Sunday Homily, October 1, 2017, 26th Ordinary Time
Welcome Back, Dear Seth. It is delightful to see you again.
Readings:
Ezekiel 18, 25-28, The Lord’s way is not fair.
Psalm 25, Remember your mercies, O Lord
Phlippians 2, 1-11, Because of this, God greatly exalted him
Matthew 20, 28-32, A man had two sons
Seth, as delightful as it is to see you, it is even more fun to see you awake. Hi to your Mama, Monique.
Ezekiel observations:
Who: Ezekiel is one of the 3 great prophets, along with Isaiah and Jeremiah.
When: He lived in Babylon before and during the Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ
Message: condemnation of behavior and promise of divine punishment. The promise of a brighter future someday.
Welcome in to you, too, Cory and Ben.
Do nothing out of selfishness, rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.
I would like to proclaim today a Good News Sunday. I seem to be overwhelmed lately with bad news. The Good News is still here. Philipppians says it and people are doing it. They are not acting out of selfishness. They are not looking out just for their own interests. They are caring for others.
Welcome in to you, too, Dearest Harper.
3 examples.
First, last Tuesday morning Rosemary & I teamed up with Carrie to ride around that Dallas jewel, White Rock Lake. We meet usually on the north bridge by the doggie park. She & Paul live on the east side of the Lake. Rosemary & I ride south down the White Rock Creek path, which is a gem in its own right.
So Tuesday we are riding south down the eastern shore of the lake. We take a little loop that puts us on the tail end of Lake Highlands Drive. We go down a dip and up a slope going left. I am ahead & hear Carrie call my name. I go on perhaps 50 yards & don’t see them behind me. I go back. Carrie had dropped her chain.
Hi to the Seth Clan, Cameron & Frank, Mary, Monique and Nicole with Mr. Seth.
By the time I get there, they have the bike upside down and are fixing it. I know Rosemary knows how to fix the chain and I am sure Carrie does too. Everything is going okay but one place the chain is wedged between the seat post and the front derailer. I join in the effort. The chain is really wedged.
Meanwhile other bikers are rolling by. I hear, “Need any help? “No,” we respond, sure we can fix this thing. Finally, a black guy rides by and asks the same question. But instead of passing on, he stops, takes a look, fiddles a bit with the chain, then yanks it into place. All cheer he hops back on his bike and sails away.
Who is that escorting Erin up the aisle to her wedding? Can it really be?? Yes, it can! Erin is being escorted by her very son, The Great Cole.
You know what struck me? Perhaps a dozen people rode by and every one of them asked if we needed help.
The Good News: Care for each other exists.
Erin & Greg, Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? (The wedding is taking place on Erin & Greg's home in Spring Valley, TX, small community north of Dallas about an hour on I35.)
Secondly. There is a Jewish temple in Austin. A five member family from Afganistan moved in recently. The community from the temple decided to adopt the family, help them get settled, and provide them with the assistance they would need.
Time passed and the family got settled in okay. To celebrate, the community took the 5 members of the family one evening to a Greek restaurant in Austin. All went well. There were 18 members of the community.
When the community went to cover all the expenses, the cashier told them there was no charge. “How come?”, they asked.
Exchange of Vows.
“Some man came up and covered all your expenses,” the cashier responded. “Do you know who he is?”, they asked. “No,” came the answer, “He did not leave his name nor even his card.”
“I know only one thing about him, because he comes here occasionally.” “Yes?”, they asked. “He is Palestinian.”
(Story came from Rabbi David Stern's sermon on the link.)
The Good News: Care for each other exists.
Here they are everybody, the young couple in Toronto.
Thirdly. In a retirement home in Toronto there is a couple of people, a man and a woman who got to know and care for each other. Recently they got married. They walked in, but they sat through the ceremony in chairs marked Mr. & Mrs. At the time when they were invited to kiss each other, they bumped foreheads. He is 101 and she is 86.
The Good News: Care for each other exists.
Whom do you care for?
Is that the famous Head Bump? Yes, definitely.