Sunday Homily 1-3-10, Epiphany (Magi Visit)

Readings:  Isaiah 61, 1-11 (beautiful); Psalm is Luke 1, 46-54 (The Magnificat, beautiful); 1 Thessalonians 5, 16-24; John 1, 6-8, 19-28 .

Isaiah:This is Third Isaiah.  One Isaiah goes to Chap. 39; Two Isaiah, chapters 40-55.  From 40 on we have what is called the Book of Comfort, as I mentioned last week.  Our selection today is all about comfort.  The writer is consoling the Hebrews during the Babylonian captivity, which took place about 580 BCE, in other words about a century after One Isaiah wrote. 

The first marvelous couple of verses are repeated more or less in Isaiah 42, i.e., Two Isaiah.  Also, Luke puts these words into Jesus' mouth in chapter 4 of his gospel.  I will have all of chapter 61 read because it is so good.  For the reading, google The Bible at Your Fingertips.

Advent Wreaths: This little liturgical practice came to the Catholic liturgy, believe it or not, from the German Lutherans in the 1500's, the time of Martin Luther.  It was more than just decoration.  The circle symbolized eternity.  The greens, Christian life in a dead time of the year.  The candles represent each of the 4 weeks of Advent, each candle symbolizing the greater light brought by Christ.  Their color purple symbolized penance and purification for the Coming.  The Rose  candle says, 'We are almost there!'

Chosen Me to Bring Good News to the Poor

Last Sunday 15 of you donated blood.  Many of you chipped in to help with our adopted family.  Beth, who herself has donated a lot of time to this family, says we are close to having everything we need.  Others of you brought food.  And all of you brought food for the Anniversary Brunch, a feast, as usual.

A month or so ago I was honored to help bless the Habitat house that many of you helped to build.  

Every month you help to contribute $2,000 to our Collin County Adult Clinic, where everyone on the staff, doctors, nurses, technicians, and helpers, all work pro bono, gratis, without pay.  That is $24,000 you have donated to support this marvelous service this year.

The generosity of our little community, of you people often blows me away and always humbles me. 

Isaiah is talking about this.  He says Yahweh has chosen me and sent me.  He is obviously talking about himself, and the temptation is to leave it at that.  That's his job.  I would propose, however, that Yahweh is calling each of us.  We are chosen and we are sent to bring good news to the poor, to heal and to comfort.  The poor, the broken hearted, and the imprisoned are all around us.  If we don't bring them good news and comfort, perhaps nobody will.

When I lived in Tanzania & Kenya occasionally I would ask myself, "What on earth am I doing over here?"  This passage about bringing good news to the poor often gave me consolation and motivation.  I can remember reflecting upon the idea when I was traveling 4-6 lonely hours over dirt roads on my motorcycle to get to a center where I was going to conduct a week long or month long seminar for nuns and priests. 

In John's Gospel the writer is setting the scene, similar to Mark's reading last week.  He is using John the Baptist to make way for The Good News, the Jesus event that let's us know that Our God is accepting us, not condemning us.

The writer of this gospel is likewise crafting his work.  In a short space he identifies John the Baptist and prepares the reader for something greater.  Why is this important?  Because John the Baptist was popular, had his own group of followers, and could have been mistaken for the Messiah.  The gospel writer takes 4 steps.

Step 1.  John the Baptist's place in the drama: give witness to The Light, e.g., Jesus, The Good News.

Step 2.  A negative witness about who he is: not The Light, not the Messiah.

Step 3.  A positive witness about who he is: preparing a way & making straight the way.

Step 4.  Why is John the Baptist baptizing: preparing the people for One greater, The Light. 

The Light, The Lord, The Messiah that John's gospel talks about is the one who brings good news and comfort to the poor, the broken hearted, and the imprisoned.  He, however, cannot do it alone. 

This year each of you in our little community has helped out.  How are you bringing Good News and Comfort to the Poor today?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-12-14.mp3

Picture 1:  Serving, Lisa (Mom), & daughters Lorynne & Lacee

Picture 2:  Frank & Laura Reyes celebrating 26th

Picture 3:  Frank & Mary Esparza watched by Audry.

Isaiah 9, 1-6,  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (A beautiful passage from Isaiah 1, one of my favorites)

 Psalm 96,    Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.

Titus 3, 4-7,   When the kindness and generous love of God appeared.

Luke 2, 1-14,   In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled.

Sabrina and her mom, Alison, say, "Welcome, Everybody, Happy Christmas."

Isaiah 9 observations:

Who: Can you guess, Isaiah 1, 2, or 3?  Yes, Isaiah 1.  Rosemary & I heard this sung in the Messiah Monday night at the Meyerson.

Date: Because it is Isaiah 1 writing, you can expect that he is living before the Babylonian Captivity, around 555 before Christ.  

Our Passage:  Also you might guess that being Isaiah 1 and living before the Babylonian Captivity, he would be quite critical of the people, their ways of living, their disrespect, selfishness, and materialism.  On the contrary, this passage talks about comfort and peace.  Watch and listen.  

Emma says, "Merry Christmas, Everybody."

A Christmas Story

This evening I would like to tell a Christmas story that exemplifies how we move from darkness to light, like good old Isaiah 1 says.  The story is about a Christmas event.  Want to know what a Christmas event is?  I would propose that it is a special event that brings peace, joy, and light to people like us.

Ever hear of a guy named Nathaniel Kendrick, nicknamed Mr. Kent?  He is a crossing guard here in Dallas at Lakewood Elementary School.  He has done this job for over 10 years, twice a day, a couple of hours each time, heat, rain, snow.  Mr. Kent used to work for the city of Dallas and retired from that work. 

Our Angels.

The kids and parents at Lakewood Elementary all love Mr. Kent, an elderly black man with gray hair.   And he obviously loved them.

As the years passed Mr. Kent’s wife gradually had more health problems.  As she went down more and more, so did their finances.  Finally, a couple of weeks ago their car was repossessed.  The car Mr. Kent used to come to Lakewood Elementary.

Our Chloe.

Some of the dads connected with Lakewood learned about what had happened to Mr. Kent’s car.  They banned together, collected money, and eventually bought Mr. Kent a car.

So, one day while Mr. Kent was working his job as a crossing guard, two of the dads drove Mr. Kent’s new car into the crosswalk and stopped.  He came over and asked them to move on.  And they responded, “Mr. Kent, you might have to move it yourself.  From all of us at Lakewood Elementary, welcome to your new car. "

Zoe with Santa.

Mr. Kent was so moved he was in tears, as were others gathered around. 

This is a Christmas event.  These parents gave more than a car to Mr. Kent.  They gave him peace, joy, and light.  They were recipients also, as was I.

Guess who is growing up. Yes, The Gerwers.

What is the Christmas event in your life?  How have you provided peace, joy, and light for someone in your life?

Source: WFAA.com 12/15/14

Santa's Helper, Darbyanna.

Another of our best helpers, Georgie.

 Readings:

Genesis 2, 7-9, 3, 1-7,   The Lord planted a garden in Eden.

Psalm 62,  Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Romans  5,  12-19,  Through one man sin entered the world.

Matthew  4, 1-11,  Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Leo says, "Welcome, Everybody, it is great fun here."

 Romans observations :

What :  Paul writes this letter to the Roman community before he travels there.  It is one of the most dense and difficult books in the New Testament.  It is the longest letter.  I find about 8-10 lines in the whole letter that touch me.  Usually I dread seeing the letter as one of our readings.  Today is one of those days.

Date: around the year 55

Likewise, Patricia says, "Come in, Folks, it is delightful here."

Genesis observations:

What: a great marvelous book about the origins of us people.  It includes Creation, Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah & the flood, the tower of Babel, the Patriarchs of the Jewish tribe, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and finally Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, and how Joseph ends up in Egypt, leading to the next book, The Exodus.

Note: the book is folk tale, myth, and fable.  It is not literal.

Date:  guess.  It seems to have been put together from at least 4 oral streams that were combined during the Babylonian Captivity, 555, before Christ. These stories were orally passed down, generation after generation for 900 years. 

Authors:  these people are shrouded ancient history.  Some stories reflect folk tales of other groups of people, like the creation stories of Babylon.

Subject today: the second creation story, the one with the snake & apple tree.  It was from this story that Paul came up with the original sin notion, a notion that Augustine picked up and gave it legs.

Buddy, the pet dragon.

Matthew:  Even today's gospel is mythical. 

Sources: Good News Bible, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Wikipedia

Lent, Fully Alive

This first Sunday of Lent I want to talk about how to have a fully alive Lent in light of an event that took place this past Thursday in the lives of Rosemary and me.

Thursday morning about noon our postman, Doug, rang the doorbell.  Rosemary went.  Doug said that across the street and down one house the guy who lived there had not collected his mail in a few days and the garage had been open with the car inside all that same time. 

Tori says, "Whose picture is that?"

I had noticed the newspapers piling up near the curb and driveway, but this guy who was really reclusive occasionally let them pile up before he would pick them up.  I had also noticed the garage open a couple of days, but that, too, the guy did occasionally.  From our house I could not see his garage because of a bush. 

I had thought in the past years that this guy has no one that I can see.  He is totally alone.  He has never had a job, did not take great care of his house and property, but always drove a new Jaguar.  Just in the last year I mentioned to Rosemary that the guy actually waved at me from his car on occasion.

Cowboy Cole and Leo, it doesn't get better.

So I decided to call the neighborhood police who patrol our large neighborhood. 

Fifteen minutes later I see the police car.  Then I see the fire truck.  “This could be bad,” I mention to Rosemary.  “Go see what is going on.  I have a 1:30 luncheon with Kathey, my sister.” 

Sunday Ashes for Erin, Leo, Cowboy Cole, Mary, and others.

Before I can even get into the car and back it out of the drive, she returns to tell me the guy is dead. 

I am stunned.  I feel horrible.  How could I have lived for years across from a reclusive guy, not even know his name, and let him lie dead in his house for who knows how many days?  Moreover, Rosemary & I are the Tulip Lane coordinators for the neighborhood organization.   He is on Camellia, but he is just across from us, we being on the corner.

Cathy and John having too much fun.

This all happened the day after Ash Wednesday and I thought to myself, ‘Is this a Lenten invitation to me?’

I’m thinking it is.  I found out the guy was called Gary.  Even his next door neighbors did not know his name.  Our neighborhood coordinator knew it and gave me an emergency number to call, which I did.  We are now in touch with his brother and the brother’s wife, both of whom said they knew this dreaded day would come some day.  They, too, had not had contact with Gary in a bunch of years.

Cupcakes of The Week, John and Dee.

What this is saying to me is, in my life and in our community I will not leave any Garys to die alone, if I can help it. 

I even asked my sister if she would like me to phone her the nights of her days off from work.  She declined, saying she is in touch enough.

So, during this Lent, 2 challenges for me:

1. Who are the Garys in our community, my neighborhood, or in my life anywhere?  Keep in touch.
2. No Fear Lent. 

I figure you are not a Gary if you are here. 

Therefore, who are the Gary’s in your life? 

Buddy may be yawning, but the Pastry Shoppe is the Best according to Tori and Georgie.

Readings:

Zechariah  9, 9-10,   Rejoice heartily, shout for joy.

Psalm 145,   I will praise your name forever, my king and my God. 

Romans 8, 9, 11-13,  You are in the spirit.

Matthew  11, 25-30,  Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Emma says, "Come in, Everybody, Welcome."

Zechariah:  Zechariah is the 11th of the 12 Minor Prophets and lived just when the Hebrews were released from the 70 year long Babylonian Captivity, in other words around 555 B.C. He is in Jerusalem and encourages the people to rebuild the temple.

He is called a minor prophet only because his little work has simply 14 chapters, unlike the Big 3, Isaiah, Jeremiah, & Ezekiel, who have many chapters, in fact 66 for Isaiah.

He was a favorite of the N.T. writers because he is rich in messiah predictions.  Today we have one of those visions.   You might picture how this message is coming across.  The people have been crushed, they have been slaves in Babylon, and the Jerusalem they have returned to is nothing but disaster. 

Sophia, also, says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

Psalm 145, 8-9: here it is again, The Terrific Line: "The Lord is gracious & merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love."  Watch for it.

July 4, Independence Day

July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence signed.

50^th anniversary, July 4, 1826: two signers of the Declaration died, the only 2 to serve as presidents, mutual friends, Thomas Jefferson & John Adams (excellent source, David McCullough’s John Adams).

Ever wanted to see what two people look like just after they have just finished an Ironman? Take a look and Chad and Kayli. Looking pretty good.

My Yoke is Easy and my Burden Light

This morning I would like to talk about Matthew’s statement about Jesus saying, My yoke is easy and my burden light.  I would also like to include that line which is one of my most favorite lines from the Bible, The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.

I would suggest the first line about my burden being light is influenced, sometimes, by the fact that the Lord is gracious and merciful.  On the other hand, however, sometimes the burden is really blasted heavy.  For example…  The Story of The Week:

Chad finishing.

Thursday afternoon Rosemary & I had just left Plano Cycling, where I had left my bike to have it fitted with a new chain and cassette, the gear assembly on the rear wheel.  I was feeling pretty proud of myself, that I had actually worn out a bike chain and cassette.  I thought only Tour de France people did such things.

So, we are in the van headed south on Central.  The usual traffic, especially for those exiting onto the Bush just past Plano Parkway.  I knew we had to get out into the middle to avoid that blockage. 

Kayli crossing the finish line, Coeur d'Elane, Idaho.

I move over from the right lane.  I want to move over even to the next lane.  I’m watching in the side mirror.  Finally, before the blockage I see a space and move over in front of a big white pickup that seems way back far enough. 

The guy in the pickup, however, seems upset.  Next thing I know his front bumper is in the back of our van.  I can see the hairs in his nostrils.  I can see the color of his eyes, black with flames shooting out.

Offertory, Grace (Ironmanmomma of Kayli), Mary Ellen, and Donna.

Then, yes, you guessed it.  There was space to the left in those lanes.  So my friend swerves to the left, floors it, stomps on the horn, races past us with various hand signals, and swerves back in front of us, where he proceeds another 100 yards before he has to hit the brakes because he was climbing the back side of another car.

What did I do?  Well, I did not follow my impulse to blow our horn.  I also did not want Rosemary cussing me out.  I did nothing but continue along south bound Central.  I am grateful for that.

The Old Man of The Mountains returned, Mike.

As we drive along and talk about this, I admit that if I knew this guy’s story instead of judging the book by the cover, my favorite path, I would probably be more empathic.  Has he just lost his job, his wife, his dignity?  Has he come from a horrible childhood that has him permanently damaged and angry?  This is my profession.   I know this.  His behavior in itself says so much.

Tell this guy your yoke is light and your burden in life is easy.  He would laugh and probably cuss you out.  How many people have burdens that are not light?   No way.

Look at these kids coming across the border.  The little girls, 10-14 years of age, really carrying a heavy burden.

Namesakes: Two Rosemarys, or YoYo & RoRo.

You hear the story of this Louie Zamperini, who just died in his nineties?  After his B-24 went down in the Pacific during the war with Japan, he and two other guys spent 47 days on a flimsy raft.  After being rescued by a Japanese boat, life got only more brutal in the numerous prison camps he spent time in before being released after the war. 

So how do you carry the load if you are Zamperini or the pickup driver? 

This sounds almost insulting or obscene, but it is psychologically sound, acceptance.  Accept what is happening to keep my mind and spirit sane.  Zamperini said that he also worked to keep his spirit alive and hopeful, disciplining himself like he did when he was an Olympic sprinter.

This is where I suggest contemplating the positive.  Maybe my childhood was horrible and my life is bad.   Can I not find love and graciousness somewhere? 

Perhaps that pickup driver is suffering.  He does not seem to be handling his suffering well.

How do you deal with the heavy burden?

She's back, Folks, the party is over. RoRo doing her blessing.

Readings: Exodus 20, 1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1, 22-25; John 2, 13-25

Exodus: 2nd book of the Bible & of the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible.

Date of Composition: put together ca 450-400 BCE, though elements come from 1000 BCE at least.

Author(s):  Moses, no.  At least 3 sources, maybe 4, e.g., the Yahweh (J) source, the Elohim (E) source, the Priestly (P) source, and even the Deuteronomy Source. 

Subject Matter Today:  The 10 Commandments–2 observations:

1. Academics see 3 maybe 4 versions of the 10 commandments, Exodus 34 (the oldest), Exodus 20 (our selection), Deuteronomy 5 (the last)

2. The versions come from the sources composing at different times, for example,

• The Yahweh Source, 10th Century BCE, therefore, Exodus 34    

• The Elohim Source, 9th Century BCE, therefore Exodus 20

•  The Deuteronomy Source, 7th Century BCE, therefore Deuteronomy 5    

• The Priestly Source, edited all the sources in 6th Century BCE (450-400 BCE, at the end of the Babylonian Captivity).  The 7 Day Creation Story comes from this source at this time.

Source:  Bishop (Episcopal) John Shelby Spong

Anger Management

I think it was October last year when Rosemary & I were at DFW taking a flight to Philadelphia (probably departing out of the international terminal) to celebrate Jean Kovatis' wedding.  It was a morning flight so we bought a couple of lattes to take on board. 

We end up at the middle of the pack and head for our double seats in the middle of the plane on the right side facing forward.  Since I like the window & Rosemary doesn't, I squeezed in first, seated myself, opened the table, and put my latte on the table.  Then Rosemary begins to squeeze in.

At some point in this process her purse or arm or something hits my latte.  It flips over to the right, hits the wall and my leg, tumbles down, and finally lands on the floor below the seat in front of me.  I cannot see it. As fast as I can, I lock up my table, get my book out of the way, and squeeze down to pick up the paper cup, hoping that the top was still on.  The top was not still on.  My half gallon of latte spilled all over the carpet creating a lake of coffee with milk under the double seats in front of us.

Rosemary is still standing so she piles into the line of people waiting in the aisle and heads to the rear restrooms to scavenge paper towels.  With these finally we begin to sop up the lake, apologizing to the people in front of us because of the latte lake at their feet.  We succeeded pretty well under the circumstances.  You could hardly tell there had been an accident.

When it was all over, finally seated and buckled in, me without my latte, Rosemary says to me, "I don't know what you got so mad about."  I confess I had been steamed.  "You know I do this frequently," she adds.  True enough.  There had been other special occasions. 

I mention this little event (with Her permission) because it came to mind when I see the story of Jesus getting all steamed up at the vendors in the temple.   I have to laugh.  Lucky he never got married.  What is he so hyped up about?  Was he having a bad mood day?  Can he have bad moods?  Was he getting old and cranky?  He apparently was about 30 at this time, which would make him a pretty old geezer for those days when most people checked out in their mid-twenties.  If you look at the scene with amusement and detachment, you might want to laugh.

On the other hand, there might have been some significant reasons for anger, like:

    1.  he was angry because the vendors were supposed to remain in the outer courtyard and they were inching into the inner sanctum, the holy place.

    2.  he was angry because he was watching the vendors cheat a little bit here, a little bit there.  Maybe his mom had been cheated by one of these guys 20 years ago and he still was angry about that.

    3.  he was angry because he saw the obsession of some of these people with money.  He was seeing the Bernie Madoffs, the Stanfords, and the Ken Lays of his day.

But, note that

    1.  it was customary for animals to be sold at the temple.  These animals were destined to be bought by people, taken to the priestly cast inside the temple, and given as a sacrifice.  These people were heavy into sacrifice.  The idea: I give something to Yahweh, I get something from Yahweh.  Maybe it was gratitude for already getting something.  The rich bought larger animals, like sheep & goats, the poor bought small critters, like a dove or a pigeon.  So animals were always expected around the temple.

    2.  it was customary that the temple was a center for all sorts of trade.  People went there for sacrifice, giving thanks, and socializing.  The market naturally set up near, in, and around the temple.  The markets I saw in Tanzania when I lived there were probably similar and were fascinating events.  Take our farmers market and multiply, then add bushels of women chatting, snooping around for deals, and bargaining.  Men are drifting around and some are running the meat market.  Both men & women are selling.  You tell the butcher, "I would like a kilo of that beef."  It is hanging from a hook and the butcher uses a sharp knife to slice off a kilo.  It gets wrapped in newspaper you bring or a piece of material you bring with you.

So why was Jesus so angry, why was I angry?  We did not read about it in Exodus, but when Moses came down the mountain and found that his son Aron had built some kind of little idol and all the people were worshiping it, Moses broke the stone tablets of the 10 commandments.  I don't know about Jesus & Moses, but I would suggest that I got caught off guard.  I have a little trick that helps with this craziness.  I would call it expectation adjustment.  The idea comes not from my head, but from a man named Albert Ellis (American Psychologist, developed RET, Rational-emotive Therapy, d. 2007, 93). 

The idea is that I have an expectation about how a person should behave & how things should be.  If I  get obsessive compulsive or as Rosemary might gently describe it, I get anal, then I can go off when the person behaves in a way contrary to my expectation.  What do you think is the dynamic behind road rage?  For example, I expect that truckers will drive in the lanes other than the left lane.  I see trucker in left lane.  I go off. 

Want to fix it?  Adjust my expectation.  Trucker is in left lane.  So what.  Moses comes down the mountain and the people are messing up.  Expectation.  Jesus seems to have done some expectation adjustment, because faced with condemnation by the Pharisees at the end of his life he does not fight back. 

How do you manage your anger? 

Sources:  Center for Liturgy, St. Louis U.; Alfred Ellis

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-03-15.mp3

Picture 1:  Mass with Noah & Rosemary

Picture 2:  Birthdays–Jzckie, Shiela, & JoJo

Picture 3:  Wedding begins, Fred & Martha, her daughter April & best man Manuel

Picture 4:  Fred & Martha share their vows

Readings: Special All Saints Mass of Remembrance using Sunday’s first reading & Luke’s Gospel with 2 poems as the middle readings.  Therefore: Wisdom 11, 22-12, 2; poems see links below; Luke 19, 1-10 (Zacheus).

The Mass begins with a poem read by Jackie Ritter: Download poem_1.doc

How was I blessed by These People?

I have known a Zacheus.  Zacheus is Everyone, a limited person.  We are all limited people.  This Zacheus gifted me in a variety of special ways. 

First, like Zacheus, she shared her friendship with me.  I did not really get to know her until she had her last bout with cancer some years ago.  But every Thursday evening for the past few years we have talked and shared about so many things.  I looked forward to our Thursdays.  Through her friendship I came to know and love her, her husband and kids and even grandkids.  Two of her grandkids were in our Christmas drama last Christmas eve, the twin girls in the angel dresses.

Also like Zacheus, she was not very tall but full of energy and simple hospitality.  Zacheus’ height is symbolic of the shortness we all have.  My friend, too, was petite, but so full of vitality and cheer.  She was a joy to talk with for an hour. 

Especially, however, I was touched by her because she was a brat.  One night when I went to see her with Rosemary, I told her I had been learning how to do the salsa.  I showed her my classy steps.  Her response was, "Man, you dance like a gringo.  You don’t move your hips."

Another evening when it looked like she was getting ready to cross the threshold perhaps a year ago, I told her that when she met The Man she should tell him hello for me.  In fact, I told her if she ran into any trouble, just to say that Stack sent her.  Her response was, "Maybe I might be better off if I don’t tell him I know you."   She knew how to play.

My good friend Ofelia Lopez crossed the threshold this morning about 3:00 A.M..

She and all these people pictured on the stage have touched and gifted us into new life.

How?  What is The Gift you received?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-04.mp3

After Communion a poem is read by Joanne Languell: Download poem_2.doc

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