Author: Rosemary

Readings: Acts 12, 1-11; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 17-18; John 21, 15-19.

Acts: this work is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel.  It’s purpose is to tell how Jesus’ early followers spread news of him.  Since this is the feast of Peter & Paul, the selection today focuses on a special event in Peter’s life.

Do you Love Me?  More than These?

Since those days I have come to appreciate how a word in a passage can make a lot of difference depending upon how it is translated into English.  We have a rather fun example in this morning’s selection from John.

Guess what the word is: love.  It is used a lot in today’s reading.  Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, even more than the others.  Three times Peter responds that he loves him.  Looks simple.  In fact, obviously there must be a play here on the fact that Peter denied Jesus three times. 

Yet watch this. In Greek there are two words that may get translated into love.  Agapo and phileo.  The word agapo means I love you.  Phileo means something slightly different, I care for you or I like you a lot.  We have the same distinctions in English.  If your girl friend tells you, I love you, wow, the world goes off like a Roman Candle.  If she tells you, I like you & I care for you, yuk, disappointment, depression.  “I don’t want you to just like me.”  What a bummer.

Now for the passage.  Both words are used in the three sets questions.

Set one.  “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other do?”  “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”   When Jesus says love, he uses agapo, meaning love.  Peter, however, uses phileo, meaning “I care for you.”  Interesting.

Set two.  “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Guess what.  Yes, Jesus uses agapo & Peter uses phileo.  Same as set one.  But note the significant absence.  Nothing about “more than these others.”

Set three.  “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”  What do you think?  Same as before?  Nope.  This time Jesus backs off and uses phileo.  Peter, of course, sticks with phileo.

So what is going on here?  What is the point?  A couple of observations:

• First, the story is more nuanced, more a play on words than a simple do you love me back & forth.
• Secondly, the writer John may be trying to show how failure can lead to character growth. And that after the failure, acceptance still endures. Peter is exemplifying how failure can lead to less bombast & over self-confidence. Peter is less impulsive and bragadocious.

What can we take away from this story?

• First, that it is complicated to read the Bible as it is translated.
• Secondly, that even after a horrendous fall I can grow to be a better person.

Ever had a fall in your life?  How have you made yourself better because of it?

AUDIO:   http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-06-29.mp3

Readings: Jeremiah 20,10-13; Psalm 69; Romans 5, 12-15; Matthew 10, 26-33

Jeremiah: one of the 3 great prophets along with Isaiah & Ezekiel.  He lives just before the defeat & destruction of Jerusalem 650 years before Christ.  He foretells the catastrophe, warning the Hebrews that their sinful ways will lead to destruction.  He lives to see the event, but also prophesies that the exile will be temporary and that one day the people will return to Jerusalem.

Jeremiah was unpopular with the people because of his warnings.  Today's reading shows him bitter and complaining about the people. 

As Good as Sparrows, as Good as Aviana?

In February, when we put our little dog Naomi to sleep after 15 years, Rosemary & I debated whether we would ever want to get another dog.  Putting her to sleep was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. 

Around Memorial Day, however, Rosemary began to look on line just a bit.  Shih-tzus were our favorite, but we entertained other types of small dogs.   In fact, our vet had recommended a woman in East Texas who occasionally raised a litter of maltipoos, a mixture of maltese & poodle. 

Last Wednesday we took a trip to East Texas.  We had two ladies to visit, the one recommended by the vet and another who raised shih-tzus.  On the way we debated: yes or no.  We decided to just look.  

Well, so much for looking.  In fact, the hardest thing was coming home without one of each. 

Behold Aviana, a maltese-poodle mix whose name comes from the air base north east of  Venice, where we visited Michael & Lydia on our spring trip.  The base is Aviano; we made it feminine.

Do I have any doubts or reservations now that she is part of our family?  No, not one.  In fact, I am reminded every day why she is a special gift.  A couple of observations.

Do you realize that she is not afraid?  I think she is like all of us when we are born.  When do we begin to be afraid?  I know how Aviana could become afraid.  If I treated her mean & rough, and abused her.  Matthew recommends that we be afraid not of the person who kills the body, but of the person who kills the soul.  I would suggest the word spirit instead of soul.  Abuse kills the spirit.  At the least it wounds the spirit.

Yesterday I was working on line and Aviana was lying under my feet sound asleep.  Not on her tummy or on her side.  She was lying on her back with her legs and ears splayed out.  Talk about trust.  Lack of fear.

Matthew says that we need not fear because we are worth more than many sparrows.  Am I worth as much as one Aviana? 

Second observation is that I see the acceptance of God in the behavior of Aviana.  I saw it in Naomi.  I walk in the house and receive not just unconditional acceptance.  I encounter excited & joyous celebration.  I am amazed and touched.  We hear a lot about how we will be judged a sheep or a goat at the great roundup.  If I am lax, God will come like a thief in the night and hurl me into hell for being caught off guard. 

My preference is to see the acceptance of Aviana as reflective of the acceptance of God.  She is another of those little creatures we talked about last week.  She is another metaphor or parable about God's acceptance of us as we are. 

Aviana is not afraid of us.  She amazingly trusts us.  Moreover, she accepts and celebrates us just as we are.  

How does she symbolize or not symbolize your relationship with God? 

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-06-22.mp3

Readings: Exodus 19, 2-6; Psalm 100; Romans 5, 6-11; Matthew 9, 36-10, 8.

Exodus: The second book of the Torah or Pentateuch, following the book of Genesis.  The book describes probably the greatest event in Israel's history, the departure of the people from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.  Today's selection is simply Yahweh's reminder to the people that if they are faithful and good to him, they will prosper.

A Fathers' Day Story

When I was a Jesuit and lived in Tanzania about 10 miles west of the mountain, Kilimanjaro there was a small Jesuit house.  I used it as a base, coming back to it after months traveling around the country giving seminars to nuns & priests. 

One Sunday afternoon I wanted to go up the mountain about 7000 feet to a Capuchin monastery & convent where my team & I gave a lot of the seminars.  I took my travel bag, walked to the town bus park, and boarded a rattle trap old bus just departing for a little village just below the monastery, a trip that would take me 90 minutes.

Half way down the road to the cut off to go up the mountain the old bus pooped out.  Everybody gets off and stands around.  Shortly, miracle of miracles, another old rust bucket of a bus headed up the mountain comes along.  Most did not want to pay two fares, so they stayed.  I, however, hopped on an already overloaded antique. We take the cut off and headed up the mountain.  The bus huffs & puffs, the gears scream & groan, steam starts seeping from under the hood.  You guessed it: the bus dies just as the road begins to seriously ascend.  

It is now about 6:00 or 6:15.  Because we are right on the equator and twilight always lasts just 20-30 minutes, I know I have only about half an hour to get to the monastery.  I have a decision: stay on the switch back road and take an hour or take shortcuts which may get me there in 30 minutes.  I chose the shortcuts. 

30 minutes did not get me to the monastery.  In fact, it got me into total blackness.  I could see almost nothing.  I know generally where I am but I cannot see even the trail.  Somewhere amid the darkness through the forest of banana trees that are cultivated at this level, I see a dim light from a kerosene lantern and head toward it. It is a family's hut.

I walk up speaking the Swahili word for 'hello,' 'hodi.'  A lady comes to the door and is very hospitable even though I must have scared her.  However, she is Catholic like almost all the members of her Chaga tribe which lives on the mountain.  She is used to white priests. 

I tell her, of course, that I am headed for the monastery & cannot find the way because of the dark. She calls to one of her children, a little boy of probably 6 years.  She tells him to take me to monastery and off we go up the trail.

I can hardly see this little kid and he just zooms silently along climbing all the time.  We pass other little family huts with faint lights, we walk in total darkness, and eventually he brings me to a point from which I can see the lights of the monastery above.

I thank this shy little boy, hug him probably, and he disappears back down the trail while I walk up to the monastery.  I  never saw him or his mother again, and I could hardly find their house in the daytime.  

For me this story has a metaphor quality.  It is like a parable.  College educated priest lost in the dark and guided to the light by a little boy.

Sometimes we are the guide, the nurturer.  Other times we are the priest in the dark who needs guidance and the guide may be a small creature, a child.

I see the child guiding us to three things: to simplicity, to interdependence, and to play.

• A child may like a lot of Stuff, but can self entertain with the simplest toy. I saw so many kids in Tanzania play soccer with a home made ball.
• A child cannot exist along, independent of others. As we get older we love our independence. We shun co-dependence. The child teaches us to interdepend.
• A child especially helps me to value & engage in play. The Type A does not play.

We celebrate Fathers' Day today, which is mostly a celebration of the nurturing side of dad.  For this moment, you dads, how do you come to greater light through kids?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-06-15.mp3

In honor of Fathers' Day we have some helpful communication hints.  Nobody ever gave me such valuable information before my marriage. 

Download 9_words_women_use.doc