Sunday Homily 1-2-13, 2nd Ordinary Time C

Readings: 1 Samuel 16, 1-13; Psalm 23, The Lord is My Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want; Ephesians 5, 8-14; John 9, 1-41. 

Fourth Sunday of Lent – Intro to Readings

 Our three readings today have to do with seeing.  In the first reading we have the account of Samuel being sent by God to find a successor to King Saul.  At this time, the succession of the kings was not by direct descendant, but they were chosen by God..  Recall that Saul was their first king, a king they demanded from God so that they could be just like every other people around them.  God gave them Saul.  Saul did not quite work out, and today’s reading is the account of God’s selection of his successor, David.  The account focuses on the fact that God sees people differently than we do.  You might say he shines a light through the cover of the book to see into the person.

 Paul’s letter to the Ephesians continues this theme of God’s light and introduces us to the well-known phrase “Jesus is the Light of the World”.  The Letter to the Ephesians is one of those letters where Paul’s authorship is strongly questioned.  The letter contains no references to companions, addresses no particular questions or issues in a particular community, and very closely resembles the Letter to the Colossians.  There is much reference to Baptism in the letter and it seems that some of the passages in the letter are taken from early Christian liturgies, particularly Baptism. 

Our responsorial Psalm today is the very beautiful Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd” and has two ideas: God as Shepherd and God as Host.  The psalm was probably part of a thanksgiving liturgy.

 Our gospel today is from St. John and originally I had intended to read the shorter version, but all of the commentators I read were so full of praise for the entire chapter and how it is one of the masterpieces of Johannine story telling, well what could I do!

 Homily

 Last Monday after work, I caught the DART train home.  When I got into the front carriage, there was a young woman at the front of the carriage speaking to everyone.  I sat down and immediately realized I was in for a sermon!!  Not what I needed at that moment.  I wanted the train driver to come out of his cab and toss her off the train!  But as she talked I listened.  She was telling us about how Jesus had come into her life and saved her, and Jesus would save us too, if we would only accept him.  In fact we were already saved. 

 As I listened, I started to do what the Pharisees did in today’s Gospel.  I wondered so what now, what is the big difference in her life, I wanted to know the “so what”.  Then I began to ask myself would I be willing to get up in front of a carriage full of people and share my faith in Jesus.  She was a very good speaker, she spoke clearly and calmly.  Then she sat down after thanking us for listening.  The man in the row behind her leaned forward and said something to her, I didn’t hear, but I could see that she wiped a tear from her eye.  The train rolled on and after a few stops she rose, turned to us all and invited us to have a “Blessed day” and got off. 

 Onto the train got a young man, who sat in her seat, about her age, dressed all in black, a black shirt with the word “neurosis” written across the front, long hair and a tattoo on his arm.  He had leather straps on his wrists with metal spikes on them, and a metal belt and chains around his waist, and a ring in his nose!!   Oh boy, did I have fun with the contrast as I thought about today’s readings!  I had jumped to all sorts of conclusions about the young man.  I was judging the book by the cover. 

 If I go back to my questions about what the young woman was saying.  So what difference was Jesus’ presence in my life?  I need to constantly be aware of my own blindness when it comes to other people.  I need to make sure I don’t fall into the trap of having a closed mind, which is what the Pharisees had in the gospel.  They were completely blind to the miracle, and only saw that Jesus broke the Sabbath law.

The blind man’s sight of who Jesus was is something that happened over time.  At first he saw Jesus as “the man Jesus”, then “he is a prophet” then finally as “Lord”.  So too for us, our sight, our faith, is a journey and we grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and what our response to Him is, as we live and allow Him into our lives.

Picture 1:   Mass begins with Tony & Kevin  

Picture 2:   Tony congratulating Bob

Picture 3:   Beth & Rob, Beth being today's photographer

Picture 4:   Cara & Sean with mom & dad, Christine & Ed  

Picture 5:   Leo joins the choir

       

Readings:

Acts 4,  8-12,  In his name this man stands before you healed.

Psalm 118,    The stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone.

1 John 3, 1-2,   See what love the Father has bestowed on us.

 John  10, 11-18,  I am the good shepherd.

Genevieve says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome. Nice to see you for the first time."

Acts reminders:

Author: Luke, the same who wrote the gospel.  He was an educated, urbane Jew.

Date: the years 75-80 

Subject: This is a travel log, detailing the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and the Mediterranean in between.

Today: Peter is talking to the elders and leaders of the people, aiming to convince them about Jesus.

Genevieve welcomes the Whole Community, and, in turn, the Whole Community welcomes Genevieve.

The Good Shepherd

I would like to talk this morning about the good shepherd.  Two proposals.  

First, we have shepherds all around us.

Secondly, the good shepherd has three characteristics.

1. The shepherd gathers people.
2. The people the shepherd gathers are richer and happier because of being called.
3. The shepherd, likewise, is richer and happier because of inviting all these people. 

Vivian says, "In two more weeks I will get to say hi to everybody, too."  Hey,  is there something in the water around here?

Four examples.

I mentioned that this past weekend Rosemary & I attended both a Jesuit class reunion and an alumni reunion of 50 years at Spring Hill College in Mobile.  The shepherd who called us together and made all the arrangements was my classmate and good friend, Bill Dowie.  To me this was extraordinary because the last time we all met two years ago, over twenty of us, Bill was still mourning the love of his life, whom he had cared for the last years of her life.

Not only did he gather those who could make it somewhat at the last moment, but he shared with us that he was introduced to someone with whom he sees a special relationship developing.  Rosemary & I were most touched, doubly so by the charming woman he brought.

I left that reunion richer and happier.

The Spring Hill Jesuit reunion group on the Fairhope pier, eastern shore, Mobile Bay.   Bill is third from left, Keqi is first on the left. Others, (l-r), Jim Raymond, Rosemary, an Old Geezer, Carl Castille, and Jack Podsiadlo. Joe Reardon taking the picture.

The second shepherd is in our very midst.  This guy invites with open arms and open heart guys who have hit bottom.  We, too, have accepted his invitation to nurture these men by our help with Souls Harbor, of which he is the director, a 24/7 job. 

Brent, Thanks for being a good shepherd for over 60 men and a shepherd for me and the community.

Our class in '65 in front of Assumption Hall.

The third shepherd, every Thursday at least, loads up 16 meals.  With her friend, Barbara, they deliver Meals on Wheels to homebound men and women, whites and a rainbow of races.

Rosemary and Barbara gather their people by bringing meals to their door.  The people are richer and happier because of their visit, as I am by their example.

Over 100 of us Jesuits lived in Assumption Hall, Spring Hill College, Mobile in the 60's. After expecting that the building would be finally designated as a historical monument, how deflating to find the building demolished and in its hallowed place two student residences. No appreciation for old age!

Finally, there is a lady in our neighborhood named Patty Cody.  She is our neighborhood shepherd.  She organized the neighborhood association.  She has set up a security patrol for us, and a neighborhood communication network.  You can find your lost dog or cat and you can put on line a picture of a lost dog you find in your yard.  All this, plus other conveniences.  But her biggest bringing together takes place on July 4, when everyone is invited to a neighborhood parade, a picnic at the playground of a grade school, and a time when we see each other, maybe the first time since last July 4.

Rosemary & I are the refreshment Czars and each year I come home richer and happier with what Patty has helped us celebrate.

Guess what, Victoria. You were once little, too, just like Genevieve.

Let me add an extra and a special Good Shepherd, Genevieve.  Does she not call us all together?  Do we not feel richer and happier just be in her marvelous presence.  And from my vantage point, I think she, too, is richer and happier because we are all responding to her.

Harper is pretending to be sleeping through another masterpiece homily.

Good shepherds are all around us.  

Who is a good shepherd in your life and for whom are you a good shepherd?

Cupcake of The Week to Paul and Carrie for acing the Boston Marathon last week.

Readings:

Isaiah, 2, 1-5,  They shall beat their swords into plow shares. (a beautiful readRing)

 Psalm 122,  Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

 Romans 13, 11-14,  Our salvation is nearer now.

 Matthew 24, 37-44,   Stay awake, for you do not know on  which day your Lord will come.

Thanks, John, for celebrating today.

 Second week of Advent, Thoughts by Mike

Energize your spiritual journey

We are all brothers and sisters, and our one goal is the kingdom of heaven, here and now.

We will always obtain the desire of our heart, so we must choose our desires wisely. 

Choose love, for it is in giving that we receive, ‘it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.’

‘Pay it forward.’  We teach by example.

Life is not about winning or loosing, its about compassion and justice.

Taking a step forward means that we have chosen to leave something behind. 

We are granted joy when we choose to leave pain behind. 

We enter truth when we choose to leave fear behind.

Peace comes when we choose to forgive.

Our Spirit enlightens us by chasing away our darkness, for they cannot coexist.  

Happy Anniversary, Frank & Mary.

The Kingdom of God is always at hand.  Be born again.

We are one body in Christ, when we are not seen or recognized when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.

Love does not build barriers; it tears them down.

Gratitude is the lens through which the Spirit calls us to journey.

‘Most opportunities are never convenient.  You don’t wait for them; they just occur.’

Deacon Mike

Hi, John and Mike from Hilton Head Island.

Readings:

Isaiah, 55, 6-9, As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways.

Psalm 1,  The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Philippians  1, 24, 27,  Conduct yourselves in a way worthy

Matthew 20, 1-16,   The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner…

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda

Readers,   Mary Jane (Happy Birthday!) & John & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel,  Deacon Mike 

Homily,  Stack 

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike, Ben & Hue, Richard & Tom & David

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

Download Readings Week 25

When did you last see God?

Next Sunday after our Sunday morning celebration of life I have a baptism.  Remember the Braun family from St. Marks?  It was easy to see them because both Debbie & Don were tall.  In fact, Don must be about 6'10" and they were visible.   They have three grown kids, a boy & two girls.  I've done backyard baptisms for them.  Heather, one of the daughters has a baby daughter.

Mary Jane reading Isaiah.

For a long time I have always asked the people gathered together for the baptism, when was the last time you saw God.  This can be very touching.  Of course, probably everybody there says they saw God and see God now when they behold the little baby being baptized.

Reflecting upon this in my own life, I am stunned.  Two events have left me speechless and humbled.  Almost exactly a year ago, October 20 to be exact, Rosemary & I were visited by that tornado.  I cannot say I saw God's presence in the tornado.  No, it was the aftermath and especially the next morning.  Neighbors whose houses were not damaged came in waves to clear downed tree limbs, clean up all the junk dumped in our yard, and to offer us food.  Boys from St. Marks Boys' School brought bottled water & food.  

John Schanot reading Philippians.

Doug LeBlanc & Grace came with some of their friends, coming with plywood & tools which they used to board up the smashed bay window on our house.  Connie and John Bresson, Mike Moran, Andy, Tom Good, Tom Froelich and others moved tree limbs, cut branches down and generally cleaned up. Just that day was overwhelming itself.  But people continued to come every day, some of which were community members.  One day Loretta Garcia Williams fed a whole group of our community.  I still am humbled and grateful.  I saw God those days.

Deacon reading the Gospel.

A few days later a tall junior from St. Marks School and a neighbor kid from a big delightful family 4 doors down came to our front door and knocked.  It was a mild & sunny afternoon.   He said he wanted to simply tell us that he admired us and was happy we're his neighbors.  You know me, I was in tears.  

It was hard to leave the neighborhood, as you can imagine.  So I was not expecting anything special when we moved into our new neighborhood.  Dream on.  We took possession of the keys about 1:00 on Monday, the 31st of August from the delightful couple who had fixed the place all up.  Before long while we were bringing stuff in with Grace LeBlanc's help, neighbors began coming over to welcome us.  With welcome gifts.  We got food & wine.  We got a home made chocolate cake with chocolate chips!  It was so rich!  I saw God in those people, especially in the lady who brought the chocolate chip chocolate cake.

And you?  When was the last time you saw God?

The brains of our team, Hue, Richard, and Mike.

Please Remember these special people:

For Alan Stryker;  For John Doherty with back pain; For Becky's dad who has moved to the other side;  For Cindy recuperating at home;    For Esparzas, Frank & Mary,  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;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, Woodlands,  For Joe Hogan with cancer;  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;    For Sydney;  & For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody & Ben & all of Shonda's dear family;   for all the students and teachers and coaches returning to school.

Shonda & Ben making the best music.

For Betty from Helsem; For Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For a friend & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free;    For Hue;  For John O'Donnell;   For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health;  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,  For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

Our Anniversary kids, Tom & Becky, 41 years!

Birthdays:  Mary Jane Stevenson, Sophia  (12), Ben's daughter 

Anniversaries:  Tom & Becky, 41

David double checking the out put.                                                     

Community Finances, September 13, 2020

Expenses: $  580.00

Outreach   $  200.00  (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

A new member of our community?

Rosemary's Blessing:

… May God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference
in this world, in your neighborhood,
so that you will courageously try
what you don't think you can do, but,
in Jesus Christ you'll have all the strength necessary.

"Troubadour: A Missionary Magazine," published by the Franciscan Missionary Society

Asleep again!  Seth, you will make a good Catholic.  Fall asleep as soon the priest begins.   And you are supposed to welcome everybody in today!

Readings:

Jeremiah   20, 10-13,  He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked

 Psalm 69,   Lord, in your great love answer me. 

Romans 5, 12-15, Through one man sin entered the world.

Matthew 10, 26-33, Fear no one. 

"Hi, Everybody," says Tori, "Welcome in."  Nice, Tori.

Jeremiah observations–

What:  I think Jeremiah is my second favorite O.T. prophet, behind Isaiah, mostly because he makes whining and complaining into an art form.  I need to take lessons from him.  Not that he did not have enough to complain about.   Jeremiah is one of the Big 3 with Isaiah and Ezekiel.  He is called the ‘broken hearted prophet.’  Here is why.

Time:  Jeremiah lived and prophesied in Jerusalem around 600 before Christ.  Why is this important?  It is some 50 years before the Babylonian Captivity.  Jeremiah had a heart rending life predicting punishment of death and destruction for the Hebrews for their sinful, selfish ways.  Jeremiah predicted disaster, and disaster came in the person of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon-Bagdad.

He may have been ultimately killed by the Hebrews.

Today:  Jeremiah is in top form.

Zoe, too, says, "Come in Folks."  Zoe, you make a delightful hostess.

Fear No One

I would like to talk this morning about one line that struck me in the readings, fear no one.  A pretty powerful idea. 

Last Monday there was an editorial in The Dallas Morning News that talked about the Smith family of Trenton, NJ.  This family, all 8 of them, all black, about a year ago won the Powerball Jackpot of $429 million. 

The best music, Katie & Ben.  Katie, it is so nice to have you back.

Woopee, new house, a mansion, new  cars, an exotic vacation, all the best?  Right?  Wrong.  The Smiths decided to invest a large portion of their winning in the fight to help others overcome poverty in Trenton.  They  set up a foundation, smithfamilyfoundation.com.

They particularly focused on improving the lives of children and families through education, job training, and neighborhood development.  Their slogan is the well known, don’t give the person a fish, teach the person to fish.

Our Candle Lighter of The Week, Buddy
 

The Smiths say they have lived as children in the ghetto with poverty.  Their parents, however, impressed upon them the value of getting educated to find success.  This they have done.  The Powerball winning is an extra bonus they want to use to help others up. 

The Smith family exemplifies for me the unconditional nature of God’s love for us.  The gospel says fear no one.  Who is the one many of us grew up fearing?  For me, God.  To get to where I am now I had to tune out the messages about a conditionally loving God and focus on the people in my life who were like the Smiths.  We all have had these people or we would not be here today. 

Communion for those who will serve the Community.

Whom, if anybody, do you fear?

Readings: Exodus 17, 8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3, 14-4, 2; Luke 18, 1-8

Exodus: to understand this book it helps to review what came before in Genesis.  Namely, creation, Cain & Abel, the flood, the tower of Babylon, and then the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.  Remember that Jacob had 12 sons, the last of which, Joseph, was sold by his brothers to a camel caravan which got him to Egypt. 

Joseph thrived in Egypt, becoming the favorite of Pharaoh, while drought & famine afflicted the land of Joseph’s brothers & his father, Jacob.  At one point Jacob sends his sons to Pharaoh to get food & help.  That is how eventually the Israelites ended up in Egypt, to live. 

Exodus is the story of their escape from Egypt, Moses, his birth and call, and how he gets the people away from Pharaoh.

In our selection the people are in the desert fighting for their lives.  Three characters make up the story, Moses, Joshua, the leader of the Israelite army, and Amalek, the leader of the army attacking the people. Moses is blessing his people by holding his staff over the army as a blessing, like praying for success.  See what happens.  This sets up the Luke story about the widow petitioning the judge for a victory.

What We Ask For

A few years ago I had three elderly people from the subdivision of Northwood Hills contact me about planting trees in their neighborhood.  Two were a couple and there was a third guy, all probably about my age right now.  I really did not want to do this project because they were north of LBJ and I thought it was too far to drag the water trailer full of water from Jesuit, where I was living then.

So I put them off.  Maybe even for a year.  Eventually, however, because of their persistence I went to see their project, which consisted of Fretz Park, Hillcrest from LBJ to Beltline, Beltline from Preston to Coit, and a neighborhood elementary school, about 350 plus trees.

Despite not being eager to tackle the distance, two things pulled down my resistance.  First, they were willing to kick in a good portion of the cost of the trees.  Secondly, they were so gracious and eager to improve their own neighborhood.  I could not tell them no after all they were willing to put out, and all their pleading. 

You know the rest.  We planted one of our bigger projects and the trees are thriving.  In fact, I did not even water that project once this summer.  You may not know it, but they gave me a recognition of gratitude at one of their large community meetings.

When I hear Luke’s story about the widow & the judge I always think about Northwood Hills.  With gratitude. 

With confusion also, because I have difficulty with the main point of the story.  Namely, that God will answer persistent prayer, without even being slow about it, as Luke says.  Do you believe that God answers our prayers, and even more swiftly if we are persistent as the widow?  My mom thought that a nine day novena with special prayers got her every request, though my memory tells me otherwise.

I need to make a distinction and an observation to make sense of this for me.  I have talked about it before, so I remind you.  The distinction is between a macro-managing God and a micro-managing God.

The macro-managing God I can handle.  This god is behind the big stuff, the sky, creation, the stars, life, the balance of the universe.  I see this god as like a person bowling.  He gets the ball going and it travels on its own.

The micro-managing god, however, is in the small stuff, responsible for my sickness, for instance.  He makes good things happen & bad things.  He can change each.  If I pester this god enough he will find my lost wedding ring or car keys.  He will cure the sick, make me rich, fix the lottery so I win it, and so forth.  This god I don’t see in my experience.

Then why do I pray for people?  Like at our prayers of the faithful.  This is the observation. I pray first because I think, I hope, our God hears and is personal.  Secondly, I pray because I imagine that my spirit sends forth some kind of emotional energy to that God that says, "Please take special care of this person I love."  When we do this as a group, the emotional energy has a little more punch. 

A by product of praying for others is it sensitizes me to the suffering & difficulty other people are experiencing.

So where does this leave us?  Don’t pray for people?  Don’t pray persistently like the little widow or the people from Northwood Hills?  No. It may mean I lower my expectations. Maybe it helps to make the distinction about the macro vs micro-managing god.  I still remember people in prayer. 

Ultimately, what is your belief about praying for special intentions?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-10-21.mp3