Readings:  Ecclesiastes 1, 2; 2, 21-23; Psalm 90, If Today You hear his Voice, Harden not your Hearts; Colossians, 3, 1-11; Luke 12, 13-21

 

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Intro to Readings

 

 

Our first reading is from the Book of Ecclesiastes, which makes up some of the Wisdom literature.   The book is concerned with the purpose and value of human life. While admitting the existence of a divine plan, it considers such a plan to be hidden from man, who seeks happiness without ever finding it here on earth. 

 

 

The authorship has been attributed to Solomon, but that was just to get the book some credence.  It was written long after Solomon, around 250-150 BCE.  One could easily conclude that the book is rather pessimistic, as in its opening which we read today, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity”, and it concludes in chapter 12 with the following:  “The last word, when all is heard: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all; because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad.” 

 

 

This book is also the source of those well known lines from chapter 4:  “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.”

 

 

Our second reading is the last for some time from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.

 

 

The Gospel continues with Jesus’ journey up to Jerusalem.  The opening verse, which is omitted from the start of today’s reading, is worth noting:  “Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.”  Luke is introducing the sense that things are starting to get serious.  And the reality is that the topic today is a serious one.

 

 

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily

 

 

There are two topics, which I believe are related in today’s readings:

 

 

1.    Where is God in your priorities?

2.    What date is the anniversary of your death?

 

 

 

I believe that the topics are connected if you have faith.  Because you are all here, I feel I am somewhat preaching to the choir, but maybe the question is still valid.  How much of a priority is God in your life?

 

 

 

Let me start back with the second question, by telling a story about a job I used to have.  I worked in the pathology dept of a local hospital and one day there was an autopsy of a fairly young person.  What struck me that particular day was seeing the person’s clothes on the floor in the corner.  They had put them on themselves that morning, never thinking that someone else would be removing them later in the day!! 

 

 

 

We really don’t know when that anniversary date will be, which will be marked in other people’s calendars about us.  There are a couple of lines in the responsorial psalm worth paying attention to:

“Teach us to number our days aright

that we may gain wisdom of heart”

 

 

 

Because if we do know how to number our days properly, then that anniversary date won’t be a problem.  And this brings me to the first topic.  If we have God high up in our priorities, then our lives will be lived in a very different way.  One extreme example of someone for whom God was everything was Mother Theresa.  Meeting her was an experience I will never forget.  On the other extreme are folks who have loads of money.  They have many worries about how it is invested, what next to purchase, all in the pursuit of the ever-illusive “happiness”. 

 

 

If we live by the two great commandments, Love God and Love Neighbor, then I believe our lives will not suffer from the complaint in our first reading.  All will not be vanity!

 

 

 

Picture 1:   Rosemary's Blessing

 

Picture 2:   Nikki with her grandmom, Mary, at offertory

 

Picture 3:   Celeste

 

Picture 4:   Altar Helpers

 

 

 

 

Readings:  Genesis 18, 20-32; Psalm 138, Lord, on the Day I called for Help, You answered Me; Colossians 2, 12-14; Luke 11, 1-13

Seventeenth Sunday – Reading Notes

The first reading continues from last week’s with the Book of Genesis and shows us a rather interesting twist on the old adage of collective responsibility for a crime, and therefore collective punishment.  This was an accepted principal in early Israel. 

Today’s reading views this principal from the other side.  Can a few good people save the entire community?  We have a wonderful example of a type of prayer, a bargaining prayer.  It reads like a great story and we are left wondering what did happen!  I hope you know what happened!  Remember, Lot’s wife had to look back!

Our second reading continues our readings from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.  The focus of today’s reading is the contrast between the effectiveness of circumcision and that of baptism, because of Christ’s death on the cross.  Everything is forgiven by that death.

 

 

Seventeenth Sunday – Homily

The main focus in our Gospel reading today is the Our Father.  Remember, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is on his Journey to Jerusalem.  Luke gives us this section about Jesus praying and his apostles ask him to teach them to pray, just as John taught his followers to pray, and just as any great prophet would be expected to do. 

This prayer is the simplest version we have of the Our Father.  The version in Matthew’s gospel is a little longer, and there is a very early church document called the Didache, which means the Teachings, which has the version used today by most Protestants with the ending “for thine is the power and the glory for ever and ever.”  Luke’s version has two addresses to the Father, May your name be holy, and may your kingdom come,  and three about us; provisions, forgiveness and don’t test us.  The opening section is very similar to the Jewish prayer the Kiddish!

 

Growing up, most of us learned prayers by heart, or rote.  I still find myself using those prayers and they give me a sense of calm.  But if my prayer life stops there then my relationship with God will probably be very childlike. 

I came across a very helpful interview with Sister Joan Chittister on Prayer.  I have included the link to the site at the end of these notes.  She talks about prayer bringing her to a greater awareness of God’s presence around us.  If we look at the actions of Jesus, he was incredibly sensitive to those around him and their needs.  His level of prayer enabled him to know who was suffering and to bring relief to them, whether it was the pain of sins past or of current illness. 

 

As a community I think that we do show awareness to the pains of those around us in our Outreach Ministry.  But the question that should always be asked is, who else needs comforting.  Who around me, either in my home life or work, or in the marketplace could benefit from God’s love, which can only come through one of us. 

Last week John mentioned our desire to be a more welcoming and outreaching community to those who have felt rejected by the “official church” for whatever reason.  Those folks are out there, hurting for want of a loving healing community.  As you continue to pray, to get in touch with the all present God, keep an eye out for those ‘lost or rejected sheep”

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-haag/what-is-prayer-a-conversa_b_603667.html

Picture 1:   Mass with Tony & 2 servers

 

Picture 2:   Tom handing over our monthly donations

 

Picture 3:   Alison & Anthony running the celebration from the entrance

 

Picture 4:   The Sisters, Marlene & Cindy bringing up the bread & wine

 

 

 

Readings:  Deuteronomy 30, 10-14; Psalm 69, Turn to the Lord in Your Need, and You will Live; Colossians 1, 15-20; Luke 10, 25-37

Apologies for a late blog.  The Editors are in Lindsay, Ontario where wireless is fairly non-existent on Sundays.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Introduction to the Readings

Our first reading today comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, which is the fifth book of the Pentateuch.  The section is from the closing chapters, which are best identified as “The Final Discourse of Moses”.  It may seem strange to us, that having lead the people from captivity in Egypt and spent some 40 years wandering thru the desert, received the famous “Ten Commandments” on Mount Sinai, which set up the covenant between the God and the Jews, we find that Moses is not going to enter into the Promised Land, because of some unnamed fault (Numbers 20: 12).  In the reading today, Moses emphasizes the nearness of God’s commandments to the people.  

Paul’s Letter to the Colossians gives us what is clearly an early liturgical hymn about Christ.  The reason for the letter to the Colossians was that there were some folks creating problems in the community with false teachings.  In using this hymn, which was probably part of a very early liturgy, he is working with a concept that faith is not only needed for liturgical worship, but that through liturgical worship faith is deepened.  The hymn can be broken into two themes, Christ’s role in creation and Christ’s role in reconciliation.

Our gospel continues the journey to Jerusalem.  On the way a lawyer tests Jesus and we have the great story of the “Good Samaritan”. 

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. – Homily

What is our image of God?  In our lives our image of God must go through many changes.  If we reflect on what happened to Moses after all he had done in helping the Jews escape from Egypt, lead them for 40 years thru the desert towards the Promised Land, only to be denied entry himself, it would seem that God is harsh. 

If we look at the image of Jesus presented to us in the Second Reading from the letter to the Colossians, we find a God who is more in fitting with what modern writers are calling the Cosmic Christ, who is present in the entire universe and holding all creation in existence.  This Cosmic Christ is a difficult image to have a relationship with for humans.

And finally in our Gospel, we are told clearly that the way to live our lives in relationship with God is to love one another, especially those whom we wouldn’t consider our friends.  Elsewhere in the gospels we are told “as often as we did it for one these, the least, we did it for Jesus”.  So to live our lives as God wants us to, we do need to pay special attention to what we read in the gospels.  If I look at the balance in Jesus’ life, he certainly took care of his neighbors, but he also went off to pray quietly.  Do we have that balance?

Picture 1:  Mass with Tony and Kevin

Picture 2:  The Choir, Wendy, Shonda, Ray & Celeste

Picture 3:  John Cade

Picture 4: Cora Elizabeth Shadrick, daughter of Megan and Dave, granddaughter of Rob and Beth.

 

 

Readings:  Isaiah 66, 10-14; Psalm 66, Let All the Earth Cry Out to God with Joy; Galatians 6, 14-18, Luke 10, 1-12, 17-20

 

4th of July: some notes–

1.  Celebrates the composition & signing of the Declaration of Independence from the British on July 4, 1776.  2 days ealier a declaration was made. 

2.  Composed by a committee of 5, including the greats, Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin.

3.  Jefferson & Adams, long time friends and collaborators, both died the same day.  Guess the day: July 4.  Exactly on the 50th anniversary of the first July 4. 

4.  Just so you know: Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, Coney Island, NY, began July 4, 1916.

 

 

Isaiah 66: 2 notes–

1.  This is the last chapter of the whole great book.  Therefore, the author is author #3, written just at the end of or after the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 550 BCE.  It is also part of the Book of Consolation and the reading today is total consolation.

2.  Jerusalem is mentioned a lot.  What about making Jerusalem symbolic, not just the place?  What kind of symbol?  Don't know.  But, all of us have our Jerusalem place.

Sources: Wikipedia; David McCullough, John Adams (excellent work)

 

 

The Harvest is Abundant, but the Laborers are Few?

 

 

Last weekend John Cade, Tony, and I went to a convention-seminar at the AA Training Center south of DFW airport.  The meeting was sponsored by and for Corpus, a national organization of over 600 married priests.

About 80 plus people were there, and, folks, I was impressed.   Humbled, even.   About half the guys came with their wives.  These people are the best. 

 

 

I would look at these men and think to myself, ‘These are the kind of men this church needs.’  They are healthy spiritually and psychologically, they love to serve, and they are rejected because they married.  The Catholic Church reminds me of the mad wolf who eats her young.  Every one of these men should be active and would be active if they could.

 

 

Let me tell you briefly about just two men who moved me.

 

 

First is a man named Anthony Padovano.   You may have heard about him or read him.  Incredibly talented and accomplished, he’s written over 25 books, has lectured at 25 colleges & universities.  He has doctorates in theology and literature.  He presents at the U.N. and at The Hague.  He’s a playwright and, in fact, for the second year in a row we got to see one of his plays, one on Thomas Merton.  Last year was Martin Luther.

 

 

Equally outstanding about Tony Padovano, however, is his optimism in the face of lots of criticism and his personal warmth.  He presented a talk on the profoundly positive impact the Second Vatican Council has had on Catholicism, an impact that cannot be reversed despite the reversal efforts going on.  When the article is printed, I will attach it to the blog.

 

 

 

The second person who humbled me was a married priest from Louisville, Kentucky.  A simple, easy going guy, I only know his first name, Tony.  I called him Louisville Tony.

 

 

I got to know Louisville Tony Friday afternoon before the seminar began and after we both had checked in.  We ended up sitting on a porch overlooking the beautiful campus. 

 

 

He told me that when he married about 25 years ago, he had no idea what he was going to do to support himself & wife.  He had decided to go into teaching, when he saw an ad by Hospice asking for chaplains.  He applied, was accepted, and has worked as a Hospice chaplain in Louisville now for decades.

 

 

He told me he loves what he does.  He is prevented from being a priest officially, but he said that with the exception of doing Masses he is working full time as a priest anyway.  He wanted to know all about you folks and how and when our community got started.  A number of guys, in fact, wanted to know this.  He said he might explore starting a small group in Louisville.

 

 

In the gospel this morning we hear about the harvest being abundant, but the laborers are few.  I would say, “Whoa!”  I know of an organization that has 600 laborers, Corpus, who signed up to be workers, but did not just want to live alone.  I find that the ones I’ve come to know through Corpus are still laborers, just not officially. 

 

 

 

In fact, they are like all of us, because we are all called to be like Louisville Tony, even like Anthony Padovano, in our own way.  In this community you help with CCAC, with Habitat, with Heritage Farm, with the Life Net food serving at Thanksgiving, with food drives, and on and on.

 

 

What are you doing today? 

 

 

Picture 1:   Mass Begins, Wendy & Ben

 

Picture 2:   Sienna with grandmother, Robyn, and mom, Erin

 

Picture 3:   Sacrament of the Sick, John Cade

 

Picture 4:   Sisters, Cindy & Marlene

 

 

 

Readings:  1 Kings 19-21; Psalm 16, You are my Inheritance, O Lord; Galatians 5, 1, 13-18; Luke 9 51-62.

 

Thirteenth Sunday Ordinary Time

 

Introduction to the Readings

 

 

Our three readings today come from the First Book of Kings, the Letter to the Galatians and Luke’s Gospel.  I suspect that the only reason for the selection of the first reading is because it contains a sentence which is very similar to one found in today’s gospel, namely a request to say good bye to my parents, similar to the gospel response to a calling namely “let me first say farewell to my parents”. 

 

 

 

The Book of Kings selection describes the transfer of power from the prophet Elijah to the prophet Elisha.  Don’t be confused by the fact that in the reading Elisha slaughters the oxen and burns the plow.  This is to show that he is abandoning his old life for the new one. 

   

 

And maybe the second reading was selected because the word “yoke” would connect it to the first reading!  And of course the word plow shows up in the gospel, tying the three readings together!!   But we have been reading from this letter for the past several weeks. 

 

 

 

Remember Paul is trying to show that having Christ inside is all that is really needed, not observance of the Law of Moses.  In fact we will see a very powerful statement that the whole law is fulfilled by loving your neighbor as yourself.  

One clarification about the gospel reading; when the young man asks to be able to bury his father first, Jesus’ response seems harsh to our ears.  However, you need to understand that custom had it in those times that the eldest son would live on the land of his parents and was responsible to bury them when they died.  His father is not dead, the son simply wants to put off following Jesus until some unknown time in the future.

  

 

Homily

Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Last Saturday I had a chat with an aunt of mine in Dublin.  She is an Ursuline nun and will be 95 in September.  I asked her if she was following the World Cup and she said, “Oh yes, we keep hoping that England will be beaten”!! 

 

 

It is an attitude not unlike what Jesus came across in the gospel today.  To the Jews the Samaritans were the modern day English to the Irish!   There are several references to Samaritans in our gospel stories, the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan woman at the well and if we don’t understand the animosity that existed between the two groups we miss a whole lot about those incidents.  To talk about a ‘good Samaritan’ is like talking about a good Palestinian to an Israeli or a good English man to my Aunt! 

 

 

When apartheid was abolished in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected president, in order to try and create a single unified country he established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to try and put the past in the past.

 

 

The week before last, the Saville Report was issued in England and it was a 10 year study of a very sad day in Derry in the North of Ireland when 13 civil rights people who were marching in a parade back in January of 1972 were shot dead by British troops. 

 

 

The report finally laid to rest the claim by the army that they had only fired in self-defense, the report said the army had lied, the victims were all unarmed.  The new British Prime Minister, David Cameron, publicly apologized for the incident.  These were first steps in reconciliation over a terrible wrong.

 

 

The need for reconciliation doesn’t stop just with countries and nations.  Most of us know only too well the pain caused by separations within families or longtime friends.  I find it funny when you see little kids playing and they get in a row over something.  One will run home saying “I am never going to play with Jimmy again”.  Just as the parents are getting ready for a face off, they had better look around, because the kids will be back together as best friends. 

 

 

But by the time we are adults something seems to change.  Fear, blindness or pride seems to enter into the equation and keep us apart.  And then pretty soon we are finding all kinds of additional items to throw on the resentment heap to justify our position. 

 

 

We can’t afford to let this happen.  We need to reach for forgiveness, we need to remember the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you”  “Take the mote from your own eye before reaching for the splinter in your brothers eye”

 

 

Each one of us at least knows of situations where family members have become estranged from each other, or lifelong friends have parted ways over some perceived or real wrong done.  These are very sad situations, because we will never have the chance to recapture and live the time days, weeks or years lost.  In our gospel today we see a classic example. 

 

 

The Samaritans and Jews had parted ways during the exile.  In the eyes of the Jews they were not fully Jewish because they had intermarried with pagans and I’m sure the list is long.  After the Exile, when they returned to rebuild the Temple, the Samaritans did nothing but harass their efforts.  By the time we get to Jesus there is nothing but pure hatred between them.  When Jesus is passing thru a Samaritan village and is not welcomed, James and John want to call down fire on the place.  Jesus simply moves on.

 

 

Irreconcilable differences can be over come, but it takes both parties to want this. At least we must ask ourselves, have we done everything we could.  Then be at peace.

 

 

I am going to keep working on my aunt’s opinion of the English! 

 

Picture 1:   Mass begins

 

Picture 2:   Communion

 

Picture 3:   Chloe

 

Picture 4:   Zoe    

 

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

 

Readings: 2 Samuel 12, 7-13; Psalm 32, Lord, Forgive the Wrong I have done: Galatians 2, 16, 19-21; Luke 7, 36-8, 3.

 

Sunday Homily 6-13-10, 11^th Ordinary Time

 

Preliminary observations:

The First reading today is from the Second Book of Samuel and it is about King David.  The Jewish people had reached a time in their history when they wanted to be just like their neighbors, who all had kings!! 

 

 

 

The prophets viewed it as not a good thing but basically we find Yahweh saying “let them have their king”, and so Saul is the first king and he is followed by David.  David is one of those huge figures in the Old Testament, and even gets mentioned frequently in the New Testament since Jesus was from the house of David. 

 

 

King David was a very interesting character, very human and very much loved by Yahweh.  The time frame for this is about the year 1000 BCE.  Before we listen to today’s reading I need to set it up.  The Book of Samuel, if it were being reviewed today by those who do those things would get an “Adult Only” rating.  I don’t want you to let your kids read this book, it is full of sinning and murder and other bad stuff!!

 

 

One day David is out walking around on the roof of his palace and he sees Bathseba bathing.  He takes a fancy to her, but she is already married.  No problem if you are the king.  He simply has her husband Uriah sent to the front lines of a battle where he is killed.  Getting a woman to be your wife this way is not good, even if you are the king, and God gets a little upset!!  Now just before our passage today we have the following piece in the Book of Samuel and I want to read it to you.

 

 

“The LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him, he said: "Judge this case for me! In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.  The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers.  But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. She shared the little food he had and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom. She was like a daughter to him. 

 

 

Now, the rich man received a visitor, but he would not take from his own flocks and herds to prepare a meal for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man's ewe lamb and made a meal of it for his visitor."

 

 

 

David grew very angry with that man and said to Nathan: "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death!  He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity." 

 

 

Then Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king of Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul.  I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for your own. I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more.  Why have you spurned the LORD and done evil in his sight? You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife as your own, and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites.  Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.'”

 

 

Our Second Reading is Paul to the Galatians, and Paul is very upset.  Remember first that Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles.  Initially in the early community the thinking had been that when someone who was a Gentile became a Christian all they had to do was be baptized, then the requirement to become a Jew was added, namely circumcision. 

 

 

Paul had come to the opinion, based on his revelation of the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, that baptism was all that was needed.  There was a whole lot of friction between Paul and the Church in Jerusalem who felt that Sabbath Observance, Dietary Laws and Circumcision were required.  In today’s reading we hear a phrase from Paul, “justified by works of the Law” that meant obeying the Torah law.  For Paul, having Christ in him was all that was needed, namely having a relationship with Christ.

 

 

Eleventh Sunday – Homily

 

 

The message today is primarily about forgiveness, but I want to begin before forgiveness with a session on sin, which I am an expert on!!  Because the practice of frequent confession seems to have disappeared there is a danger that we could lull ourselves into thinking that sin too has gone away, and I’m afraid that this would be a big mistake on our part.  Lets start with what sin is. 

 

 

Any action, which damages our relationship, either with God or another person, is sinful.  Now that kind of statement is pretty sterile on its own, so lets try to put some flesh on it.  Imagine you have someone in your life who loves you very very much.  Now you have done something, which hurts them, accidentally or not, it doesn’t ever matter.  Imagine how you would feel. 

 

 

The problem with our sins is that I’m afraid we don’t realize how much we are loved by God, for some reason it just doesn’t really sink in enough, because if it did, then sin would devastate us.  It seems to me that woman in our Gospel was very aware of what her sins were doing.  For some unexplained reason, maybe listening to Jesus speak somewhere, and it hit her.  We clearly see her response. 

 

 

David has a clear vision of his sin.  Paul is taking the position that if Christ is living in us, than we are alright, we are forgiven, and we don’t need to be doing extra things.  The hard piece for us to understand is that God’s love for us is so great that we are forgiven, even before we ask for forgiveness.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for sin.  We know there are.  David’s son died because of his father’s sin, the woman in the gospel story was an outcast in her society. 

 

 

The lesson for me in today’s liturgy of the word is how closely am I aware of my sins, and the need to change sinful behavior?  Just because I am forgiven thru God’s love doesn’t mean I can just continue to sin.  If I truly love someone, would I want to continue hurting them just because they readily forgave me?

 

 

Picture 1:  Mass Begins, welcome!

 

Picture 2:  Communion, Tony, Richard Baack & Richard Froebe

 

Picture 3:  Communion, Tom Fleming & Teresa Read

 

Picture 4:  Fred & Maureen

 

Readings: Genesis 14, 18-20; Psalm 110, You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek; 1 Corinthians 11, 23-26; Luke 9, 11-17 

   

Sorry for the delay on the Sunday Blog.  The Editors had a wedding near Austin Sunday Evening.

 

 

Genesis: a review—

 

 

What: the first book of the whole bible, part of the Torah, the first 5 books of the ancient Jewish bible.   The word, from Greek, means origin or beginning.

 

The book is a mythical panorama that covers:

   1.  2 creation stories

   2.  The apple tree, the snake, Eve, The Fall

   3.  Cain & Abel

   4.  Noah & the Flood

   5.  Tower of Babylon

   6.  The Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob (or Israel)

   7.  The 12 sons of Jacob & Joseph sold into Egypt

   8.  The migration to Egypt (which sets up the Exodus)

 

Who wrote: not Moses; 4 major streams or sources can be identified

 

Date: Anywhere from 1500 to 500 B.C.E.

 

Today: a little blessing of Abraham by Melchizedek, a king & a priest.  Abraham has just won a battle.   Melchizedek is seen by the Catholic Church as a sort of proto-priest.  How come no more Jewish priests?  Because the Romans in 70 C.E. destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.  The priests offered sacrifice to Yahweh to win his benevolence.  Now rabbis & synagogues.  What if the temple were rebuilt? 

 

 

 

Luke Gospel: observations—

 

 1.  Luke copied Mark (the earlier writer), 5 loaves, 2 fish, 12 baskets, 5,000 men seated in groups

  2.  Mark is trying to convince the Jews in the temple & synagogue that Jesus is special, similar to Moses .  Both bring the people out of slavery.  Both feed the people, Moses in the desert.

  3.  Mark is working with the Jewish liturgical calendar, presenting Jesus stories each Sabbath in the worship services. 

4.  Please pardon me for repeating an understanding of this nature miracle that I have told before.

Sources: Wikipedia; Bishop Spong, Jesus for the Non-Religious, p. 72

 

 

 

The Miracle of Sharing My Stuff

 

 

I took an overnight train once from the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, to the Kilimanjaro region where we Jesuits had a house I used as a base.  The train leaves at about 6:00 in the evening and arrives in a town called Moshi about 6:00 in the morning. 

 

 

Normally I would book a first class compartment ahead of time, which is not that much, but much better than coach.  I do not remember the reason  why I was traveling without my motorcycle.  Whatever, I ended up grabbing a coach ticket on the afternoon of the train’s departure.  A dumb move normally.

 

 

Coach, folks, is a scene.  I get on.  All seats are occupied, of course.  The aisle is full of luggage and people.  I find a corner and sit on my suitcase, resigned to sitting up all night. 

 

 

This would have been okay, but about 1:00 in the night we stop in the middle of nowhere.  It looks like west Texas in the dry season, scraggly bushes, semi-desert.  We sit there all that night, all the next day, and finally move as it is getting dark again.

 

 

I have now lived in East Africa a good half a dozen years.  I can speak the language easily.  I know the unpredictability of everything.  However, I did something really stupid that night.  I got on that train without any water or food, assuming the train would arrive as scheduled. 

 

 

Of course, the Tanzanians were provident.  They had food & water.  They would have easily shared with me if they knew I needed anything.  Trouble was, I did not want to drink their water because often it is not purified.

 

 

 

In the whole train, guess how many white folks there were.  One other couple, the guy a 6’4” military kid from West Germany and his blond girl friend from East Germany.  Before the wall came down.

 

 

They had water.

 

 

There are a couple of spin off stories about this couple.  First, I saved them from big trouble when the guy took a picture of a cute Tanzanian baby.  Tanzanians really get spooked and mad about this.

 

 

Secondly, I took the couple up Kilimanjaro and had to laugh.  The guy was like a number 5 out of 5 on the Alpine Rescue Team and near the top of Kilimanjaro I had to carry his pack because he got altitude sickness. 

 

 

I tell this story about the train because it explains to me just how this feeding of the people could have come about.

 

 

The people following Jesus were like my Tanzanian companions.  They did not go off without food.  Moreover, they hid what they had.  And they aren’t sharing it except under exceptional circumstances.  Jesus was one of the circumstances. 

 

 

He takes the five loaves and two fish, takes a bit, and passes it on.  The person who receives it realizes that under his robe he has some bread, too.  He takes a bit and passes it on.  But he also adds a portion of his own bread.  By the time it makes the rounds of 5 thousand times at least 2 (the women & kids), there is a leftover of 12 baskets.

 

 

The miracle was of the heart.  These country people who would hide and hoard to save their lives opened their hidden treasure and shared with their neighbor. 

 

 

This is miraculous.  This we can do. 

 

 

How are you doing it?

 

Picture 1:   Mass begins, Kevin helping

 

Picture 2:   Wendy, Shonda, Ray, & Celeste

 

Picture 3:   Communion

 

Picture 4:  John & Alison DeGenova, Sabrina's parents

 

 

 

 

 

Readings: Proverbs 8, 22-31; Psalm 8, O Lord, Our God, how Wonderful you Name in all the Earth; Romans 5, 1-5; John 16, 12-15.

 

 

Trinity Sunday – Intro to Readings.

Our readings today come from the Book of Proverbs, Paul’s Letter to the Romans and John’s Gospel.

 

The Book of Proverbs is one we don’t often read from.  It forms part of what is known as the Wisdom Literature, along with the Book of Job, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus and the Book of Wisdom. 

 

 

Wisdom literature was very popular throughout the ancient East, particularly Egypt.  In fact, much of the contents of the Book of Proverbs is also found in other more ancient Egyptian writing.  Proverbs is interesting from the point of view that unlike the rest of the Old Testament, where the focus for a relationship with God came from the top, from God thru various covenants and laws, the writers of Proverbs find reason for a relationship with God from man’s own life. 

  

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.  In this phrase, repeated a couple of times in Proverbs, the word fear is best understood as respect.  The emphasis throughout the book is on the need for recognition on man’s part for the importance of a proper relationship with God.  Much of the writing is very practical in nature.  The material is quite old, with the books being put together in their final form sometime after the exile, around the year 500 BCE.  Much of the book has traditionally been attributed to Solomon and he probably did contribute some of the sayings.

   

The Letter to the Romans contains the familiar phrase about justification by faith which caused the Church at the time of Luther to have such a difficult time, since Luther took the position that faith alone was all that was needed for salvation, based on this letter, and the Church was holding out for good works also.

 

Our Gospel from John comes from the long discussion which takes place within the context of the Last Supper.

 

   

Trinity Sunday Homily

I spent about 21 years working at IBM and one of the words which is ingrained into every IBMer from a very early stage is the word “Think”.  It was something which Mr. Tom Watson Sr. decided should be the catchword for the company, and which I suspect we would find tattooed on Bob McGrath’s chest.  

Well in matters of God, I feel we are better off with less thinking and more doing.  Today’s feast is a case in point, the feast of the Holy Trinity.  I know that I have said this both at Easter and again on the Feast of the Ascension, “the minute you have managed to understand God, be sure you are in heresy”!  Our God is too big for human contemplation, plus our God is a God of action.  A quick look at Jesus’ life will show that He was either doing or praying, but not thinking!

 

 

In the 4^th century the Bishop of Alexandria, in Egypt was Arius, and thinking got him into trouble.  He was reflecting on the relationship between God as Father, and Jesus and he concluded that since Jesus was begotten by the Father, then he must be somehow less than the Father.  He quickly got a following with this belief that somehow the Father and the Son were not equal, since the Son came after the Father.  Notice what happens when you begin to think about this stuff, you get in trouble.  

 

The net of the whole thing was that the Emperor, Constantine, remember he is the one who in 313 officially recognized the Christian faith (primarily as a way to unite the Roman Empire) decided that this arguing within the Christian faith was not going to be good for the peace of his empire, and so he called a general council of the church at Nicea in 325 to settle the issue.  And it is from that council that we end up with the Nicene Creed and that wonderfully clear solution to the relationship.  Homoousius, in Greek, or consubstantial in Latin!!  Yes the Son and the Father are of the same substance.  Now doesn’t that clear the whole thing up.  This is exactly why we are much better off not thinking about such things.  Rather, on this the Feast of the Holy Trinity it is best to reflect on what we are doing as Christians.

 

 

If we accept that the basic message and life of Jesus was about breaking down barriers between people, about freeing people from the unnecessary burdens of guilt, about loving people, then the question we need to be focusing on is “how am I doing?”  Is my life lived bringing joy and encouragement to those around me, not just the people I like but the ones I can’t stand too!  Do I live a life of forgiveness, or do I find myself collecting resentments?  Am I busy building people up, or busy tearing them down either through criticism or gossip?  Is my life lived honestly, or do I play games and pretend to be what I am not?  The questions could continue.  But this is the reason we come here each week to stand before one another and our God, to take the time to reflect on our lives and to resolve to improve them in the days or week ahead.

 

Picture 1:   The Celebrants

 

Picture 2:   Choir, Wendy, Shonda, Ray, & Celeste

 

Picture 3:   Offertory, Grace & Mary Ellen

 

Picture 4:   CCAC monthly $2000 contribution, Claire & Bobby