a day of peace and happiness.  To emphasize the beauty we will split the reading again, the first part read by Margarita; the second by her daughter Ashley.

How to Give Sight, Give Life

In Utah there is a ranch which specializes in equine therapy for young people.  Equine therapy uses horses to help people & kids find themselves and level out. 

A family who are really good friends of mine visited the ranch some years ago to check out if it might be a good place for one of their children to get settled in life.  One afternoon some staff people took them down to the barn to look at the horses.  Now the wife in her childhood had done some riding and was pretty confident around horses, which the staff apparently picked up.

Consequently, one of the women staff members offered her a bridle and asked her if she thought she could bridle a wild mustang they had just brought in.  "Sure," she said, and off she went to bridle the mustang.  Three staff members climbed up and sat on the fence to watch her.  Inside she was saying to herself that she would be firm and brave, remembering that she had once broken her arm with a horse. 

Using all her skill, determination, and bravery she tried and tried to bridle that mustang, for probably over an hour.  It was even beginning to get dark.  But she was determined she would prove she could do it all by herself.  Finally, with darkness setting in she took the bridle, handed it back to the staff, and feeling defeated said she could think of no other way to bridle that mustang.

The staff asked, "Are you sure you have tried every possibility?"  "Yes," she replied, "Everything. "I think there may be still another possibility," the staff said.  "What?" my friend asked.  "You could have asked for help."

Isaiah says this morning that some day the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf be cleared.  That evening in that coral in Utah, my friend saw and heard in a new way.

There are two pieces to this dynamic.  One, am I aware that I am blind and deaf, and need the help of community?  We are all blind and deaf.  Secondly, am I aware that I have to help others see and hear better?  Or I am less a person? 

One of the hardest things for me to do is to ask for help.  It is partly pride, but also good Jesuit training.  I’ve been trained to think and act independently.  I can almost learn Spanish or Italian without asking for help.  However, ever try to learn to work a computer without asking for help?  I have had to ask Rosemary a million times how to do things.  Humbling.  And eye opening.

The staff members sitting on that fence were helping my friend to see and hear.  It is even their profession, a privilege and a call really.  Teachers are helping others to see, parents do it.   Like I mentioned the first Sunday of Advent, flight attendants do it with their hospitality, like happened to Rosemary & me coming out of Hilton Head. 

A paradox in all this is that when I help another to see or hear better, I receive the same gift.

My friends never did work with the ranch in Utah, and their child grew up and leveled out.

How are you helping the person next to you to see & hear better?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-12-16.mp3

Readings:

1 Baruch 5, 1-9, Put on the splendor of glory from God.

Psalm 126, The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

2 Philippians 1, 4-6, 8-11, My prayer, that your love may increase ever more.

Luke 3, 1-6, The word of God came to John.

Baruch:

    What: One of the little books (only 5 chapters) of the extra books.  That is, it is not one of the big 3, nor one of the 12 little prophetic books, nor part of the N.T.  It is part of a dozen small books in between.  Most Protestant churches  don't recognize these little books.

     Author:  Baruch was Jeremiah's secretary. Maybe he wrote some of the material, but it was not put together.  Remember, he & Jeremiah lived before & during the Babylonian Captivity.  There are 4 little discourses.  Compilation of the total work seems to have taken place later.  Most likely some anonymous person or persons a few centuries after Jeremiah put it together. 

     Date of composition: maybe during the Maccabees' revolt ca. 100 before Christ.   If so,  the little book intends to strengthen resistance of the Jews during the Macabeean Revolt, using the Babylonian model to encourage the people.

      Our passage: a message of optimism, hope, peace, and a new day.  The passage reflects 2nd Isaiah's message (chapter 40), which is likewise quoted in Luke's gospel for today.  The famous 2nd Isaiah: Luke uses this source to build his nativity narrative.  See also the lyrics of Handel's Messiah.

Sources:  Good New Bible.

Emma

 

Love for the Kids

I would like to talk today, folks, about God leading his people in Joy.

I saw it happen yesterday.  I feel like I climbed the mountain and walked in the kingdom.

This is what happened.  A couple of times a year there is a picnic thrown for kids at a big ranch in Flower Mound.  Rosemary & I and others in our community have been part of this picnic 3, 4, 5 times.

In the spring the picnic is for handicapped kids.  In the fall the picnic is for underprivileged kids.  The spring picnic has about 1,000 kids.

Yesterday around 4,000 kids showed up at the Circle R ranch for hot dogs, chips, horseback riding, gunny sack races, obstacle course runs, face painting, and visits with Santa, Super Man, and various other celebrities.  The kids are given all sorts of little souvenirs which they put in the plastic bags furnished by the picnic. 

There must have been 60-70 yellow DISD school buses.  There were so many buses they had bus gridlock getting them all in around 10:00.  It took an hour.  There were more buses this year than last. 

There are numerous memorable moments, but for me, one moment stands out.  As the kids come off the buses they are herded into a wide path that heads toward the main entrance of a sprawling one story, rustic building that has a stage, bunches of circular tables for eating, and the food distribution area. 

As the kids approach the building entrance, they are met with a lane of maybe 100  volunteers who are cheering, clapping, singing Christmas carols, and high fiving each kid, saying Happy Christmas, Hi, Welcome, or whatever is fitting the kids. 

This is my favorite activity of the whole picnic.  I always get into the lane.  The kids come in beaming, smiling, shy sometimes, giving high fives, receiving compliments, and being showered with attention and affection.  I am so touched by the faces.  Some are like pre-K, cute little boys & girls. 

My thought is that at least some of these kids will remember their whole lives the experience of walking through that lane of welcome, affirmation and joy.

A second event touched me this year.  The volunteers.  Both our Bona Responds team and the teachers and parents accompanying the kids on the buses. 

Bill Hammond told us all that we had to register on line ahead of time.  So Thursday I went onto the web site.  Registration is closed, it said.  I am stunned.  I call Bill.  He says get a phone number off the web site and call.  I do.   A lady says, no problem.  They shut down the registration because by Wednesday they had 750 volunteers.  She says, however, that any others can come, too.  Later one of the coordinators said over 1,000 volunteers finally registered.  I feel so privileged and blessed to be part of this marvel.

Folks, I saw yesterday God leading his people in joy, his little people especially and his big people, too, leading us all in joy.

How is God leading you in Joy?  Who is one person you are helping God to lead in Joy?

  

Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72, Lord, Every Nation on Earth will Adore You; 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.  Our passage from chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem as a symbol, 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.

 
 

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.  Note 12^th Night.

3.  Considered a second Christmas, to the Gentiles.

 

The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols: 2 observations–

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 2 symbols, each with 3 subdivisions..         

1.  The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are

a. Gentiles

b.  They come from the east, considered the source of wisdom in the world of that time.  Where does the sun rise?  Where do stars rise?  A new son has been born and like the sun in the east or a star he will bring new light. 

c.  They also symbolize every man’s search for meaning in life.    Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising for not searching, and the Gentiles. 

2.  The 3 gifts. 

 a.  Gold is given because it signifies royalty. 

 b.  Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity. 

 c.  Myrra signifies medicine.  Myrra is for the human.  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.

 

A post script.  People in Europe used to write an inscription over their doors, e.g. 20+C+M+B+10.  The numbers are our year.  The letters are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.   Christians made it say, “Christ Bless our house or Maison the year listed.  

 Another post script.  In New Orleans Epiphany starts Carnival season, which leads up to Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  The parades will be starting, folks.

 Sources: Reginal Fuller, St. Louis U. Liturgy; Biblical & Theological Resources, the Voice Institute, on line; Wikipedia; and other sources.

 

The Epiphanies around Us

 Recently Rosemary & I went to the exposition of some paintings of about six or eight artists. Among the artists and the reason we were there was my childhood buddy Ed Lamberty, who gave the homily here a year or so ago on alcoholism & AA. 

 As we were wandering around we ran into another couple who are old friends.  We ask what brought them to this exposition.  They pointed across the room to a middle aged,  middle class, blondish woman who was standing by some of her works.

 Here is the story the wife told me.

 The couple we know are both academics on the university level.  Some years ago the wife had been teaching and came to know one of her students.  The student was a mother with a son about 8 years old.  At some point in time the father had abandoned them and left them with nothing.  They were living in the mother’s car. 

 My friend says to me that this shocked her and she thought this cannot continue.  She described the situation to her husband and two sons who were about 10 & 12.  Guess what they did.

 They invited the mother & son to live with them until they got on their feet.  The two sons moved into one bedroom and the mother & her son took the other.  Here they lived for almost a year until the husband found the woman a job. 

 

 The woman now is successful and is developing as an artist, selling her works for significant sums.  The son graduated from Jesuit, graduated from college, and now is married with a couple of his own kids. 

 Obvious from the fact that they were at the art exposition, my friends are still quite close with the mother & her son. 

 I would propose that this is what epiphany is, a pointing to a presence among us and in us.  The presence is acceptance and care for others.  It points to something beautiful.

 Who is an epiphany for you?

 For whom are you an epiphany?

 Picture 1:    Emma 

 Picture 2:    Diane on her birthday with Jenny & Melissa

 Picture 3:    The Dinsmore family, David & Donna & their kids, Dawson, Darbianna, & Dana

 Picture 4:    Emily & her mom, Julie at the Offertory