Sunday Homily, December 31, 2017, Holy Family

Readings:

Isaiah, 2, 1-5,  They shall beat their swords into plow shares. (a beautiful readRing)

 Psalm 122,  Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

 Romans 13, 11-14,  Our salvation is nearer now.

 Matthew 24, 37-44,   Stay awake, for you do not know on  which day your Lord will come.

 

 

Thanks, John, for celebrating today.

 

 Second week of Advent, Thoughts by Mike

Energize your spiritual journey

We are all brothers and sisters, and our one goal is the kingdom of heaven, here and now.

We will always obtain the desire of our heart, so we must choose our desires wisely. 

Choose love, for it is in giving that we receive, ‘it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.’

‘Pay it forward.’  We teach by example.

Life is not about winning or loosing, its about compassion and justice.

Taking a step forward means that we have chosen to leave something behind. 

We are granted joy when we choose to leave pain behind. 

We enter truth when we choose to leave fear behind.

Peace comes when we choose to forgive.

Our Spirit enlightens us by chasing away our darkness, for they cannot coexist.  

 

 

Happy Anniversary, Frank & Mary.

 

The Kingdom of God is always at hand.  Be born again.

We are one body in Christ, when we are not seen or recognized when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.

Love does not build barriers; it tears them down.

Gratitude is the lens through which the Spirit calls us to journey.

‘Most opportunities are never convenient.  You don’t wait for them; they just occur.’

Deacon Mike

 

Hi, John and Mike from Hilton Head Island.

 

Readings:

Acts 14, 21-27,   From there they sailed to Antioch.

Psalm 145,  I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Revelation  21, 1-5,  He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them.  I, John, had a vision of a great multitude.

John 13, 31-35,  A new commandment, love one another.

 

 

Acts, a couple of observations:

1.  Remember the three rings of Acts, Jerusalem, Palestine, the World (Mediterranean & Rome)?   Since we are at Chapter 28 of 28, you can guess in what ring we are today, yes, the World.  Paul and Barnabas are in the region of Greece.
2. The author, the same as the Gospel of Luke.
3. The date again, before 70

 

A New Commandment, Love One Another

I want to talk this morning about the new commandment, love one another. 

It has been a couple of rough weeks, folks. 

First there was the Boston Marathon.  I have been at those finish lines, like running the Mexico City Marathon.   I know both the exhilaration and the fatigue, like after the Hotter N’ Hell 100 mile bike ride in Wichita Falls the end of August.

Then, West.  I just happened to be in West the afternoon of the evening of the explosion.  I wonder about the delightful ladies at the famous Czech bakery, where we had stopped for kolaches

Then a story that has been gnawing at me, the 10 year old boy starved to death by his father and step mother.  At times I cannot get this nightmare out of my mind.

See enough of this and I could get pessimistic and lose perspective on people.  Which is why I don’t normally listen to local news.  Which is why I want to tell you 3 antidote stories of loving one another.

The first is about a Plano boy Rex Burkhead, who has just graduated from Nebraska.  I found this article Friday in the Dallas Morning News.  Anyone know him?  The article does not say which high school he attended.

In 2011, Rex had lunch with the Hoffman family of Plano as part of his Nebraska football team’s outreach program.  Why the Hoffmans?  They have a 7 year old son, Jack, who has had brain cancer for 2 years.

As a result of the lunch, Rex and Jack have become buddies.  Even the parents of both families have become good friends. 3 weeks ago the Nebraska football team staged its spring intersquad game.  Little Jack, wearing Rex’s 22 on a small jersey, lined up in Rex’s position in the backfield, was handed the ball on a play, and he ran 70 yards for a touchdown.  Everyone cheered Jack and Rex’s video of Jack’s run became an Internet sensation

Rex Burkhead exemplifies loving one another.

This even happens in our very own community in so many ways.

For instance, I know one anonymous person who cleans houses once in a while.  One elderly family, in particular, she visits once a week.  It takes her at most an hour to clean the house.  But she always plans to stay with the couple about 3 more hours to talk with them and do little helps. 

I know, also, of a couple of women from our community who visit Rita once or twice a week to help her and especially to change her pressure sox, which she cannot do herself. 

This is living it out, loving one another.

Give me one way you love another.

Reference: Dallas Morning News, Sports section, Friday, April 26, 2013

 

 

Readings:  Zephaniah 12, 10-11, 13, 1; Psalm 63, My Soul is Thirsting for You, O Lord my God; Galatians 3, 26-29; Luke 9, 18-24. 

Father's Day, A Brief History:

Mother’s Day background:

 

1.  In reaction to the Civil War horror, Julia Ward Howe proposed a Mother’s Day, ca. 1870.  It became a custom in some communities.

 

 2.  Picking up the idea later was Anna Jarvis who influenced President Wilson to declare it a national May holiday, 1912.

 

 

Father’s Day:

 

1.  As a compliment celebration, Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, WA began celebrating in June a Father’s Day. 

 

2.  Her history played a role here, because she had great affection for her dad, a Civil War Vet, who took care of the family as sole parent when his wife died giving birth to their 6^th child.  Sonora was 16 at the time.

 

3.  Sonora also influenced  President Wilson to establish a June Father’s Day national holiday.  He could not get it through Congress, who thought it was getting trivial.  In fact, while Mother’s Day was eagerly celebrated, at first Father’s Day was considered a joke.

 

4.  LBJ finally designated it to be celebrated the 3^rd Sunday of June.  55 other countries celebrate on the same day.

 

5.  President Nixon finally got it established as a national holiday.  Date 1972.

 

 

A Father’s Day Story

 

 

This event happened in mid-March.  I was out in the back yard on a Monday morning about 7:30.  I remember it was sunny, which was rare this past March. 

 

 

Do not tell my physical therapist that I was out in the yard walking around with my cane or walker.  I don’t remember which.  I know I was still home bound for another couple of weeks from the second hip replacement.   There was a fear I would fall down and dislocate the thing. 

I know it was Monday because we have our recycle material pick up and I was out putting stuff in the container in the alley.

 

 

At some point I am walking back to the porch and the back door, taking the long route to see how many pecan branches had fallen in the yard.  I’m out near the edge of our property where it touches the little north-south street, Camellia. 

 

 

Along comes an elderly guy I had seen once or twice earlier in the year (probably younger than I am).  He was headed to the Starbucks on Royal & Preston.  We have a fair amount of foot traffic from the neighborhood pass our corner headed to Starbucks for their morning fix.

He says to me, “You have a really nice yard here.”  Now when he says this, I’m thinking I did not hear him because our yard is a winter mess, lots of small branches still lying around from the first snow fall, everything ragged and unkempt. 

 

 

So I say, “Thanks, but the yard is really a mess right now and I cannot do anything about it for another month or so.”  And he responds, “Yes, but you really do keep a beautiful place here.” 

 

I thank him again and he continues on toward Starbucks. 

 

I was dumbstruck and touched.  I do attempt to maintain a pretty place.  It is like therapy for me.  Yet this is the first time a passing stranger has ever complimented me on it.  That compliment made my day and it stuck with me.  It even gave me this shot of energy which made me want to go out and clean the place up, but I couldn’t.

 

 

The power of a compliment or positive stroke!  They give life.  I have subsequently found out this guy’s name is Harold and he is both a dad and a grand dad.  He has a gift.  It is a gift we all have

When and to whom do you dads put the gift to use?

 

 

Picture 1:  Sienna helping with the beginning of Mass

 

Picture 2:  Special Blessing of Males by the Women, Sandra

 

Picture 3:  Kiddie Korner, Kayla & Cici

 

Picture 4:  Sam with his Momma, Pam

 

 

+Says Louis, "Welcome in, Everybody."

 

Readings:

Genesis  18, 20-32,  Sodom!  Good story.

Psalm 138,  Lord, on the day I cried for help you answered me.  (a terrific psalm)

Colossians 2, 12-14,  You were buried with him in baptism.

Luke 11, 1-13, "Ask & you will receive."

 

 

The Great Candle Team in action.

 

Intro to the readings:

1.   Another nice story about Abraham's relationship with God.  We can all place ourselves in Abraham's' shoes.

2.  The Gospel reading gives us an idealized version of how the Our Father came about.  With all these stories, you probably would not be far off if you suspected a ghost composer rather than Jesus. 

It ends with an encouragement from Jesus to ask for what you want with persistence, "ask & you will receive."  Reminds me of my mom & her 8 day novenas.  One of those novenas was, I bet, that I would leave the Jesuits quickly and go to college like a normal kid.

3.  Psalm 139.  As much as I like parts of the readings, it is Psalm 139 that really touches me and has touched me for decades.  I would like to spend a couple of minutes explaining why & how it has played a role in my life.  All 4 stanzas move me.   The first line of the first stanza sums it up, "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart."

 

 

 

 

Leo joins the Music Machine.

 

I will give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart

This event took place 20 years ago or more.  Do you remember one Spring afternoon (think it was Spring), when Hillary Clinton came to Dallas?  I know not the reason, but come she did.  There was an ordinary motorcade somewhere in the Dallas area.  All was peaceful until one of the motorcycle policemen had an accident.  The policeman was killed in the accident.

 

 

We probably really don't want to know what is going on over there.

 

The man was a member of St. Marks Catholic Church, where I was saying every Sunday the 9:00 & 10:30 Masses.  I always said the English Mass in the cafetorium at 10:30, and the 9:30 was either English in the main church or Spanish in the cafetorium.  Seeing as the policeman was hispanic I probably knew him from the Spanish Mass.

The funeral which was huge was held at Restland on Greenvile Ave. & Forest Lane.  I went to the viewing to offer my condolences, but decided to skip the funeral, it being so huge.

 

 

 

Watch out, Sydney, for that Rosemary.

 

The family has 4 or 5 kids and the kids were in individual rooms.  I chose to visit with one of the daughters because I knew her probably the best.  She was around 13 and was seated with her girl friend at the back of a room and people were lined up to visit her moving clockwise through the room.

I got in line which started in the hall.  When I got in, the girl got up and ran over to me and we hugged.  I stayed in line and when I got to the girl she told her friend that I was her priest and that when she made her first confession, a process which I don't like, I gave her for her penance two Hershey Kisses.

 

 

 

Elevation Time.

 

I give Thanks to you O Lord with all my heart. 

I give thanks because that little girl got my message.  The message: that "your kindness, O Lord, endures forever."  (Stanza 4,line 3)   This was why I gave out Hershey Kisses instead of penances and even hugs to every kid despite the warning about "don't touch the kids."  I grew up without enough hugs. 

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in Love." Psalm 145 & other locations.  Another of my favorites.

Can you believe that?

 

 

 

Who let that Shropshire in here?

Readings: Leviticus 13, 1-2, 44-46, The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall cry out, "Unclean."; Psalm 32, I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation; 1 Corinthians 10, 31-11, 1, Do everything for the glory of God; Mark 1, 40-45, If you wish, you can make me clean.

Leviticus: The book of the Levite tribe, the priestly tribe, one of the 12 tribes, a book of 27 chapters focused mostly on laws.  The third book of the Torah after Genesis & Exodus, before Numbers & Deuteronomy.

Author: a collection of many sources, but not Moses (impossible).

Date: some laws go back 1400 BCE., others from ca. 450 BCE.

Subject matter: laws for better living with Yahweh.  For instance in chapter 11, one may not eat pigs, camels, or rabbits, no animal with a divided hoof.  All winged insects are unclean, except those that hop.  In chapter 12, women are ritually unclean after giving birth, 7 days for boys, 14 days for girls.  Chapter 19, "love one another as one's self."  This morning's selection deals with how people with leprosy are to be treated.  Leprosy, of course, was considered a punishment for sin & disobedience.

 

Note: an interesting example of how academics better understand these texts.  They noted that both Leviticus 11 & Deuteronomy 14 have similar lists of clean and unclean animals for eating.  Deuteronomy 14, however, has 11 additional critters which are not mentioned in Leviticus 11.  These 11 dwell only in the Arabian desert, not in Egypt or the land of Canaan (Holy Land).   From this it can be deduced that the person (s) writing the laws in Leviticus had not wandered the desert and was writing before the Exodus.  The writer (s) of Deuteronomy, however, had wandered the desert. 

Source: The Book of Leviticus; Believe: Religious Information Source, Canon Tristam

 

Exclusion vs Inclusion

When I first lived in Kenya & Tanzania in the late 70's I spent time working on my Swahili in a Jesuit parish that was in a town called Tabora, Tanzania.  The town is in the middle of Tanzania with no paved roads leading to it.  Only a few roads in the town itself are paved.  The parish had about 3 Jesuit priests in those days, if I remember correctly, a French Canadian, an Irish, and an Indian.  Today the Jesuits have departed and handed it over to the diocese because of not enough Jesuit priests.

In those days the parish had 21 outstations, some of which even had other outstations further out.  These were located in small villages where little mud walled churches had been put up.  Occasionally I found a rather large cement block church left over from times when priests were more abundant.   Each Sunday we would all head out on motorcycles to the outstations. 

On the edge of Tabora there was a special community.  A community of men & women who had leprosy.  The exclusion of these lepers was similar to what we read in Leviticus, though they received better care.  Our parish used to help them a lot and I went to say Mass for them and spent time talking with them often individually, sometimes in a group.  Despite the effectiveness of modern medicine, many had significant scarring and were without hands or feet.  I remember being touched mostly by the quality of their spirits and sense of acceptance. 

I am reminded of this leper community when I read about the lepers in today's readings.  Leviticus lays down the directives.  Mark has Jesus dealing with a leper.   I've already discussed Leviticus.  Let me mention one main point relevant to Mark & his account.

It is inclusion.

Mark wants to convince Christians of Jewish & mostly Gentile background that they are included and that Jesus is the Messiah.  This community probably lived in Galilee, that is, around the Sea of Galilee or in Syria.  How do today's students of the bible know this?  Because they analyzed the text and noted that Mark used Greek rather than Aramaic.  Moreover, Mark describes geography typical of Galilee, not Jerusalem.

 The miracle Mark describes today aims at inclusion in the community.  Using the leper as a metaphor or symbol, he is telling especially the Gentile Christians, 'You are part of this community.  You belong here.  If Jesus can include a leper, then anyone and everyone is part of the community.  Nobody is excluded.'

What does Leviticus instruct?  What does Jesus do?  He welcomes him.  In fact, he does something that broke the law, and the people would be astounded, no, probably shocked and repulsed.  He touched the leper.  This was after Mark has the leper break the law by approaching Jesus.  People around are saying, "Wow!", when they read Marks story. 

This might be today's lesson for us.  Inclusion.  It may be easier for us to think of including a leper, because we know the virus is not that contagious and can be effectively treated.  But HIV?  What about other races, colors, religions, students from other schools?

Whom do I have trouble including in my community?

References: Austin Cline, Audience of Mark's Gospel (on line).

Picture 1:    Mass Begins

Picture 2:    The Community

Picture 3:    Brooklyn walks

Picture 4:    Charlie with Zoe & Georgie

Picture 5:    Georgie with Zoe & Sienna

Picture 6:    Torri with her granddad, Gilberto

 

Readings:                          

Acts  7,  55-60,  They threw Stephen out of the city, and began to stone him.

Psalm 97,  The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth

Revelation 22, 12-14, 16-17, 20,    I, John, heard a voice.

John 17, 20-26,  I pray that they all may be one.

 

Sorry no homily today.