Readings:
Genesis 14, 18-20, Blessed be Abraham.
Psalm 110, You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek
1 Corinthians 11, 23-26, I have much more to tell you.
Luke 9, 11-17, Dismiss the crowds
Richard & Carol
Today's team, John & John.
Welcome in, Everybody, from Jean & John.
Readings:
Isaiah 66, 18-21, I come to gather nations of every language..
Psalm : Go out to all the world and tell the Good News
Hebrews 12, 5-7, 11-13, Endure your trials as discipline
Luke 13, 22-30, Many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.
Welcome in, Everybody, from The Team.
Isaiah 66 observations:
Author: Isaiah III. The book of Isaiah is one of my favorites, as you have heard me say often enough. Some beautiful passages. Remember, 3 primary authors are responsible for the 66 chapters, and we are reading the very last.
This book is one of the Big 3 O.T. prophets, along with Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Why? because the works are the longest. There are 12 minor prophets.
Trouble in the bleachers with Richard & Mike.
Time of composition: ca. 555 to 777, The Assyrians annihilated the northern Jewish provence or kingdom, called Israel, vs the southern kingdom called Judah, where Jerusalem is. 10 tribes were lost in this destruction, the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel.
Remember, there were 12 tribes. Why? Because of the 12 sons of Jacob, who was one of the 3 great patriarchs or founders of the tribe, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, who was also called Israel.
Message of Isaiah III: Mostly consolation after the catastrophic mess of Jerusalem that greeted the Jews on their return from Babylon.
Do I have a deal for you on a almost mint condition red Studebaker.
What is the activity of a prophet? 1. criticism, 2. prediction of dire consequences, 3. consolation.
Today’s specific message: this being the last chapter of the whole work, you might guess. Yes, consolation.
To check out the state of the world, check in with Dona, Bernadette, and Tera (from Iran).
Psalm 117: The best line in the whole bunch of readings. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Hebrews observation:
The best thing about today's selection: we have to read Hebrews only one more week. Awful reading today.
Welcome in, Jim & John.
Go Out to All the World and tell the Good News
You all know well that I love to celebrate birthdays, like we do here at our Sunday celebrations. I have carried this over to the 6:00 A.M. spin classes at the J.
Consequently, I am often asking people when is their birthday. Then at the end of our session I get up front and tell everybody that this person is celebrating a birthday, and give them a BelVita cookie package. I used to try to sing, but gave it up because singing is not my gift.
With only her first cataract removed, Connie can see!
There is a lady named Haya. I don’t know her last name.. I only know that I am touched and humbled by her. She is probably 5’1”, and has a scar on the back of her right shoulder. She and I are the same age part of every year.
Because I am intrigued and humbled by the background & history of these Jewish people, I often ask a person how their family was effected by the Holocaust. With Haya having the same age as I have, I was especially curious to know what she was doing while I was growing up in University Park. So I asked.
Who are those two characters messing with Ben?
Turns out that Haya and her family lived in a small town in Poland. Her father and his two brothers had a small business. When the Germans took over Poland in late ’39, Haya’s dad took the family and ran to Marseilles. The brothers decided to ride it out.
As things got worse Haya’s dad took the family to the Holy Land even before the Jewish State’s establishment. Finally the family migrated to New York City and somehow got settled there despite some anti-imigration sentiment in the government. Haya, therefore, grew up in NY City. She never heard what exactly happened to her two uncles and their families.
Candle Lighting team in operation.
Now days Haya seems to be in a good place. I think she has a son and a daughter and maybe her husband is deceased. Whatever, Haya has a house in the Glen Lakes gated community on Walnut Hill and Central, a condo in Manhattan, and a condo in Tel Aviv. She seems to bounce around all three locations. So on her birthday, which is August 25, I announced to the class and gave her a BelVita.
On her way out she whispered to me, “You made this the happiest day of my life.” I was stunned and touched.
Thanks, Tom & Denni, Karen & John for bringing up our gifts
I cannot believe what I just heard. On the one hand, I am touched that such a small gesture can mean so much to her. On the other, does this say something about her life? What has she seen in life that I have never seen?
Why talk about her this morning? Two reasons. Because she is Good News. The Psalm says, “Go out and tell the Good News.” People are The Good News. I want to know her story.
Secondly, I want also to contextualize the negativity of Hebrews and Luke.
Elevation time.
There was a strong belief in these times that God was definitely a conditional love God. Why did the Babylonian Captivity take place? The Israelites were bad. Jeremiah says it, the Isaiahs say it. And so it was written. In fact, according to a minister here in Dallas, God punished the people in N.O. for their badness. Remember Katrina?
Pretty much this opinion of God has been discarded. Is sickness a penance for a sinful, bad life? Is this why I got Parkinson?
Today's Communion team.
Me? I believe and I propose that people are The Good News, that you are The Good News. God takes Delight in you
And you? A God who scourges and demands penance or a God who proclaims that people are The Good News?
Haya? Her birthday will be celebrated tomorrow morning.
Who is this scary person, Harper?
Readings: 2 Kings 4, 42-44; Psalm 145, The Hand of the Lord feeds Us; He answers all Our Needs; Ephesians 4, 1-6; John 6, 1-15
Kings: 4 observations–
Subject Matter: The Kings, naturally. Especially Solomon after the death of his father, David. But also treated:
1. The temple. Solomon builds it.
2. The death of Solomon who held the nation together.
3. Division: Israel in the north breaks away from Judah in the south.
4. Israel destroyed completely by the Assyrians, ca. 720.
5. Fall of Jerusalem & destruction of the Temple; Nebuchadnezzar & the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 585 BCE.
6. Cyrus of Persia releases the Jews to return to Jerusalem after defeating the Babylonians (remember Babylon was near present day Bagdhad).
Date: from 900 – ca. 550 BCE, or from Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar & Cyrus
Authors: a compilation of many sources that was put together at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 550 BCE.
Our Selection: There are 2 significant prophets, Elijah & Elisha, his son. In this piece, Elisha it telling a man with 20 loaves of bread to feed a crowd. This is a lead into the Gospel of John about feeding the multitude.
Sources: Encyclopedia of Judaism, Wikipedia
The Miracle of Sharing My Food
I hate to do this to you folks, but every time I read this story about 5 loaves and 2 fish feeding a crowd of 5,000 men (to say nothing of the women), I am reminded of my days in Tanzania, East Africa. You who have heard these stories, please forgive me. They just clarify so much. Here we go.
I was on an overnight train. I was traveling from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the capitol, to Moshi, a town near Kilimanjaro, where the Jesuits had a small one to three person house, which I used as a base when I was not traveling around Tanzania, Kenya, & Uganda giving seminars and retreats.
I had arrived in Dar es Salaam late for some reason and could not make an advance reservation for a first class cabin, which was the only way to go. You shared a little compartment with another guy. Because I was without reservation, I had to buy a coach ticket. These trains are marvelous old antiques from the colonial age, but travel by coach is mayhem. They are packed. Don't dream of getting a seat. Just be grateful that you can get inside. Which I did, sitting on my one small suitcase, expecting to be awake all night listening to the kids, chickens, ducks, and snores of the few who had a seat and the ability to sleep through it all.
You board this train for a 7:00 P.M. departure. You expect to arrive Moshi around 5:00 A.M. This particular night the train came to a halt at about 1:00 in the middle of nowhere. Naturally, nobody knew why we stopped and for how long. We stayed in that spot all the rest of the night and all the following day until about 6:00 P.M.
Everyone on that train had food & water hidden away, except one gringo, who tried to sleep on the rocks on the edge of the roadbed, knowing he would hear the train move and could get up and get back in.
I was actually rescued from dying of thirst in the heat of the day by a young German couple in the first class compartments, the only other white folks on the whole train. I was afraid to drink the water of the Tanzanians because they often did not purify it.
I tell this story because the Tanzanian people on the train I suspect would be similar to the Jews listening to Jesus in that crowd of 5,000 men. People like these do not go away from their base unprepared. Not only do they carry food & water, they hide it so as to not have to share with someone too stupid to bring his own. The women, especially, can hide in their robes lots of things. Hoarding in the cultures we are talking about is no sign of inferiority. It is survival.
What Jesus did that was confounding is that he got these country folks to share their cache. He takes some of the bread & fish and passes it on. The person who receives it takes some, but feels uncomfortable only taking. So the person puts a portion of his or her own in the basket. What do they end up with? Twelve wicker baskets of leftover food.
This interpretation of the 5 loaves & 2 fishes is as old as when I got ordained back in 1971, and before that. I find it fascinating because we can go and do likewise. You & I cannot multiply bread & fish, but we can share treasures. We can share and we can invite others to feel secure enough to share.
I finally arrived home to Moshi in the middle of the next night. I even caught a thief with his hand in my right pocket at a little kiosk lit with a kerosene lamp. The train had stopped at some tiny station and a lady was selling little pieces of rice bread or something. I pulled that man's hand out of my pocket, grabbed him by the shirt, and threw him back. If I had yelled "thief!", he might have been killed on the spot. I knew the custom and the language, and he knew I knew. He ran.
I also got to know the German couple, even climbing Kilimanjaro with them one of my 5 times. So, folks, sorry for repeating a favorite story of mine. The question, too, is the same.
How am I overcoming my temptation to hoard & sharing my food?
Picture 1: Mass with T.J.
Picture 2: Bill Carey & Ron Kovatis
Picture 3: Ron donating $2000 to CCAC with Claire & Ray, Jackie & Cathy
Picture 4: Barb & her sister Evie from Germany
Readings:
Isaiah 5, 1-7, Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.
Psalm 80, The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Philippians 4, 6-9, Have no anxiety at all.
Matthew 21, 33-43, There was a landowner who planted a vineyard.
Isaiah observations–
What: My favorite prophet again. When you note this is Isaiah, chapter 5, you can make some pretty educated guesses, like the following 3:
1. This is Isaiah 1, the first of the three major composers. Chapter 1-39 are Isaiah 1.
2. This Isaiah is writing before the Babylonian Captivity, which took place around 555 before Christ.
3. You might guess correcty, then, that he is criticising the Israelite people for their bad behavior.
Our passage: In fact, he is highly critical. He uses the metaphor or symbol of a vineyard. Just so you know ahead of time, the vineyard is the people. Watch what he says happens to the vineyard and why. This, of course, is setting the stage for the gospel, which is about, you guessed it, another vineyard. Even the responsorial Psalm is about the vineyard.
Guess what I just might talk about during the homily.
We, The Vineyard
Folks, Rosemary & I have been to the vineyard of the Lord. In fact, I have been twice during the month of September, Yosemite and now our boat trip on the Danube.
I am still so influenced by my years as a Jesuit and the desire to live a simple life that I am embarrassed to talk about this cruise. It cost money. And I feel squeamish about spending.
However, this trip was one of, if not the best of all the trips we have taken. Let me mention three aspects, the natural beauty, the beauty of the staff, and the beauty of the group of people we randomly formed up with.
The natural beauty. We certainly did travel through a section of Germany celebrated for its gorgeous vistas and its vineyards. We visited some of the villages.
However, for me it was the Danube. Especially at night. We would open the curtains of our room and the sliding glass door. 6 feet below me was the Danube moving by, quiet with the exception of the swish of water as we powered up stream. I would get up to visit the bathroom and return to just gaze.
Secondly, the staff. There were two in particular, the program director, Stein, and the concierge, Radi, a young woman with personality and glorious black hair. But also, the staff down to the girl, Carmen, who watched over our room. From the beginning when we walked on board and were welcomed with glasses of mimosas, to the end when there was a Viking agent waiting to help us at the Nuremburg airport at 3:45 A.M. Great cordiality and hospitality.
Thirdly, the people and especially our group. On perhaps the 4th night I noticed around 2:00 A.M. we were simply sitting in the river, not moving. Turned out, a barge ahead of us had troubles and was blocking our entrance into a lock. We spent that night and the next morning anchored in the river with other tour boats lined up behind us. Not one complaint from the group. In fact, we had a good time.
That good time was enhanced by the charm and cordiality of the group we ended up meeting and putting together, four couples. Chicago, Philadelphia, Ontario, and Dallas When it was discovered I was a former Jesuit priest, that led to many interesting conversations.
Isaiah says that the vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel. The cruise ship the Viking Njord was the vineyard of the Lord. You, We are the vineyard.
I can see it. Can you see it?
Apologies to everyone and to John for putting into last Sunday's blog the wrong homily from John's Mass, September 28. Here is the correct homily, Download Cade Homily 9-28-14
Readings:
Sirach 15, 15-20, Before man are life and death, good and evil.
Psalm 119, Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 2, 6-10, We speak a wisdom to those who are mature.
Matthew 5, 17-37, If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.
Observations: on Psalm 119, on Matthew 5, and, first, on Sirach—
What: This is one of those 12 odd books in between the Old and the New Testament.
Author: a Jewish teacher called Joshua. The only identified author in the whole Old Testament. He tells us who he is, that he is a teacher, lived in Jerusalem, and traveled a lot. It seems he put his work together while running a school in Alexandria, Egypt.
His grandson translated the Hebrew work into Greek. This Hebrew text was lost for centuries until the 19th century, when 2/3 of it was found in Cairo. Then other portions were found in Qumran and Masada, as late as 1964.
Date: composed around 175 years before Christ. About 90 years before Christ the Jews put together their official bible, but excluded Sirach because they could not find the Hebrew version, only the Greek.
Christians accepted the book as part of their bible in the 2nd century after Christ. The Council of Trent (keep 1555 in mind as a date) officially accepted it, making it part of that extra 12 books called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical. Martin Luther rejected the book & so do many Protestant congregations today.
Subject Matter: practical ethics, duties. Beware of the either / or spirituality presented.
Subject today: you may choose good or bad. Beware of the either / or spirituality presented in the reading. All is either good or bad. No in between or both, which is more what we all are, both good and bad.
It can be simplistic & Pelagian, that is, it is all up to you and you have all the strength needed to choose good. Pelagians thought that you had to EARN your salvation. Therefore, the more religious stuff you did, like the more Masses, the more pilgrimages to the church & shrines, the more novenas & rosaries, the more merit you win for yourself.
Psalm 119: the longest of all the psalms. A focus on observance of the laws, decrees, and statutes.
Matthew 5: a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Note the figures of speech called “antitheses,” namely, “You have heard it said, but, I say to you.” 4 even 5 times. Matthew is trying to establish the authority & authenticity of Jesus.
Sources: Good New Bible; New Interpreter's Bible., Wikipedia; Reginal Fuller, S.J., David Westberg, S.J., & Larry Gillick, S.J., St. Louis U. Liturgies, on line.
Tear It Out & Throw It Away, My Right Eye? You Crazy?!
I have mentioned a lot of this once before, but it bears repeating because it is so relevant.
When I was studying theology in Toronto years ago, an article came out in the local newspaper. Some guy had read the passage saying that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. He did it, folks.
In this passage from Matthew there are five pieces of advice to the early Christians which taken literally can get a person all messed up. Is there a positive as well as a negative to each?
One observation before I touch the five. I have mentioned this so often that I hope you are not worn out. Infinite demand and infinite acceptance. Watch out here for a lot of infinite demand. I’ll give a positive & a negative for each.
Matthew’s five pieces of advice are 1. breaking the least commandment, 2. getting angry, 3. looking at a woman, 4. divorce, and 5. swearing. Here goes.
1. Matthew says that if you break the smallest commandment you will be the least in the kingdom. Moreover, unless you are better than the Pharisees, you will not even get into the kingdom. The positive here is that the bar is set high. The negative is that all, all of us sinners will be kept out. It creates scruples and obsessive compulsive behavior.
2. Secondly, if you get mad at me and call me a fool, you are going to Gehenna. I love it. The positive here is the call to anger management. I am challenged to know that all feelings are okay and need to be controlled. The negative is that it gives me the idea that anger is not allowed, so stuff it. Trouble is, it does not stuff well. Not like a sleeping bag or tent. It pops up in unexpected places.
3. Looking at a woman with lust. The positive here is teaching respect for all people. This advice, written by men for men, was attempting to gain some respect for women who were looked upon as property. I found this in Tanzania & Kenya. Rosemary read me an article about some Muslim who cut off his wife’s ears and nose for reporting him for abuse. The negative is that it teaches us that feelings are sinful. In the old days, we thought we looked at a girl and we were going to hell. This is doubly sad because I don’t think there is a hell anyway.
4. Divorce is adultery. The positive is that it reinforces the unity of marriage. The negative is that people stay in abusive or addictive marriages long after it may even be safe. Divorce is failure and we all fail sometimes even in tragic ways. In order to escape using the word divorce the Catholic Church comes up with the more convoluted word Annulment.
5. Swearing. The positive is that it involves politeness and respect for others. Even if I am okay with my anger I do not swear at someone. The negative is that it tightens us up. We forget the therapeutic value of cussing, maybe a healthy & fun way of releasing anger. The healthy Jesuits I lived with certainly partook of this therapy.
The overall danger in these pieces of advice is that we really get messed up, forgetting two things. First they are presenting infinite demand. Secondly, they make no mention of infinite acceptance.
The poor guy in Toronto who blinded himself is an example of how we can mess ourselves up with goofy religion.
What do you think about these ideas?
Readings: Genesis 9, 8-16; Psalm 145, The Lord is near to all who call upon Him; 1 John 4, 7-16; John 15
Opening Prayer (Included will be some prayers composed by John because they are so good)
Let us pray: O God, you are not far away, but with us wherever we are, calling us to live in unity and love, and accepting us as we are, with all our weaknesses. We acknowledge the blessings we experience each day. For the little ones who bring us joy in the present and hope for the future—Leo X 2, Freddie, (names of all the kids), and for your presence always with us, we give thanks to you both now and forever and ever… Amen.
Intro to the Readings:
I chose the readings for today’s Mass, so they aren’t in the Missals for today’s date. Ray will tell you what page the Responsorial Psalm and Gospel acclamation are on. The first 2 readings will be read by my daughters, Joey and Sam. I put in the blog some information on the readings’ authors, the time and why the readings were written. Also go to Wikipedia.
The story of Noah is found in Chapters 6-9 of Genesis, the first book of the Torah, the Torah being the first 5 books of the Jewish Bible. Genesis was put together during the 5th century BC. The story of Noah combined 2 sources of the story from the 10th and 7th centuries BC. That explains the differences in the details of the stories.
The Gospel of John, the 3 Letters of John and the Book of Revelation were traditionally attributed to the Apostle John. According to recent scholarship, John was not the author of either and further, the Gospel, the letters and Revelation may have 3 separate authors. The First Letter of John was written in Ephesus between 100-110 CE. It seems to be written to counter ideas that Jesus was a Spirit only, not human with a body, and against a Gnostic, Cerinthus, who denied the humanity of Jesus.
The first reading is from the story of Noah. It’s about the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring. This covenant is a promise of God’s presence and acceptance, symbolized in the story by a rainbow.
On Labor Day weekend I visited 2 of my sisters in Louisiana. One evening my sister Didi and I were driving from Jennings to Lake Arthur to eat at a lovely restaurant sitting right over the lake. There was just a slight mist or sprinkle falling when, off to the side, we saw the beginnings of a rainbow. Gradually the colors got brighter and brighter and became the most strikingly beautiful rainbow I have ever seen; a complete arch of color. We slowed down to take in its beauty. I had already chosen the readings for today; seeing that rainbow took my breath away.
The second reading is from John’s first letter. Both it and the Gospel reading speak words of challenge we are given from prophets throughout human history, even in our own time and, in this case, from Jesus who over and over challenged us to live in unity and love.
Now the first reading…..
FIRST READING The Book of Genesis, Chapter 9(Verses 8-9, 12-16)
Psalm: 145: 8-9, 17-18 (Page 52 in Today’s Missal) Refrain: “The Lord is near to all who call upon him.”
SECOND READING First Letter of John, Chap. 4 (Verses 7-8, 12-16)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! – John 13: 34 (Page 51 in Today’s Missal)
A Reading from the Gospel of John, Chapter 15.
“I tell you this so that you can share my joy, and that your happiness may be complete. This is my commandment: that you love each other as I have loved you. You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do. This I command: love one another.”
HOMILY:
For years this community has heard Stack saying that God is infinite demand, challenging us to live in all our relationships with love and forgiveness; and, on the other hand, that God is infinite acceptance, always receiving us just the way we are. -Please hold that thought-
Today we are remembering my ordination on Sept. 30,1961. Many centuries ago priestly ordination was made one of the 7 sacraments, and has traditionally been conferred selectively, and by the hierarchy. What evolved historically was the separating of ‘priests’ and people as if our basic callings were different. (Just look at us–we wear the clothing of 2000 years ago, back when you would have been wearing the same outfit.) My take on the priestly role is this: whoever gets up each day and embraces the possibility of living in forgiveness and love, and of accepting oneself as one is and others as they are—these all share the priestly role in the community. Jesus didn’t draw lines of distinction among his friends. His words were the same for all.
Of course, as a community grows, there is an advantage in having structure, with distinct roles that help the community function well, like the role of organizational management or spiritual leadership. Jesus, however, was clear with his friends and with everyone he met: the demand to love is the same for all, and acceptance by God is the same for all. Even those 12 friends who were with Jesus all the time often didn’t get it, and were confused by his message to just love one another and accept everyone as they are. Their experience with the religious community of their time, the Jewish synagogue with the priestly caste, didn’t prepare them for such revolutionary thinking about what a community can be.
Much much later (fast-forward to our era) only about a year after my ordination, Pope John 23rd called and inspired the Second Vatican Council. That Council opened the windows of the universal Christian community to fresh and new possibilities. Today, St. Vine’s is one example of a community living in those new possibilities. For me, this is completing a circle.
My desire to be a priest grew in my late teen years, but a pivotal point in my religious development happened after I finished theology studies. We were asked to attend a period of pastoral formation prior to ordination, which I did at a Benedictine monastery outside Kansas City in the summer of ‘61. Though I had had serious questions and ‘funny feelings’ about the traditional theology we got in the seminary, it was that summer that I was exposed to the knowledge and experience of several great minds from North America and Europe and Africa. That experience, along with Vatican II, changed the way I thought and lived as a priest for the next ten years. Those experiences also made it really difficult for me to live and function in the face of immense resistance to the new possibilities opened up by Vatican II. In 1971, I chose to be part of the exodus of priests leaving at that time.
So for me, it’s a real joy to be part of a community such as this. I am grateful for your openness, your caring for one another, and your acceptance of those who are other than you. I am grateful that you are not afraid of stepping outside the box and of stepping into new possibilities. Do you see now why I think of this community as completing a circle in my life?
Thank you for remembering with me that special day in 1961.
The question I leave with you today is: how do you respond to the demand to give forgiveness, love and acceptance in this community, in your own family, and with your own self?
Further Prayers:
As we prepare the table with the bread, wine and grape juice, and sing the Offertory Song, I will go around with the sacrament of the sick which you are welcome to receive, whether your ailment or pain is big or small, physical or emotional, acute or chronic. Just stand near an aisle or give a sign and I’ll get to you.
PREFACE TO EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
O God, we have no word or name in any language to express fully who or what you are. We call you Father or Mother or Brother or Spirit or Lord. We make believe and speak as if you are like us, just bigger and better. One thing we know: You are not distant from us; you are not hidden. You are experienced in all the workings of the known and the not yet known universe. Most of all You are known in and through others who touch us in some way as we journey together in time. And so, we raise our voices together and praise you with the words we long ago learned to use, as we sing:
HOLY HOLY HOLY LORD
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:
In a special way we give thanks and praise for the one named Jesus, who proclaimed clearly and repeatedly that you are not far away, but here with us. He taught us to know you as present, as holding us in being, as nurturing and strengthening us in the midst of life’s difficulties and pain, as challenging us to grow in spirit and in truth, and as always accepting us just the way we are.
As a sign and celebration of our sisterhood and brotherhood with him and with each other, Jesus, on the night before he died, gathered his friends together and shared with them the Passover meal. While they were at table, he took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and passed it among them saying: “Take this, all of you, and eat. This is my body given up for you.” Then he took the cup and, giving thanks, gave it to them saying, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood, poured out for you. This is a new and everlasting covenant. Do this in memory of me.”
And so we repeat this remembrance today, and we recall Jesus and how he showed us a way to live gratefully with and for others. We remember the hope he taught so well, the hope of an always new, fresh and full life, a life we can live regardless of our situation or the circumstances of our lives.
As a community of family and friends, we proclaim this mystery of the fullness of life, as we sing:
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
May all of us who share in this meal be brought together in peace and unity by the Spirit that moves in us all. We remember that we are united with the worldwide community, and that we are called to live with respect, acceptance and love for all, especially those nearest to us.
May we grow in this love, together with our spiritual leaders, with Benedict our Pope, Kevin our Bishop, with our community gathered here, with our families and friends, and with all who journey with us in time.
We recall those who have gone before us and yet remain with us in our hearts and minds. We remember our grandparents, our parents, our sisters and brothers, our children, our close friends and neighbors. We remember all our ancestors some of whose names were given to us at our baptism, such as Joseph and Mary and Peter and Kalliopi and Leo and Joanna and Daniel and Lambrini and Freddie and Hannah and John and Carol and Antony and Samantha and George and Catrina and Michael and Kathryn and Morris and Jane, and all those whose names we carry in our time.
We acknowledge them, and we remember them with love, respect and acceptance.
Wth confidence we place before You all the yearnings of our hearts and minds, as we proclaim that it is…
Through him, with him and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, Forever and ever.
Picture 1: The celebration begins
Picture 2: Leo
Picture 3: Payton
Picture 4: Chloe
Picture 5: Sienna & Brooklyn with daddy, Payton
Picture 6: Freddie
Picture 7: John & family
Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72, Lord, Every Nation on Earth will Adore You; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12
Isaiah 60: 3 observations–
1. This is Isaiah III who seems to have lived around the time of the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., 575 BCE., not at the time of Isaiah I (chapters 1-39) who lived ca. 800. (& Is. II, chapters 40-50)
2. Our passage from chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem as a symbol, which is in total destruction.
3. Isaiah is saying that your day is coming, Jerusalem, when you will return to being the most splendid city of all.
Epiphany, The Coming of the Wise Men on January 6: 3 observations–
1. The word means an enlightenment, a WOW moment.
2. Celebrated since ca. 300 & Constantine on January 6, 12 days from the birth, the 12 Days of Christmas. Note 12th Night.
3. Considered a second Christmas, to the Gentiles.
The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols: 2 observations–
Where to begin, folks. There is so much symbolism in this liturgy, in Matthew, for sure, and in the combination of Matthew with Isaiah and Psalm 72. I'll touch 2 symbols, each with 3 subdivisions..
1. The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are
a. Gentiles
b. They come from the east, considered the source of wisdom in the world of that time. Where does the sun rise? Where do stars rise? A new son has been born and like the sun in the east or a star he will bring new light.
c. They also symbolize every man’s search for meaning in life. Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising for not searching, and the Gentiles.
2. The 3 gifts.
a. Gold is given because it signifies royalty.
b. Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity.
c. Myrra signifies medicine. Myrra is for the human. It comes from a bush like tree that has a yellow, sticky sap on its bark. The sap was good for skin infections and acne, asthma, colds, and flu, and even herpes. It is found in Saudi Arabia & Somalia.
A post script. People in Europe used to write an inscription over their doors, e.g. 20+C+M+B+10. The numbers are our year. The letters are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Christians made it say, “Christ Bless our house or Maison the year listed.
Another post script. In New Orleans Epiphany starts Carnival season, which leads up to Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The parades will be starting, folks.
Sources: Reginal Fuller, St. Louis U. Liturgy; Biblical & Theological Resources, the Voice Institute, on line; Wikipedia; and other sources.
The Epiphanies around Us
Recently Rosemary & I went to the exposition of some paintings of about six or eight artists. Among the artists and the reason we were there was my childhood buddy Ed Lamberty, who gave the homily here a year or so ago on alcoholism & AA.
As we were wandering around we ran into another couple who are old friends. We ask what brought them to this exposition. They pointed across the room to a middle aged, middle class, blondish woman who was standing by some of her works.
Here is the story the wife told me.
The couple we know are both academics on the university level. Some years ago the wife had been teaching and came to know one of her students. The student was a mother with a son about 8 years old. At some point in time the father had abandoned them and left them with nothing. They were living in the mother’s car.
My friend says to me that this shocked her and she thought this cannot continue. She described the situation to her husband and two sons who were about 10 & 12. Guess what they did.
They invited the mother & son to live with them until they got on their feet. The two sons moved into one bedroom and the mother & her son took the other. Here they lived for almost a year until the husband found the woman a job.
The woman now is successful and is developing as an artist, selling her works for significant sums. The son graduated from Jesuit, graduated from college, and now is married with a couple of his own kids.
Obvious from the fact that they were at the art exposition, my friends are still quite close with the mother & her son.
I would propose that this is what epiphany is, a pointing to a presence among us and in us. The presence is acceptance and care for others. It points to something beautiful.
Who is an epiphany for you?
For whom are you an epiphany?
Picture 1: Emma
Picture 2: Diane on her birthday with Jenny & Melissa
Picture 3: The Dinsmore family, David & Donna & their kids, Dawson, Darbianna, & Dana
Picture 4: Emily & her mom, Julie at the Offertory