24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 13, 2020

Readings: Isaiah 9, 1-6, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Psalm 96, Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord; Titus, 1, 11-14, The Grace of God has appeared; Luke 2, 1-14, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled.  Terrific Readings!

Isaiah, a quick review. 

This beautiful passage is just one of many reasons why I love the Work of Isaiah.  

 Yes, this is Isaiah I, who composed before the Babylonian Captivity around 600 before Christ.  In fact, he wrote even before Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, around 750 before Christ.  He saw it coming.

Incarnations 

    Folks, it happened two weeks ago, that beautiful Saturday, December 10.  Rosemary & I were volunteers at a picnic in Flower Mound for underprivileged kids.  We were specifically employed at crowd control in front of a photo shop in a large pavilion where all kinds of things were going on, lunches, dances on a stage, face paintings, and so on.  Horses for riding were outside.    

    Then there were tons of kids, about 3000 according to one count.  60 school buses, 850 volunteers, and 4500 hot dogs which were totally gone in a nano-second.  We had about 35 members of our own little community.  

    A whole bunch of events touched me, but three stand out. 

    The first person who touched me was Joey, a cute little black girl about 6 years old.  I chatted up everyone in the line, but seemed to spend more time with Joey, which is how I came to know her name.  She just told me. 

    At one point in our conversations she handed me a small trinket she had glued onto her blouse.  She said, “That’s yours.  I made it.”  I was so touched.  Then she got her picture taken and was gone, happy as could be. 

    Another time I was watching a black woman chaperon or bus driver.  She was rounding up her kids and had them all sitting on the cement floor just beyond my line for the photo shop.  When I talked with her she was up to 45 in counting her kids and had more to go.   Her care for all those kids knocked me over. 

    Then there was a little black girl who was afraid.  She, too, was about 6 and was with about five other girls a bit older and an adult lady.  In the line ahead of her was a black man who was totally dressed as a clown, face painted white, and everything. 

    I’m standing next to her and she whispers to me, “I’m scared of him.”  I was touched that she told me.  So we talked.  Eventually I moved into her sight line so she could not see him, because it was like she was obsessing about the guy.  

    She told the others and they scoffed at her.  However, I was able to let her know that fear was okay and that here she was safe.  I would not let the clown hurt her.  That seemed to calm her; she got her picture, and went happily on her way. 

    These were incarnation events for me, the spirit of God right there in this crowd of kids on a picnic.  I suggest that these sightings take place daily, in people like the ones I mention, in people who make up my daily life, and in events, to say nothing about nature.

    What was your last incarnation event?

Picture 1:    The Team 

Picture 2:    Emma as angel 

Picture 3:    The Nativity Drama   

Picture 4:    The Nativity Drama 

Picture 5:    The Nativity Drama 

      Video:     The Nativity 

Readings: 

Sirach 35, 12-14, 16-18, He hears the cry of the oppressed.

Psalm 34,  The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 16-18  I have competed well.

Luke 18, 9-14, Two people went up to the temple to pray.

Could it be Halloween time again? Spider Man Cole.

Sirach observations:

Again we take
up one of the books of the Apocrypha, the 12 books written in Greek and not
originally considered part of the Bible.  This book is basically a
collection of Jewish wisdom statements and teachings, like, "A father who loves his son will whip him often, so that he can be proud of him later." 30, 1

Who:  Joshua, who was translated from Hebrew into Greek by his grandson.

Date:  ca. 200 years before Christ.

Our selection in chapter 35 talks about the nature of god
and what happens to the person who serves god.  It sets up Luke's parable
about the pharisee & the tax collector in the temple.

Sophia.

 Self-righteous,
Me?

I love this little parable about the two people who went up to pray in
the temple.  Two lines are especially
sneaky.  The first line is where Jesus
says he has a parable about people who are convinced of their own righteousness
and who despise everyone else.  That old
sense of superiority.

Zoe with her Cupcake of The week for 5 years.

That’s me!  I’ll give you an
example.

I mentioned once that I think I am a hot bike mechanic.  Well, I also can think I am a hot shot bike
rider.  I have ridden the 5 Boro in NY, the Hotter ‘N Hell
Hundred, and I have ridden across Iowa for a week.  Hot Stuff.  Am I not super?

Ben with his Welcome Home Cupcake for him and Sophia.

One morning this past summer Rosemary & I went for a ride around The
Lake, White Rock, The Jewel.  We picked
up the White Rock Creek Trail at Northwood Park on Royal Lane just east of
Central.  It is about 4 miles to The Lake. 

I have what I call “rabbits.” 
Rabbits are other bikers I want to beat, 
motivators for me to really push it. 

Mr. Buddy ready for Halloween.

This particular morning as Rosemary & I are getting our bikes set up
at the parking lot, I see three guys go zooming by heading for the lake.  When I tell Rosemary that I think I see some
rabbits, she knows what that means.  We will
start together and I will race ahead to catch these characters.  Then I will wait for her at our arranged meeting
place on the north bridge over The Lake.

Zoe and Emma.

So I take off after these three bikers.   I can see them in the distance
occasionally.  They have all the colorful
clothing and good street bikes as opposed to hybrids.  They are a challenge.  I follow them under the bridges at Walnut Hill,
Fair Oaks, Abrams, Skillman, and even the Dart Bridge. 

I finally come up behind them just before the Northwest Hwy. Bridge.  I follow them for a bit, watching for an
opportune straight stretch so I can pass them. 
We are all moving at a good pace, 16-20 miles per hour. 

Harper.

Suddenly I notice something about the third guy.  He has a withered right leg.  I don’t even know how he pedals his bike, let
alone pedaling at such a pace on this winding trail.  His leg is there and his foot has a shoe, but
it is like shriveled up.   He must use the leg as just dead weight to
push down the right pedal.

I cannot pass them.  I am
embarrassed at my own sense of superiority and impressed with his
achievement. 

Torri at it.

Where they finally went I do not know. 
We parted when I stopped at the north bridge to wait for Rosemary.   I have never seen the guy again.  Was he some divine messenger sent to humble
me, to say to me ‘Whoever thinks he is superior will be humbled’?  The second good line.

A blessing hidden in biking is that just as soon as you think you are hot stuff, along comes somebody who rides by you like as if you are waiting for the Dart train.  Try, try, and try as I might, I cannot catch that person.

I confess I still chase rabbits, but I often think about the man with
the withered leg.  And feel appropriately humbled.  

Over whom do you feel superior?

Emma arriving ready.

Readings:

2 Samuel 7, 1-16,  Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me. (A good read)

 Psalm 89,    Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Romans 16, 25-27,  To him who can strengthen you.

Luke 1, 26-28,   The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a virgin.

The Beautiful Harper says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

Samuel observations:

Who :  there are 4 books, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings.  And there are 4 rulers of Israel, namely, Samuel, who was the last judge of the people, Saul, David, and Solomon, who were kings.  These 4 books are some of the best reading in the Bible.

Samuel was called by God himself in a series of dreams Samuel had one night when he was in the service of the priest Eli.  He was the last of the peoples' judges and he anointed Saul the first king.   

That pretty girl in Purple also says, "Come in Everybody, It's fun," Zoe.

Date: Bible scholars consider the 4 books to be a compilation of a bunch of sources, beginning around 800 before Christ and finally coming together as a whole, guess when, yes, the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.

Today's selection:  2 characters, King David and Nathan, the prophet.  David is now king and wants to build a temple for God.  Nathan says that God does not want a temple, but that God, nevertheless,  will bless him, his family, and the people.  The temple will be built eventually by David's son, Solomon.  This is chapter 7 today.  Chapter 6 is good, but 11 is one of my most favorite chapters in the bible.  In our homily today, I want to tell you the story of how Solomon came to be David's son, which is described in chapter 11.

And Leo says, "Hi, Folks, if you are really good you just might get a cupcakes." He must have been good, he got one.

King David

 This morning I would like to talk about King David.  He is our story of the week.  In fact, there are numerous good stories about David.  For instance, he is the David who as a youth kills Goliath with his sling shot after Goliath has scared half to death the Israelite army. 

As with all human events, there was a down side to this achievement.  Saul, the king becomes jealous of David’s popularity and will spend much of his later years trying to kill David.

Jackie and Rick.

 A second marvelous story takes place in chapter 6, right before our chapter.  David is bringing into Jerusalem the arc of the covenant, which was housed in a tent or portable house.  As the procession enters Jerusalem, David strips down to his shorts and dances for joy as he leads the procession.

His wife Mical is watching from her second floor window and she is disgusted.  She tells David this when he comes into their home and he responds that he will always dance before the Lord.  Guess what.  God is not pleased with Mical’s disgust and because of that she never has any children.  The lesson: don’t mock me when I dance.

 The most amazing story is this.  You won't find this excellent reading in any of the 3 cycles of the Lectionary.

Who is that pretty girl with the glasses? Why, that's Georgie.

 One day David is strolling around the roof of his house.  He looks over to his neighbors’ house and sees a beautiful woman bathing.  He enquires into who she is and invites her over for a neighborly dinner.  Guess what happens.  Yes, he falls madly in love with her and they get together. 

The trouble is, the woman, the famous Bathsheba, is married to Uriah, a soldier in David’s army.  The army is away on maneuvers. 

 So David has Uriah brought back to Jerusalem.  He invites him to dinner, gets him totally drunk, and sends him home to spend the night with Bathsheba.  Unfortunately, Uriah, a man of honor, will not sleep under his roof while his soldier comrades are out sleeping on the ground.  Uriah sleeps on his door step.  A complication for David. 

The pretty Megan says, " Georgie? We're buddies."

 So David sends Uriah back to the army, but sends with him a note which tells the commander that he is to place Uriah at the front of the troops in the next battle.   At the peak of the battle, pull the soldiers back and leave Uriah alone. 

 So, Uriah gets killed.  David marries Bathsheba.  End of story, happy ending?  No.

Zaile and Mabel.

The prophet Nathan is still around.  God sends Nathan to tell David a parable about a rich guy who steals the favorite lamb of a poor man.  Nathan asks what should be done to that rich man?  David is angry and says he deserves a severe punishment.  Nathan says, “You are that rich man.”   David repents and does penance.

 Meanwhile, Bathsheba has a baby, a little boy, their little love child.  The name of this little boy?  Solomon.  

Cowboy Cole explaining the meaning of life.

 Why I find this story fascinating and consoling?  God has accepted the child of David and Bathsheba, even though conceived in less than positive circumstances.  Moreover, David continues to be favored and blessed with enormous success by God despite being less than saintly. 

 We, too, are often less than saintly.  How do you know that you are still favored and blessed by God?

Thanks, Hue, for being our special sound man every week.

In Memory of Our Beloved Bill, who moved to the other side this past Wednesday.  This Sunday & next Sunday we will formally dedicate our celebration to Bill, Patty, and their beautiful family. 

A number of people in our community have expressed interest in taking part in the ceremony for Bill at the military cemetery in Grand Prairie.  I just talked with Patty & she says we are only allowed 10 participants and 10 minutes for the ceremony.  There must be high volume.  I've never had these restrictions in all the ceremonies I have done there.

Lynda Fleming is putting together a slide show of Bill's life.

Rosemary's Blessing:

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa

Can music get any better, Ben & Shonda.

Readings:

1 Kings 3, 5, 7-12, God said to Solomon, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you

Psalm 119,  Lord, I love your commands.

Romans  8, 28-30,  All things work for good for those who love God

Matthew 13, 44-52,   The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda

Readers,     Brent & Mary, & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel & Homily,  Doctor-Deacon Mike Carroll

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Richard & Ben

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Mad scientists?   Yes!  Richard & Mike.

Please Remember these special people:

For our Bill & his family;  For Cindy recuperating from a procedure 3-4 weeks ago;    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 & Cody & Ben & all of Shonda's dear family   for Michelle;

Another Mad Man?  Yes!

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.

Birthdays:  Dawson Dinsmore, 23, Cindy Ekes

Anniversary: David & Donna Dinsmore, 34th

A Crazy Gallery?  Yes!

Download Readings Week 7-26

A reading from the gospel of Matthew Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,which a person finds and hides again, 
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.  When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. 

The gospel of the Lord.

Homily by Mike Carroll

 A summary of the gospel readings these past three weeks has been this: The Lord came to redeem the world by sowing upon us his Word, the good seed.  Moreover, it was not his intention to leave us as orphans.  Instead he bestowed the Holy Spirit upon people like Bill Hammond, who welcomed and lived his buried treasure.

Today, we seek to remember with tears of love all the times that Bill brought forth, to not just this community, but to others too, his hands filled with the hidden treasure of goodness and kindness that he had buried in his human heart. 

When we heard today’s gospel reading about the hidden treasure, a much better translation of it is this:

“The kingdom of heaven is like adding to the store house within our hearts of what Jesus has revealed to us.”

I am going to give you five examples I put together that bind our hearts to one another. Each of them refers to the treasure of the Church. I will read each of them slowly; twice.

• Where our treasure is, our hearts will be there also.
• We are to carefully guard the treasure that lives within our hearts for from them we give life to others.
• The treasure of the Church is the Good News of Jesus Christ; moreover, it has been freely given to the whole world.
• The treasure given to us of the Holy Spirit empowers us to forgive others.
• The treasure we yearn for should be our daily bread, for the Word and the Eucharist are incapable of being separated.

The Good News of Jesus Christ.

Community Finances, July 26, 2020

Expenses: $900.00  

Outreach   $100.00     (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72, Lord, Every Nation on Earth will adore You; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12.

Isaiah 60: author, date, subject

Author: 3 Isaiah (responsible for chapters 55-66)

Date: ca. 400, after the Babylonian Captivity, ended ca. 550

Subject: lines such as, Rise up in splendor, the glory of the Lord shines, people from the east will come with gold & frankincense.

source: John Shelby Spong

The Great Debate: Myth vs Fact

I have just had an epiphany event in my life.  I was visited by an old friend, a wise friend, maybe a wise guy friend.  He says, "Stack, you are a fraud."  You folks have known this all along.  He says that the homily I gave before Christmas on the Partridge in a Pear Tree was not true.  Sorry to have to tell you this.  The history was wako, did not happen.  As you can imagine, I was quite deflated, but figured he was right because he is more of a researcher than I. 

So, folks, the old geezer fraud fesses up this morning.  I confess that I did not do any research on the subject.  Somebody sent it to me a few years ago, and I did not even save the name of the sender. 

So, using my friend's research and my own, I discovered that maybe the symbols were connected to the old Christmas carol ca. 1990.  Apparently nobody knows.  It was pointed out that these symbols did not need to be secret because of persecution.  The Elizabethan protestants shared most of the same symbols.  No secret needed.  Plus the carol may have come from France.  So, everyone, erase that homily and the history I gave you.  I blew that one. 

It struck me in the midst of this, could we be witnessing the creation of a myth?  100 years from now how many people will believe the version that I presented?  Could this be an example of what took place in the bible?  You have certainly heard that biblical scholars have determined that the nativity stories are the result of literary liberties taken by Luke & Matthew, not factual history.  I can give you two simple examples.

First, Bethlehem.  It is thought that Jesus was really born in Nazareth.  But Luke & Matthew, the only writers dealing with the nativity, wanted to connect Jesus with King David.  David was born in Bethlehem.  It is pointed out that it is a long way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, it was winter, and Mary was pregnant.  A woman researcher commented, "Only a man would imagine such a journey possible for a pregnant woman."

Why were people going to Bethlehem?  To be counted in a census of all the descendents of David.  David lived a 1000 years earlier, had many wives and mistresses.  His offspring would have numbered in at least the thousands.  No wonder there was no room.  And imagine how skitzy Herod would be with these thousands of potentially hostile subjects just a few miles from Jerusalem.

Why did the writers use such literary liberties?  They want to show that Jesus was special, he was the figure 1 Isaiah predicted, the God-hero, the wonder worker, the Prince of Peace.  They had heard so much about the adult Jesus that they wanted to make his birth a God-hero event.  So, connect him with the Great King David.

Finally, secondly, there is one small but significant mistranslation.  In Isaiah 7, 14, it is said, "A young woman will have a child."  Matthew, most likely intentionally to craft his point, mistranslates the word young woman as virgin, and says 'a virgin will become pregnant' (1, 23).  And so it has come down. 

There are three ways to respond to these studies.  One is to say, "No problem, God can do all that stuff.  He's all powerful."   The trouble with this is that the evidence is becoming overwhelming.  Like still saying the earth is flat.

Or I can simply toss out the whole and stay home.

A middle ground could be to recognize that literary liberties have been used.  And still celebrate the event.  The event, the Prince of Peace gives me peace and gives me a longing to share the peace. 

I goofed up by not researching the Partridge in a Pear Tree.  Sorry about that.  What we may be seeing here is a myth process similar to the biblical stories.  Myth or fact?  How can I be an educated, intelligent Christian?

What do you think about all this?  What do you feel about it?

Sources: John Shelby Spong; Harvey Cox, Future of Faith; Catholic Encyclopedia on line; Snopes

Picture 1:  Epiphany Celebration begins

Picture 2:  Mass with Kevin helping

Picture 3:  35th Anniversary, Carol & Richard 

Picture 4:  Chloe dances (see video)

Readings:

Isaiah  22, 19-23,  I will pull you down from your station.

 Psalm 138,   Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands. 

Romans, 11, 33-36,  For from him and through him and for him are all things.

Matthew 16, 13-20,  You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.

Victoria says, "Hi, Folks, Welcome."

Matthew observations–

First biblical scholars agree that Jesus did not say what is in this little story.  Rather, the Matthean community shaped a highly stylized scene that attempted to establish Peter's position as leader of the new community.  The writer, because he wants to authenticate Peter, creates a scenario where Jesus makes Peter The Man.

The girl with the pink blouse and pink ribbon,  Zoe,  also says, "Hi, Everybody, Come in."

Isaiah observations—

1.  Notice the chapter, number, 22.  Students of Isaiah, my favorite, will immediately know this is Isaiah 1.  Chapter 1-39 make up Isaiah 1.  Isaiah 2 and 3 follow.
2.  Since it is Isaiah 1, students will know that the composer lived before the Babylonian Captivity, which took place around 555 before Christ.  Isaiah 2 is composed during the Captivity.  Isaiah 3, whom we had last week, works after the Captivity.
3.  Knowing that things were not good before the Captivity, you can guess that Isaiah 1 is critical of Israeli life.  You would be correct.
4.  Our selection today is both critical, “I will pull you down.”  But it is also talking about a better day.  

Mary Ellen, too, says, "Come in and save me; he's going to talk about me."

Mary Ellen Day at San Vino

I want to talk about you today, Mary Ellen.  I hope you don’t mind.  I did not ask your permission, because I figured a “No” would be what I would got.   

I am doubly bummed because before I took off for the HHH, I had put together a few ideas tying you together with the line from today’s psalm; Do not forsake the work of your hands.  I wanted to show how you have fully lived out the work of his hands, that is, life, and how you have lived!

Kevin, The Best, ready to go.

Then, at about 5:00 this morning I read this article by Scott Burns, in The Dallas Morning News, Happy Money. It is about spending money healthily and happily.  I think, ‘That is Mary Ellen."  Burns’ ideas are

1. Make it a treat.
2. Buy experiences.
3. Buy time.
4. Invest in others
5. Pay now, consume later.

Mary Ellen has done this all the decades I have known her.  And this is the same as living the work of his hands.

For example, make it a treat.  I know Mary Ellen has two favorites, ice cream and wine.  What can you expect?  She is, after all, Italian.  Scott Burns’ treat was Starbucks.

Is that Mary making off with the wine cups?

Regarding investing in others, I know that for some time Mary Ellen tutored kids at Hillcrest High School in English.  She also volunteers as an usher at various venues, like the Winspear.

I do not know how she has paid now and consumed later, but I do know how she has bought experiences and time.  Two examples that involve her traveling to other countries with Rosemary and me.

I think it was 2007 when Rosemary & I planned a trip back to the scene of my work as a Jesuit, Tanzania.  This was going to be a tenting trip and we were going to be traveling in an open topped Land Rover over very rough roads.  I had a guy who ran safaris into the national parks, like Serengeti.

And Judy, too!

We invited Mary Ellen and she was ready, as always.  Everything went super except one time when we were traveling through some wild terrain that had bushes, scrub trees, and tsetse flies.  These flies can travel fast for short distances.  They could catch us standing in the back of the Land Rover looking around.  And they bite.  Fortunately, we got away fairly quickly and there was no damage. 

Another of the many times Mary Ellen bought into an experience with Rosemary and me was a trip to Italy.  We had a crowd, about 8 people.  We had to rent a van.

Mary Ellen with friends?

Mary Ellen not only went with us, she went over a few days early and went to Trieste, Italy.  Why Trieste?  To scatter some of her husband, Chris’s, ashes at the site where he was born.

Chris was a career Marine and Mary Ellen and he had met in Argentina, where Mary Ellen had gone to work for the State Department for a few years.  This is another one of her experiences.  

Chris had been born into a career military family, which was why he had been born in Trieste.  His family was posted there. 

Scott Burns could use you, Mary Ellen, as a beautiful example of just what he is writing about.  I thank you for all the times you have included me and Rosemary in your experiences and time.  I wish you a bon voyage and a continued rich life in Connecticut.

Cupcakes of The Week, Zara & Craig, Kara, and 1/2 of Marsha.