Sunday Homily 4-26-09, 3rd Easter

 Deuteronomy 4, This great nation is a wise and intelligent people.

Psalm 15, The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord

James 5,  Be doers of the word and not hearers only.

John 7,  All Jews do not eat without carefully washing their hands.

 

 

Ben bringing life.

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers, Mary Jane & John, & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,     Richard & Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy for all these years & will miss you enormously, Becky

 

 

Mary Jane reads 1st reading

 

Readings:

Download Readings 22nd Ordinary time 08-29-21

Homily by John Stack

Download Homily by Stack 8-29-2021

 

 

John Schanot reads 2nd reading

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;   For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson baby & Frank;  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, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands,   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

  

Brent & Meredith, our cancer survivor

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren  ;  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; from Barbara, a little 12 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Peace Everybody

 

Birthdays:   Teresa Quinn & Maureen Macchio

Anniversaries:  

Ken & Cindy Cramer, 59th

 

 

Our Dear Ken & Cindy.

 

Community Finances,   August 29, 2021

Expenses: $1030.000

Outreach: $200.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Rosemary reads her Blessing.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people,

A heart that forgives the worst,

A mind that forgets the bad,

And a soul that never loses faith in God.

Unknown

 

 

Peace, Everybody.

 

 

 

 

Readings:

Jeremiah   38, 4-6, 8-10  They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern.

Psalm 40,  Lord, come to my aid

Hebrews 12, 1-4,    Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.

Luke 12, 49-53,  Do you think I have come to establish peace on earth.  No.

(Less than amiable readings again this week.)

 

 

Cole & Genevieve say, "Welcome in, Everybody," and Gen. says, "Hey, Who is this nice guy?  I think I like him."

 

 

Jeremiah Observations:

Author:  really Jeremiah or at least his scribe.

Date:  after the Babylonian Captivity again, say 555 years before Chrsit. Jeremiah sees the Babylonian catastrophe coming and says it is going to be how Yahweh punishes the people for their evil and unjust ways.

Subject:  Jeremiah is the classic prophet.  He does the 3 things characteristic of a prophet.  He criticizes the behavior of the people.  He promises punishment from Yahweh.  He indicates that a better day will come.    Jeremiah lives to see the punishment, that is the Captivity.  Probably not the return from captivity.

Our selection:  Jeremiah pays the price of most real prophets.  The people are enraged, turn against him, and watch what happens.

 

 

Zoe, too, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."

 

 

God establish Peace on Earth ?  YES!

Last Thursday when Rosemary & I were doing our early morning bike ride around White Rock Lake, I stopped at the north bridge, originally to stop racing and just appreciate the beauty of the lake.  Now days, however, I discover I also love to watch the dogs in their doggie park and in the water.

Dallas has constructed a flagstone platform at the edge of the lake where dogs and owners can play at dogs chasing objects thrown in the water.

 

 

 

Cole, our candle lighter of the week, at his specialty.

 

Thursday I spotted a generic, medium sized, white, short haired dog who was so full of life.  His tail never ceased to wag, whether on land, eager for a ball to be thrown, or even in the water.   That dog was a portrait of joy and excitement.

I climbed back on my bike touched with warmth and peace.

 

 

The Generations, Dad, daughter, & grand daughter, Gilbert, Michelle, & Zoe.

 

I get the same feeling when Aviana comes racing to greet Rosemary and me after we have been away a while, tail wagging, excited, and wiggling with joy.  Warmth and peace.

So, do you think our God is a God of peace or a God who brings strife, division, and conflict?   Peace, me.  Luke must have had a bad day at the office when he wrote up this 12th chapter.

Let me give you 4 other examples of where I find the God of Peace.

 

 

Buddies, Kevin & Harper. 

 

A month from now about 10 of us will go to Idaho for our annual 9 day back packing trip in the mountains.  God gives me nothing more marvelously peaceful than to sit around the evening campfire, eat a good meal, and enjoy the simple camaraderie.  I can feel the peace already.

Talking about camaraderie, our Friday Romeos and our Sunday mornings here together, both give me peace and joy. 

 

 

Does it get any better?  Shonda, Bethany, Ray, & David.

 

Then there is an elderly little lady at the Jewish Community Center gym..  The first time I saw her a week or so ago she was getting off the elevator with a walker.   Fairly disheveled she was dressed in a long cover all and had red sneakers.   What really struck me immediately was her wig.   Cancer survivor.  I was humbled.  So I said good morning and she responded with an upbeat, pleasant response.    She went over, sat down on one of the exercise machines, and started exercising.  

 From her I take peace and humility.

 

 

The Line up.  Can anybody identify these characters?

 

Finally, the big one for me comes in about 3 months, Thanksgiving.  Is there anything better than a feast for counting blessings, experiencing joy and peace?   We are blessed in America to have it. 

So, what do you think?  God brings division and strife?  Or God brings Peace and Joy?   For me, no question, God brings Peace and Joy.

What do you think?

 

The Offertory Team, John & Alison, Mary Ellen & Grace.

 

Readings:

Exodus  34, 4-6, 8-9,  A God merciful and gracious, never gets angry, rich in kindness and fidelity.

Psalm, Daniel 3, Glory and praise for ever.  

2  Corinthians 13, 11-13, Live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you.

 John 3, 16-18,   Peace be with you; receive the Holy Spirit. 

 

 

"Welcome in, Everybody," says Harper.

 

Exodus Story: 

So the Israelite people have been wandering around in the Sinai desert for many years after escaping from old Pharaoh in Egypt.  Moses has been invited up Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments.  

He comes down all loaded with two stone tablets written on both sides and discovers that the people have become exasperated with him and the wandering in the desert.  They have created a gold bull to celebrate with and to worship. 

Old Moses, all angry, throws down the tablets and breaks them.  He calls Aaron, his lieutenant, tells him to gather the Levite tribe, the priestly tribe, and he tells them to slaughter all the rest.  They do.

 

 

Emma, too, says, "Hi, Everybody, come in."

 

At this point our reading begins.   Yahweh tells Moses to make two more tablets and to return to the top of Mt. Sinai, where he will get another set of commandments.  It is here where that marvelous line about the nature of God is mentioned again, "The Lord is gracious & merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love."

This is ancient folk tale literature at its best, like Aesop's Fables.

 

 

Ugh, oh, Tori is missing a tooth.  Are you now a rich girl, Tori?

 

 

The Lord is Gracious and Merciful, never gets Angry, and is abounding in Love.  

I want to talk about this line this morning.  For me, of course, the line says it all.  This is my understanding of who God is and how he acts.  Consequently, this is a

 

 

 

You win, Buddy.  Tori lost one, you lost  TWO.  Congratulations.

 

 

to do it talk.  How to spot these qualities.

Of course, there are big ways, like visiting my beloved Yosemite, cycling Iowa & Hotter ’N Hell, and getting together Sunday mornings with all of you. 

There are, also, smaller ways.  Two examples this morning.

Rosemary, of course, rolls her eyes when I run my ideas past her. 

 

 

Zoe, I think you are rich too.  You got all your teeth.

 

The first took place Friday at 1:00, guess where.  Yes, at Jason’s Deli.  Our Romeo get together.  There were 4 of us sitting in the very back of the bus, just in front of the doors to the restrooms, Tom & Mike & Andy Sokolowski and myself.  At my left was an extra table & chair for other regulars who had not arrived yet. 

About half way through our lunch one of the assistant managers, Patrick, a tall, nice looking guy, comes back to our area to bring food to a couple.  He is usually really busy, even to bussing tables when the place is full.  This Friday is lighter than usual.

 

 

Welcome home, Alexandra.  Declin, you are a neat kid and you got a terrific mommy.
 

 

So instead of running back to work, Patrick comes over to our table, says hi to everybody, and accepts our invitation to sit.  He is just to my left. 

In the next 5-10 minutes Patrick shares a lot about himself, 28 years old, Plano resident since birth, almost got married once, but is peaceful.  Then back to work he goes. 

 

 

The trouble makers corner.  You guys have too much fun every Sunday.

 

The second event took place in our living room Saturday morning.  A couple came to talk about their wedding in August. 

I find weddings almost always touching and beautiful happenings.  This couple was especially a joy.  First of all, the groom is Austin Goode, whom I have known since way back, since St. Mark’s days.  Tom  & Becky are his mom & dad.  I am really touched by this.

 

 

The Anderlicks, John & Karen & Lisa.

 

If this was not bad enough, Austin introduces Rosemary and me to this delightful, pretty, and full of personality fiance’, Vika.  Her story is so marvelous.  Born in Belaruss, brought to the States at 4 with her whole family by, get this, the Jewish Community Center, which I loved even before hearing Vika’s story.  She goes to private Jewish schools, public schools, and graduates from SMU.  On top of all this Vika has this magnetic  personality.

I can see the personality of our God in these two events.  I can see that he is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.

Where do you see the personality of God?

 

 

Vika (in blue) with Austin and her parents, Ena and Alex Kuznetsova.

 

 

 

Readings: Acts 8, 5-17; Psalm 66; 1 Peter 3, 15-18; John 14, 15-21.

 

Conditional or Unconditional Love?

On the west coast there is a writer named David Sheff who wrote a book about his son Nic.  The book is called Beautiful Boy.  In turn, Nic wrote a book about his own experience of growing up, a book called Tweak.

When Nic was 11 years old he got totally drunk for the first time.  During his four years in high school, he continued down this path, drinking, smoking pot, and experimenting with drugs.  On graduation Nic entered the world of methamphetamines and he plunged toward the bottom.  Tweak refers to the condition of a person on meth, totally strung out.

David tells in his book how for 2, maybe 3 years he refused to accept that his beautiful son was a drug addict.  On numerous occasions, after Nic had been gone for weeks on end, David would get Nic into a rehab program.  Nic would rehab for a month or two, come out and stay clean and sober for three or four days, then disappear into his meth world for another stretch. 

Nic got so desperate he would break into his dad’s house and into his dad’s friends’ houses to steal money or items to sell.  At a really low point he stole $8 from his little brother Jasper.  All this helped him to feel lower than dirt, but he was obsessed about his addiction.

During the first two years, David worried constantly and would welcome Nic home whenever he showed up or called for help.  Only slowly with the help of counseling, consulting, and Al Anon did he begin to believe in the tough love concept.  He told Nic he could not help him with money & bed, only get him into rehab. 

During one long clean & sober period it looked like Nic had turned a corner.  He even gave Jasper $8 and wrote him a touching apology.  Shortly after that, he disappeared again. 

I watched David mature in this book.  Though a loving father, in the beginning he was a poor parent and self indulgent.  As Nic spirals downward, David continues to love.  But he matures and his love matures.  Which brings me to a subject I’ve been hearing about & reflecting upon, conditional vs unconditional loving.  The Gospel brings up the idea.  Did David ever love Nic with unconditional love?   How would I see it?  What would be the signs?

Three comments about conditional & unconditional love:

1.  Have you ever noticed how the Bible is full of conditional love statements?  Look at today’s Gospel.  "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me."  Also, John 15, 10 & 14.  "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love."  "You are my friends, if you do what I command you."  Sounds very conditional and parental. 

In other places there is talk about the sheep and the goats and the unquenchable flames.  The Old Testament is one long story of a jealous Yahweh.  Many tragedies befell the Hebrews because they did not show enough honor to Yahweh.

2.  Does Jesus show us the face of an unconditionally loving God? In his words? What we hear today is pretty conditional.  What about his actions? 

What if God is an unconditionally loving God, or an unconditionally accepting God?

3.  How do I become unconditionally loving?  Do I want to?  As a parent?   Two observations:

     a.  Is unconditional love made up of unconditional acceptance?  I think so. Tough.  Is there a distinction between accepting the person and accepting the actions, e.g., addiction and abuse?  I think so.  It is how tough love comes into play.

     b.  Is unconditional acceptance of another influenced by unconditional acceptance of myself ? I think so.  David had a hard time with guilt.  He felt guilt, I think appropriately.  He was told the 3 C’s: you did not cause it, you cannot control it, and you cannot cure it.  Nonsense.  I see regularly and believe in the miracle of cure, cure of the spirit, cure of the heart.  And I can accept that I cause harm to other people.

   

In summary, I would suggest that we become more spiritually whole the more we love unconditionally.

Whom do you love unconditionally? 

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-04-27.mp3

Readings:

Acts  5, 12-16,  Many signs and wonders were done among the people.

Psalm 118,  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting

Revelation  1, 9-19, I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day.

John 20, 19-31,  Thomas, “Unless I see the mark of the nails.   

 

 

Harper says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in."

 

 

 Acts observations:  I won’t bore you every Sunday for the next six with these same observations.  I thought I would mention them because you may have missed them Easter Sunday with all that was going on.  Periodically I will remind you of the basics.

Date:  sometime before the year 70.  Why?  No mention of the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place the year 70, a Big Date in Jewish history.

 

Genevieve, too, says, "Hi, Folks, come in."

 

Who:  The same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke.  How do we know?  Similarities of style, language (Greek), and theological themes.

Subject:  The story of the expansion of the Jesus story in 3 areas, first, Jerusalem, then, Palestine or the Holy Land, and finally, into the Mediterranean and ultimately, Rome.

Today’s Subject: a description of the growth & expansion within the first area, Jerusalem. 

Sources: Good News Bible, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia

 

Hi, Cathy, and welcome to you, too.  Thanks for bringing Harper.

 

New Life Next Weekend

Next Sunday when you all come together here I will be getting together with my former Jesuit classmates in the beautiful college chapel at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.  We guys spent the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th years of our training at Spring Hill. 

It is class reunion time this weekend and about 8 of us gathered last year for the same event.  This year the alumni board is making a big deal out of us and is inviting all the ex and present Jesuits who got degrees at Spring Hill to special recognition.  There could be hundreds.

 

Leo, the Candle Lighter, at work on the Easter Candle.

 

When I was there we had about 150 guys residing in Assumption Hall, which has been since demolished and replace with smaller units of student housing. 

I would like to make 4 observations on the uniqueness of this group of guys.

 

You never know what you will find out on April 1.  The Juliets.

 

First, all joined up to be Jesuit priests despite the 10-14 years of training involved.  Some entered out of college, others, like myself, entered out of high school.  I got the full 14 years of training, which at the time was not too bad.  It was broken up into 3 & 4 year goals.

Secondly, all these guys became well educated, whether in the Jesuits or after leaving.  Lots of the guys taught in schools and universities.  They were a pretty progressive group, interested in service, usually to the poor.  All would have made good priests and good contributors to the numerous Jesuit high schools, universities, parishes, and retreat houses.  In my early years there were 35,000 Jesuits just in the U.S. 

 

Welcome, Nora, into our special Catholic Family.

 

Thirdly, in my class there is and has been a love of reuniting to see how everyone is doing.  There is a comfort zone and guys are willing to share pretty important parts of their lives.

I remember a reunion maybe 3-4 years ago in New Orleans.  One of my buddies, Bill, who had cared for his wife for some years before she died of cancer was there.  I had not seen him or talked with him since she had died.  I was sitting in the group where we were talking about where each of us was at. 

 

Tom and Denni with their just baptized grandbaby.

 

 

Bill had not said anything.  I remember debating within myself.  But I am used to asking these questions.  Finally I simply asked him would he be willing to share how it was to care for and lose his wife.  We were all in tears.

In Wernersville, PA there is a large Jesuit retreat house & novitiate.  Every summer a reunion of some 50 or more Jesuit & ex-Jesuit classmates gather for a weekend.   I just found out about this from one of my classmates from the east.  I plan to go some summer in the future.

These reunions are just among Jesuits.  There is a large, more formal group called Corpus.  These guys seem to be mostly ex-diocesan priests.

John Cade, any Carmelite groups?

 

Who are all these people, Nora?  Why, that is you granddad, Tom, your sister, Charlotte, your grandmommy, Denni, your big sister,  Chloe, your mommy, Claire, and your daddy, Andrew.

 

Final observation.  Do you realize that within the next 30 years these groups will all disappear?  We have here a unique sample of the population, ex-priests and ex-seminarians.   They all wanted to be priests.   They all wanted to be married.    Because of Vatican II in the ‘60s, they decided remaining celibate was not healthy for them.  Shortly the whole group will pass on.

A little slice of history for you today, folks.  

 

Nora, you are beautiful and perfect.  Welcome into our world.  

 

John shares his Homily.

 

 

Readings:  

 2 Kings 4:42-44,  They shall eat and there shall be some left over.

 Psalm 145,   The hand of the Lord feeds us;he answers all our needs.

 Ephesians 4: 1-6, One body and one Spirit.

John 6: 1-15,  The miracle of the loaves and fishes.

 

 

The Consecration. 

  

Homily:

 

From the prominence of the miracle stories of feeding multitudes with so little, and the importance given to the Passover meal by the Jewish followers of Jesus, it’s no surprise that they didn’t take long after he died to make a remembrance of his last Passover meal the centerpiece of their gatherings.

 

By 325 A.D., with Constantine as Emperor of the Roman Empire, the Eucharistic meal was recognized as a central part of Christian practice.  Earlier, about 150 A.D., Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist, wrote to explain Christianity to the Greek world, how the followers of Jesus had the practice of celebrating a remembrance of the Lord’s Supper when they gathered.

 

 

The Offertory with Hugh, Sydney and Mary.

 

 

Earlier still is the Acts, written between 80 and 90 A.D. In Ch. 2, is the statement, “They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful.”

Perhaps the earliest written mention of the Eucharistic meal is in First Corinthians, Ch. 11. Scripture scholars agree that the letters of Paul were written around 50 A.D., about 20 years after Jesus’ death. Paul alludes to irreverent behavior at “the Lord’s Supper.” He was criticizing the followers of Jesus in Corinth about turning the meal into “a family squabble”, instead of coming to the “Lord’s Table” with reverence and courtesy.”

 

The Kiss of Peace.

 

The Lord’s Supper, the Mass, as it evolved, has had different understandings. Is the Mass primarily a ‘sacrifice’ being remembered and somehow offered again for a people cut off from God? Or is the Mass primarily a shared ritual meal of remembrance, celebrating a people’s thankfulness for Jesus’ Good News that we are already connected with God and always have been?           

What do you think?

 

 

Shonda and Ben.