Homilies

Readings: Isaiah 2, 1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13, 11-14; Matthew 24, 37-44

Isaiah: One of the great O.T. prophets, Isaiah lived ca. 800 years B.C.  The work itself is composed by at least three contributors.  The writer of the first part talks about two dangers to the community, external attacks from enemies and, even more, internal corruption and infidelity.

Our section in chapter 2 talks about a happy day when all will be peaceful on Yahweh’s holy mountain, that is, Jerusalem.

Three weeks to Prepare Myself for Christmas

Last Tuesday Rosemary, Naomi, & I were all flying back from Hilton Head to Dallas on a small, two engine Delta special.  The terminal at Hilton Head accommodates all of two planes at the same time.  We went through the single line for security and walked out on the runway to get on the plane, dropping Naomi on a patch of grass for one last trip to the potty before boarding.

When we climbed the steps into the tail of the plane a flight attendant greeted us with enthusiasm & warmth.  Along with so many other people in the 3 airports we visited, she was all excited about the puppy Naomi on board, the puppy who was celebrating her 15th birthday.

We walked up the aisle toward our seats in the third row and prepared to get settled.  Another flight attendant was standing at the top of the aisle just watching people come on board, saying really nothing.  When she saw us with Naomi in her little carrier with her head sticking out, she barked, "The dog has to go all the way in the box."

Hospitality.

Want to know a good way to prepare for the coming of Christmas?  Try hospitality.  What a difference between the welcome of these two flight attendants.  And what a difference it makes to those who experience the hospitality.  You can practice this not just when someone comes to visit you or phone you.  You can do it in Tom Thumb, in the parking lot, with the check out person.  You can do it on the streets in traffic.  Your hospitality can help create an atmosphere of peace.

I would propose another healthy way to prepare for the coming of Christmas.  No fear.  Matthew’s story about the thief coming in the night is not God’s way.  So, if you have it, get rid of your fear of God this Christmas. 

The idea of the story can be seen as an invitation to watch, not watch out.  I watch for those visits of God that transform my life.  Perhaps moments of hospitality. 

While you are at getting rid of fear of God and practicing hospitality, try one other thing.  Compliment someone one time a day.  A compliment can be affirmation, encouragement, even asking someone how they are, not in the more superficial way we do when greeting people.  But in a the more significant way, the way that says, "I am listening."

I knew I had been hit by some special insight when the two flight attendants welcomed us in such contrary manners.  I personally can attest to how much better I felt about the first girl’s hospitality.  Maybe as Christmas comes closer we can all be more hospitable like she was.

What are you doing to prepare yourself for Christmas?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-12-02.mp3

Readings: Sirach 50 22-24; Psalm 113; 1 Corinthians 1, 3-9; Luke 17, 11-19 (these are the readings for Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, page 88 in our booklets)

Sirach: Another book from the Apocrypha, a book of religious, moral, and practical sayings.  Our selection is a benediction reading in the spirit of thanksgiving.

My Blessing of the Year

Last October when we were having that gorgeous stretch of Indian summer, I took the Dart train downtown to have lunch with a friend.  I got on at Forest Lane and got off at Pearl just down from Thanksgiving Square.  Because I love to look out the front window as well as the side windows, I grabbed as usual a seat in the first car. 

At the Walnut Hill Lane Station or Northwest Highway a young, attractive woman in her late twenties got on, crossed the aisle, and sat in the seat reserved for handicapped.  She had with her a beautiful male golden retriever who sat in front of her with his handsome head slightly out in the aisle. The woman was blind.

How I admired this woman’s courage I can hardly tell you.  Here she is blind, with a beautiful dog, riding public transit, and going down town.  All sorts of accidents can happen.  She gave me one of those gratitude moments. 

With all she had, she could not see, could not see the marvelous blue of the sky that day, the sparkling shades of green that passed the windows of our train, she could not see the variety of people who shared the car with her.  That woman’s presence moved me. 

I was humbled and became aware of the gift I have.  I can see the colors and the people, and how often do I not savor nor appreciate.  That day I did. 

We are coming to the end of our year.  Thanksgiving arrives Thursday.  It is time to contemplate our past and ask ourselves, What are my blessings this year? 

I can think of three and I bet you may know what they are.

First was our February trip to East Africa, Tanzania & Kenya.  For me it was a double gift.  The more important part was that I was coming home after 20 years, that I felt immediately at home, and that I had no rancor in my heart of how my time ended there.

Secondly, our Sunday morning community.  I look forward to being with you people all week and I live for days on the consolation of our celebrations.  The contributions we have been able to make as a community: the blood drives, the pharmacy in Mexico, the house we helped to renovate, and yesterday’s house project in union with Lakepoint Church.  An amazing year.

Third and most important, being married to Rosemary.  It is continually better than I could have dreamed.  I am a better priest, a better psychotherapist, and a better, more whole human being. 

Ever since I witnessed that blind girl & her retriever get on the Dart train, I have been in a more grateful state.   

What are you most grateful for this year?

To help us focus on gratitude we have a Thanksgiving Tree which will morph into a Christmas Tree each of the Sundays leading up to Christmas.  Near the tree, which is bare now, you will find paper ornaments with a ribbon attached.  You may write your blessing of the year on one of the ornaments and attach it to the tree. 

Kids will find ornaments that have a picture to color and a blank space on the back for the blessing.  You can even take one home, discuss the blessing with the family, and attach it next week.  Each week I may read anonymously a couple of blessings.  Welcome.

What are you most grateful for this year?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-18.mp3

Readings: 2 Maccabees, 7, 1-14; Psalm 19; 2 Thessalonians 2, 16-3, 5; Luke 20, 27-38.

2 Maccabees: The two books of Maccabees cover the history of Israel for about 50 years, from ca. 200 to 150 B.C.  The books are again part of the Apocrypha collection, those books separate from both the Old & the New Testaments.

2 Maccabees emphasizes loyalty to the law, even in the face of persecution.  Our selection exemplifies this loyalty in the story of seven brothers & their mother.   This leads to the gospel story which also treats of seven brothers & one wife.

What to Die for; What to Live for

The date of this event was Nov. 16, 1989, 18 years ago this Friday.  The place: a Jesuit university.  The Jesuits have a residence for their men on the campus.  About 10 men live there and this evening six are at home.  Like most Jesuit residences they eat dinner about 6:00, then chat for a while, go off one by one to work on their classes or papers, and finally turn in before 11:00 or maybe 12:00.  A routine evening.

About 1:00 in the middle of the night the routine is shattered by 30 or 40 uniformed soldiers who bang on the door and barge in.  They wake everyone up and herd them into the patio.  While this is going on, other soldiers are crashing around the rooms, throwing books & drawers on the floor, and busting open cabinets.  A house keeper & her daughter are found in an adjacent apartment and they are taken into the patio with the 6 priests.

The searching and ransacking goes on for a couple of hours.  Meanwhile in the patio the priests and the women are made to lie face down on the grass.  At some point in the night while the group is lying down, each one is shot in the back of the head.

This took place at the University of Central America, San Salvador, El Salvador.

I am reminded of this contemporary event when I read in Maccabees about the mother with the seven sons.  Some comments about these events.

First, it is humbling to hear about people who believe so strongly about something that they are willing to die, even die being tortured.  These Jesuits at the university were attacked because they criticized the policies of the El Salvador government.  Some years before this event a gunman had walked up the main aisle of the cathedral in San Salvador and in front of everyone shot Bishop Oscar Romero face to face as he finished up a Mass.  He, too, had criticized the government for brutalizing the peasant people.  The Jesuits probably figured that the government would surely not murder a whole household of priests.  I stand in awe of the courage of these people.

Secondly, would that if we are called to defend our principles even to death, we could die defending the poor, struggling to bring peace, or demanding more equality.  While I admire the courage & integrity of the seven sons and mother, I am sad that they died over a law about eating pork.  Muslims today can kill infidels using a suicide bomb with the belief that Allah is pleased with them and they will have a special place reserved for them in paradise. 

It is like saying anyone who eats Blue Bell ice cream is going to hell, or eats it on Friday.  I am reminded of how I grew up being taught that I was going to hell if I ate meat on Friday.  People are trained to believe that drinking a glass of wine or dancing is sinful.  These laws are simply demands of other people who are like ourselves.  We let them mess with our minds.

Thirdly, let me suggest that there are two way to give your life.  The one, like the Jesuits, is swift and often violent.  One shot, end of story.

The second way of giving your life is exemplified by Ofelia’s husband, Luis, whom many of you saw at our two anniversary parties.  Both years Luis touched our hearts with his vows to Ofelia.  I, however, saw him every Thursday evening gently take care of Ofelia week after week, patiently being with her as she slowly lost her life.  For weeks he could not leave Ofelia alone, so he was house bound unless someone like Hospice showed up.  He told someone that last Saturday that he and Ofelia had fallen in love again.  Luis gave his life for Ofelia.

Most of us will probably not get shot in the back of the head for criticizing the government or fighting for peace.  All of us, however, are called to give our life, our daily life, to bring peace & life to another or many others.  Like, you teachers, you nurses, you drivers, you soccer coaches, you parents, you all.

For whom or what are you giving your life today?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-11.mp3

Readings: Special All Saints Mass of Remembrance using Sunday’s first reading & Luke’s Gospel with 2 poems as the middle readings.  Therefore: Wisdom 11, 22-12, 2; poems see links below; Luke 19, 1-10 (Zacheus).

The Mass begins with a poem read by Jackie Ritter: Download poem_1.doc

How was I blessed by These People?

I have known a Zacheus.  Zacheus is Everyone, a limited person.  We are all limited people.  This Zacheus gifted me in a variety of special ways. 

First, like Zacheus, she shared her friendship with me.  I did not really get to know her until she had her last bout with cancer some years ago.  But every Thursday evening for the past few years we have talked and shared about so many things.  I looked forward to our Thursdays.  Through her friendship I came to know and love her, her husband and kids and even grandkids.  Two of her grandkids were in our Christmas drama last Christmas eve, the twin girls in the angel dresses.

Also like Zacheus, she was not very tall but full of energy and simple hospitality.  Zacheus’ height is symbolic of the shortness we all have.  My friend, too, was petite, but so full of vitality and cheer.  She was a joy to talk with for an hour. 

Especially, however, I was touched by her because she was a brat.  One night when I went to see her with Rosemary, I told her I had been learning how to do the salsa.  I showed her my classy steps.  Her response was, "Man, you dance like a gringo.  You don’t move your hips."

Another evening when it looked like she was getting ready to cross the threshold perhaps a year ago, I told her that when she met The Man she should tell him hello for me.  In fact, I told her if she ran into any trouble, just to say that Stack sent her.  Her response was, "Maybe I might be better off if I don’t tell him I know you."   She knew how to play.

My good friend Ofelia Lopez crossed the threshold this morning about 3:00 A.M..

She and all these people pictured on the stage have touched and gifted us into new life.

How?  What is The Gift you received?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-04.mp3

After Communion a poem is read by Joanne Languell: Download poem_2.doc

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Readings: Sirach 35,12-18; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4, 6-18; Luke 18, 9-14.

Sirach: Again we take up one of the books of the Apocrypha, the 12 books written in Greek and not originally considered part of the Bible.  This book is basically a collection of Jewish wisdom statements and teachings.

Our selection in chapter 35 talks about the nature of god and what happens to the person who serves god.  It sets up Luke’s parable about the pharisee & the tax collector in the temple.

I am Better than Whom?

In our neighborhood there is an elderly couple.  Their yard is full of weeds and they tend to mow only a few times a summer. They have a couple of dead cars in the driveway, and drive an old, partially rusted pickup.

Once while I was sitting at my desk in the living room I saw the lady come by our house in her truck, take a left away from me on the corner, stop the truck, and get out.  Next I saw our neighbor lady running across our yard going in the direction of the truck.  Her black lab had gotten out.  Guess who finally caught the dog.  Yes, the lady from the pickup.  I was impressed and a bit embarrassed at my judgmental attitude. 

I was doubly embarrassed a few weeks later in the spring when I was working in the yard.  The pickup pulled up to the curb and from the driver’s side window the lady says to me, "You really have a nice yard."  We chatted, I found out her name, and now we wave at each other whenever she drives by.

I am the pharisee in the parable about these two guys going into the temple to pray.  Let me make a few comments about the tax collector, the pharisee, and the setting.

The setting first.

• Prayer time was 9:00 or 3:00
• Others were probably present
• Prayer of soliloquy was normal
• The parable is directly addressed to the rule keepers and especially the judgmental rule keepers.  Are these people fear based, following whatever they were programmed to believe as children? 

The pharisee.

• Goes to the temple to pray.  Normal.  Considered a model citizen & temple member.
• Utters a prayer of gratitude.  Normal.  A great prayer form.
• Fasts twice a week and pays tithes on his whole income.  Above normal.  An outstanding temple member.  A paragon of virtue and worthy of all Yahweh’s blessings.
• But.  The prayer of gratitude is based upon a judgmental attitude.  He thinks he is better than.  Superior to.

The tax collector.

• Shock!  A tax man going into the temple.  Going to pray.
• Tax collectors were considered ritually impure, because of their job. They collected money from their neighbors to hand over to the hated Roman government.
• The tax collector could have been stoned for entering the temple.
• He does not confess his weakness, does not promise to repent, says nothing about restitution.  In fact, he could not give up his job.  Or would not? 
• Begs for mercy.  Nothing more.  His only hope is to be accepted by Yahweh.

The result: Escatalogical Reversal.  Big description for what takes place.  A flip.  Just the contrary to what the Jewish people listening would expect.  The Tax collector "went home justified."  God’s inconceivable love accepts someone who does not follow the rules?  See why they crucified him?

Who are three people you dislike?  And why?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-10-28.mp3

Readings: Exodus 17, 8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3, 14-4, 2; Luke 18, 1-8

Exodus: to understand this book it helps to review what came before in Genesis.  Namely, creation, Cain & Abel, the flood, the tower of Babylon, and then the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.  Remember that Jacob had 12 sons, the last of which, Joseph, was sold by his brothers to a camel caravan which got him to Egypt. 

Joseph thrived in Egypt, becoming the favorite of Pharaoh, while drought & famine afflicted the land of Joseph’s brothers & his father, Jacob.  At one point Jacob sends his sons to Pharaoh to get food & help.  That is how eventually the Israelites ended up in Egypt, to live. 

Exodus is the story of their escape from Egypt, Moses, his birth and call, and how he gets the people away from Pharaoh.

In our selection the people are in the desert fighting for their lives.  Three characters make up the story, Moses, Joshua, the leader of the Israelite army, and Amalek, the leader of the army attacking the people. Moses is blessing his people by holding his staff over the army as a blessing, like praying for success.  See what happens.  This sets up the Luke story about the widow petitioning the judge for a victory.

What We Ask For

A few years ago I had three elderly people from the subdivision of Northwood Hills contact me about planting trees in their neighborhood.  Two were a couple and there was a third guy, all probably about my age right now.  I really did not want to do this project because they were north of LBJ and I thought it was too far to drag the water trailer full of water from Jesuit, where I was living then.

So I put them off.  Maybe even for a year.  Eventually, however, because of their persistence I went to see their project, which consisted of Fretz Park, Hillcrest from LBJ to Beltline, Beltline from Preston to Coit, and a neighborhood elementary school, about 350 plus trees.

Despite not being eager to tackle the distance, two things pulled down my resistance.  First, they were willing to kick in a good portion of the cost of the trees.  Secondly, they were so gracious and eager to improve their own neighborhood.  I could not tell them no after all they were willing to put out, and all their pleading. 

You know the rest.  We planted one of our bigger projects and the trees are thriving.  In fact, I did not even water that project once this summer.  You may not know it, but they gave me a recognition of gratitude at one of their large community meetings.

When I hear Luke’s story about the widow & the judge I always think about Northwood Hills.  With gratitude. 

With confusion also, because I have difficulty with the main point of the story.  Namely, that God will answer persistent prayer, without even being slow about it, as Luke says.  Do you believe that God answers our prayers, and even more swiftly if we are persistent as the widow?  My mom thought that a nine day novena with special prayers got her every request, though my memory tells me otherwise.

I need to make a distinction and an observation to make sense of this for me.  I have talked about it before, so I remind you.  The distinction is between a macro-managing God and a micro-managing God.

The macro-managing God I can handle.  This god is behind the big stuff, the sky, creation, the stars, life, the balance of the universe.  I see this god as like a person bowling.  He gets the ball going and it travels on its own.

The micro-managing god, however, is in the small stuff, responsible for my sickness, for instance.  He makes good things happen & bad things.  He can change each.  If I pester this god enough he will find my lost wedding ring or car keys.  He will cure the sick, make me rich, fix the lottery so I win it, and so forth.  This god I don’t see in my experience.

Then why do I pray for people?  Like at our prayers of the faithful.  This is the observation. I pray first because I think, I hope, our God hears and is personal.  Secondly, I pray because I imagine that my spirit sends forth some kind of emotional energy to that God that says, "Please take special care of this person I love."  When we do this as a group, the emotional energy has a little more punch. 

A by product of praying for others is it sensitizes me to the suffering & difficulty other people are experiencing.

So where does this leave us?  Don’t pray for people?  Don’t pray persistently like the little widow or the people from Northwood Hills?  No. It may mean I lower my expectations. Maybe it helps to make the distinction about the macro vs micro-managing god.  I still remember people in prayer. 

Ultimately, what is your belief about praying for special intentions?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-10-21.mp3

Readings: 2 Kings 5, 14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2, 8-13; Luke 17, 11-19.

2 Kings:

• Time of the events: 900 B.C.
• Time when written: 550 B.C., during the Babylonian captivity
• Subject of 1 Kings: This book continues the history of the kings taking up with the death of King David and continuing through the story of David & Bathsheba’s son Solomon.  He builds the famous Temple of Solomon.  After his death the nation divides into the northern & southern states, Israel in the north, Judah in the south (including Jerusalem; remember by the "J’s").
• Subject of 2 Kings: This book continues the history of the decline of the two states until Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeats the people. 
• Subject of our chapter 5 (read it all, it is delightful): one of the leaders of the Syrian-Babylonian army goes to visit the prophet of the day, Elisha.  Naaman, the general, has leprosy.  Note the twist of the story at the end.  Thanks is a theme of this selection and it sets the stage for Luke’s story about gratitude.

Gratitude

Last Sunday after our Mass, after Rosemary had counted the income, and had put it on spread sheets, we got in the car to go out for the evening.  I dropped her off at the Royal Lane & Preston Tom Thumb to buy something, she gave me some letters to mail at the corner, and she gave me the two envelopes to deposit in the bank on the same corner.  We always deposit that money right away.

I drove through the parking lot to the mail box and dumped in all the envelopes. All the envelopes.  Namely, her letters and the two bank deposit envelopes.

I knew almost immediately what I had done and, in fact, wanted to reach down into the mail box to retrieve the deposits.  However, I realized I could go to jail for that.  So we typed up a special note with our phone number and put it in the mailbox and figured we would make contact with the Royal Lane post office early the next day before pick up.  Guess what Monday was: Columbus Day, a postal holiday. 

Tuesday morning I got a call from the main post office that they had one of our deposit envelopes and I could pick it up.  When I met the guy I confessed that I was embarrassed to admit that I was the person who put the deposits in the mail box.  He says to me that as a matter of fact it happens a lot on that corner and that a woman had actually put in 10 thousand dollars in cash. 

So we have gotten back the running expenses deposit and still are waiting for the outreach envelope, which he seems optimistic will show up.  The thing that touched me, however, was how this postal supervisor treated my brain dead behavior with such a light touch.  I thanked him for both, for getting the envelope and for making light of it all.  I was really grateful.

The two stories we have in today’s readings are all about gratitude. A few observations.

First.  The temptation is to think I am one of the nine who did not return to thank Jesus. Yes & No.  I would suggest again: we are both.  Lots of times we forget to thank.  Lots of times we thank. 

Second.  There could be symbolism in the nine and one.  Perhaps I am nine tenths ungrateful and one tenth grateful.  This is a pretty normal proportion. A lot of times, however, I am not so much ungrateful as just insensitive, totally unaware.  Perhaps the lepers who did not return just figured they were lucky and went on their way.  The other guy realized he had been given a gift by that stranger and wanted to respond.

Jesus  tells him his faith has saved him.  I would suggest that his gratitude transformed him.

Third.  How is it possible to rearrange the percentages?  Rosemary & I have a favorite little practice that we do every night.  I’ve mentioned it before. We ask each other what were the blessings of the day.  I recommend this. I even recommend it for sitting alone, while savoring the first cup of coffee in the morning, driving or riding the DART to work & back, getting ready to go to school.  Simple question: what were my blessings yesterday or this week?

In that main post office I could have focused on how dumb I was or that I did not get the second deposit back.  Fortunately I could appreciate the supervisor’s light touch and that I had gotten back one envelope, the larger.

You may start now: what were your three biggest blessings this week?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-10-14.mp3

Readings: Habakkuk,1, 2-3 & 2, 2-4;Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1, 6-14; Luke 17 5-10.

Habakkuk: the words of this prophet come from the end of the 7th century, B.C. at a time when the Babylonians were in power.  He was deeply disturbed by their violence and asked Yahweh why he was silent. Yahweh’s response was that he will rescue the people in his own time.  But meanwhile, the good will live on because they are faithful to Yahweh.

In our selection we have a bit of both: Habakkuk’s complaint & Yahweh’s response.  This connects with Luke’s gospel which touches on faith and the servant who simply is doing what he is supposed to do.

Faith? In What?

A short while ago Donna sent me a quiz on religion.  A handful of questions asks about what a person believes.  Like, do you believe, or not believe in God?  What do you think happens after you die?  And so on.

After you finish the quiz you are matched up with the religious group with which you have the closest fit.  My closest fit turned out to be Liberal Quaker.  Roman Catholic for me was in the twenties.  So why don’t I become a Quaker?  Because it does not feel like home, which Catholicism does.  I hope to work with the essentials of Catholicism.  Some say this is being a cafeteria Catholic.  I would prefer to call myself an a la carte Catholic.  The only intellectually healthy way.

I thought of all this because of Luke’s  comments about faith.  If I had faith I could uproot trees.  I would be happy to just get rid of the weeds in the lawn. Is this not exaggeration? Sadly some sects take it literally, as you know. Faith is the product of a process, often called faith formation.  And this is where it really gets tricky. Who determines what is taught to young people and members of a religious group? What I was taught as a child, wow. So much of it I don’t accept any more.

My Catholic education was anomalous.  I learned to critique literature, poetry, politics, government, psychology, but not religious instruction.  I memorized that. That religious instruction was supposed to be my faith. Doubts & questions were not encouraged. 

This leads me to make a distinction between religion and spirituality. I think both religion & spirituality produce my faith. My spirituality, likewise, is influenced by religious instruction. Some of these observations come from Vaillant’s Aging Well.

First, religion is usually exclusive, while spirituality is inclusive.  For example, If you don’t believe the pope is infallible, you are excluded from the membership.  If you don’t wear certain dress, you are expelled or criticized. 

Secondly, religion comes from outside, while spirituality comes from inside. True, my spirituality is not formed in a vacuum. It receives input from outside sources.  Spirituality, however, sifts and sorts before accepting it. 

Thirdly, religion is certain and proclaims creeds & dogma that have to be believed.  Spirituality searches. It involves feelings, experiences, and uncertainty.

My brother in law gave me a good book on how religions become corrupt and evil, eventually losing their original charism.  (When Religion Becomes Evil, Charles Kimball) Five characteristics:

• Absolute truth. For example, infallibility. 
• Absolute obedience. We Jesuits took vows of obedience.  Was God asking this? Or people? Like men who lived in Rome. We are all expected to be obedient to Rome.
• End justifies the means. Inquisition. Firing of theologians like Charles Curran over at SMU to eliminate alternative ideas in areas like birth control.
• Justification of the Holy War. Crusades, Jihad.
• The Special Time. Peace will come when all people believe the same religion and there will be one law, like Sheria or Evangelical Christian.

I would suggest that each person’s faith is unique and we are not homogeneous. If we are spiritually healthy.

What are the three things you have the strongest faith in?

RELIGION QUIZ: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-10-07.mp3

Readings: Amos (again), 6,1-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6, 11-16; Luke 16, 19-31 (Rich Man & Lazarus).

Amos: Just a reminder from last week.  Amos, a prophet, lives about 800 years before Christ.  A prosperous time for the Jews, but a prosperity built on defrauding the poor.  Amos warns the people that Yahweh will punish them for cheating the poor and amassing fortunes. 

In our selection today Amos is putting it to the rich.  Which leads, of course, to our Gospel on the Rich Man & Lazarus.

The Rich Man’s Sin of Blindness

Some months ago when we were getting ready to work on the Rowlett house, I met with the man from Lake Point Church to estimate what the house needed.  We were going to team up. While we were standing outside looking the place over, I hesitatingly mentioned the huge Sycamore tree leaning over the house.  Dangerous.  "Alex, do you have any people in your community who could take that tree down?"  "I’ll see," he says. Alex was pretty taciturn, so I left it at that. 

A couple of weeks later on perhaps our second Saturday to work on the house, we were all gathering at 8:00 when a line of about ten pickups arrives and one pulls a large enclosed trailer.  The Lake Point Emergency Team.  They open the trailer, pull out chain saws, ropes, equipment, hard hats, and head for the tree.  There must have been 15 people, including two young women.  We occasionally stopped work and stood in awe as they brought down some gigantic overhanging limb.  Three hours later they were done, thanked us for inviting them, declined to join us for lunch, and departed, leaving only a huge pile of Sycamore branches ready to be picked up by the township. 

I am humbled by this team and wish I could join them.  They go where they are needed in almost any emergency.  They look for places where their help is needed.

I thought of them when I read about the Rich Man & Lazarus.  As usual, there are symbolic elements to this parable. 

First, there are three clues that inform the people who are tuned in that the guy is very rich: he has not just food, but sumptuous food; he dresses in purple, which also meant he was holy; and he had a funeral, which meant he was in Yahweh’s favor. Being rich, of course, meant good and favored by Yahweh.

Secondly, Lazarus. He is the only person in all the parables to be named.  Meaning?  Predilection for the poor? He also is painted as such a wretch that even dogs licked his sores.

Then, watch the switch.  Both men die. Lazarus is in Abraham’s bosom. He is the rich one now. Only free people recline at table, especially on the chest of the host. The Rich Man, however, is in a place of torment.

So what was the Rich Man’s sin?  Being rich?  Not necessarily. The Rich Man did not care for the Lazarus at his door.  He did not even see him. Granted, the parable indicates that his richness contributed to his blindness.  He had to stop focusing on himself, look around him for the Lazarus nearby, and care for him.

We are rich, too, folks.  No way we can deny it or escape it, despite events in our lives that may cause poverty of spirit.  The people from the Lake Point Emergency team were rich.  They, however, are looking for the Lazarus in their lives, and they were caring for him.

Who is the Lazarus in your life and how are your caring for him?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-09-30.mp3

Readings: Amos 8, 4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2, 1-8; Luke 16, 1-13.

Amos: This prophet lived about 800 years before Christ.  It was a time of prosperity in Israel.  However, Amos saw that the prosperity was limited to the wealthy, and that it fed on injustice and on oppression of the poor.  He warned that Yahweh would punish the nation for this.

Our reading comes toward the end of his little book and touches both themes: oppression of the poor and punishment of this by Yahweh.

Taking Care of Myself

In the first Sunday bulletin blog I sent out this month I included a link to an age profiler.  You answer about 30 questions and the instrument takes your present age, adjusts it according to what habits you claim you have, and then projects the year you will reach in life.  A number of you mentioned taking this and were amused at the results. I promised I would let you know what I came up with.  My present age is 67. My adjusted age was 41. And you will have me around until I am 109.  The profile indicates how you are taking care of yourself.

Our little steward in Luke this morning is taking care of himself. I’ve mentioned that biblical studies indicate that he simply cut his own commission to these debtors. He was not necessarily stealing from the rich man. By cutting his commission, he makes sure he is going to be popular with the debtors.

Which brings me to how we take care of ourselves. How do you do it? Want a scale or a map, one that is reflected in the profiler? I’ll give you seven that are pretty commonly accepted as essential. In a work called Aging Well by George Vaillant these seven points are used to describe where people in a study were. They were pictured on a spectrum from Happy-Healthy to Sad-Sick. The seven factors are relevant to every age.

The first four are no brainers:

• no smoking. And if you are smoking, the sooner you give it up the sooner you move closer to the Happy-Healthy side.
• no abuse of alcohol. I have read about a new class of alcoholics – the geriatric alcoholic. For instance, the successful business man who has retired and begins to drink more & more, earlier & earlier until he is polishing off a number of drinks every evening. 
• weight control. Tough. 
• exercise. At least walk. At least 3 days a week, maybe every day.

The last three are not as self evident as the first four.

• a family life or a social life. This involves a proactive approach to people, both family and friends.
• education.The better the education, the more Happy-Healthy. The degree only opens the door to lifetime education.
• defense mechanisms. How I handle bad things, deaths, firings, broken relationships.  Make lemonade out of lemons.

People who do well with these seven factors of life will be more happy-healthy. Those doing poorly will inevitably move toward sad-sick.

Our steward in the reading was taking care of himself.

How are you taking care of yourself?

Happy-Healthy scale: Download nicholas_age_scale.doc

AUDIO http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-09-23.mp3