Sunday Homily 5-31-09, Pentecost

Leo says, "Welcome as long as you know the password" (e.g. You are The Best, Leo).

Readings:  

 Isaiah 50, 4-9,  The Lord opens my ear that I may hear.

Psalm 116,  I will walk before, in the land of the Living

 James 2, 14-18, What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Mark 8, 27-35,  Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself

Special Welcome to Barbara's sister from Germany, Gita.
 

Isaiah:  observations

What is it about: 1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd Isaiah?

1^st Isaiah, Chapters 1-39: predict doom for the Hebrews because they have not been faithful to their one god.  

2^nd Isaiah, Chapters 40-55:  this & the remaining chapters are called The Book of Consolation.  They try to assure the people who are now in exile that God will restore them to their former glory & peace.  In fact, in chapter 45 the composer even mentions the name of Cyrus, the king of the Persians who defeats Babylon & sends the Hebrews back to Jerusalem.  So the composer knew of Cyrus and a date can be narrowed down.

Emma at work on here specialty, Lighting the Candles.

This 2^nd  Isaiah section presents 4 suffering servant songs, #2 being our selection today.  Jews see the servant to be the Hebrew people/nation.  Christians see the servant to be Christ. 

Isaiah 2 is considered maybe the most influential O.T. book.  On Isaiah 2 Mark built much of his gospel, especially the story of the crucifixion.

Handel's Messiah uses 2nd Isaiah for its lyrics.

3^rd Isaiah, Chapter 56-66: more assurances of a return to peace & glory.

Georgie backing up the Candle Lighting ritual with The Blessing.

 Mark: observation

I do not like the line in Mark where he says we have to take up our cross.  I have seen the negative result of this.  Which is not to imply that we do not have to struggle to reach goals, like, say, 175 lbs.  

Welcome in, Ron.  Thanks for bringing Gita. 

Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead

This morning I would like to pick up on the line, faith without works is dead. 

First of all, to me the statement is simplistic & silly.  I know people who are unable to do anything for others, but they have faith, maybe in God, maybe in people, or in themselves.

Actually, we, I can look around and have greater faith in people because I see so many doing so many good things for others.  Actually, talking about this subject I feel like a fraud and that I am preaching to the choir, I see you people in our community doing so much.  Let me give you about 8 examples of people who inspire me.

A high level meeting of The Board.  A Brunch or not next week.

1^st, ever hear of the Cajun Navy?  Or the Baptist Men?  They are both over in the Carolinas doing rescue & recovery work right now.  On NPR yesterday morning, I heard the “Cajun Admiral” or “Captain” say he expected 1000 volunteers by Saturday afternoon.  They come with their fishing boats.  They were everywhere in Houston last year this time.

I’ve worked with the Baptist Men in Galveston and they come prepared with generators, a big kitchen, and showers installed in 18 wheelers.  I slept with about 20 of them in a dormitory in a church.  I wish I could be there.  Just have not got the stamina any more.

Georgie & Buddy, The Board has voted too double your stipends.

How could I ever forget Jim Mahar of St. Bonaventure, one of my patron saints, along with his local buddy, Bill Hammond.  The two of them have gotten me into so many projects.  It must even be close to the time Bill will be putting his sign up sheet out for the Love of the Kids Fall picnic.

Fifth, I am reminded that these first weekends of October are the weekends we used to plant trees.  How many did we have for our last big plant at Plano Senior High?,  I don’t know.  I do know, however, that we planted in an hour 400 trees.  Go see.

And another high level board meeting, this with dad & daughter.

Then, closer to home & me there is Brent with his marvelous work as director of Souls Harbor.  There  is Hue.  Do you realize that from 2005, when we started, Hue has been our sound man, Sunday after Sunday.  Then there is Jan, our faithful hostess.

And finally the picture takers like Rick, Connie, Mike, and even Rosemary on occasion.  Without everybody’s patience our blog without pictures would be pretty boring.

So, Leo, you are telling me that all these people knew today's password.  

So, even if you are like me and cannot do all the works you would like, who gives you inspiration and faith in the goodness of others?

Welcome back home, Dearest Harper.  It has been no fun without you while you were sick

Readings:

Wisdom 2, 12, 17-20,  Let us condemn him to a shameful death.

 Psalm 54,    The Lord upholds my life.

James 3, 16-4, 3, Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder.  

Mark 9, 30-37, Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.

Victoria and her dear little friend say, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in.

Wisdom observations:  

What:One of the 14-15 books of the deutero-canonical books of the bible.  Not OT nor NT, but in between and the subject of controversy over the centuries.  The “in between books.”  Were they really part of the bible or not?  How do you know?  Catholic church accepts the books.

Subject matter: the book makes use of traditional Jewish material, as well as ideas borrowed from Greek philosophy, in order to teach that God rewards those who are faithful to him.

        Emma, joining her pal Tori, also says, "Hi, Everybody."

Author: not Solomon, but a Jew living in Alexandria, Egypt who wrote and spoke excellent Greek.  The book is sometimes called “The Wisdom of Solomon.”

Date: ca. 100-200 before Christ.  How do we know these facts?  Because of text analysis.  For example, while the author wrote in Greek, he uses phrases and expressions that have a Hebrew flavor.  Also, he mentions rulers and places that reveal date and locale. 

Our Selection: what a wicked person thinks should be done with a good person–beat & kill.  This links up with the suffering servant poem from 2 Isaiah last week.  Jews think the good person getting beaten is the Jewish race/nation.  Christians think the person is Christ.

James:  presents a pretty negative image of people.  What would be a compassionate image? 

And of course, Genevieve, not wanting to be left behind, says, "Welcome, Folks.  It's fun here."

Says the child, “Numero uno or last??”

This morning I would like to talk about receiving the child. In particular, I would like to focus on the inner child, the child inside all of us, even in old geezers like myself.  

I also want to say a word about the notion of being  first or last.

To exemplify the points, a story.    I have used the story before.  It is too good to bury.   The story, the musical play Most Happy Fella.

                   Zoe, the beautiful candle lighter, at work.

The play is about a guy named Tony, middle aged Italian American, successful wine maker from Nappa Valley, and a bachelor.

He eats in a restaurant one evening in, say, Chicago.  He likes the waitress and leaves her a note with his tip, despite his shyness.   They begin a long distance correspondence and start to get close.  Both are looking for partners.

                       "Zoe, what is everybody laughing at?"

 They decide to exchange photos.  Tony, who has been taking a lot of risk because he is so shy, is afraid to show her his picture.  He thinks he is too old & too ugly.  So he sends her the photo of his handsome young farm foreman.  The foreman has already told Tony he is planning on moving on anyway.

So Tony and his girl decide to wed at the farm.  On the day of her arrival and the big wedding, Tony discovers that the foreman decided to hang around for the wedding & party.  Tony loses it.  He goes out, rolls his pickup, and almost kills himself. 

Leo and Kevin welcoming a new member to the community. How many elementary schools have a gorilla just outside of the cafeteria?

Meanwhile, girl arrives and thinks the nice foreman is the groom.  In fact, they get rather enamored of each other.  Then Tony is brought in on a stretcher.  Guess what happens then.  I’ll tell you at the end.

Let me make 2 observations about Tony. 

                            Two Greats, Shonda & Mike.

First, Tony might have had ambitions about being numero uno, but he really thought he was the last, a loser, ugly, and old.  His challenge: get away from thinking best or worst.  Both are traps.  Just accept Tony as okay.

Secondly, when Tony let himself leave the note for the waitress, he was letting his inner child out for a minute.  In his correspondence he was letting that child play.  The child wants to be loved and to play.  Trouble was, the child was not used to getting out and was afraid.   So he tries the picture trick.

                        "Don't shoot me, Leo, shoot that gorilla."

I can resemble Tony.  Thinking I am first, numero uno in anything, or last, both are traps.  I would propose it is irrelevant.  I am okay just as I am.

Like Tony I have an inner child.  Want to know what the child wants?  Just watch our kids here.  To be loved and to play.  I think this is what I am doing when I ride my bike across Iowa or in the Hotter N' Hell Hundred, and when I hike around  Yosemite.  These are great times for my inner spirit, that is, my inner child. 

                                                     The Team
   

So, two questions today:

First, where do you think of yourself, first, last, or just okay?

Secondly, how do you let your own inner child out to play? 

What happened to Tony?  He eventually became a most happily married fella.  

                                                        Secrets.

Readings:

 Exodus 16, 2-4, 12-15,   You had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine.

Psalm 78,    The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Ephesians 4, 17-24,   You must no longer live as the Gentiles do.

John 6, 24-35 I am the bread of life. 

Georgie says, "Welcome in, Everybody.  Beware, The Old Geezer is back." 

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.

Welcome Home, Celeste.  Celeste, who has played in our music section, has just come in from a year teaching in Hungary, and is departing to spend a year teaching in Albania.  Does the girl love adventure?  

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.

And welcome home to you, Sabrina.  You did everything for us for years.   Sabrina is returning to the Illinois Institute of Technology for her junior & senior years.

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.

                             Hi, Morgan, Welcome to you, too.

Kilimanjaro Events and Ragbrai

This morning I would like to talk about Kilimanjaro events in our lives. Kilimanjaro events give life in ways similar to what John is talking about in the gospel, spirit life.  They are peak events. 

I choose the word Kilimanjaro because I had the privilege of climbing that mountain in Tanzania 5 times when I lived there.  Each was literally and figuratively a peak event. 

   Genevieve says, "I bet you I don't weigh 6 pounds anymore."

A week ago I had another Kilimanjaro event, the week long, 500 mile bike ride across Iowa from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, with about 15 thousand others.  Iowa or Ragbrai was such a peak experience, full of spiritual life moments.  Let me talk about 3 of them.

One of my most favorite places to eat dinner in the evening and to get coffee and 4 bananas in the morning was a supermarket called Hy-Vee, the Iowa equivalent to Central Market or Whole Foods.  They had  carbo dinners for Ragbrai.

And Welcome to You, too, Mr. Peighton.  Delightful to have you with us.

When I would ride up to one of these markets, you would not believe what I would see.  Not just hundreds of bikes.  But hundreds of bikes with absolutely no locks or security.  Bikes everywhere, even inside the entrance ways.   The majority of these bikes would start at a $1000 and go up as high as $10,000.  Lots of beauties.

Trust, folks, this was trust.  I don’t think anybody was afraid of being robbed anywhere, all along the ride and in the villages and towns.    I found this atmosphere of trust so moving.

Mr. Peighton, obviously a quick learner, says, "Wake me up when that Old Geezer stops yakking.  Thank you."

Secondly, I was moved by the spirit of congeniality among everyone, for example.

I have a favorite concession where I would stop every afternoon on the road.  Concessions were all along the road, which was dedicated to us.  The concession I love and the only one I regularly stopp at is the Amish homemade pie and ice cream stop, always on the right shoulder of the road and always on the second half of the day’s journey.

This is way below Sabrina's talent level.  But in honor of all the years she did everything around here, today she gets to light the candles.

On Wednesday I rode up and asked for credit from Henry, the Amish kid who collected the $3 for pie and the $2 for ice cream.  I had forgotten my money that morning.  I knew the only place I needed $5 on the road was the Amish.

There was a line of people behind me waiting to pay Henry.  As he said yes, the lady behind me popped in and said, “Oh, I can pay for you.  No problem.”  I was most touched, but told her that I would probably never see her again, so I could not pay her back, while I would see Henry the next day.  And Henry chimes in, “Yes, he is here every day, so it is okay.”  The next day, Thursday, I chipped in about $10 as a token of gratitude. 

This lady touched me with her spirit.

2 cupcakes here this morning.  Cathy generously is standing in for her son, Brian, who is celebrating 10 years married.  Mike and Judy are celebrating 51 years married.  And they are from Kiokuk, Iowa.

During the homily I added this little memory, which, in fact, made me forget the final point of the homily.  I remembered and shared it after communion.

In the context of congeniality I talked about what was a group of maybe 20 Air Force bikers.  They not only rode, but they stopped whenever they saw someone down with a flat or a slipped chain.  At one point I rode up and along side of them.  I mentioned 2 things.  I was jealous of their beautiful blue & white bike wear with the white wings on the back & shoulders.  

I also told them how touched I was at seeing them helping people along the road.  They were super appreciative and called me "Sir" a dozen times.  (Chebino, do you belong to the A.F. Bike Unit?) 

                           Watch out, Folks, Dawson is 18 years old.

The third Kilimanjaro event.  Friday here in Dallas, on a routine visit to my dermatologist, she asked me what was the biggest event, the most special.  As usual, I even got a bit choked up in telling her. 

It was just the joy, the exhilaration I experienced in riding, riding with so many congenial people, riding over beautiful green farm lands, passing through achingly beautiful little villages, and all at age 75. 

What more can a kid look forward to in the summer than to get up, ride his bike all day, and then camp out in his tent at night with friends? 

         Watch out, Cole, Emma, and Zoe, TI is hiring Whiz Kids.

What is you latest Kilimajaro event? 

What is your next one? 

I can tell you my next 2, the Hotter N’ Hell Hundred the last Saturday of August and taking about 10 close friends to Yosemite the first week of September.  Summer is so good.

You people in this community are a Kilimajaro Event.

So, your next Kilimanjaro event?

Brent, you are a Kilimajaro Event, and we are privileged to be able to support the work you do with Souls Harbor. 

Readings: Jeremiah 31, 31-34; Psalm 51; Hebrews 5, 7-9; John 12, 20-33

Jeremiah:  We have not seen Jeremiah for a long time, since before Thanksgiving.  Remember that he is one of the Big 3 Prophets (because of the size of the works, e.g. 62 chapters in Jeremiah), who are Isaiah, Jeremiah, & Ezekiel.   A review:

Author: mostly Jeremiah as put down by his scribe Baruch.  Described as the broken hearted prophet because of his heart rending life warning the people & kings that their behavior was going to be punished.  And so it happened with The Babylonian Captivity.

Time:  ca. 600 BCE, as an easy date to remember, or more precisely for 40 years from ca. 610 to 570 BCE.  The Captivity went from ca. 585-550 BCE (note my error last week, typing 450).  Jeremiah probably died in Egypt during The Captivity in Babylon.

The Scene:  Remember that the Holy Land had a north & a south, Israel & Judah.  First, the northern kingdom, Israel, was defeated by the Assyrians, 622 BCE.  These Hebrew tribes vanish into the DNA of the region.  Next, the Babylonians & Nebuchadnezzar defeat the Assyrians and threaten the southern kingdom, Judah with the capital Jerusalem.  Jeremiah is watching this and seeing it as Yahweh's punishment.  In 596, more or less, the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and cart the Hebrews into slavery.

Today's selection, chapter 31.  Yahweh is promising to make a new covenant or agreement with all the people, and to forgive them, after having shown the people who is master.  This is the only time in the O.T. that a New Covenant is mentioned.

Sources: Wikipedia; Answers.com; Encyclopedia of Judaism 

Hate My Life?

I have a story this morning which I have told only once, and that was at St. Mark's, over 4 years ago.  Pardon me if you've heard it.  It speaks to my point today.  I had permission for the story.

It was many years ago.  I think it was the first Monday morning of May, a beautiful morning.  A boy came to see me who had been in my office on and off for about six years.  He had graduated from high school and enlisted in the Air Force.  He had struggled since grade school with bouts of depression, and that morning seemed to be in great shape.  We did not even spend more than 30 minutes together, his mood was so up beat and hopeful.

He left.  Maybe two or three hours later a call came in.  The boy had left Jesuit where my office was, crossed Inwood to the Lincoln Center complex, drove up to the top of the four floor garage, parked his car, headed to the edge of the garage, and walked over the side.  He landed on the cement street four floors below, face down flat.

Passersby saw it, called 911, and in a second the paramedics from just around the corner were on the scene.  He was in Parkland in a flash.  He lived.

It was not for about 3 weeks until I got to visit him.  He apologized.  I admit I was mad.  I loved this kid.  He fooled me.  He said that he was in a zone, happy because he knew he was out of there.  He wanted to escape the pain and go to heaven.  There had been no fear in walking off that fourth floor, none of the hesitation you feel before you jump off the high diving board the first time. 

You may guess why I tell this story.  It exemplifies what happens when you take literally "whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life."  This little piece of advice, taken the wrong way, can be dangerous.  It also shows how far we have evolved and matured philosophically and psychologically over the past centuries.  We are maturing.

I would suggest there is a negative and a positive approach to hating my life. 

The negative is exemplified by this kid's story.  This is often what is happening when you hear of someone cutting on themselves.  If I hate my life and hate myself, I will want to punish myself.  So I cut myself.  Or I may think that I am such a loser that no one will pay me any attention if I do not do something dramatic like spill my blood. 

Even without such dramatic examples, I do not want to encourage someone who hates their body, hates their job, hates their family, hates their school, hates.  Just thinking about this I recoil.  "There is a better way," I want to say.  Maybe change is called for, but hatred is not a constructive, long range motivation.  So I would say, "Don't hate it." 

On the positive side, I would suggest two things.

First, the word hate can be considered as hyperbolic, a big word meaning exaggeration.  It is like Rosemary telling me, "You put a TV screen up on that wall so everyone can see you like in the mega-churches, Divorce!"  Think she is exaggerating?  I hope.  I won't test. 

Secondly, I would suggest that this all has to do with being more alive now, in this life. The grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying fits in with this.  For example: March Madness.  Many of these player have died to themselves to achieve, to be better players.  How many hours in the gym have the spent practicing free throws?  When they could be hanging out, sleeping in, text messaging?  And they love their lives. 

Goofy, but I hate my life to love my life.  I don't want to get up early.  I could sleep in to 11:00.  However, I put this part of myself on the shelf for another day so I can dedicate myself to a greater.  To maintain my health and fitness I work out 45 minutes in a gym every day.  Because of the result I love my life.

My friend who jumped is now okay, amazingly.  It took him years of physical recovery.  Two things did not happen that blessed him.  He did not damage his brain and did not damage his spine.  Every other bone, plus his teeth, were broken.  Once he got strong enough he went to medical technical school, got his certificates, and now has good jobs in various hospitals in the city.  I don't think he hates his life anymore.  In fact, loves it. 

How do you love your life?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-03-29.mp3

Sources:  The Center for Liturgy, St. Louis U.; St. Raymond Catholic Church, Dublin, CA; Carmelite Order Web; Homilias Domincales.

Picture 1:  Mass with Sabrina & Anthony

Picture 2:  Barb celebrates her birthday

Picture 3:  Geordie Robinson stuck at home in Dallas because of snow out at U. of CO in Boulder

Picture 4:  Chuck with sons Andrew & Danny

Readings:

Ecclesiastes   1 2; 2, 21-23, Vanity of vanities, all things are vanit.

Psalm 90,  If today you hear his voice, harden not  your hearts.

Colossians 3, 1-5, 9-11,   Put to death the parts of you that are earthly

Luke 11, 1-13,  The rich man who hoarded all his wealth in bigger barns, then died.

 

The Consecration

INTRODUCTION:  

After the Jews received the commandments and oral law, they received from God the Judges; the last of whom was Samuel. During this period of time the following wisdom was practiced: Jews were to follow the example of the Judges. They were to use their free will to determine what was right or wrong using the oral law and the Commandments as their guide.

When the people asked for a king, Samuel said, ‘No!’  Why?  A king would take the best of everything from you; your sons and daughters, your land, your vineyards. He will become rich and you will become poor.  Do not put your faith in a king instead of God. 

Fast forward through King Saul and King David, to our first reading from Ecclesiastes.  The one who labored in our first reading was King David.   His son Solomon, did not labor for, but was the beneficiary of all of his possessions.  Solomon was worldly wise and clever; but not spiritually wise. He certainly did not use the oral law or the commandment to guide his decisions, nor did he suggest to others to do so until the very end of Ecclesiastes.  Our second reading continues the teaching we are receiving from Colossians.  We are to humble ourselves to be the hands and eyes and heart of Christ in the world by showing compassion and generosity to others.  To put on Christ infers that we have died to the greed that is idolatry,

 

The Offertory. Bill, Marlene, and Cindy

HOMILY:  Samuel’s reasons for not having a king where fulfilled by Solomon.  He abandoned his father David’s advice to him, and he lavished himself with expensive gifts.  He lusted after women, taking 700 wives and 300 concubines.  He had 4000 stalls filled with expensive horses.  In a dream Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God’s people with justice.  Remember the parable I shared with you some time ago about Solomon and the two prostitutes?  He asked his servants for a sword, saying that he would cut the living child in two, giving half to one and half to the other.  He used fear not wisdom to identify the real mother.  He was clever; but not spiritually wise.

 

Genevieve, a happy little girl

In the New Testament Letter of James, the rich are reminded of the wisdom that comes to us from above. It is the good news of Jesus Christ. Those who seek him receive the Holy Spirit so that their labor is pure and gentle, and filled with compassion.  The wisdom, of course, is that we are to put on Christ.

The inspired writer of the Luke gospel used the word rich to describe the man in today’s parable.  This Greek word suggests that the man had more than ample property to make willingly, with gratitude, a generous gift. But he didn’t; his wisdom was foolishness.  The parable is to be understood this way:  The Lord’s judgment, ‘you fool,’ is how he gave answer to the rich man’s greed that was idolatry.

Generosity is always a gift of gratitude toward God.  Giving of our time and talent is just as important as giving material wealth.  In everything give thanks for that is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.  The wisdom that comes from above is meant to be contagious, those served with love are given the opportunity to do the same for others.

Readings: Genesis 12, 1-4; Psalm 33, Lord, let you Mercy be on Us, as we place our Trust in You; 2 Timothy 1, 8-10; Matthew 17, 1-9

Genesis observations—

 What: the first book of the Bible.  5 main character clusters, Adam & Eve plus family, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.

 Author: not Moses, as popularly thought for centuries, before biblical studies began..  A composite with 3 major contributors, called the Yahwist, the Elohist, and the Priestly.

 Date: The events themselves, did not take place, myth.  The writers, at least 2 of them, the Yahwist and the Elohist, seem to be composing during the time of the kings (for example, King David), maybe 1000 years before Christ.

Subject: Last week touched upon Adam & Eve & how our ancestors speculated about how we came into existence and why life has suffering. 

Today we look at how the Jewish people thought their nation came into existence.  Abraham is like George Washington.  He is seen as divinely appointed, just as the people thought they were divinely appointed.  There is a quality about the reading that says, “God told me to take your property.”

References: Good News Bible, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible.

Homily by Ed Lamberty

Sorry, no homily in print today.  The video of the homily went a bit long & was a personal story.

Picture 1:   Sacrament of the Sick, Curtis & Barb

Picture 2:   Our Father, Wendy, Ray, & Jon

Picture 3:   Our Father, John, Charlie, Jan, Rick, & Jackie

Picture 4:   Ed Lamberty tells his story

Picture 5:   2 Kite sisters, Emily & Lindsay in from college

Picture 6:   Zoe & her buddy, Carol