Jan, The Head of Traffic Control, on the job.
Readings:
1 Kings 19, 16 19-21, You shall anoint Elisha.
Psalm 16, You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Galatians 5, 1, 13-18, For freedom Christ set us free.
Luke 9, 51-62, No one who sets his hand to the plow…
I say, Pere, remember that pretty red Studebaker….
Readings: (special for Fred)
Isaiah 43, 1-5, Do not be afraid, you are mine
Psalm 32, I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
1 Corinthians 13, 1-3, If I have no love, I am nothing.
John 15, 10-11, As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live in my love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and you joy may be complete.
Today's readings, observation:
I have chosen all of these readings with the spirit of Fred Macchio and the family in mind.
Fred Macchio
I would like to talk about our dear old friend, Fred. I have two small vignettes and, then, I would like to tell my most favorite Fred story, the pickup story.
First, we have a group of guys who meet every Friday at 1:00 at Jason’s Deli at Collin Creek. The group was christened “Romeo’s” by Mike Moran, though I have gathered this is not an original. Like, try T.I. and Poor Richard’s. Nevertheless, Fred was always with us every week.
When we got together there were two things. First, every time I had to be absent, Fred would tell me that the numbers jumped to a dozen or more.
Secondly, Fred would always find in the Thursday blog I sent out a mistake or two or more. Like, “Hey, you forgot to change the date.” Or “Hey, you misspelled this or that word.” It really became a game for me and I enlisted Rosemary to get rid of mistakes. However, even with her help Fred always caught something. I got better, though, and was ready to wager him. No mistakes, he buys my lunch. A mistake, I buy his lunch. So, you know how he handled that, he checked out on me.
Second, a little fact you all may not know about Fred. He donated his body to Southwestern Medical. I was so impressed that I have started the screening process for myself.
And now the pickup story.
In 1990 I was driving an old Chevy pickup that was a castoff from Jesuit. Trouble was, it was dying. I needed a new ¾ ton to continue my tree planting hobby. I was pulling an 800 gallon water tank to water all summer the new trees.
So I approached my Jesuit community, the other priests, and asked for a new truck. “Sure,” they said, but I had to find the money myself.
Like, where am I going to find some thousands of bucks to buy a new truck? I was, at that time, celebrating a 9:00 and a 10:30 Sunday Mass every week at St. Marks. I had a bunch of friends there.
So, I called the pastor one day and asked if I may contact some of the parishioners who are my special friends. “Yes,” he said somewhat reluctantly if I remember correctly. “But, never, never, never mention this at the Mass or anywhere at any church function where I am the celebrant.” Okay by me. I felt grateful that I got what I got.
So I contact some of these dear friends of mine. And guess who one of these people was. Yes, my buddy Fred.
A week passed. Then another week. On, perhaps the third Sunday after making my calls, I am walking from the main church to the cafetorium, where we had the 10:30 Mass. Suddenly, a woman comes up and gives me a page. I think it might have been Marcia Kolar. I look at it and it says, “Help Stack get his pickup.”
I go in the cafetorium and I find these empty gallon jars that had contained mustard or ketchup. Pasted on the jars, “Help Stack get his pickup.” Jim Herman, who died a few years ago, was the reader that Sunday and he is up at the podium saying the same thing. Wow, I was really getting nervous. We could be in deep doo doo.
I see Fred and ask what does he know about all this. He says cryptically, I will always remember, “It is easier sometimes to apologize after it is done, than to request permission ahead of time.”
Suddenly at that moment, like a clap of thunder in comes the pastor, yelling, “Who did this?” He goes for me and yells that he had told me never. He is yelling and running around trying to take back from people those little pages with “Help Stack get his truck.” It was quite a scene.
He kept yelling and finally I gave a nod to Teresa, she started the music, and I just simply walked away and up the aisle.
After the Mass he was back, saying, “I know who did this,” and yelling at Fred and even Maureen, saying that Fred was going to pay for this.
Sometime later, Fred says to me, “In all my years here, I’ve never seen him go nuclear like that.” Before Christmas that year I was handed enough to pay $15,000 in cash for that truck.
Fred, I never thanked you enough.
Readings:
2 Chronicles 36, 14-16, 19-23 , He has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem.
Psalm 137, Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you.
Ephesians 2, 4-10, God brought us to life with Christ.
John 3, 14-21, Jesus & Nicodemus.
INTRODUCTION to Gospel:
When our gospel begins, Jesus is in dialog with Nicodemus, who is present three times in the John gospel. He is a Pharisee and teacher who wants to know what Jesus is teaching and doing. Today’s reading occurs at night for he is afraid that other Pharisees might think that he had become a disciple of Jesus.
Later Nicodemus will remind the Pharisees who want to rid themselves of Jesus that the Law does not allow them to arrest Jesus without first knowing what he is saying and doing.
After the crucifixion, Nicodemus, while it is still day, brings to Jesus’ disciples an unheard of amount of expensive spices so that Jesus’ body can be given a kingly burial. Initial fear had turned into great love.
INTRODUCTION to 1st and 2nd Readings:
Salvation comes to us through Christ. Our witness of good works, our love, is how they will know we are Christians.
GOSPEL and HOMILY:
A year or two ago I also gave a homily on this fourth Sunday of Lent; but then I chose the other gospel reading about the man who had been blind from birth. I took you in that homily to the Feast of Tabernacles where Jesus had called out in the temple inviting anyone who was thirsty to come to him and drink from the fountain of living waters.
It was in these waters that the man born blind had been baptized. I also made you aware of the verse from the prophet Jeremiah, ‘Those who reject the Lord, the fountain of living waters, will in shame have their names written in the earth.’
The Pharisees sought to circumvent Nicodemus’ words to them about the Law, by trying to trap Jesus using the Law, by bringing to him a woman caught in the act of adultery. ‘Moses said that this woman should be stoned. What do you say?’
They knew that Jesus would not allow them to stone her; he would seek to bring forgiveness to the woman. They had him trapped; but Jesus bent down and began writing the names of these Pharisees and scribes on the ground to inform them that they were the ones in need of forgiveness.
When they kept after him to take a position he said, ‘The one of you, who is without sin, cast the first stone at her.’ One by one they left until there was no one left in front of him but the woman who recognizes his great love.
She made no excuse; she does not try to run away from what she has done, she submits herself to his words. He says to her, ‘woman, where are they, is there no one left to condemn you?’
He has addressed and treated her with goodness and justice, tenderness and compassion. She replies, ‘No one.’ Since Jesus has already said in today’s gospel that he came not to condemn but to bring forgiveness to the world, he truly has forgiven her. He says, ‘neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.’
The Greek word, translated as ‘go,’ means in Greek, ‘to journey along the way she has been invited to pursue.’ She has been invited by Jesus to follow him. Jesus’ command to the woman, ‘do not sin again,’ recognizes, again, that she is forgiven, and is an ongoing request to remain contrite.
At the end of our Eucharistic Prayer we will join together in the Our Father before celebrating our Lenten Penitential service where we ask for forgiveness and grant forgiveness. It is appropriate for us at this time to take a moment to reflect on some habit we might have that is not life-giving or love-giving, and in a contrite way think about how we will replace it with something that is.
Take it away, Ben. We are ready!
Readings:
Nehemiah 8, 2-4, 5-6, 8-10 The story of Ezra, the priest
Psalm 19, Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.
1 Corinthians 12, 12-30, As the body is one.
Luke 1, 1-4, 4, 14-21, Today this passage is fulfilled in your hearing.
Emma doing her Candle Magic with John's help.
Homily from Mike
Think about the last vacation you were on. Did it meet your expectations; good weather, good food, good company. Sometimes our expectations are not met, unless we’ve taught ourselves to go with the flow and look toward the bright side by giving thanks no matter what we encounter.
Buddy reading the Blessing of the Candles with Mike's help.
In our gospel today, the Jews at the Sabbath synagogue service were in expectation to hear what Jesus had to say, for Jesus had chosen the reading. Not only that, it was said that he spoke with authority, and this was Jesus’ home ground; it was where he grew up.
Mike homilizing.
What Jesus gave them was what the Messiah would do when he came to his people, Israel. When you heard it, did you recognize that it was filled with promises, beginning with the most important: where he promised to bring to the lowly, those in dire need, the Good News of Jesus Christ. After reading it, he sat down; and he held them in expectation.
What a team.
When he stood up he said, “This day, this Scripture, is fulfilled in your midst.” They didn’t realize it but they had just begun to receive the Good News. They were the ones to whom Jesus had come. All of promises, given by the prophets, were directed to them: they were the blind, the poor in spirit, the ones who were in captivity, they were the downtrodden,
The Great Offertory Team, Karen, Tom, & Denni.
This Scripture is being fulfilled in our midst too, for we are the ones called to make those promises come true. We are the ones who daily are led by the Spirit to welcome and live the Good News in the world. With every act of kindness, each of us, using our unique spiritual gifts, bind ourselves together as one body; His body, which we are about to break and share with one another in our Liturgy of Eucharist.
Can it get better than this, Luke with his mommy, Julie.
Readings: Ezekiel 18, 25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2, 1-11; Matthew 21, 28-32
Ezekiel: One of the Big 3, along with Isaiah & Jeremiah. This is mostly due to the fact that these three books are bigger than the other, smaller books.
Time: ca. 585, the time of the Babylonian captivity.
Place: probably composed in Babylon
Most famous story: the valley of the dry bones that take on life because of Ezekiel, chapter 37.
Today's message: the wicked will perish, the good will have life. Is the life metaphorical?
Working the Vineyard
Last Friday I was back in the grocery story again. This time it was the Kroger's on the corner of Maple Ave. & Douglas in the Oaklawn area near downtown Dallas. Fridays I visit a lady in her 90's who is finding it more difficult to get around. Many of you know her, Elizabeth. Because of her limited mobility, I buy groceries for the week for her.
On this particular trip in the late morning, I was pushing a cart from the parking lot and entered the store through an initial area where the carts are stored. A small, middle aged Hispanic lady was sweeping up in the middle of the space. I stopped while she finished where I wanted to pass. When she realized that she had been responsible for my waiting, she humbly apologized. I responded, "No problem, thanks for what you are doing." Her smile in return was touching.
The day before Rosemary was walking in the neighborhood in the evening. She has a favorite house because it has a beautiful flower display. This particular evening she sees the lady from the house and compliments her on her work. The lady is delighted and thanks her for her compliment.
I think of these simple small events when I hear the story of the two brothers. Of course, you have heard me talk for years about either or spirituality, namely one brother or the other. But in fact, there is no either or spirituality. We are both.
What I would like to explore today, however, is the vineyard. Obviously, this parable is metaphorical, that is, symbolic of something bigger than two boys, a father, and a vineyard. The boys symbolize you and me and all people, the father is God, and the vineyard–what is it? I would suggest that the vineyard is a labor with at least at least three parts.
The first part is the world, beginning with our local world. The job is to make it better because of my presence. When I was a kid and we used to go camping as Boy Scouts, my dad and others used to teach us, 'Always leave your campsite better than you found it.' An equally popular teaching is, 'Bloom where you are planted.
This may involve nothing more complicated than picking up trash in the street or park. Inspiration from these teachings was what got me started planting trees in Dallas back in '88, and even before that in Tanzania & Kenya. About a year ago when Ron Kovatis was in charge of the Great Trinity Forest, we had a big crowd of the community tackle the litter & trash in the forest. One of our community, my bicycle partner, Bill Hammond, even works on the Richardson Beautification Committee.
There is a second labor in the vineyard: people. Helping others to get through this life. Teachers do it professionally, coaches & scout leaders do it often freely and with great influence. Parents obviously. I am grateful to Tom & Lynda Fleming for inviting us and challenging us to help with local Habitat houses. Julia and Al Grenier's astounding work in setting up the Collin Co. Adult Clinic. How many totally poor people get medical help on Thursday evenings! It is a privilege to help the clinic with our outreach contributions.
The third labor in the vineyard: myself. To treasure the gift of myself. This may take work. I both treasure the gift and improve it. Planting trees at middle schools and high schools is often pretty daunting because of vandalism. How many times watering the trees at Plano Senior do we see a tree whacked off or pulled out. I know so well that the kids doing this are certainly not seeing themselves as a treasure. They are usually angry and underneath are hurting. Consequently, I don't get wigged out about the vandalism. If the tree is gone, I give it a year, hoping the kid grows beyond the anger and hurt. Or graduates! Then I replant.
The vineyard is there, folks, all three parts, all needing attention.
How is the work going in your vineyard?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-09-28.mp3
Readings:
Amos, 7, 12-15, The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel. (Expanding the reading)
Psalm 85, Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Ephesians 1, 3-14 In love he destined us for adoption to himself.
Mark 6, 7-13, Take nothing for the journey but a walking stick, no food, no sack, no money.
Amos:
Author: Amos or his scribe. He was a shepherd of sheep & tended sycamore trees. One of the 12 minor prophets of the OT, minor because of smallness of the works. Amos has only 9 chapters. Usual pattern of prophets: 1. condemnation of the people’s behavior; 2. predictions of severe punishment for the behavior; 3. promises of better times in the future.
Date: Ca. 777 (a memory help), after the kingships of David & Solomon, time of King Jeroboam of the northern kingdom, called Israel vs the southern kingdom, called Judah (where Jerusalem is).
Geography: Note the two kingdoms, Judah in the south, Israel in the north. Amos tended sheep in a little town called Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem, in Judah, the south. He is sent by Yahweh to Bethel, a small but important town in the northern kingdom, 10 miles north of Jerusalem, to warn the people of Israel & their king Jeroboam that Yahweh was mad at them. The wicked high priest of Bethel, Amaziah condemns Amos for his interference.
The Setting: a time of prosperity. But Yahweh is mad at the greed of the wealthy and their oppression of the poor (which ties into our gospel talking about walking lightly through life). We know the people of this kingdom of Israel are headed for annihilation by the Assyrian nation. And they will disappear as a significant body, around 700 before Christ.
Our Selection, chapter 7: (reading all of chapter 7) Amos describes three visions or dreams he has. Amaziah gives it to him for spreading these visions around. Then, Amos responds and socks it to Amaziah with a hammer.
Mark: a couple of reminders–
1. Mark is the first of the 4 gospels written, ca 70 C.E. Note: Jerusalem & the Temple were smashed by the Romans in 70, after a Jewish rebellion. In 73 the famous Masada battle took place. More about this event another day. Just think, from this date until 1948 a Jewish state did not exist.
2. The first written documents were by Paul, his letters.
Sources: Grace Institute of Biblical Leadership; Catholic Encyclopedia; Wikipedia
Want to be free? Travel lightly.
Ever been to The Bridge? Know what it is? The Bridge is one of the homeless shelters in downtown Dallas, just south of City Hall. It was built by the City. It serves 3 meals a day and houses about 350 people overnight.
Rosemary & I have been there about 6 times this year to help serve meals. My favorite job is the tray collector. What I do is stand in a corner near the exit and a window into the dish washing area. As each person finishes they walk up, give me their tray, and exit. I empty into trash bins leftover food, pour leftover water down a sink, send the utensils through the window, and, this is why it is my favorite, I chat up each person, thanking them for coming in and wishing them a good afternoon or night.
Frequently as the people depart they pick up bundles they leave by the door. These bundles contain their earthly possessions. I often ask them what they got inside. Extra clothing, extra pair of shoes, toilet articles, maybe a momento. That’s it.
I thought about these men and women when I read the instruction to take nothing for the journey. Wow. I can feel guilty. I certainly cannot fit all I have into a bundle, let alone take nothing for the journey.
I’ve touched upon some of this before, but let me remind you. Three observations.
First, we have here another example of the spirituality of infinite demand vs. infinite acceptance. This is hyperbole. It is not meant to be taken literally. We don't have to live like the people in The Bridge, one bundle with all our belongings
Secondly, having said this, there comes along the danger to discount the principle. Spiritual & physical freedom is involved here.
I confess I normally do not have much trouble with this principle. By nature and by Jesuit training I do not like too much stuff in my life. I can drive Rosemary crazy. If I don’t use something for a year, clothes or book, whatever, I want to hand it over to charity. Not always provident.
There is the cynical statement going around that he wins who ends up with the most toys. Delusion. This reminds me of the monkey & banana story. The monkey is holding on to a banana in a cage. He cannot get his hand out without letting loose of the banana. He won’t let loose. He is trapped. We can be trapped by our stuff.
Thirdly, the journey mentioned by Jesus is a metaphor. It is not a journey like riding a bike across Iowa, which Rosemary & I will do next Sunday. It is the journey of life.
The challenge: travel lightly the journey of life.
What do you need to toss overboard to lighten your journey of life?
Readings:
1 Kings 3:5, 7-12, Give your servant an understanding heart.
Psalm 119, Lord, I love your commands.
Romans 8, 28-30, We know that all things work for good for those who love God…
Matthew 13, 44-52, Kingdom Parables
Kevin and John ready to start Mass.
Homily:
We heard of Solomon’s call to be king of people of God
We heard in Paul’s Letter our call to be “conformed to the image of Jesus”
And we heard in Matthew the parables about putting the treasure buried in a field and the pearl of great price ahead of everything else we could have.
The Offertory helpers, Bill, Paul and Carrie.
Our word for today is asking how we hear our call and how do we answer our call?
I remember the answer I was given growing up (long long ago), hearing it in sermons and in weekend retreats at Grand Coteau, Louisiana. We were told that we are called to be holy and holiness was presented as perfection— You know the quote from Matthew: “Be you perfect as your heavenly father is perfect”. According to Matthew Fox, in his book Original Blessing, the quote from Matthew’s Gospel, “Be you perfect…”, does not refer to moral perfection and does not have here the later Greek meaning of being totally free of imperfection. The word ‘teleioi’, translated as “be you perfect”, actually meant “to be full-grown, to be complete or whole”.
Our musicians, Celeste, Shonda and Ben.
Remember also how we were given the lives of the saints, in which they were portrayed as achieving perfection and we were taught to imitate those perfect people. The lives of the saints inspired me, but there was no way I could live up to the idealized stories of their lives of perfection. Going to seminary at age 18 and to a monastery at age 22 was how I chased after the ideal of holiness as perfection.
Remember also how we were taught to make an examination of conscience, detailing everything we thought or did wrong–not about what we thought or did that was good or generous or loving or courageous or compassionate, not how we were becoming more full-grown or complete. The implication was that we were lacking and in sin almost all the time; that was scary folks. We were told we were imperfect, not holy, and I took that to mean I didn’t measure up, I wasn’t good enough. We were taught that there was a time, in the beginning when our original parents were in a paradise and were good/perfect, and connected to God. But that in Adam we sinned and were separated from God.
Georgie and Mom, Michelle.
What if we came to learn in the last 400 years, like Matthew Fox did, that there was never a state of perfection in our world, that creation in our universe has been going on for 20 billion years and that our universe has been expanding all that time, and is this moment expanding at unimaginable speed. It’s not really about being perfect.
In all creation beauty and imperfection go together. Every tree is beautiful, but if you get up close you will see that every tree is imperfect. The same is true of the human body. Every human body is beautiful, but every human body is imperfect. In creation, in nature, imperfection is not a sign of the absence of God. It’s a sign that the ongoing creation we are part of is no easy thing. We bear scars from the living process, and we can and must celebrate those scars, those imperfections.
Georgie's sister, Zoe.
My take on updating the idea of holiness includes thinking about how we accept imperfection, including our own, and about how we are growing, not to be perfect, but to be more complete, more whole, more caring for ourselves and others and more caring for mother nature and our place in the universe.
Yesterday I was visiting a friend who, when I said I was doing the Mass today, asked what my homily would be about and I said holiness. My friend said, I just finished watching a Ted Talk by Ann Lamont, a favorite author of mine. She said “Laughter is carbonated holiness.”
Question: How do you think of ‘holiness’ in our time?
Georgie's sister, Tori.
And Georgie's brother, Buddy.