Sunday Homily for December 29, 2019, Holy Family

Readings: Isaiah 49, 3-6; Psalm 40, Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will; 1 Corinthians 1, 1-3; John 1, 29-34 (apologies for the wrong reading the past 2 blogs)

Isaiah reminders—

 Author: This is Isaiah #2, the composer of chapters 40-55.

 Date:  Ca. 575 before Christ.  The Jewish people of Jerusalem are in the Babylonian Captivity.

 Today’s Message: Hope and promise of a better time with emphasis on 1. being a Servant of the Lord, and 2. being a Light to the Nations.

 
 

A Servant of the Lord, a Light to the Nations.  Me?

 One day about a week ago Rosemary & I took a taxi to the bus station in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  Taxis cost about $2.00 normally, so many folks use the little white Nissan sedans roaming the city streets.

 As I always do with anyone I can question about anything in Spanish, I ask the driver how the new year is going for him.  He says it is going sadly, triste.  So, naturally, I ask him what is causing his new year to go so sadly. 

 

He tells me that 3 months ago his son who lived in Cuernavaca was shot for his pickup truck.  The son, who was in his 20’s, left behind his wife and two young kids, one only 9 months old. 

 I’m reminded of the same situation that happened with an acquaintance of Beth.  Also, some years ago I did a funeral for a recent graduate of A&M who had stopped by a convenience store on his way home from a Mavericks’ game.  He, too, was killed for his Mustang.  I did the boy’s funeral.

 Then, Rosemary & I read the news about Tuscon.

 I’m thinking, “What is going on?”

 

At the same time, Rosemary & I had been reading the selection from Isaiah II about being a light to people.  I am wondering how?  How can I make for a more peaceful environment?  How can I be like, say, Martin Luther King, whose holiday we celebrate tomorrow?  I am feeling overwhelmed. 

 We’ve come up with the following idea.  Any who has better ideas, please let us know.  I cannot expect to make a difference for greater peace in Tuscon or Cuernavaca.  I can expect to shine some light on my environment, Dallas, Plano, even our neighborhood. 

 And then I was struck by the insight that we as a community are a light to the nations.  The community supports CCAC which helps people who can’t get medical help anywhere.  You people help LifeNet, which provides housing for homeless.  The community supports our own members who cannot make it right now.  The community even supports a mother & daughter who had polio in Cuernavaca. 

 

This is only a short list.  Habitat, serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless.  There are others.  You people are bringing peace & light to a lot of people

 In a sad way the taxi driver in Cuernavaca was a light to me just by his sharing.  He certainly has me thinking. 

Who has been a light to you?

For whom are you a light? 

 

Picture 1:   Rosemary's Blessing 

Picture 2:   Christine & her mom, Diane  

Picture 3:   Zoe in her dad's arms and mom, Michelle  

Picture 4:   Georgie & Kate selling Girl Scout cookies

Picture 5:   Buddy & Torri

 

 

 

 Readings:  

 Proverbs, 9, 1-6, Wisdom had built her house

 Psalm 34, Taste & See the Goodnesss of the Lord (2^nd week)

 Ephesians, Giving thanks always and for everything

 John, 6, 51-58,  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Proverbs:

What are they: a collection of moral & religious teachings in the form of pithy sayings.  For example: "Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than to have a banquet in a house full of trouble" (17, 1); "Being cheerful always keeps you healthy" (17, 22).

Some a bit tough: "Don't hesitate to discipline a child.  A good beating won't kill him" (23, 12).

Some amusing: "A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip" (27, 15); "Better to live on the roof than to share the house with a nagging wife" (25, 24). 

Author: Maybe Solomon is behind chapters 1-29.  Most likely a compilation.

Date: Ca. 300 BCE is considered a possibility with material coming from as far back as 900, during the time of Solomon.

Our Selection: Wisdom is personified and she is preparing a feast or banquet to which the simple people are invited.

Sources: Religious Information Service & Wikipedia

 

One year ago married, Katie Urbanczyk & Sean Baker

Taste & See the Goodness of the Lord, part 2

Our story this morning takes place some days ago at White Rock Lake.  It is early morning, sunrise.  Rosemary & I have been riding our bikes down the White Rock Creek Trail from Royal Lane. 

We cross Northwest Hwy. and begin circling the lake in a clockwise direction.  I get ahead of her & we plan on meeting at the far end of the lake, the south end, at a boat house for skinny boats used by college and high school crews. 

Somewhere along the path, Rosemary passes an elderly guy.  99% of the time both of us yell, “Passing on your left,” as we approach people.  This particular time Rosemary does not say anything.  Mistake.

The guy yells at her, “Why don’t you warn people when you are going by?” 

Rosemary responds, “Because you got those big ear phones on.”

To which he yells, “I can still hear.”

Sounded to me like a little road rage on the bike path.

I confess that I have been in that guy’s place.  I am usually passing people & saying, “On your left.”  I am so fast!

Occasionally some young guy in his designer, color coordinated outfit will zoom by me without a word.  This sometimes startles me despite my little rear view mirror on my helmet.  And I get annoyed.   So I say something like that man, or “Speak up.”

But every time I said something, I felt yucky.  Why?

Because I was no longer tasting the beauty of this jewel of a lake because I was emotionally hooked.

Also because I was no longer seeing the goodness of all the people walking, running, and riding around the lake with me.

Ultimately, I was not peaceful, which is one big reason why I am out there in the first place.

I talked about this with Rosemary and I decided I would not say anything anymore.  Let people be.  Surrender to the reality.  Accept.  And I have.  Mostly. 

The result. 

I consciously taste and see the beauty of the lake each morning we ride.  In fact, so as to counter my obsessive approach to speed and to take time to smell the flowers along the way, Rosemary & I stop at the bridges on both the north & south ends of the lake and just contemplate for 2-3 minutes. 

I also appreciate the people, saying good morning to people I am passing.  Bit by bit, some of the people I see regularly respond, bikers, walkers, and even joggers.   

Finally, I feel peaceful. 

Rosemary saw the same man again and this time warned him.  As she rode by he said, “Thanks for speaking.  You are one of about 5% of the bikers who warn people.”  Does not sound like he is more peaceful.

Do you have any road rage moments on your bike ride through the day that eliminate tasting & seeing the goodness?  What are you doing about it? 

                                                                                   

Readings: Jeremiah 17, 5-8; Psalm 1, Blessed are They who hope in the Lord; 1 Corinthians 15, 12-20; Luke 6, 17-26.

Jeremiah:

Who: one of the Big 3 Prophets with Isaiah & Ezekiel, mostly because of the size of their works (52 chapters in Jeremiah).  Born 2-3 miles north of Jerusalem to a landed family where he had a happy childhood.  Despite this, Jeremiah is called the “Weeping Prophet,” because so much of his work is woeful & sad. 

   

Unlike Isaiah who embraced his call from God, Jeremiah resisted.  He did not want to say what he saw needed to be said.  Namely, the people’s behavior in Jerusalem was bad after ca. 400 years of not being invaded.  Because of his statements he was rejected by the people and the leaders, beaten, put in the stocks, thrown in a well to die, and ultimately put in prison by the Babylonians. 

  

They eventually released him and he went to Egypt and most likely died there.

 

  

Date: 600.  Easy to remember.  Jeremiah lived before & during the Babylonian captivity with Nebuchadnezzar, the leader.  The Captivity took place mostly 600-550 before Christ.

  

Message Today: classic line, “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings.”  Instead you trust in God.

    

Sources: John Shelby Spong, Origins of the Bible, XIV; Wikipedia, Liturgy, St. Louis U.  

 

St. Valentine:

 

Time: ca. 250 C.E.  Actually 3 named Valentinius, 1 bishop, 1 priest, 1 who knows. All martyrs.  Note this is before Constantine officialized Christianity, 313.

 

2 Legends:

 

1.  Rome did not allow soldiers to marry because the authorities thought single soldiers fought better.  Valentinius criticized the policy.  He was put in jail & killed.

 

2.  He or another was killed because of being a Christian.  He or another fell in love with the jailer's daughter & before he died left her a note, "from your Valentine."

 

Note:  Feb. 15 was a pagan feast of fertility and and a celebration of the beginning of spring, Lupercalia.  Pope Galasius in 496 established a St. Valentine day one day earlier, i.e., Feb. 14 (as a way of moving attention away from the pagan feast?).

 

Custom about wedding rings?  Wearing a wedding ring on the 4th finger, left hand, dates back to Ancient Egypt.  It was believed that the vein of love ran from this finger directly to the heart. 

 

Sources: Huffinton Post & KHTS News, Jerome McDaniel, Santa Clarita, LA, CA.

 

St. Valentine Day Massacre:  1929, Lincoln Park section of Chicago.  Al Capone’s Southside Italian Gang vs. Bugsie Moran’s Northside Irish Gang, bootlegging during Prohibition.  Capone’s Italian gang lured 7 of the Irish Gang to a garage on the morning of Valentine’s Day and shot them with 70 rounds from 2 Thompson machine guns.   Source: Wikipedia

 

 

70 Years & Valentine's Day

On this Valentine’s Day I would like to talk about what it is like to be 70.  I am told by my seniors that once you hit these stratospheric age levels you start reflecting upon the past, and especially on what life would have been like if only. 

 

If only I had accepted that invitation to work in Brazil for a couple of years.  If only I had gotten my graduate degree.  If only I had not worked so hard so I could have played with my kids & family.  If I had taken care of my health.  And so on. 

 

 

So I have been reflecting on my past.  You all know me and I am always looking back focusing on the gifts and blessings of my day, my week, my years.  I am basically grateful for lots of elements in my life.  It has been and is an adventure.

 

   

I see one thing I wish I had done differently, but I see a handful of things that I would have been disappointed had I not chosen to do them.  I got four of them and you have probably heard me mention them.

   

I would really be disappointed had I not chosen to join the Jesuits in ’58 and become a priest.  This took place even though my parents were put out with my decision.  I was all booked in to going to Notre Dame.  I also was motivated a lot by fear of going to hell if I rejected God's invitation to be a priest.

 

I would likewise be disappointed if I had not accepted the Jesuit invitation in the 70’s to go work in East Africa.  I was lonely there on occasion, but it was an adventure that I would grieve over if I had missed it. 

  

My marriage with Rosemary is an event I cannot imagine myself doing without.  The transition was rocky when I got suspended by the diocese and kicked out of the Jesuits, but it has given my so much new life.  Moreover, I might have no life if I had not married Rosemary.

   

 

Finally, I do not know what I would have done if I had not responded to the request from you people to continue celebrating our Sunday Masses.  I remember thinking to myself before we finally took the step.  This could get rather confrontational.  And it hasn’t. 

  

The once thing I regret is something I learned while I was recuperating from recycling my left hip.  I was humbled by the care and affirmation of so many people.  I have not cared for and affirmed more positively the people whom I love.  I have not shown it.  On this Valentine’s Day I pledge to you folks that I will show this from now on.

 

And you?  What might you regret when you reach 70?

   

Picture 1:  Mass begins

  

Picture 2:  Our Father

  

Picture 3:  Maggie

   

Picture 4:  Rosemary with Cole (guess who was Jesus in the Nativity Drama)

Readings: Isaiah 11, 1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15, 4-9; Matthew 3, 1-12

Isaiah: Once in a while in the course of our church calendar year we get a special selection.  Isaiah’s vision is one of those specials.  Read it and watch out for heart ache.  I imagine one of our ancestors centuries ago dreaming and coming up with this vision.  Later, another of our ancestors writes it down. 

To emphasize how special it is, Emily will read the vision, after her mom Julie has read the introduction.

What is Your Dream?

In the late 60’s I spent four years in Toronto studying theology before I finally got ordained a priest in ’71.  At the beginning of my second year a new class of about 35 Jesuit priest students came in and one of the new guys got the room next to mine on the third floor.  He was unique: he was blind.

His name was Larry and he was also a cheese head and a Jesuit brother, meaning he was not going to be ordained a priest. Brothers are Jesuits who do all sorts of works, just not saying Mass.

Larry had spent a few years teaching at a Jesuit boarding high school in Prairie du Chien, WS.  During his time there, a number of Jesuits & others had encouraged Larry to looking into moving from being a brother to getting on track to get ordained a priest.  Trouble was, blind people did not get ordained. 

When Larry arrived at our college in the fall of my second year, he had been given permission to try studying theology, the subject necessary for ordination.  Consequently, he was studying on condition.  You do okay, you continue.  You don’t do well, you stay a brother.  Guess what: he did fine and all of us made him a project.  We wanted him to succeed.

After his first year, which was successful, the provincial in WS asked Rome if he could be ordained.  Rome’s response, "No."  After his second equally successful year, they asked Rome.  "No, and don’t ask again.  Blind people don’t get ordained."  After his third year, his provincial asked again.  "Yes," they said.

He was ecstatic.  We were ecstatic. 

The fall of his fourth year, this same second Sunday of Advent in the chapel of our college his class was getting ordained deacons, which is done before getting ordained priest in the spring.  The reading of that Sunday was exactly the same Isaiah reading as this morning, the dream of peace reading.  Larry was chosen to read the Isaiah dream passage–in braille.

That whole chapel was all in tears.  It was one of the special moments of my life.

Larry is still working as a Jesuit priest in Omaha or Milwaukee.  I even used to bring him down to help with retreats I ran at the retreat center I directed in Grand Coteau, LA.  We have not been in touch in probably about ten years.  I have to call him.

My friend Larry had a dream.  Our ancestor Isaiah had a dream. 

I would suggest that to be fully alive we have to have a dream.  Dreams fill me with energy, enthusiasm, and life.  Ideally my dream will also give life to others. Larry’s dream to get ordained gave life to all 100 plus of us Jesuits in that big house.  Isaiah’s dream, while unrealistic, can still energize me into creating peace in some small human way.

What must it be like to not have a dream? 

What is your dream?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-12-09.mp3

Readings: Joshua 5, 9-12; Psalm 34; 2 Corinthians 5, 17-21; Luke 15, 1-32 (The Great Prodigal Son Story) A pre-homily Sunday.

Joshua

The scene: Moses has died just as the Jewish people are getting ready to enter their new land. Joshua takes the leadership. This book describes the defeat of the Canaanite people, and the division of the land.

In our chapter the Israelite people are camped outside Jericho before attacking the town. Yahweh is saying that he has removed the shame of the people for being slaves in Egypt. They are feasting.

2 Corinthians

This section of Corinthians informs the people that in Christ they are new people, a new creation.

The Prodigal Son: A Work of Art

This story is my favorite of the whole Bible. Note one thing: this is story, not history. The author carefully crafts his work of art to show how much God loves us. Let me give you three observations about the son, three about the father, and an extra three to show you how astounding this story is.

First, the younger son:

1. He has no right to ask for inheritance. None. By asking he is saying he wishes the father and the older son dead. A symbolic murder. Father can kill him for this.
2. He works feeding pigs instead of asking for help from the temple. This means he rejects the religious tradition and is considered a traitor not only to the family, but to the religion.
3. So as a horrible failure as a son of the family and a son of the religious tradition, he decides to return. He makes up his little speech and heads home. He is hungry to the point of dying. Do this or die. Many listening Jews would say, Die.

The Father: he actually commits as many crimes and sins as the son:

1. He runs down the road to the son when he sees him coming. A very undignified action. Outrageous.
2. He embraced and kissed the son. Huge violation of Jewish religious custom and law. By doing this the father positions himself outside of the religious & cultural community. He is a reject like the son.
3. He cuts the son’s speech off before he can say finish, eliminating the last sentence, "treat me as you would one of your hired workers." And to make it worse, he orders the servants to bring the finest robe, ring, and sandals.

The robe, the ring, and the sandals:

1. The robe: restores the son’s dignity.
2. The ring: gives authority to the son, even equal to the father and certainly more than before he left.
3. The sandals: gives the son freedom. Slaves were not given sandals so they would not run away. The father is doubling the message he gave when he cut the son’s speech off before he could say the third part about being treated as a servant.

A word about the older son, because we so often identify with him.

1. That he tells his father how he feels. Great. In those days, it meant the father can kill him. Today: communication.
2. What is his challenge: acceptance of his brother, his father, and himself; focus on gratitude for all he has; move from trying to be a good boy to loving? Any one of these? Or all? All.

I apologize for so much data. There is even more. The point is that the story is a carefully crafted work of art attempting to describe how totally loving our God is, toward us.

How does this image of God reflect your image of God?

Download the homily as an mp3 file for your iPod.

Readings: Acts 10, 34-43; Psalm 118; 1 Corinthians 3, 1-4; Luke 24, 13-35

A Resurrection Day

A few weeks ago when Cameron & Reid, Brady & Trey, our quads were still in Presbyterian, Rosemary & I went to visit them and Casey one Thursday morning.  We parked, entered the hospital, and got on the elevator with a medical aide pushing a stretcher on wheels.

As the elevator climbed to the sixth floor, Rosemary asked the guy how he was doing.  "Great," he responded, "I always try to have a great day."  We chatted a bit more and he explained that his old grandfather had told him years ago that he could choose to have a happy or a sad day and that he decided that he would choose happy.  "And it works," he added

We arrived at floor five and he exited, leaving Rosemary and me somewhat touched by two things.  First, he was comfortable enough to share his outlook and history with us on an elevator ride from floor one to five.  Secondly, he certainly presented a buoyant presence and it seemed to come from an inner choice. 

Because of my psychological training and experience I immediately find two disharmonies surfacing.  First, not everyone can just decide to be happy and get there.  Chronic or situational depression effects the ability to choose.  When we put Naomi to sleep, I could not just choose to be happy.

Secondly, we might find the "just choose happiness" phenomenon a bit Polly Anna.  In other words, superficial.  No matter what, I maintain a superficial happiness, skimming over tragedies as if they are just steps on the road to heaven.  These are the people who tell you when you have suffered a painful or tragic death that you will get over it with time or it is all God’s plan or will.  In other words, just be happy.

Despite these side thoughts, all of us here today have reasons for happiness.  We have life, at least.  The man we met on the elevator was for Rosemary and me a genuinely happy man and what he did touched us like a resurrection to new life.  What sunshine is to flowers, a smile & encouraging word are to the human spirit.

On this feast of the resurrection to new life, what about your life are you most happy?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-03-23.mp3

CHILDREN’S CHOIR: JESUS LOVES ME: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-03-23%20Jesus%20Loves%20Me.mp3