Author: Rosemary

Readings: Deuteronomy 30, 10-14; Psalm 69; Colossians 1, 15-20; LUKE 10, 25-37, The Good Samaritan.

Deuteronomy: the scene is the desert outside the promised land.  Moses is talking to the people about all that has happened to them since he led them out of Israel and through the desert for many years.  Now, as they prepare to enter, and Moses is dying, he is simply exhorting them to love Yahweh and obey his laws.

Moses talks about a command, but never mentions exactly what it is.  Watch for the answer in today’s gospel.  The Great Command.

The Good Samaritan

I am going to do an explication of text today. 

Initially this parable looks like simply an encouragement to help others. Actually there is a second meaning, perhaps much more profound, especially for the Jews who are listening. It has to do with prejudice.

The setting. A Jewish lawyer is asking a question about his justification. Where does one draw the line in helping a person. Who is my neighbor? Some observations.

First, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notoriously dangerous and plagued with thieves. That this man was alone is significant.  People would travel in groups for safety. Was he an outcast?  Friendless?  Not too intelligent or innocent?

Second, the man was stripped. For the lawyer this would signify that the man was without identity, of no identifiable class. In other words, he might not be a lawyer or intellectual or even a Jew. He was Every Person.  A human being.

The priest & the Levite. The lawyer would know why they did not stop to help. The Law. They could have been on the way to the temple and they could not cause themselves to be ritually impure. In the temple they had to be pure, no contact with dirty people orthey could not offer their sacrifice. Obviously organized religion still follows this practice. 

Along comes a Samaritan. To the Jewish lawyer & the Jewish listeners Samaritans were considered demon possessed.  Samaritans intermarried with pagans, i.e., people who did not recognize Yahweh as the name of their God. They would defile the temple just by entering. In sum, they were vile and dirty, certainly not capable of performing an act of love.  

But, to the surprise of the lawyer & the audience, it is the Samaritan who performs the act of love.  He even risks his own life by rescuing the man. Jesus further twists the knife by showing how the Samaritan goes beyond the call by setting the man up in an inn and promising to cover all his expenses.

The composer of the parable goes further and plays with two elements used in the temple sacrifice: oil and water.  He employs these elements to clean (purify?) the victim.  The author knows what he is suggesting in using these items.

Jesus is responding to the lawyer’s question, "Who is my neighbor," by saying "Everybody."  No prejudice.

Who is the number one neighbor you are taking care of today?

Audio: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-07-15.mp3

Readings: Isaiah 66, 10-14; Psalm 66; Galatians 6, 14-18; Luke 10, 1-20.

Isaiah: The scene is this. The Israelites are enslaved in Babylon, which was in today’s Iraq, about 60 miles south of Bagdad, now called Al Hilah. Isaiah is telling the people that the day is coming when they will live again in Jerusalem. 

What a Gift Community

When I used to say Masses before we gathered here I was really spoiled. I would walk into St. Mark’s, for instance, put on my robes, celebrate the Mass, and depart, or go over and goof around with Duffy & Rita in the rectory. I had everything prepared before I walked out on the alter and everything was cleaned up after I left. 

The first time we celebrated here, I remember thinking how many little things have to be taken care of. I got to get my own robes, set up an altar, provide bread & wine, and so on. 

Now I am knocked over at how many people pitch in to make this celebration special. Margie does the alter, Jackie brings donuts, Lisa makes muffins, many of you take turns making altar bread and providing coffee. Margarita comes with juice, Roy with the books, Rob & Beth with the cross & wine cups. And this highlights only a few of you. 

The past two weeks I have been especially touched and moved by the community extending itself.

Last Sunday you may remember that we had the summer blood drive. I thought the numbers might be down. It is summer, after all. Yet, on the contrary, after Mass as I was preparing to depart with Rosemary & Naomi, I passed by the blood mobile. I had hoped we might reach 20 donors, though I was prepared for less. The nurses told me they had already received over 21 and I saw about 3 to 4 people waiting. I was stunned.  And grateful.

The second amazing event took place yesterday when a group of about 15 showed up to put a roof on a home. I had spotted the need for this some time ago. I contacted Lynda & Tom to see if they could induce Habitat to help us. They only build new housing, however, and recommended we contact Lake Point Baptist, because they do renovations. 

Through that contact we met this marvelous guy named Alex Moore, quiet, serene, skilled, and hard working. Alex, who is retired and from MN, actually came over by himself Wednesday & Thursday to augur, set, and cement about 15 4 by 4’s to hold up the roof. He did this so we could all work together Saturday. And did we work. Laying roofing tiles over black tar paper in the afternoon sun was like sitting on a hot frying pan. 

I had to depart the project at 3:00 to get ready for a 6:00 wedding, and the last thing Alex asked me was, "We working next Saturday?" He was ready & wants to finish the job.

This is a gift community. And this is saying nothing about your weekly generosity.

Thanks. 

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Readings: 1 Kings 19, 16-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5, 13-18; Luke 9, 51-62.

1 Kings: This book continues the history of the Israelite kings begun in the two previous books of Samual. First was Samuel, a judge, then Saul, the first king, then the Great King David.  David’s activities make up a large part of this book.  When David dies the kingdom gets split into north and south.  Things go badly.  Along comes Elija the prophet.  This is a sign that times are bad.  We read in today’s section about the time Elija chooses Elisha as his successor. 

A Role Model

I would like to talk this morning about my Aunt Kitty with her glorious 100 years. She has always been a hero of mine and after our visit this past week she still is. We stayed in the retirement home where Kitty lives. Consequently, were able to make numerous small visits over the day & a half we were there. One attendant even asked me if I lived there now!

Since we had just been talking two weeks ago about the qualities of a peaceful & whole person, I was looking at Kitty with the 6 qualities in mind, e.g., curiosity & hope, gratitude & love, zest and, my own, humor. I spotted at least 3. 

Above all else, I was struck about how peaceful she was. At one point in our visits she said that while she had not wanted to live until she was 100, "It is not bad," she claimed. This said a lot to me, because over the past 10 years Kitty often told us that she did not want to live to 100. 

I asked her how she got to this peace & 100 years. "Golf", she replied.  She loved to play golf.  I think I see here that zest for living that I mentioned was one of the 6 characteristics of a whole & peaceful person. She, also of course, was famous for her yellow Buick convertible.  Which leads to the second quality I remember about her.

Her humor.  I can still remember her laughing at my uncle Frank and going into hysterics with my mom.  The two of them were close in age and spirit.  They laughed often over a time when the two of them as girls in Pittsburg were driving along behind a streetcar and went right out over a bridge. They had to get rescued. Kitty was notorious as an air head and my mom was right with her.   

One year when I was returning to East Africa from a home visit, I toured Kitty, my mom, and their older sister Pauline around Ireland in a little, two door, red economy sized car. Folks, it was lucky that Ireland is so small because we did not get started in the morning until about 9:30 or 10:00 and then we began looking for a place to stay around 4:00. Plus we stopped for lunch & morning & afternoon tea.  During all this time they laughed non stop.

During our visits Kitty often poked fun at her situation and age, when she remembered she really was 100. And when she did not remember, she laughed at herself. 

Besides humor and zest for life, Kitty loved her friends. While we were with her she said how much she missed her pals Jenny Gooch and Betty Lynch. Betty had three paintings on Kitty’s wall.  Especially she missed my mom. In fact, she was disappointed she had not heard from her recently.  Her long term memory is shaky. She did not remember that mom had died about 15 years ago.  She was even disappointed Pauline had not written her.  Pauline lived in NYC and died before my mom.

One moment after she forgot her age, however, she tuned directly into me and asked how I liked marriage, what was my relation with the Jesuits, and was I still working actively as a priest. Even though she became Presbyterian when she married my Uncle Frank, she has been totally interested in and supportive of my process.  And she remembed clearly. 

Of all the qualities my aunt shows, humor is her best. 

What is your best quality?

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