Sunday Homily, July 28, 2019, 17th Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 66, 18-21; Psalm 117; Hebrews 12, 5-13; Luke 13, 22-30

Isaiah: this book is written by probably three authors ca. 800 years before Christ and later.  The book covers the time before, during, and after the Babylonian captivity.  Our selection today comes from the part of the book written before the captivity.

The Good News Dream

I just returned last night from doing a wedding Friday afternoon for a couple who had a special dream. The boy is from Dallas and I have known him since he was little. The girl is from Scotland.Their dream was to marry at St. Columba’s monastery on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. 

  St. Columba came over from Ireland about 560 and established the monastery which was a center of learning and religious enthusiasm all during the Dark Ages, when the learning and culture established by Rome came crashing down. In 810 Vikings raided the monastery and killed about 70 monks.The monastery finally came to an end during the Protestant Reformation and the time of Oliver Cromwell ca. 1650. Since the 1940’s it has been revived and is an ecumenical community today. It has been and is today a sort of mini-shrine. 

To realize their dream the couple knew it would cause difficulty to their families & friends. It is not easy to get there. I was blessed to have Katie Gray carry me all around. She is Bob & Jackie McGrath’s daughter and is living in Edinburg with her Scottish husband, Derrick. Even with Katie’s help, it took us a day to drive from Edinburg in the east all the way across the country to the west coast, where we put the car on a ferry to the island of Mull. On Mull we traveled another 40 miles on a, I kid you not, one lane road to another people only ferry to the little 3 mile by 1 & 1/2 mile island of Iona. Iona, folks, is not the Ritz Carlton. It is very simple with two small hotels & a number of bed & breakfast farm houses.The island is small and the little community is tiny. But hosptable.   

We celebrated the wedding out of doors in the middle of what used to be the Nunnery, an old Augustinian convent from the 13th century that has not been revived. After Thursday & Friday morning having drizzle and clouds down to the ocean, we had a window of 40 minutes when it brightened up.

In the center of the monastery is an elevated square piece of land that is grass covered with flowering bushes on all four sides. We used the corner of the square for the wedding. John, the groom, and all the men wore kilts.They looked terrific. I wore the white alb & a stole. A ferry load of tourists arrived during the ceremony and they went ape over the event. We should have charged a pound a person for pictures. They took tons.

The psalm today talks about taking the Good News to all the world. On that little island of Iona John & Zarah realized a dream and shared the Good News of their love with the whole world.

What is your Good News Dream?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-08-26.mp3

Readings: Genesis 18, 1-10; Psalm 15; Colossians 1, 24-28; Luke 10, 38-42

Genesis: the word means "origin," and that is what the book details.  Our selection today comes after the creation, Cain & Abel, Noah & the flood, & the tower of Babel.  The big three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. 

In our reading Abraham is now old, as is Sarah, his wife. They have no son. After their hospitality to two strangers, guess what happens?

Activist or Contemplative?

The years I lived in Tanzania I used to travel constantly giving retreats & seminars.  When I finished a stretch, I would return to our little Jesuit house near Kilimanjaro to catch up on perhaps 2 or 3 months of mail, to work up more seminar material, and to relax. 

One morning I was working at some task at my desk next to a front window when I saw the car of one of my best friends coming in the gravel drive.  He was a French Canadian priest who, when he was not working with me on one of our programs, lived in Dar es Salaam, the capital of the country.

As soon as I saw him I remember feeling uncomfortable.  As Rosemary says, I can get anal about projects. I am sure that morning I had my time all mapped out with various projects.  My friend’s arrival meant he had driven up from Dar es Salaam and I was going to have to go be hospitable for a while. Maybe he wanted to spend the night.  We did not have phone service, so you could not communicate.  You just showed up and the African custom was hospitality above all, day or night.

Somehow I must have managed, and I can’t even remember how long he stayed. 

All the people in the world are divided into one of two categories: activist or contemplative.  Today we call it Type A or Type B.  We are born into our group, like being right or left handed.  Both groups have their positive characteristics and their negatives. 

Type A, for example, is efficient, economic with time, likes to start on time and finish on time. As you know, I am Type A.  When I notice we are running over an hour with our Mass, I get antsy.  Type A people get energy from projects and love to tackle problems and challenges.  The energy enables these people to work long hours, even without breaks. Work schedules are established and followed. When you were in school, did you turn in term papers early or start work the night before they were due? Type A’s turn in early.

The down side is summed up in the slogan, "Projects over People."  Whatever I was doing that morning was more important than greeting my good friend.  It is hard for me to stop and chat with a neighbor when I am mowing the grass.

The contemplative, on the other hand, is laid back.  Projects can be postponed for suitable reasons without stress. Starting & ending on time is easy, no stomach knot if late. A day off can begin without any schedule other than waiting to see. Type B’s can focus on whomever they are with in a very complimentary way. Being over doing. 

The weak side of the Type B, of course, is accomplishment.  That term paper may not get in on time because it was begun just last night. Meetings can start late and go on without limit. 

We have cultures that lean one way or the other.  Tanzania was more contemplative.  People were patient.  Hospitality, a prize. 

What about U.S. culture?  Obviously Type A. This, of course, makes it more difficult for a contemplative to live happily in the U.S.  Want to be a young lawyer, a CPA, go to SMU’s MBA program?  Total Type A life style. 

So which types do you think Martha & Mary were?  And the writer, what type was he? Of course, one type can drive the other type crazy. My sympathy goes out to Martha because I’ve been in her shoes.  The writer obviously thinks the contemplative Mary is better. But really? I admire Martha for voicing her complaint, even though she gets shot down.

Actually, self redemption and maturity involves me as a Type A moving more into the contemplative side of the continuum. And vice-versa. The unredeemed Type A turns into a driven obsessive.  The unredeemed contemplative spends life doing nothing.

One of the things I have learned to do is take time off during which I do nothing.  Funny thing, even during this time, I will find myself setting a goal to read, say, fifty pages of a book today. I have to say to myself, "No, Stack, stop that." I can pull this off in Mexico or Italy or at Clare & Joe’s in Hilton Head.

It would be fun to bring in someday the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator and offer it to the whole community, then explain it for a few Sundays.  I taught this in Tanzania. You might find out more about yourself, and see how your type is good, whatever it is, Martha or Mary.

What type do you think you are? How do you know?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-07-22.mp3

 

 

Who let that rabbit in here??  Happy Easter, Everybody.  Welcome.

 

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles  10, 34-43.   You know what has happened all over Judea

Psalm 118,  This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad.

1 Corinthians 5, 6-8,   A little yeast leavens all the dough.

 John 20,  1-9,    The Resurrection

 

 

Chloe with Nora and Charlotte and their buddy, all say, "Happy Easter, Folks, welcome in."

 

 Resurrection

I would like to talk about the Resurrection this morning.  I suspect that you, like me, consider this event a one time event from ancient history.

However, on the contrary, I want to suggest that resurrection events are multiple and present tense.  They take place daily or, at least, frequently in our lives.  A resurrection moment is a moment of great positive feeling, great consolation, a Kilimanjaro moment, and a time when I say ‘It is good to be alive.’

 

 

 Joanie  and the kids.

 

Let me give you 4-5 examples. 

First, there is a bike ride the last Saturday every August in and around Wichita Falls, yes, the famous Hotter ‘N Hell.  After you have ridden the 100 miles and just before the finish line in town, you pass over a bridge leading up and then down to the finish.  Many a time when I am on top of that bridge, I am in tears, tears of gratitude and positive feelings.   I can say to myself, ‘It is so good to be alive!’

 

 

 

The Gerwers, Casey & Rob, and the kids.

 

Secondly, another bike ride in July, for a week, 500 miles, crossing Iowa from west to east, from the Missouri to the Mississippi.    When I come down a hill and behold that enormous gorgeous river, I have a Kilimanjaro moment.  Tears again, gratitude, wonder. ‘It is good to be alive.”

 

 

Cody with Ben & Olivia.

 

Thirdly, Labor Day every September we put together a group of 5-12 people and we head out back packing.   I started doing this with the Jesuits back in “89 and we have seen numerous beautiful parks.  For me The Beauty is Yosemite and especially our particular route on the east side, a route I call Matterhorn Canyon.

There are 3 passes of 10 thousand feet.  Kilimanjaro moments each.  Equally positive are 2-3 special campsites.  ‘It is good to be alive in Yosemite.’

 

 

Harper with her daddy, Brian, and her granddaddy, Ted 

 

2 more.  Every Fall and Spring many of us in the community volunteer at the Love for Kids picnic at Circle K ranch in Flower Mound.  2 weeks ago I am standing at the entrance to the pavilion to welcome the kids, who are all handicapped.  They come with their marvelous parents.

At one point my attention was caught by a little blond girl about 2 years old seated in a pram.  She had her left hand over her eyes, her head was down on the little basket, and she was sobbing her eyes out.  She broke my heart.  I think she might have been scared by all the people. 

 

 

Our Great Candle Lighter, Cole, at work.

 

Bill Hammond has a story about a little boy about 3 who had a left prosthetic leg.  I noticed him coming in, for sure.  Bill says that later the boy & his family approached the horses for a sponsored ride.  The family told Bill they did know.  The boy did not even like to pet dogs. 

The little boy, however, was so excited once he got on the horse that the horse walkers toured the boy around not one time, but two. 

 

 

I think we have the Zurchin clan here, Tom  & Charlotte, Chloe & Nora with Denni, and Claire & Andrew.

 

What are your resurrection moments?  When was the last one?

 

Carol with Karen, John, & Richard.

Readings: Ezekiel 33, 7-9; Psalm 95, If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts; Romans 13, 8-10; Matthew 18, 15-20. 

23^rd  Sunday – Intro to Readings , Fr. Tony

 I would like to say a few words, not about the three readings today, but about the part of the Mass they occupy, the Liturgy of the Word.

 As I have mentioned previously, each of the sacraments has a pattern, Scripture Readings followed by an Action.  It is reminiscent of the creation story, God said and something happened.  Let there be light, and there was light!  And so in our Mass, we have a Liturgy of the Word, when we listen to God speaking to us through the Sacred Scriptures and then our response to that word is the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when we offer our gifts of bread and wine in Thanksgiving.

 

Last Sunday we heard a bit about the celebration in Detroit of the 50^th anniversary of Vatican 2.  One of the major changes, which came out of the council, was a reemphasis on the Scriptures.  Recall that prior to this time, Catholics were pretty much discouraged from reading the Bible.  Its purpose in most catholic homes was as a place to record baptisms, first communions etc.  Remember that before Vatican 2 you could miss the entire liturgy of the Word and still be on time for mass!!  Of course they were read in Latin, so it didn’t really matter anyway, you had no idea what was being read unless you had your own missal and were diligently following in it. 

 The reason Vatican 2 was able to move so quickly with the refocus on the Scriptures was because of a new encouragement  on Catholic scripture scholarship, which was started by Leo XIII and continued, by Pope Pius X, XI and the XII when he issued his encyclical in 1943 on Biblical Studies. 

 

 It may be helpful for us to understand how a Jewish person would hear God’s word – not as a message to be analyzed but as listening to God speaking directly to them.  Here is what Isaiah had to say about it

 “Yet just as from the heavens, the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats.  So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.”  (Is 55: 10-11)

So, when we celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, and hear God’s Word proclaimed, we need to remember that it is God speaking directly to us. 

 

 Homily

 Today’s gospel reading from St. Matthew would appear at first glance to be a simple lesson on conflict resolution.  But I think there is much more to this reading.  If we step back a little and take a broader view of the reading in its setting in the gospel we will see that it follows a very short but powerful account of the good shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to go and find the lost sheep.  Then following our reading, which you will hear next Sunday is the story about the importance of forgiveness, not just 7 times as Peter suggests but 70 times 7!!  So I think this little reading today isn’t as simple as it first appears.  Plus I believe that the Church wants us to consider all of our readings today, I see them all connected, for a change!

 

The first reading from Ezekiel puts forth an interesting concept.  If the prophet, or in this case us, have heard God’s Word, and do nothing about it, in other words if we don’t try to reach out with God’s Word, then we are responsible for those around us!!  In other words, we can’t keep it to ourselves!  Paul, in the second reading tells us what that message is: “love one another”.  I feel that the Responsorial Psalm repeats this message with its response “if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”.  It is so easy at times to simply say “forget it” I am done trying, I am done with whatever, they have gone too far.  And yet we must remember, 70 times 7.

 So, this stuff isn’t easy!  But back to today’s gospel, and the closing lines, “where two or three are gathered”.  That’s us!  Our liturgy of the Word has been us, listening to God speaking to us.  We are two or three gathered, listening to God and now we will respond with our gifts of bread and wine.  And I believe that we can also ask for God’s help in living lives of love and forgiveness.  Remember again Matthew’s comment “anything for which you pray shall be granted”!  

 

Picture 1:    Tony beginning

Picture 2:    Kevin with his parents, Connie & John

Picture 3:    Communion helpers, Nancy, Jan, Patricia, & Sandra

Picture 4:    Ryan

Picture 5:    Leo with Alison

 

Readings: Isaiah 35, 4-7; Psalm 146, Praise the Lord, my Soul; James 2, 1-5; Mark 7, 31-37.  Today's celebrant: Tony O'Donovan

Isaiah:   The book of Isaiah is one of those very long 66 chapters and interesting books of the Old Testament.  The book is really two books, written by very different people and at very different times.  Isaiah himself is most likely thought to be the author of the first section, to chapter 39.  It was written at a troubling time for Judah, the southern kingdom. 

 

 

The Assyrians had over-run the northern kingdom of Israel and were making noises about invasion of the southern kingdom of Judah.  The four different kings who ruled at the time of writing the first part of Isaiah had all made deals with the Assyrians in an attempt to placate them into leaving  Jerusalem alone.  The people were living with an interesting kind of philosophy.  God will forgive whatever we do, so lets do whatever!!  The theme of the whole book is one of ‘Judgment and Promise’.  Judgment of the people because they are not following God’s Law, and Promise, such as we hear in today’s reading, of better times.

 

Letter of James.

As I mentioned last week, for five Sundays, starting last week, we are going to be reading the Letter of James as our second reading.  The author, James was probably the head of the church in Jerusalem, and at times is referred to as the brother of Jesus.  He is not one of the twelve apostles James; there were two of them!  The letter is not a typical “letter” in the same sense as Paul’s Letters, in that there is a very brief greeting, not the typical extended greeting, no information about the sender and nothing of the usual formulaic ending of letters of that time.

The letter was probably written before 62CE when James was stoned to death.  It is addressed to the “twelve tribes of the Diaspora”, which refers back to the Diaspora when the tribes were scattered following the Babylonian and Assyrian invasions.  In this case it is addressed to those churches outside of Jerusalem, made up of Jewish converts to Christianity.

The contents are a collection of moral observations and instructions and today’s reading is clearly that. Don’t judge others by what they wear.  James is stressing something which Jesus practiced in his public life, taking special care of the poor, the ignored in society. 

 

The Gospel today focuses on Jesus healing.  Mark’s Gospel is the shortest and earliest written of the four Gospels in the New Testament.  It is only 16 Chapters and has nothing about the birth of Jesus.  Mark begins his gospel with the statement “The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God”.  A very clear purpose statement, and for the rest of the gospel he carefully builds up supporting evidence to back that statement.  The first half of the gospel is primarily a series of parables and miracles, designed to have us asking, “who could this be?”  And exactly half way through the gospel, Jesus turns to Peter and does ask that very question “and who do you say I am?”.  And of course we have Peter’s famous response “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.  The whole tone of the Gospel immediately shifts towards Jerusalem and the passion/death.  Today’s Gospel reading from Mark is from the first half of the gospel; it is a miracle, the healing of a deaf man.  Yet I think that there is more to it.  Remember, when this was written, sickness was closely associated with sin.  It was widely believed that if someone was afflicted in some way, then they or their parents must have sinned.  And in the gospels remember the Jews used to get upset with Jesus healing and forgiving.  I think for many at the time, the two were closely linked.

Of course if we jump to today, we find that the two are still closely associated, “you are as sick as the secrets you keep”.  With the demise of the confessional, the question comes up of how do we get forgiveness. 

A couple of points to keep in mind:  God is always ready to forgive.  Remember the story of the Prodigal Son.  There was the father not just willing to forgive the wayward son, he was actually waiting, looking to see if he would come home again.  Running out to greet the kid.  Something which we can easily overlook, the son’s “sin” was not just that he blew all the money, but remember what he had originally asked for – his share of the estate, something he would normally only get when his father died.  What he is saying is “dad, you are dead”.  This too was what the father was forgiving him.  The point, God is always ready to forgive us, everything.  The question for today, are we able to forgive ourselves. 

Remember, at mass we have several times when we acknowledge our sins, and ask forgiveness.  At the Rite of Penance as we begin mass.  At the “Lamb of God”, and most especially right before communion when say, “Lord I am not worthy to receive you,  but say but the word and I will be healed.” 

 

As we continue with our liturgy, lets pause and reflect:  What have I not asked forgiveness for, and what have I not forgiven myself for?  Life is too short to be carrying around our mistakes from the past. Lets leave them here at the altar for God to take care of.

 

Picture 1:  Tony O'Donovan celebrating our Mass in the patio of Wilson Middle School.  Vines was closed for the weekend while renovations took place.

Picture 2:  Tony & the choir, Wendy, Shonda, Ray, & Celeste

Picture 3:  Tree shaded patio of Wilson Middle School.

Picture 4:  Tony & Kevin

 

 

 

The Marriage Cat awaits Jud & Erica, Saturday evening, Georgetown, TX.

 

 

Readings:  (for Palm Sunday)

Entrance procession: Mark 11, 1-10,  Entry with palms

 Isaiah 50, 4-7, I gave my back to those who beat me.

Psalm 22,  My God, my God, why have you abandoned me.

 Philippians 2, 6-11,  He emptied himself.

Mark  14 & 15, The Passion

 

 

 

 

Jud with his long time admirer.

 

 

We had no homily nor Creed today because of the length of the service.

 

 

 

Erica with her dad, Don.

 

 

 

 

Jud & Erica composed their own vows and shared them with each other, very nice.

 

 

 

Jud & Erica are originally from Dallas.  They met in Seattle, where they both worked, Erica in nursing.  They now live & work in Honolulu.