Sunday Homily August 5, 2012, 18th Ordinary Time B
Special Mass today celebrating Our Joan Gleason
Readings:
Exodus, 16, 2-4 & 12-15, I will rain down bread from heaven for you.
Psalm 78, The Lord gave them bread from heaven
Ephesians 4, 17, 20-24, You should put away the old self of your former way of life.
John 6, 24-35, Sir, give us this bread always.
Exodus observations:
What:
Exodus is a fun book and a good read. It comes after Genesis & it has three main sections.
One – the struggle between stubborn old Pharoah vs Moses & Yahweh. Pharoah loses. You can imagine the Passover had a significant impact.
Two – the time of wandering in the Sinai desert and the covenant, that is, the 10 Commandments
Three – the coming into the Promised Land.
This all took around 40 years, and so we have stories in-between. Today’s is one of these, showing Yahweh feeding his grumbling people.
When written:
Toward the end of the Babylonian Captivity, around 550 before Christ
Who wrote it:
Not Moses, but people who lived centuries after this mythical character. How much of this is historical is a question. The story greatly encouraged the Jewish people enslaved in Babylon.
Our selection:
An amusing account of the Jewish people grumbling against Moses. They say they would prefer to be back in Egypt than in this infernal desert where they are wandering in the heat & sand. We can sympathize with them in these days of 100’s. They did not have a/c. So Yahweh feeds them. See how.
Joan
I would like to say a few words this morning about Joan.
When we started our little community almost 8 years ago, I had 3 dreams.
First, I wanted the community to be totally inclusive.
Secondly, I did not want to take up collections during our celebrations.
Thirdly, I wanted to provide coffee & donuts & juice free to the community. I figured coffee & donuts invited people to hang around and chat. We had no other Mass starting. Why not hang out?
For a year, maybe two, we provided coffee & donuts & juice every Sunday. It was delightful. At some point I noticed that a cake was showing up every week. I asked Rosemary had she noticed. She had noticed, but did not know who was doing it.
Guess who it was. Yes, Joan. Without anyone asking her, she just started feeding the community. How appropriate are the two readings today that talk about God feeding his people. This is so Joan, feeding us, feeding God’s people.
This was just one way Joan touched my heart and our hearts. Another way came through her marvelous spirit. One Sunday a couple of weeks before she died, Rosemary & I came to visit. Joan was sitting up in a recliner chair, looked great, and was pert as ever. As we departed I blessed her and touched her head, or more accurately, her hair. “Don’t mess my hair,” she cracks. I had to laugh. “Joan,” I said, “I can see, there is nothing wrong with you.” Well, there was. She just did not show it, even though she was approaching the bridge.
Another side to her spirit was the manner in which she dealt with her condition and the approach of that bridge. There were only 36 days between the day the doctors discovered her cancer and the day she died. What did she decide to do with the three treatment plans? She said she did not want any treatment. Everybody has their day, she told me, and she was ready for hers.
I asked her how she felt about dying. “Fine,” she said. No hesitation, “Fine.” She had moved through the psychological stages of dying in a lightening flash, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and arrived at acceptance. I am privileged to walk the last mile with a lot of people. Seldom am I so touched by such marvelous acceptance.
After Joan had told me she felt fine about her approaching death, she told me she had one wish. That her family remain family. She repeated this the night we all got together so everyone who wanted to could talk about what was going on.
Joan gifted us all with this family, Jerry, Maureen & Bill, Debbie & Tom, T.J. & Sean, and all the other grand kids. Thanks for being a gift to me and to our community, All of You.
I would like now to read the neat little prayer Joan has on her card. It is so Joan.
To Those I Love & Those Who Love Me
When I am gone, release me, let me go. I have so many things to see and do. You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears, be happy that we had so many years. I gave you my love and you can only guess how much you gave me in happiness. I thank you for the love you have each shown, but now it is time I traveled on alone. So grieve awhile for me, if grieve you must, then let your grief be comforted by trust. It’s only for awhile that we must part, so bless the memories within your heart. I won’t be far away, for life goes on. So, if you need me, call and I will come. Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near, and if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear all my love around you soft and clear. And then, when you must come this way alone, I’ll greet you with a smile and say, “Welcome Home.”
What is the greatest gift Joan has given you?