Sunday Homily for January 13, 2019, The Baptism

Wisdom 18: The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,  that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,  they might have courage.

Hebrews 11:  Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested.

 

                     

Annette reading from the Book of Wisdom

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben  & Shonda

Jackie sharing her thoughts on the readings

 

Outreach: $   160.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Mary gets a cookie for her anniversary

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Come, O Dancing God,

Spirit of Life and Love,

of  Beauty and Diversity,

stir up my soul,

bathe me in your light,

and unleash my own spirit

that I may dance with you

and be light for those around me

and reflect your love to all that I meet this week.

 

Edited and adapted from a blessing by Fr. Andrew M. Greeley

 

 

Welcome, Everybody, to our new home.  And thanks, Becky, for all you have done to welcome us.

 

 

Readings:  

 Exodus 24, 3-8,   This is the blood of the covenant

 Psalm 116,   I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord

 Hebrews 9, 11-15,    He is a mediator of a new covenant.

 Mark 14, 12-16, 22-26,   The Eucharist   

 

 

 

 

John with his long awaited arm operation done.

 

 

Exodus:   8 points on the readings, including 2 on Exodus, 4 on points from the other readings, 2 more on Exodus

    1.  This is the 2nd book of the Torah/Pentateuch, the first section of the Old Testament.  Deuteronomy, which we visited last week, is the 5th & last book.

 

 

 

Emma doing her candle Magic.

 

 

    2.  Story: This is a fabulous and edifying fable that tells how the Israelites got out of slavery in Egypt with the leadership of Moses. 

    3.  Passover: the night the angel passed over the first born male children of the Jews because they had smeared lamb blood on their door posts.  But the angel killed all the Egyptian first born sons to make Pharaoh let the people go.  Remember, this is not history, rather like a fable, like Aesop's Fables.  There is a story about the burning bush in the Holy Land, for tourists.  Tourists are told this bush was the bush that burst into flame and from which Yahweh spoke to Moses.

 

 

 

 

Welcome in, Harper.  I cannot wait to meet your new little sister, Betsy.

 

 

    4.  Covenant vs Contract: in a contract two parties agree to do something.  If one fails, the contract is often null.  In a covenant two people agree, and even if one party fails, the other party honors the covenant.  The Covenant between Yahweh & the People:  the people will honor Yahweh as their only god; Yahweh will protect and care for them as his chosen, and bring them into a new land.

    5.  Sacrifice & holocaust: ancient tribal belief that I must offer to my god (s) things precious to me to appease the god's anger or win his favor, for example, animals, prisoners, and the most beautiful girl in the community.  Jesus was seen as this sacrifice to appease the god, and also as the high priest who usually performed the sacrifice.  Thus the emphasis on blood & death.  Today scripture scholars as well as ordinary folks don't believe in a God who was so angry that he demanded special sacrifice.  We do not have a vengeful, angry God.

 

 

 

 

Sandra reads our Blessing of the Candles.

 

 

    6.  12 tribes: the 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob (or Israel; the 3 patiarchs were Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob-Israel).

    7.  Author & Date of Exodus: not Moses.  Rather a compilation of material from different centuries, that was mostly put together after the Babylonian Captivity, e.g., ca. 550 BCE.

    8.  Our Selection from Exodus: the people have been wandering in the desert and are now being given laws and customs they must observe.  The Covenant is being sealed.

 

 

 

 

The Best, Shonda & Ben.

 

 

A Banquet of Joy

In  honor of it being the feast of Corpus Christi, which is a celebration of our relationship with someone who totally loves us and accepts us as we are, I want to tell you a banquet of joy story.

These banquets take place morning, noon, and night.  It does not matter.  In fact, my dad was part of a morning banquet every week day at Christ the King parish, as I mentioned last week.

 

 

 

 

Rita & her admirer at the JCC gym, Jewish Community Center.

 

 

The banquet I was part of was in the morning about 6:00, at the Jewish Community Center, in the second floor gym, in fact.

There is a little lady named Rita.  She is black, about 60, big hair, somewhat round, and walks slowly into the gym with a walker.  She arrives with a DART bus, the small type bus that picks up individuals.

She comes maybe twice a week and settles on a recumbent bike which she pedals easily for 30-40 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

If that crazy Parkinson won't let the right hand behave, Jackie makes for a great substitute right hand.

 

 

I noticed her because she was unique in the gym.  And I really admired her for doing it.  So I started greeting her and we exchanged names sometime during the past year.  Last April I told her that I would be gone for a couple of weeks.  Rosemary & I were going to France.

She was so excited and asked me to bring her a little key chain statue of the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

Want to know why Rosemary played hookey from Juliettes Friday?   These two little critters, great nieces Rosemary (how about that!) and Alice, flew into Dallas with their mom, Kristine.   

 

 

I told Rosemary and, lo and behold, one afternoon in a tiny town curio shop in the Perigord region we found just what she wanted.

It was a week or two until I saw her come in one morning.  I got the Eiffel Tower key chain, went to her bike, bowed, and gave her the gift.

She went so crazy over that little token of my affection for her that I was almost in tears.  Her delight was my Banquet of Joy.

 

 

 

 

Coming up, Cupcake of The Week Time, everybody's favorite part of our celebration.

 

 

When was the last time you had a Banquet of Joy?

 

 

 

 

Sez Leo, "Cupcake time yet??"

Readings: 

 Amos 6, 1, 4-7,   Woe to the complacent.

Psalm 146,  Praise the Lord, my sould.

1 Timothy 6, 11-16,  Pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love.

Luke 16, 19-31,  The rich man and Lazarus.

 

 

Amos observations :  (from last week's Mass)

What :  One of the 12 minor prophets, only 9 chapters.

Who: 
the book presents the thoughts and observations of Amos, who was a sheep herder
and a fig farmer.  He was born in the southern kingdom of Judah in a
little town south of Jerusalem, but he is condemning the people, especially the
rich, of the northern kingdom, Israel.

Time: 
Amos was active around 755 before Christ, but his words and message were
revised and edited down through the years, especially during the Babylonian
Captivity, around 555 before Christ.  He lives just before the Syrians
destroy the northern kingdom of Israel, around 700 before Christ.

Message: 
Prayer and sacrifice don’t make up for social injustice and oppression of the
poor by the rich. 

 Today: 
God will punish you rich and prosperous for your abuse of the poor.  Amos
may have seen the threat coming from the Syrians. 

Sources:  Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study
Bible, Wikipedia

 

 

Some of Francis’ points in his homily this morning:

1.  The first sin
   of the rich man is that he is blind.  He
   came and went every day and did not even see Lazarus at his doorstep.  Wealth can blind us, too.
2. The second sin of the rich man is that even in Hades
   he still thinks he is significant enough to tell Abraham to order Lazarus to
   warn his 5 brothers.  His self image is
   inflated and blinds him to this character flaw.  Entitlement?
3. The rich man is condemned not because of his wealth in
   itself, but that because of it he feels self righteous.  The trap of wealth, I am better than that one.
4. There may be a parallel in Luke’s mind between Lazarus
   and Jesus, which comes out in the talk between the rich man and Abraham.  Jesus was poor, died, and returned to
   life.  Were Lazarus to die and return to
   life, neither would he be believed, any more than Jesus was believed.
5. There is a play on words with Lazarus.  In ancient languages the name Lazarus could
   be equivalent to Abraham.  Therefore,
   Luke rubs it in: Lazarus may be a personification of Abraham himself, lying on the
   doorstep of the rich man who never sees him.

 The lesson: Who is the Lazarus, who is the poor
person at your own doorstep?

Source:   The Liberating Stories of Jesus, Francis Vanderwall

 

 

Readings: Amos (again), 6,1-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6, 11-16; Luke 16, 19-31 (Rich Man & Lazarus).

Amos: Just a reminder from last week.  Amos, a prophet, lives about 800 years before Christ.  A prosperous time for the Jews, but a prosperity built on defrauding the poor.  Amos warns the people that Yahweh will punish them for cheating the poor and amassing fortunes. 

In our selection today Amos is putting it to the rich.  Which leads, of course, to our Gospel on the Rich Man & Lazarus.

The Rich Man’s Sin of Blindness

Some months ago when we were getting ready to work on the Rowlett house, I met with the man from Lake Point Church to estimate what the house needed.  We were going to team up. While we were standing outside looking the place over, I hesitatingly mentioned the huge Sycamore tree leaning over the house.  Dangerous.  "Alex, do you have any people in your community who could take that tree down?"  "I’ll see," he says. Alex was pretty taciturn, so I left it at that. 

A couple of weeks later on perhaps our second Saturday to work on the house, we were all gathering at 8:00 when a line of about ten pickups arrives and one pulls a large enclosed trailer.  The Lake Point Emergency Team.  They open the trailer, pull out chain saws, ropes, equipment, hard hats, and head for the tree.  There must have been 15 people, including two young women.  We occasionally stopped work and stood in awe as they brought down some gigantic overhanging limb.  Three hours later they were done, thanked us for inviting them, declined to join us for lunch, and departed, leaving only a huge pile of Sycamore branches ready to be picked up by the township. 

I am humbled by this team and wish I could join them.  They go where they are needed in almost any emergency.  They look for places where their help is needed.

I thought of them when I read about the Rich Man & Lazarus.  As usual, there are symbolic elements to this parable. 

First, there are three clues that inform the people who are tuned in that the guy is very rich: he has not just food, but sumptuous food; he dresses in purple, which also meant he was holy; and he had a funeral, which meant he was in Yahweh’s favor. Being rich, of course, meant good and favored by Yahweh.

Secondly, Lazarus. He is the only person in all the parables to be named.  Meaning?  Predilection for the poor? He also is painted as such a wretch that even dogs licked his sores.

Then, watch the switch.  Both men die. Lazarus is in Abraham’s bosom. He is the rich one now. Only free people recline at table, especially on the chest of the host. The Rich Man, however, is in a place of torment.

So what was the Rich Man’s sin?  Being rich?  Not necessarily. The Rich Man did not care for the Lazarus at his door.  He did not even see him. Granted, the parable indicates that his richness contributed to his blindness.  He had to stop focusing on himself, look around him for the Lazarus nearby, and care for him.

We are rich, too, folks.  No way we can deny it or escape it, despite events in our lives that may cause poverty of spirit.  The people from the Lake Point Emergency team were rich.  They, however, are looking for the Lazarus in their lives, and they were caring for him.

Who is the Lazarus in your life and how are your caring for him?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-09-30.mp3

   

Readings:

Exodus, 17, 8-13,  Joshua mowed down Amelak and his people.  

 Psalm 121,  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

2 Timothy  3, 14-4, 2,  Remain faithful to what you learned.

 Luke 18, 1–8,   The poor widow who pestered the judge.

 

 

Harper says, "Welcome, Everybody."  And what could I be seeing on your cheeks, Harper?  

 

Exodus  observations:

What: A very readable story about the Israelites departing their slavery in Egypt.  Moses is their reluctant leader and his struggle in getting old Pharoah to allow the people to depart is classic.   The story, mostly fable, continues through the people's journey through the Sinai Desert for 40 years and their entrance into the Caananite land, a land promised to them by Yahweh. 

 When put together:  Two collections were recorded as early as the time of Solomon, about 1000 ears before Christ.  Other collections were added and the definitive & final form took place around the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., 555 before Christ.  

Our Selection: The people are in the desert.  They get attacked by the Amelekites.  How Moses saves the day is amusing.  The finale is not so amusing, but typical for the time.

Sources:  The New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Bible. 

 

 

Victoria, too, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."

 

 

What We Ask For

A few years ago I had three elderly people from the subdivision of Northwood Hills contact me about planting trees in their neighborhood.  Two were a couple and there was a third guy, all probably about my age right now.  I really did not want to do this project because they were north of LBJ and I thought it was too far to drag the water trailer full of water from Jesuit, where I was living then.

 

 

Welcome in to you, My Dearest Vivian.  So nice to see you.  Thanks to your special mommy.

 

 

So I put them off.  Maybe even for a year.  Eventually, however, because of their persistence I went to see their project, which consisted of Fretz Park, Hillcrest from LBJ to Beltline, Beltline from Preston to Coit, and a neighborhood elementary school, about 350 plus trees.

Despite not being eager to tackle the distance, two things pulled down my resistance.  First, they were willing to kick in a good portion of the cost of the trees.  Secondly, they were so gracious and eager to improve their own neighborhood.  I could not tell them no after all they were willing to put out, and all their pleading. 

 

Genevieve says, "Where now is that Vivian?  She has disappeared."

 

You know the rest.  We planted one of our bigger projects and the trees are thriving.   I was especially touched because they gave me a recognition of gratitude at one of their large community meetings.

When I hear Luke's story about the widow & the judge I always think about Northwood Hills.  With gratitude. 

With confusion also, because I have difficulty with the main point of the story.  Namely, that God will answer persistent prayer, without even being slow about it, as Luke says.  Do you believe that God answers our prayers, and even more swiftly if we are persistent as the widow?  My mom thought that a nine day novena with special prayers got her every request, though my memory tells me otherwise.

 

 

Entrance of Lauren Lucas and her dad, Jim.  Friday night wedding at Ana Villa in The Colony.  

 

I need to make a distinction and an observation to make sense of this for me.  I have talked with numerous people about this discomfort I have.   The distinction is between a macro-managing God and a micro-managing God.

The macro-managing God I can handle.  This god is behind the big stuff, the sky, creation, the stars, life, the balance of the universe.  I see this god as like a person bowling.  He gets the ball going and it travels on its own.

 

 

The Unity Candle, Lauren & Dylan.

 

The micro-managing god, however, is responsible for my sickness.  He makes good things happen & bad things.  He can change each.  If I pester this god enough he will find my lost wedding ring or car keys.  He will cure the sick, make me rich, fix the lottery so I win it, and so forth.  This god I don't see in my experience.

Then why do I pray for people?  Like at our prayers of the faithful.  This is the observation. I pray first because I think, I hope, our God hears and is personal.  Secondly, I pray because I imagine that my spirit sends forth some kind of emotional energy to that God that says, "Please take special care of this person I love."  When we do this as a group, the emotional energy has a little more punch. 

 

 

Exit and beginning of a New Life for Lauren and Dylan Mosley.  

 

I also pray for people because it sensitizes me to the suffering & difficulty other people are experiencing.

So where does this leave us?  Don't pray for people?  Don't pray persistently like the little widow or the people from Northwood Hills?  No. It may mean I lower my expectations. Maybe it helps to make the distinction about the macro vs micro-managing god.  I still remember people in prayer. 

Ultimately, what is your belief about praying for special intentions?

 

Is there anything you cannot do, Leo?  This is terrific.  Move over, Ray & Mary.  

 

Readings: Isaiah 43, 18-25; Psalm 41; 2 Corinthians 1, 18-22; Mark 2, 1-12

Isaiah: Some reminders–

The Book of Isaiah is one of the Big 3, along with Jeremiah & Ezekiel, because they have a lot of chapters and therefore say a lot..  Isaiah has 66 chapters.

Author & Time: The book has at least 3 contributors.  Chapter 43, today's selection is from Isaiah 2, who seems to be writing  during the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews who lived in and  around Jerusalem.  The time was ca. 575 BCE.  Isaiah 1 wrote before the Captivity.  Isaiah 3's material might come from after the Jews returned to Jerusalem, the time after the Assyrians under Cyrus conquered the Babylonians.  Cyrus let the Hebrews return to Jerusalem.

Our Selection, Chapter 43: the writer has Yahweh speaking to his defeated and depressed people.  This is the Book of Comfort, and informs the Jews that times will get better, which they do, at least for these Jews' children & grandchildren. 

How Make Lent a Winner

There is a story floating around about this guy in Washington, D.C.  One cold morning in January he took his violin down into a subway station.  He set up his spot, pulled out his violin, and began to play for the throngs of commuters rushing to and fro.  He played for about an hour.

During the hour a few people paused and listened for a few moments, then hurried off to their train.  Another lady dropped in a dollar while she rushed by.   Others paused quickly and some tossed in a bill.  The people who most focused their attention on him & his music were kids.  They would stop dead in their tracks mesmerized.  Their parents would have to drag them on to their destination while the kids looked back over their shoulders.

After the hour the man had accumulated about $30.  Nobody cheered, nobody applauded at the end of his performance.  Nobody even noticed.  Not that the guy needed the money or the applause.  He was Joshual Bell, one of the best violin players in the world.  Two days before this, in fact, his concert in Boston had sold out with tickets averaging $100.  The violin he plays costs over 3 million.

The Washington Post had set up this event where Joshua Bell would perform in the subway station.  The goal was to see how people would respond to beauty in an ordinary place at a busy time.  Perhaps 1,000 people passed by Joshua Bell in that one hour during which he played 6 pieces of classical music.  No one actually stayed for the whole of even one piece.  Only a handful paused for no more than a couple of minutes.  Only the kids wanted to stay and listen. 

The wonder is, is this typical of us.  If I do not have enough time to pause 5 minutes and appreciate one of the best musicians in the world play some of the best music in the world, what other beauties am I missing?  And missing every day.

I tell this story because we are beginning Lent Wednesday.  I confess this is not one of my favorite times of the year, mostly because of the history I have with it being focused on sin and penance.  Give up this, give up that.  If you would like to take this as an occasion to become a better, more fully alive human, I would like to suggest two positives.

First, sensitivity.  Sensitivity to the beauty around me, like that music, to the beauty of people as a community and individually, and to the beauty of myself, my health, my gifts, my education.  It was not Lent, but last Wednesday I went to visit the new Trinity River Audubon Center in south Dallas.   Just the building I found  to be architectural poetry.  Maybe once a week something of this type is planned during the next five weeks.

The second positive has to do with the story in Mark about the four guys who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing.   I find this story so right on.  I love it.  The man could not get there on his own, but his friends could get him there.  Oops, when they get to the house where Jesus is, they find they cannot get through the crowd.  No problem.  They climb the roof, break a hole, and lower him down.

We had houses like this in Tanzania.  The roof is made out of tree poles laid across the house with about  1 to 2 feet of space between each one.  Other branches are placed on top.  Then a mud like clay is put on the branches.  Over the mud usually is a smoother clay.  We had a Jesuit house near the base of Kilimanjaro whose flat roof was cement and we would sit up there to watch the sunset against the mountain, every night 6:00 to 6:30.  Being on the equator sunset & sunrise takes place the same time every day and lasts 30 minutes.

So these guys cut a hole through the roof and lowered down their friend.  This is friendship and community at its best, me helping you when you need it and you helping me when I need it.  Hillary says it takes a village.  I would suggest it takes a community.

So the second positive to make myself a richer person in this Lent: service, help my neighbor with his roof.  Somebody needed to help Peter with the roof of his house.  I hope the four guys helped him.  Bill Hammond, Bob McGrath, & I are all going to work on housing in Galveston next week.  One small step, one small contribution.

So, if you want to make yourself a richer person in the next 5-6 weeks, if you don't want to pass by the Joshua Bells on your commute, and you like to help out, how about sensitivity and service?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-02-22.mp3

Picture 1:  Mass with T.J. Helping

Picture 2:  Birthdays, Maggie & Chloe, Ron, T.J. Dana (17), Rosemary, & Diane

Picture 3:  Clare (mom) & Chloe dancing & Ron Kovatis

Picture 4:  Communion helpers, Patricia, Geri, Don, Ron, & Beth