Sunday Homily, October 13, 2019, 28th Ordinary Time

 Readings: Deuteronomy 8, 2-16; Psalm 147, Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; 1 Corinthians 10, 16-17; John 6, 51-58

 

 Intro to Readings 

Our first reading today is from the Book of Deuteronomy, last week it was from the Book of Exodus.  These books are part of what is known as the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.  They are also referred to as the Torah, or the Five Books of Moses.  They are considered the most important books in Jewish tradition and are the most quoted in the New Testament.  The first four books describe the creation of the world right down to the time when the Israelites are paused at the Jordan River, before they cross over into the Promised Land.  Deuteronomy, the last of these books, is best described as three big sermons of Moses. Our reading today is from the second sermon and in it we have Moses reminding the people of all the great things that Yahweh did for them, by saving them from the Pharaoh, and leading them thru the desert, even though that last piece took 40 years!  They could have used a GPS!  The reading today has two short pieces to it and will sound repetitious.  The reason is that the book was compiled over hundreds of years and from many sources and in those days, consistency was not as important as making sure that tradition was included! 

 

Body and Blood of Christ – Homily

 Today our focus is really on what happened on Holy Thursday, at the Last Supper.  The church has chosen to have us focus on that event today, now that we are past all of the events of Easter.  What did happen at that Last Supper?  It was “the event” which seems somehow to have defined the early community after the death of Jesus.  For some reason, that meal, and really many of the meals with Jesus, took on significance beyond the normal meaning.  For people in that part of the world then, a meal was an expression of hospitality.  And we ourselves know that sometimes meals can take on a special significance, whether it is due to the circumstances of the meal, or who we're dining with. 

 
 

For the early community the events of that Last Supper took on huge significance.  We first hear about it in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, where we find the very familiar phrases, which we still hear today in our Eucharist.  “While they were at supper he took bread and broke it, gave it to them and said, take and eat, this is my body”.  That bread and that wine is what united and defined the early church, and it is still today how we are defined.  Nowhere is the cross the focus of the early community, it is the meal.

We know that food is nourishment for our bodies.  The food we eat, gives us energy to go out and do things.  In taking the bread and wine and giving it to us at the Last Supper, he changed the whole value of the food.  The community was to continue His presence in the world by seeing this bread and wine as Jesus.  And by eating and drinking this bread and wine, as Paul puts it, Jesus was in Paul and living thru Paul.  Like wise, by the action we go thru here each Sunday we are inviting Jesus into our lives and then going out and spreading the Good News.  The effects of Jesus in us, “it is no longer I but Christ who lives in me”, says Paul to the Corinthians.

 

 If we reflect that for the Jews, the first covenant with Yahweh was sealed with the Ten Commandments.  This new covenant was sealed by Christ’s death and resurrection, but symbolized in the meal.  By eating the bread and drinking the wine, Jesus enters into our lives.  The question now is “what effect that has on our lives”?  For the early Christians it caused others to say of them, “see how they love”.  There are consequences to what we do here; we need to see our participation in this meal, as in some way remaining with us as we go about our lives for the week ahead.  We say that the bread and wine are changed, what we can also say is that, by our participation, we too are changed. 

 

 But the effects of eating the bread and drinking the wine involve our active participation, Jesus is not going to take over our lives, we need to welcome Him into our lives.  This is not an invasion but an extension of hospitality.  As we share the bread and wine today, let us make sure that we are open to welcoming and living our lives as a people of God, allowing God to be present in His kingdom here on earth.

Picture 1:   Tony beginning Mass

Picture 2:   Offertory, Erin & Chuck

Pciture 3:   Cole, the son of Erin & Chuck, with his grandmom, Diane

Picture 4:   Shonda slipping away from weekend duty with Kent Messer and Jon Waldron

Picture 5:   Anniversaries Brunch

Readings: Acts 10, 34-43; Psalm 118, This is the Day the Lord has Made, Lus Us Rejoice and be Glad; 1 Corinthians 5, 6-8; John 20, 1-9 

 

The Readings:

 

It is almost impossible for us today to understand how significant the story told in Chapter 10 of Acts was for the Jewish people at the time Luke wrote it.  Our first reading is part of that narrative.  The two main characters are Peter, who is in Caesarea, and Cornelius a Roman Centurion, in Jaffa, about 30 miles south on the Mediterranean coast. The scene is the home of Cornelius a centurion.

 

 

 Remember up to this point the Jews had felt like they had a monopoly on God.  In this chapter 10 Luke uses two separate incidents taking place in different locations to set the stage for our reading.  We meet Cornelius having a vision of an angel who tells him to send for Peter.  Meantime Peter is sitting hungry on the roof in Caesarea and has a vision of all different kinds of animals and being told by God to eat. 

 

 

There is the usual discussion about unclean and Peter is made to see that God only makes clean!  The folks from Jaffa arrive and summon Peter to go see Cornelius.  Peter heads off to Jaffa, worried about his dream and then when he hears about Cornelius’ dream he sees the connection and proceeds to baptize Cornelius and his household.  Our first reading today is what can best be described as a quick lesson from Peter about Jesus. 

 

   

Our second reading is from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.  I am going to take a certain amount of license in focusing only on the word yeast in the reading, as the full topic of this section of the Letter does not need to be brought up here.  Read it for yourselves!  Yeast is used in beer making and bread making and basically it converts sugars into bubbles.  So we are to be bubbles in society! Gas pockets!  But seriously, when I think about yeast, I think about the huge effect just a little has on the dough.  And for us in society as Christians, I believe that we too can have a huge effect on society.

 

Easter Homily:

 

 

I remember one Easter when I was studying in seminary.  We normally had to stay in the seminary until Easter Sunday morning before we could go home for Easter holidays.  This one year I skipped out and caught the boat from Dublin to England arriving at about 6AM.  I found a church and went to early morning Mass on Easter Sunday and then took the tube out to my cousin Eileen’s flat in Kensington.  She was married to Bill who was protestant,  Church of England.  Bill was going to church that morning and invited me to my first protestant Easter Service. 

 

 

  

I can remember being amazed by the fact that most of the service was all about Easter eggs.  The whole sanctuary of the church was full of them.  I had never associated the Resurrection with eggs before then.  Yes, we always got chocolate Easter eggs, but I put them in the same category as toys at Christmas, nothing to do with the Birth of Jesus, just a very happy coincidence! 

 

 

 

Right now in our front garden at home there is a dove, patiently sitting on some eggs in a nest in one of the trees.  Our next-door neighbor has a duck doing the same thing in their front garden in some bushes.  The Church, by some happy coincidence chose spring as the time of year to celebrate the Resurrection and I think this gives us our first clue in how we should view the Resurrection.  We can’t understand it, it is a mystery, but analogies can help us part of the way.  The Resurrection requires an act of Faith, end of story.  Don’t try to understand it.  It is outside our human capability.

 

 

And it was outside the expectations of the apostles and also of Mary of Magdala in our Gospel reading today.  She was heading to the tomb to properly bury Jesus.  As you will recall, when Jesus was arrested it was abandon ship, everyone fled, Peter didn’t hesitate to deny that he even knew Jesus.  We know that the apostles went back to their old trades, Peter, James and John to being fishermen. 

 

 

The event we are celebrating today was not what any of the people who had walked with Jesus before his death had expected.  And it is not an easy event to describe and understand.  So the accounts in the New Testament are all over the map on what exactly happened, but one thing was certain in the minds of the early church; God had raised Jesus from the grave and that made all the difference in their lives. 

If we look back at the different gospels readings we have listened to during this lent we will recall the Temptation of Jesus, were Jesus is tempted and so can understand when we are tempted. 

 

  

 

The story of the Transfiguration, when Peter attempted to capture the impossible moment by putting up tents, again a perfectly human reaction to being faced with the Divine, the second chance being given to the useless fig tree and then the two very powerful stories of forgiveness with the Prodigal Son and the Woman caught in adultery. 

 

 

 

The strong message of forgiveness from these stories has to give us hope and encouragement.   We can always start anew with God his love is constant.  And the message of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is that an indication of how unreserved that love is.  Armed with the knowledge of God’s love and forgiveness, we can be like yeast to the lives of those we meet in the world.  Lets not worry about how big a difference we will make, let’s just be sure we make a difference. 

The message, the victory of Easter, is that mankind’s biggest fear, death is finally laid to rest. 

 

 
 

 

We have a God who not only loves us unconditionally, but who wants us to be in His presence forever.  Not something which we can prove or even understand, except thru faith.  The presence of the Holy Spirit helped the early Christians believe, and that same Spirit can help us today too.  We too have a new life.  Happy Easter. 

 

 

Picture 1:  Mass beginning

 

Picture 2:  Want to know what happens to priests who marry?  They become grand dads.  Fr. Tony with Emma.

 

Picture 3:  And with mom, Julie

 

Picture 4:  Quads with mom & dad

 

Picture 5:  Quads  with grandmother & aunt

 

Picture 6:   Holy Thursday, Washing of Hands, at the Robinsons

 

Picture 7:  Good Friday Stations at the Robinsons

 

Readings:

Isaiah 49, 1-2, 14-15,   Even should your mother forget you, I will never forget you.

Psalm 62,  Rest in God alone, my soul.

1 Corinthians 4,  1-5,  Do not make any judgment.

Matthew  6, 24-34,  Why are you anxious?

 

 

 

Isaiah observations and reminders—

Who, This is 2^nd Isaiah.

When, This is during the Captivity in Babylon, ca. 555 before Christ. 

Subject, The writer, the prophet, is trying to lift the spirits of his fellow slaves.  He gives them exquisite news, using God’s words, “I will never forget you.”  A short but touching cameo of consolation and hope. 

 

 

Matthew observations–

Who,  unknown really.  A bishop about 100 years later indicated that the apostle Matthew was the author, though no reference is made in the gospel.

When, around 80-90, meaning around 50 years after Christ's death.

Subject, I can hear you laughing when we read this.  The message is, 'Why worry?'  Good enough.  However, the message has an unreality about it.  Like it says to imitate the birds.  They don't worry, they don't stockpile, but God feeds them.   Imitate the birds.  

 

 

 

I will never forget you

I have another story for you this morning.  Ever hear of a guy named Kenny Thompson?  I saw an article on him recently. 

Thompson is an elementary school teacher and tutor in Houston.  One day he picks up news about some elementary kids in Salt Lake City.  Seems like 40 kids who were on subsidized lunches were dumped because their parents did not pay enough, even though it was only about a dollar a day. 

So the kids, instead of getting the standard lunch, usually hot, they got a plain cheese sandwich. 

 

 

Kenny Thompson wonders if kids in his school have the same problem.  Turns out they do, about 60 of them. 

So he pays out about $500 so every one of the 60 kids is covered.  He says the kids are there to learn how to spell, not worry about where they will get something to eat.   Plus, they cannot learn anything if they are hungry.

He also discovers that some of the 60 kids even skip the cheese sandwich because they are too embarrassed to be singled out.   Moreover, this meal was for some kids their only good meal of the day.

 

 

 

What Thompson does gets picked up by a local TV morning news.  Immediately, the phone is swamped with callers wanting to help the kids who cannot afford the subsidized lunch. 

Thompson finally establishes an online funding source, Feed the Future.

I thought of Kenny Thompson when I read 2^nd Isaiah’s little message, “Can a mother forget her child?  Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

 

 

 

I would propose that we have here another one of those infinite demands.  I know, it is truly infinite acceptance.  However, how hard it is to accept.  Really, you will never forget me?   Come on.

Lent begins Wednesday.  I confess it is the Church season I am the least delighted by.  Bad memories and experiences.  What if the goal this Lent was to simply have a “No Fear” Lent, using Isaiah’s line that our God will never forget me?

 

 

Matthew seconds this idea.  His comparisons may strike us as a bit naïve.  We are not birds of the air or flowers of the fields.  We do need to concern ourselves about what we will eat and drink. 

But the basic message affirms that infinite demand which is to accept our acceptance, no ultimate fear.  This to me is the basic, fundamental belief of Christianity.  It has been polluted over the centuries with fear & punishment messages. 

I imagine Kenny Thompson took away some of the fear these kids had in their hearts.  Maybe they will someday have a no fear life.

Wow, can you really do it?   Have a no fear Lent? 

 

 

 

We are sorry that the Blog has not been published these past 2 weeks.  We had a tornado and lost our internet connection among other things (we still don't have internet).  I am down at a neighbor's house who has internet.  Thanks Jane for letting us use your internet.

 

Homily:

 

All Saints, 2019-11-02

I want to talk about saints I’ve known, not from years ago, not from this year, but from last October 21, The Morning After.  For me a saint is anybody trying to dance a good dance.

First, a couple of young dads with their young sons.  Yes, I’ve already mentioned them last Sunday.

These guys just walked up and started moving tree branches from around the house to the curbs.  The house was battered and our trophy trees were stripped of their branches.  These guys worked all day.  These dads & their sons are saints for me.

Next, the St. Marks boys.  They started roaming the Preston Hollow neighborhood with water.  As the week progressed they began distributing food.  You realize that I say this as a former Jesuit student & teacher.  St. Marks was always our opponent in sports & debating, everything.

Some of the food the boys were distributing came from a corporate saint.  Central Market, which is just around the corner from us, a ten minute walk.  The store was devastated.  So what did they do?  They set up a large white canopy tent in the parking lot and they distributed breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four days, free! 

On Saturday Rosemary got 6-8 lunches which she shared with the truck drivers and chain saw workers who were cleaning up our debris.  And let me confirm, the meals were not just cold cuts and energy bars.

Then, of course, I saw 8-10 saints from our community, Tom Goode, Tom Froelich, Grace & Doug with his chain saw, John & Connie, Loretta who fed us enchiladas, Andy & Mike (Mike Moran??!!,  a saint?  Maybe I need to clean my lens a bit.)

Finally, another group of saints, the Dallas police, in particular the guys who spent their nights in the cars all lit up with red & white lights.  They were all night and day right at our corner of Royal & Camellia.  The guys’ flashing lights were a comfort, knowing we were safe.  I offered them coffee, but they always declined.

These are some of the saints I have been privileged to meet just these past 2 weeks.

Your saints?

 

 

Readings: Revelation 7, 2-14; Psalm 24, Lord, this is The People that longs to see Your Face; 1 John 3, 1-3; Matthew 5, 1-12

All Saints: intro & a brief history

  

Intro: 3 feasts—

      

All Saints: (or All Hallowes) those who have achieved the beatific vision according to Catholic Church, based on miracles.

   All Souls: those who have not achieved the beatific vision and are considered paying for their sins in purgatory.

   Hallowe’en: the vigil of All Hallowes, a Celtic-Irish harvest, end of summer celebration. 

 

 

  

History in 2 parts: the Western Catholic Church & the Eastern Catholic Church

    

The West: 4 significant dates, 300, 600, 700, & 800

   

Year 300: during this century the early Christians, reeling from persecution, celebrated feast of All Martyrs.  This is really the foundation of the feast.

 

Year 600: a Pope Boniface dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to Mary & All Martyrs.  May 13 was the celebration because it was also an ancient pagan day of celebration.

 

Year 700:  a Pope Gregory set up in St. Peter’s Basilica a side chapel dedicated to All Saints.

  

Year 800: Dec. 25, Charlemagne is crowned Emperor by Pope on the red stone in St. Peter’s.  Charlemagne, an advocate of All Saints, established it on Nov. 1, coupling it with a Harvest Feast.

 

 

The East:

  

Year 900, the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Wise had a beloved, devout wife, Theophano.  She died & Leo built a church which he intended to dedicate to her.  The religious authorities said no, so he dedicated it to All Saints, assuming his wife to be among the saints.

   

Note:  later, three big events happen:

  a.  Crusade #4, on its way to fight the Muslims in the Holy Land, captures and wrecks Constantinople, ca. 1200.  J.P. II apologizes for this in 2004. 

  b.  Ottoman Turks or Muslims capture Constantinople, 1450 and rename it Istanbul.  It is Muslim to today.

  c.  Post 1540, Rome condemns Easter Catholic church as schismatic over theological disputes, i.e., the nature of Jesus.

 

Sources: Wikipedia, Practicing Catholic by James Carroll, Catholic Encyclopedia on line.

 

Special Poems for All Saints:

SMILE BECAUSE THEY LIVED (Jackie McGrath)

You can shed tears because he is gone

Or you can smile because he lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,

Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.

Your heart can be empty, because you can’t see him

Or you can be full of the love that you have shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow

And live in yesterday,

Or you can be happy for tomorrow

Because of yesterday.

You can remember only that he has gone

Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.

You can weep, and close your mind,

Be empty and turn back,

Or you can do what he would want –

Open your eyes, smile, love and go on.

DEATH IS NOTHING AT ALL (Geri to read)

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other
That we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes
We enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me,
Let my name be ever the household word that
It always was.

Let it be spoken without effort,
Without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because I am
Out of sight? I am but waiting for you
For an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner .
All is well.

Today's Saint

Know any saints around here?  I told the story of Mother Teresa recently and propose that she is a saint.  Trouble is, I look at her and think her example is quite a bit out of my reach.  I have a story that may be more in reach.

This guy is 44 years old.  His name is Adam.  A year ago he was 70 pounds overweight.  He took medication for blood pressure, he took cholesterol meds, he even had to use a breathing machine to sleep sometimes.  He had tried to lose the weight a million times, he says, but never really put his whole spirit into the project. 

This is one aspect of being poor in spirit.  This is what it means to take up thy cross and follow The Man. 

His dad who died some years ago of heart disease had told him that if you believe in your project you can sell anything.  The guy says he did not believe in his product any more, the product being himself.  Even though he had a marvelous wife, Trayce, and two young kids, he could not move.

Then one day Adam had one of those moments.  He is a doctor and caught himself telling one of his patients that they should more carefully monitor their weight.  The patient responded, "You know, doctor, I'm not the only one who needs to lose weight."  In one way a body slam, in another a wake up call.  A beatific vision?

For Adam it was a wake up.  He realized suddenly that he had to turn his life around for his patients, for Trayce, for their kids, and for The Product, himself. 

He joined Weight Watchers.  He started walking 30 minutes a day.  Ounce by ounce the 70 pounds began to come off.  He joined a running class and found an Adam he had never known.  He even began to rise at 4:00 A.M. to join an early morning running group.

One evening while he was on line he came across information about The Marathon.  The one going on right this minute.  It said that if you collected money for a charity you could register for the marathon, 26 miles.  At that moment he decided he could collect the money and that he would run the marathon.  He was so pumped he ran in to tell Trayce. 

At this moment, this man, Dr. Adam Kaplan, has lost his 70 pounds, has renewed belief in The Product, and is with our own beloved Tom Fleming.  They are running the New York Marathon, all 26 miles. 

I found this Adam Kaplan story in The Dallas Morning News, Tuesday. 

Why is Dr. Kaplan for me a member of the All Saints Team?  And all of you?  Take a guess, take two guesses.

Source: The Dallas Morning News, Tuesday, Oct. 27, p. 12E, Healthy Living section

Picture 1:  All Saints Celebration with Wendy & Ben

Picture 2:  Chloe dancing to the music

Picture 3:  Birthday Man, Rob

Picture 4:  Our Father

Picture 5:  Birthday Man, John hugged by Sabrina, his daughter

Picture 6:  The Community

 

Acts 14:  And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Revelation 21:  I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.  He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.

John 13:  I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.   This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

Connie reading from the Acts of the Apostles

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben & Shonda

Outreach: $      

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

…and life is still a constant surprise to me. 

We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose. 

Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always drama, if not tragedy. 

But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed. 

And we must have faith in God, and in the Universe, and in a better tomorrow even if that faith is not always deserved.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan