Author: Rosemary

Readings:

Nehemiah  8, 2-10,   Do not be sad and do not weep.

Psalm 19, Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.

 1 Corinthians 12, 12-30,  A body is one though it has many parts.

Luke 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21,   He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives.

 

 

  Victoria says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in.  We got a brunch today."

 

Introduction  

 

 Our first reading is from Nehemiah, Ezra, a scribe and priest, reads and teaches from the written Torah in Jerusalem, brought back by those returning from the Babylon Exile. The Torah, of course, begins with the Book of Genesis and the creation story. 

Later the NT and then, Sufi Islam would make known that we are made in the image and likeness of God. A bond begins!  Our second reading from 1 Corinthians follows last Sunday’s teaching on the spiritual gifts.  Today’s reading describes how we are one in the Spirit as the body of Christ in the world.

 

 

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

 

 

Homily by Mike  

Remember the story about the tax collector and the Pharisee who went to the temple to pray.  The Pharisee praised himself and ended his prayer by saying, ‘I am glad that I’m not like the tax collector standing over there.  The tax collector however was beating his breast saying, ‘Have mercy on me a sinner.’   The Pharisee was self-righteous instead of being humble. He chose to look down upon others as if they were morally inferior.  He committed the sin of pride, the first of the deadly sins and he, too, like the tax collector, should have been seeking forgiveness.

 

Hi, Cathy, Welcome in to you, too.  Thanks for bringing Harper.

 

Don’t be surprised when Pope Francis formally asks the Jews to forgive us for being self-righteous toward them for so many centuries prior to World War II.  Unfortunately we had a part in the Holocaust for our prior teaching that the Jews could not be saved unless they became Christians. 

 

Sez Genevieve, "I want to sing, too."   Watch out, Folks, she can almost walk.

 

Francis has been calling us to recognize the bond that exists between Jews and Christians; it’s called the Spirit, blows were it wills, and is present within the inspired writings of both Jew and Christian.  Jesus was a Jew. Most of the NT was written by inspired Jews who believed that the Messiah had come.  Francis is encouraging us to visual this graphic relationship: within every Christian there is a Jew. 

 

Buddies, Leo & Genevieve.

 

Today’s gospel is about what happened when Jesus entered the Sabbath synagogue service.  The reading for that day, as you have heard, were the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me….’  The one who gave the reading would then give a teaching on why and to whom Isaiah had said these words.

 

The entrance, Here they come, Folks.

 

 For example, Isaiah could have been referring to the Jews to whom Ezra was reading and explaining the newly written Torah that had been brought back from Babylon after the exiles had been set free by Cyrus the Great.   Instead the inspired writers have Jesus fulfilling Isaiah’s words using them as an expectation for the coming of the Messiah.  In doing so, the structure of the Christian Liturgy of the Word would forever be identified: the words of Christ would fulfill the expectation of the reading from the Law and/or Prophets for the coming of the Messiah.  

 

Mike, sharing The Idea.

 

What Jesus said, of course, was, ‘This day these words are fulfilled in your hearing.’   Those in the synagogue who were receiving the good news, then, were the poor in spirit, the captive being set free, and the blind being given the opportunity to see. 

 

 Does it get any better?

 

So there is an intended spiritual harmony between OT and NT, between the Sabbath synagogue service and the Christian Liturgy of the Word, and between Jew and Christian.  Within every Christian there is a Jew.  Let us open our hearts to the words of our creed today that addresses all who seek to be led by the Spirit. 

 

 Buddies, Michelle & Georgie.

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah  62, 1-5,     The Lord delights in you. (another excellent reading, this time from Isaiah III)

Psalm 96,  Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

 1 Corinthians 12, 4-11,  There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same spirit, different forms of service, but the same Lord.   (a good selection)

John 2, 1-11, There was a wedding at Cana.  ( a good story)

 

Harper says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in.  It is so nice to be back after a long absence."

 

Isaiah observations:

When you see that today's selection is from the 62nd chapter, you may pretty easily guess  that this is Isaiah III.   The last 10 chapters of the work are from Isaiah III, that is, chapters 56-66.  

Remember that Isaiah III talks consolation and comfort for the people, most of whom have now returned from the Babylonian Captivity to a destroyed Jerusalem.

 

"Yep, Welcome Back, Cathy."

 

What is your gift?

Want to take a trip to East Africa this morning, to my beloved Tanzania?  I want to talk a moment about our gifts and forms of service like are mentioned in 1 Corinthians.   To exemplify my thinking, I want to tell you a Christmas story that took place ca. 1980.   I was tempted to tell you about a wedding I did on the slope of Kilimanjaro, but this is just as good and we have only finished with Christmas a few weeks back.

So, buckle your seat belts and let’s take off.

 

"Hi, Victoria, Hi, Buddy."

 

There is a town smack in the middle of Tanzania called Tabora.  It was on the east west railroad from Dar es Salaam, the capital, to Lake Tanganyika.   The Jesuits staffed a church in Tabora, not large, but with lots of people.  It also had about 20 spokes out from the main church, outstation churches built when more expatriate priests were around to man them. 

I was at one of these outstations for Advent and Christmas around 1980 to work on my Swahili.   Two Maltese Jesuits interns were with me (from the island of Malta, off the island of Sicily).  They were what were called scholastics, i.e., learning to be Jesuit priests.  Good guys,  Joe Xerri and Joe Pulicino. 

 

Want to hear The Best?  Shonda, Bethany, Ray, & David.

 

Later I visited Xerri at his home, not on Malta itself, but the island of Gozo, just off of Malta.  He eventually left the Jesuits.  Pulicino, got ordained, returned to TZ, worked with refugees, got captured by some Sudanese, and eventually was released.

So we three Jesuits are at this outstation, which was a fairly large, cinder block, rectangular building with a bell, a bell tower, and a corrugated tin roof.  I often thought about the priests who built the church and then had to leave it empty somewhere along the way.  It must have hurt.

 

 Zoe & Cole at work on our major life problems.

 

The little town where this church was situated was tiny, just a few houses with tin roofs, maybe even mud walls.  The church itself had an outstation, another little village even smaller.  I did a funeral in this tiny village and fell into the grave.  That scared everybody really good.

The people around the main church had not had a Christmas Mass in ages.  They wanted a midnight Mass and we offered to put together a Nativity pageant.  They jumped at it and we had a cast of dozens. 

 

And More Problems being solved.

 

So the night comes.  You got to picture the scene.  No electricity.  We had a few of the old kerosene lanterns.  I spent many an evening with those kerosene lanterns.  There was no heat other than campfires.   Christmas in TZ comes in the middle of the warm & dry season, just opposite to us in the northern regions.

We rang the bell.  People were literally camped out all over the place because many had walked for miles.  The church filled up.   There was plenty of music, basically drumming and shakers, and, of course,  great rhythm. 

 

A Cupcake of The Week to Georgie for being a Great Helper.

 

The one thing I never expected was the wave of June bugs.  The church walls were not totally closed, but had sections where cinder blocks with holes were used.  With the light in the church in the totally dark night, bugs came from everywhere.  Nobody seemed to be bothered in the least.

The Mass lasted probably 2 hours.  The Nativity pageant was super.   Nobody wanted it to end.

 

 Happy Birthday, Becky.

 

Why talk about this?  Gifts.  We had a gift and we shared it with everybody.  They had gifts of music and excitement and gratitude.  The kids pitched in with the pageant. 

You can say that Jesus had a gift and he shared it.  Mary, too, had a gift and she shared it, her son.

What gift do you have and how do you share it?

 

Cupcake of The Week to Cole for being The Candle Lighter of The Week.

 

Readings:

Isaiah  40, 1-5, 9-11,  Go up to a high mountain, Zion, cry out at the top of your voice.   (another excellent  reading, this time from Isaiah II)

Psalm 104,  Bless the Lord My Soul.

Pope Francis, Laudato Si:

A Reading from Pope Francis’ Letter on the Environment:

When we speak of the “environment”, what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it.

Nature, the environment, cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves, a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and in constant interaction with it. 

 

Zoe say, "Welcome, Everybody, it is sunny and warm here."

 

It is critical to seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems.

We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.

 Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach: combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and protecting nature and our entire environment.

The words of Pope Francis.

Luke 3, 15-16, 21-22, The baptism of Jesus.

 

Angela, too, says, "Hi, "Everybody, welcome in." 

 

Baptism & Original Sin: traditional & contemporary theology 

Traditional theology on baptism & original sin: 

1. Why we baptized: purification & removal of original sin inherited by babies.  Baby was a sinner & would go to Limbo forever if not baptized before dying.     
2. Original sin: the 1 sin of Eve & Adam, the eating of an apple, ruptured the relationship between God & Humans. 

 

Two of our more studious community members, Brandon & Leo.

 

Contemporary theology on baptism & original sin: 

1. Original sin: (first) 
2. no original sin  
3. Genesis story of the fall is allegory, not fact  
4. from Darwin's Origin of the Species the idea has developed that in our human infancy, we needed certain behaviors to survive.  For instance, killing another person & stealing (like food), to survive.  As our ancestors formed communities, norms of social behavior emerged, for example, the 10 commandments.   
5. St. Augustine, ca. 400: 

–A major, if not the major influence on Christian/Catholic theology of original sin and human nature from his time to today 

–After conversion from a rather lusty life at 32, he had a pessimistic view of human nature, different from early Christianity.  This is part of the background to why priests were supposed to be celibate.

 

Leo & Brandon, the Candle Lighters of The Week.

 

–John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), Pelagius, a British monk, & Julian of Eclanum, Italy, a bishop, all found nature good and fought against Augustine

–Augustine used all means to vanquish his opponents with their positive view that nature was good, even to sending a gift of horses to the pope to influence his decision.  Augustine won.  

 Why we baptize today: (using the contemporary theology)

1. To celebrate a new life
2. To ritually & formally welcome the new person into a family, a community, and to a God famous for love and acceptance
3. To cleanse after the journey

 

Anybody know who these characters are?  At Juliet's Restaurant?

 

 

The Beauty of Little Kids is for Real

I would like to continue to talk about why we baptize little kids, at least here in our community.    I mentioned that what we are celebrating is new life. Moreover, we are welcoming the child into a family, a community, and a God who loves that child and thinks the child is the best, as good as it gets. 

Sometimes we get distracted and don’t see this.  The child may be crying a lot or we may still think of the child as a sinner.  Appearances distract us and we judge negatively. 

 

The Best, Shonda, Bethany, Ray,  David.

 

This is pretty common and I have two examples, one of which you ladies who went to the luncheon will recognize.  Rosemary shared it.

It happened this way.  Rosemary was going to get something at Kohls this past week.  She gets out of the car in the parking lot and starts walking in.  Ahead of her a young guy with pants hanging low in the current fashion steps ahead of her. 

As they walk toward the store, he is working at putting on a belt. 

I admit that I don’t find this custom attractive when I see it in guys, which is exactly why young guys do it. 

 

The Team cleaning up after communion.

 

Anyway, he finally gets his belt on and they arrive at the entrance door about the same time, he in front, Rosemary behind. 

Guess what happened.  The guy opened the door.  Then he stepped back and invited Rosemary to go in.  As Rosemary told me and probably told you ladies at Urban Rio, she was humbled and grateful.  She had misjudged the guy.

A second event happened to us both this week.  We have a nice mail man, Doug, easy going, faithful, and friendly.  We are all on first name basis.

 

Elevation.

 

At Christmas we stuck a thanks note and a $20 in an envelope for him.  Guess what happened.  We get a hand written thank you note and card. 

I was so touched.  In fact, I felt pretty miserly giving him only $20.  I was touched because I did not expect him to show gratitude in such a formal way.  Rosemary said it is a sign that his mother trained him well.  I remember my mother repeatedly saying to me, “Always thank every person who gives you something.”

In one week here are two people who have caused Rosemary & me to misjudge them. 

Babies and little kids can be misjudged.  That kid cries too much.  That kid screams too much.  Maybe the child is hurting.

 

Offertory, Bill & Zaile, Lynda & Tom.

 

This is why here I try to make our community especially welcoming and loving.  I want all these kids, Genevieve & Leo, Brandon, Cole, Harper, Emma & Zoe, Buddy & Tori, all of these and the others who come occasionally to know & feel that they are loved, welcomed, and treasured.  They are good, beautiful, and a gift to me and all of us.

Misjudge anybody this week?