Readings:    

 Wisdom  7, 7-11,  I prayed, and prudence was given to me.

 Psalm 90,   Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy.

 Hebrews 4, 12-13,   The word of God is living and effective.

Mark 10, 17-30,  Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.

Mass begins

Wisdom:

Date of Composition: 100-200 BCE, which is why it is considered significant.  It provides a glimpse into the cultural & social milieu which prevailed just before & during the time of Christ.   We had Wisdom for our first reading 3 weeks ago.

Place of Composition: Alexandria, Egypt.

Communion helpers, Sandra, Richard and Carol, and Geri

The Composer: a Jew who wrote educated Greek.

Unique Quality: Wisdom is one of a set of 12 (or 14) books written in Greek considered not part of the original 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, the O.T.  This blew up around 350 CE when St. Jerome, one of the Fathers of the Early Church, i.e., a church leader who influenced a lot of church dogma, said the books were not genuine.   He was opposed by St. Augustine.  It was the Council of Trent (ca. 1550), that declared the 12 books okay.  Another person doubting the validity of the books was Martin Luther. 

You probably won’t find these books in the Protestant Bibles.

Communion helpers, Lynda, Denni, Patricia, and Sandra

Our Selection in Chapter 7: the book of Wisdom generally says that good guys get rewarded by God, bad guys don’t.  This selection personifies the virtue of wisdom, using the feminine pronoun she, and praises her as above all other values & pleasures.  I loved her even more than health or beauty, the composer declares.

 Sources: The Good News Bible, Got Bible Questions on line.

Kayla

Sell what I have, give it to the poor, and follow Him?

This morning I want to talk about two things:

1.  Selling everything I have and giving it to the poor, then following the Lord;
2.  It being easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter the kingdom.
   

   Zoe with her mom, Michelle

I  in no way mean to boast, folks, but I have been there, done that.  Three times, in fact. 

The first time was 1958, when I joined the Jesuits to become a priest.  I was all enrolled at Notre Dame.  I went instead to Grand Coteau, LA, the Jesuit novitiate.  I did this out of fear that if I did not, I was going straight to hell. 

Georgie with Buddy and Zoe

The other two times I was not afraid.  Anxious, yes, but not afraid.  I went to East Africa in ’76 and Rosemary & I married  05.05.05.    Paradoxically one of the riches of that hundred fold that came to me was a lack of fear.   I was not afraid to leave the States and go to East Africa.  I was not not afraid to leave the Jesuit security and marry Rosemary.  This came about because of exposure to good thinking, good people, and rich experiences. 

I gave it all up to go to East Africa and I gave it all up when Rosemary & I married, an unfortunate lack Rosemary had to accept in marrying me.   What I did not give up these two times was inner peace and inner freedom.   In fact, it has deepened with each choice.

Leo

3 observations on Mark’s message. 

1.  Go sell what you have and give it to the poor is for real.  We are always challenged to do this.  This is also Mark’s infinite demand in plain view.  This is not an ‘and  follow the Lord.’  This is following him. 
2. Why give it up?  Yes, to help others and to follow him.  But, moreover, this is a ticket of admission into the kingdom.  You know what I mean by kingdom, a here and now, present event of peace and freedom.   The peace & freedom of this kingdom is a result, a consequence of my detatchment.
3. It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich person to enter the kingdom, the place of peace and freedom?   Hyperbole, Mark?  Yes. 

Leo

We are all rich, all of us.  Take our education alone.  In East Africa I could have given every material thing I had away, and I still would have been rich because of my education.

However, don’t discount Mark’s message.  It is difficult to detatch myself from my money & things, so that I can follow the Lord, help others, and arrive today in the kingdom of peace and freedom.  Do you see freedom or peace in people obsessed with money or work? 

The Man on the monkey bar

 I have been truly blessed with my 3 give it all up events.  Yes, I have personally received the hundred fold promised.

Where are you on the spectrum of giving it all up, following the Lord, and entering the kingdom of peace and freedom?

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles  1, 12-14,  All devoted themselves to prayer.

Psalm 27,   I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. (a good one)

1 Peter 4, 13-16,  Rejoice.

 John 17, 1-11,   I pray for them. 

"Welcome in, Everybody, " says Harper.

To dwell in the house of the Lord

This past Friday after Romeos, I headed across Central to Plano Cycling, one of my favorite places to visit.  I wanted one of my service friends to check Rosemary’s rear bike brake.  She had told me it was soft.  I can fix a lot of things on a bike, and love doing it, but I would prefer a specialist work on her brake for safety’s sake.

So says Seth likewise, plus, "Wake me up after that old guy stops talking."

So I go in about 2:30 and this is why I love to go there.  I walk in and hear, “Hi, John” from numerous staff, or “Hi, John Stack” from the service manger.  I confess it means a lot to be known by name in a store.

I look for my specialist friends, Darrell or Lorinda.  Not there.  A bummer.  But a new guy is there, about 28.   He is working on a bike and apparently is alone.  I tell him what I want and he says, “sure,” he will fix it while I wait. 

Our Candle Lighter of The Week, Leo

Turns out Rosemary needs more than a cable tightened.  She has worn out her brake pads and needs a new set.  Joey says, “No problem,” he can fix that in a minute.

So we begin to talk.  “What's your name?  Joey.  How long you been working here?  About 2 months.  How do you like it?  I love it.  How did you get here?”

Offertory,Bernadette, Gil, and Diane.

He proceeds to tell me he had a good office job with good money.  But he was not happy.  He used to bring work home.  He is married, but did not mention kids.  Everything was good, but he was not happy.  He had known Plano Biking since he bought his first bike there as a little kid.  He loved to just visit.

One day he was talking with somebody on the staff and saying how he loved bikes & working on them and how his job was not satisfying.   “We’ll hire you,” the person said.  Joey jumped. 

Prep time.

This exemplifies what it means

To dwell in the House of the Lord,

To see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

And you? 

How do you dwell in the House of the Lord?

What are the good things of the Lord that you see in the land of the living?

And what for recessional?

P.S.   A note to all of you who are celebrating our Memorial Day weekend at your lake houses, on cruises, like to Alaska, Mike & Geri, and to points south, like Tom and Teresa, and to all points in between, you, too, are seeing and celebrating the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

The Best Music, Shonda, Bethany for her last event, and David.

Readings:   Exodus 20, 1-17, God delivered all these commandments; Psalm 19, Lord, You have the words of everlasting life; 1 Corinthians 1, 22-25, The weakness of God is stronger than human strength; John 2, 13-25, He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple.

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:  The 10 Commandments–observations:

Rosemary's Blessing

 Our Subject today: 10 Commandments–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 these 4

• 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 (Excellent Biblical Scholar)

Cole with his mom, Erin, lighting the three candles for the 3rd week of Lent

How to keep the Inner Peace

Some months ago Rosemary & I were flying back to Dallas from Toronto on the first Friday morning in October.  Canadians that morning were beginning the long weekend of Canadian Thanksgiving.  Everyone was taking off. 

Rosemary & I had gone to celebrate the event with Kay Reddick & her family the week just before Canadian Thanksgiving. 

Our plane was scheduled for sometime around 9:00, so we arrived very early, like 6:30.  We walked into the huge single room terminal and noticed a long line.  No problem, we had everything prepared.  We checked in and asked where we entered security, a one stop area like in Atlanta, everyone going through the same big security post.  The girl said the line was for security. 



Offertory, the Ekes, Marlene, Bobby, & Debbie

 Wow!  Gulp!  This line must have been more than 100 yards long, running from one end of the terminal to the other with numerous double backs.

Initially I thought the line was just volume.  Nope. Turns out security is staging a labor slow down.  We are in that line over 5 hours, folks.  Naturally, we missed our plane.  Everyone missed their plane.  In fact, I thought we might not even get out that day.  Clearing security was only half the problem.  Once inside everyone was mobbing the service desks to change their ticketing. 

One thing about the day that really struck me positively was that I never saw anyone lose it or have a hissy fit.  On the contrary, people were friendly, joking, lying on the floor while waiting.  There were Canadians in that line near us who were missing their flights to Hawaii.  We talked to them in the waiting line and we talked to them inside where they had booked a flight to San Francisco that afternoon. 

 If I had been in Lagos, Nigeria, I would expect that I would have witnessed a riot.  Not in Toronto that morning.  I’ve seen check-in riots for a lot less. 

Buddies, Bernadette & Loretta

 I mention this event because it comes 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 flew.  Our experience and his probably had some common elements, like chaos and crowds.  

What is he so hyped up about?  Was he having a bad mood day?  Can he have bad moods?   If you look at these scenes with detachment, you might want to laugh.

On the other hand, Jesus might have had some significant reasons, 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.  The law.

    2.  he was angry because he was watching the vendors cheat.  Injustice.  Maybe his mom had been cheated by one of these guys some 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

Leo in the choir

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 sacrifice something to God, I get something from God.  Maybe it was gratitude for already getting something. 

  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. 

So why was Jesus so angry?  Maybe he was caught off guard.  He expected better.  That was what amazed me about the Toronto airport.  Everyone was caught off guard.  Everyone expected better.  Yet, no one got so mad they lost it. 

There is 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). 

Bethany & Shonda

 The idea is that I have an expectation about how a person should behave & how things should be.  If the expectation is frustrated, then I can go off.  What do you think is the dynamic behind road rage? 

Want to fix it?  Adjust my expectation, change it.  Or look at it positively.  It is another way of accepting.  A trucker is in left lane.  So what.  Someone is in such a rush they are right on my rear bumper.  I have to wait so long in security that I miss my plane.  Expectations?  Yes.  Hey, it could be worse.  Rosemary & I made it out, after all.  Jesus seems to have done some expectation adjustment, because in his condemnation by the Pharisees at the end of his life he does not fight back.  The result: my inner peace.



Shonda & Ray

How do I react when I see someone going through the express check out with 18 items?   Or leaving the shopping cart in a parking place?  How do I react to road craziness? 

How do you respond to frustrated expectations?

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

Sunday, 12-26-10, Holy Family: Sirach 3, 2-14; Psalm 128, Blessed are Those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways; Colossians 3, 12-21; Matthew 2, 13-23.

Intro to readings

 We could easily believe that political correctness is a recent development, but I want to show you how it existed in the first century of the Church. 

 Our second reading today from the letter to the Colossians is a great example of “spin”.  Lets take a moment to consider the setting. 

 There are 13 letters which have Paul’s name associated with them.  Modern scripture scholarship has determined that seven are indeed written by Paul, there are three, which he definitely did not write, and there are three where there is doubt about his authorship. 

 Understand that when Paul wrote for instance to the Romans, he was writing to a small Christian community within Rome, something not unlike our little community here.  Society in the Roman Empire at that time was strongly patriarchal, namely it all centered on the man! Women, children and slaves were considered similar to possessions, namely they had no rights! 

 Now the extraordinary thing about Paul’s preaching was that he saw all people, by virtue of their baptism being equal, all belonging to the body of Christ.  Recall one of his familiar lines: “in Christ all are equal, there is no male or female, no slave or free”.  

 In the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7 we meet the “radicalism of Christianity”, – just as Jesus shocked the authorities by dining with sinners, Paul sees all as God’s children and equal.  So in his letter to the Corinthians he says husbands and wives are equal.  He is very careful to make sure that both have the same rights – they are equal! 

 Now take a look at the extended section of today’s second reading and we will see the spin put there by someone after Paul’s death.  In an attempt to make Christianity “fit” better into Roman society we have the phrase ‘wives be submissive to your husbands’.  Paul would have never said such a thing!  Yet he gets the blame for it today!! 

Feast of the Holy Family – Homily

 Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, that of Joseph and Mary and the child Jesus, whose birth we celebrated yesterday.  I would like to reflect a little on the images we have of the Holy Family and how we are part of that family by our Baptism. 

 In the gospel we read today, this family experienced what many families today have to go through, namely living in a strange land.  Matthew doesn’t tell us how things were for them in Egypt, but at least they stayed there a few years, they were not killed.  When they returned, it was to settle in a different region, to Nazareth.

 Thanks to a global economy, unlawful governments, wars, or the plague of drugs, many people today are forced to move, either within their own country or to foreign lands.  They come as strangers into our midst.  But we don’t have to be from somewhere else to feel like a stranger.  Sometimes due to misunderstandings, or fear or hurts we can just as easily feel like a stranger in our own family.

 The Feast of the Holy Family gives us time to reflect on our actions.  By our baptism we are part of that Holy Family.  Jesus is our brother. 

 The challenge, which the gospel puts before us today as Christians, is how well do we welcome our brothers and sisters.  Remember the words of Jesus, when I was hungry, or lonely or sick, you did it to me.  Out of fear we too quickly can build walls to keep others out, either out of our country, or out of our lives.

 At St Vines, we do reach out.  Over the past year we certainly have helped the sick, through our participation both by volunteering and financial aid to the CCAC.  We have served meals at Thanksgiving; we have helped build the houses with Habitat for Humanity, given toys to kids who might otherwise not have them, and food to the Food Pantry.  These are great things and we need to continue to do them.  But we can too easily miss opportunities to tear down walls within our own family.

 As we begin a New Year, a time when we make all kinds of resolutions to do better, lets not forget to see how we may become more conscious of the Family of God and those who are lonely, from another place, struggling. 

Picture 1:    Jack

Picture 2:    Ryan with cookie

Picture 3:    The Reads, Teresa, Taylor, Doug, & Zack

Picture 4:    Emma, one of the 5 Bambini

 Picture 5:    Santa arrives

Picture 6:    All the Good Kids awaiting Santa 

Rosemary's Blessing

Good Morning!

This is God.

I will be handling all your problems today.

I do not need your help.

So have a good day!

Author Unknown

Remembering….

Readings:

Isaiah 55, 10-11, Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down.

Psalm 65,  The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest

Romans  8, 18-23,  The sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us,

Matthew 13, 25-30,  A sower went out to sow.

Download Reading Week 7-12

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Mary & Sandra & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel & Homily, Deacon Mike

Eucharistic Prayer, John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Richard & Tom

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Please Remember these special people:

For Cindy who faced a procedure Monday morning;   For our Bill;  For Carrie Bieda's son;   For Esparzas, Frank & Mary, who lost their son Jim to sepsis;   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 Joe Hogan with cancer;  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;    For Sydney;  & For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom;   for Michelle;  

For Jackie's mom;  For a friend, a neighbor, & 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;  for Virginia Mattingly.

Magicians at work, Tom, Richard, & Mike.

Homily for July 12: The name given by the artist to the picture behind me today is Rhapsody. It has always hung on the wall in front of me, and I’ve enjoyed seeing it every day.  It could have been called Rapture, or a Taste of Paradise.

The picture moved me then and it still does now. I purchased it at a special evening auction given by the marriage partner of Richard Delong a few months after Richard’s death. The proceeds from the auction of Richard’s Art Collection was then given by his marriage partner toward continued research of the Human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.

The two woman in the picture are in ecstasy, euphoria, elation.  If you could look at it closely, you would see that they are part the celebration of our sacred liturgy.

Are Ben & Shonda not The Best!

In our first reading from today’s liturgy, Isaiah the Prophet gives us a wonderful teaching from God to us his children: You will be filled with joy and led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Today’s words from our liturgy continue with a psalm of gratitude to God who prepares us for an expectation of a fruitful harvest of Words.

The second reading is the eager expectation from the Letter to the Romans revealing to us that those who have welcomed and are living to Good News, are the children of God, who have joyfully received the Holy Spirit.

Our gospel reading seeks for us to bear fruit; 100, or 60, or 30 times greater than what was sown for us in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Birthdays:  John Schanot & Caroline Grattifiori

Anniversaries:   Ron & Marilyn Ackerman, 57th

A temporary Altar while adjustments are made.

Community Finances, July 12, 2020

Expenses: $810.00 

Outreach   $425.00,   (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill

Readings:  Isaiah 25, 6-10 (beautiful); Psalm 23 (nice); Philippians 4, 12-20; Matthew 22, 1-14 (The King throws a wedding banquet)

Isaiah: A beautiful selection today.  This is why Isaiah 1 is so popular, his worderful dreams.  The selection today talks about the day when the Lord will provide a feast of rich food and fine wine on a mountain top.  These dreams were dreamed some 600 to 900 years B.C.E. 

Psalm 23:

Number of Psalms: There are 150 psalms, which are religious songs.

Authorship: Jews, Muslims and Christians for centuries considered King David to be the author.  73 psalms use his name.  Today, however, scripture scholars think numerous authors composed the psalms and they passed down ca. 500 years in an oral, sung form before they began to be written down ca. 600 B.C.E.  King David lived ca. 1000 B.C.E.

Pictures 1 & 2:

#1: the choir: Wendy, Shonda & Ray, Celeste

#2: Birthdays: Lacee Ackerman (13); Georgie (7); Lisa Ackerman, & Richard Eshelbrenner

Life as a Banquet

I had a Jesuit friend named Tom Barbarito who was in the class behind me.  Italian.  About 5 feet 5. Quite rotund in his early years.  No way athletic.  In fact would shudder at the prospect of exercise or physical work.  Intelligent and very amusing mostly at his own expense.  He was pastor of St. Rita for many years. 

Our selection from Isaiah 1 about the banquet was his favorite reading of all time.  He loved to eat.  We used to have what were called first class feasts in the early years of my Jesuit life.  These were special meals on Christmas, Easter, and church holidays.  The meals were excellent Cajun cuisine put together by our cajun cooks from southwest LA, Opalousas & Lafayette.  And Tom was from New Orleans, as were many in the classes those days.  We got to talk in the refectory on the occasion of these meals, all 150 of us.

I can still picture Tom squaring off for one of these meals, his white cloth napkin tucked into the collar of his cassock European style, getting elbow room, and proclaiming that he was ready.  He used to declare that he could not wait for the heavenly banquet referred to here in Isaiah.  Today Tom is enjoying that banquet because he died maybe ten years ago with a brain tumor.  And he died skinny, so he now may eat all his favorite foods without guilt. 

I think of Tom whenever this reading comes up.  Our readings today are so Tom Barbarito, eating, feasting, enjoying the cup running over.  Moreover we have a king throwing a wedding banquet and getting mad because the invited did not come.  Then one man gets kicked out for not having a wedding garment on.  What is going on?   Three observations.

First, remember for whom Matthew is writing.  He has an agenda when he puts parables into his work.  Initially he writes to warn the Jewish people about how they are losing it in not recognizing Jesus.  But equally he is addressing the Gentiles, letting them know that Jesus welcomes them also.

As in all parables, check out the symbolism of the gospel.  Obviously the king is Yahweh.  Who are the invited to the wedding feast?  The Jews.  Who are the good & bad street people? 

Second observation, we are the street people & therefore included.   There is a banquet out there, a feast on a mountain top, a feast of rich food and choice wine.  Tex Mex & Blue Bell?  We are the newly invited, despite the fact that we are the street people.  In fact, I would propose that we are all street people, bad and good, Gentile and Jew.  The parable may be creating a false distinction.  Because of this distinction , some believe that only those who believe in Jesus Christ are saved.

The third observation is that the banquet on the mountain top, the marriage feast is taking place today.  I can be tempted to think the feast takes place in the next life.  In fact, I think a lot of poor people and slaves were fed this nonsense so they would not try to fight back against oppression. 

This may be where the poor guy without the wedding garment fits in.  He gets treated pretty harshly, especially so after the king invites all the street people in, both good and bad.  To attempt an understanding, I think we go back to the symbolism which is the currency of parables.  What could he symbolize?  Perhaps the wedding garment symbolizes gratitude.  Maybe he was not grateful, but was critical and cynical, thinking he was entitled to all this, the attitude that seem to be so prevalent in our contemporary culture.  Consequently, the man was thrown out.  In reality the ingratitude never allows him in.  We can be the man without the wedding garment.

My friend Tom Barberito I am sure is enjoying his wedding banquet in the next life.  We are invited to enjoy this life's banquet with gratitude.

What is your banquet today?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-10-12.mp3