Readings:

Isaiah  5, 1-7,  Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.

 Psalm 80,   The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Philippians 4, 6-9,  Have no anxiety at all.

Matthew 21, 33-43,  There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. 

Shonda says, "Welcome, Folks, I can't sing today, but I want to be here."

Isaiah observations–

What:  My favorite prophet again.  When you note this is Isaiah, chapter 5, you can make some pretty educated guesses, like the following 3:

1.  This is Isaiah 1, the first of the three major composers.  Chapter 1-39 are Isaiah 1.

2.  This Isaiah is writing before the Babylonian Captivity, which took place around 555 before Christ.

3.    You might guess correcty, then, that he is criticising the Israelite people for their bad behavior.

Our passage:  In fact, he is highly critical.  He uses the metaphor or symbol of a vineyard.  Just so you know ahead of time, the vineyard is the people.  Watch what he says happens to the vineyard and why.  This, of course, is setting the stage for the gospel, which is about, you guessed it, another vineyard.  Even the responsorial Psalm is about the vineyard.

Guess what I just might talk about during the homily.

Celeste, home from France and Switzerland for the summer, says it is nice to be home.

We, The Vineyard

Folks, Rosemary & I have been to the vineyard of the Lord.  In fact, I have been twice during the month of September, Yosemite and now our boat trip on the Danube. 

I am still so influenced by my years as a Jesuit and the desire to live a simple life that I am embarrassed to talk about this cruise.  It cost money.  And I feel squeamish about spending.

Cathy & Harper getting ready for Halloween.

However, this trip was one of, if not the best of all the trips we have taken.  Let me mention three aspects, the natural beauty, the beauty of the staff, and the beauty of the group of people we randomly formed up with.

The natural beauty.  We certainly did travel through a section of Germany celebrated for its gorgeous vistas and its vineyards.  We visited some of the villages.

Kara says, "Time for Halloween yet?"

However, for me it was the Danube.  Especially at night.  We would open the curtains of our room and the sliding glass door.  6 feet below me was the Danube moving by, quiet with the exception of the swish of water as we powered up stream.  I would get up to visit the bathroom and return to just gaze. 

Secondly, the staff.  There were two in particular, the program director, Stein, and the concierge, Radi, a young woman with personality and glorious black hair.  But also, the staff down to the girl, Carmen, who watched over our room.  From the beginning when we walked on board and were welcomed with glasses of mimosas, to the end when there was a Viking agent waiting to help us at the Nuremburg airport at 3:45 A.M.  Great cordiality and hospitality.

The Danube at the Continental Divide (no strong current).

Thirdly, the people and especially our group.  On perhaps the 4^th night I noticed around 2:00 A.M. we were simply sitting in the river, not moving.  Turned out, a barge ahead of us had troubles and was blocking our entrance into a lock.  We spent that night and the next morning anchored in the river with other tour boats lined up behind us.  Not one complaint from the group.  In fact, we had a good time.

That good time was enhanced by the charm and cordiality of the group we ended up meeting and putting together, four couples.  Chicago, Philadelphia, Ontario, and Dallas  When it was discovered I was a former Jesuit priest, that led to many interesting conversations. 

Sunset on the Danube looking over the prow of the boat from the top deck.

Isaiah says that the vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.  The cruise ship the Viking Njord was the vineyard of the Lord.  You, We are the vineyard.

I can see it.  Can you see it?

Sunset looking over the prow from the top deck.

Apologies to everyone and to John for putting into last Sunday's blog the wrong homily from John's Mass, September 28.  Here is the correct homily,   Download Cade Homily 9-28-14

Readings:

Ezekiel  18, 25-28,  Is it my way that is not fair?

 Psalm 25,   Remember your mercies, Oh Lord.

Philippians 2, 1-11,  God greatly exalted him.

Matthew 20, 1-16,  The man who had two sons. 

Homily by John Cade

Homily:  I want to focus today on Jesus’ teaching that God is now and was always with us, and how we can see God. There’s that Bible verse in today’s Responsorial Psalm 86 vs.5 that says “You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness.” Stack has said it’s his favorite line in the Bible.  I decided to google this verse and found the same words in multiple places in the Bible.  Psalm 145: vs. 8-9 has exactly the same lines. And Psalm 103 vs. 8 has the same.  And it’s not just in the Psalms.  The Book of Exodus Ch. 34, verse 6 reads, “The Lord is a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness.” The Book of Joel Ch. 2, verse 13 has exactly the same line. And the Book of Jonah Ch. 4, verse 2 has the same.

The take-away from those verses that describe God as “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and rich in kindness,” could be that whenever we see those traits and those behaviors, we are seeing God.  Jesus’ said the kingdom of God is here, and is experienced when we share mercy and kindness with one another.

On July 4^th I joined a group of family and friends for the Fair Park fireworks display. At the end of the evening Leo & Freddie, seeing fireworks for the first time, said, “This was the coolest ever.”

Later I remembered some of what I saw and experienced about being gracious and showing kindness.

1. I got to Fair Park early and walked around, then sat on a bench eating a corn dog slathered with mustard. I saw a woman walking with 2 children and an infant in a stroller. The little one dropped a stuffed toy to the ground. Another woman saw it and, noticing the mother hadn’t seen it happen, called out to her and pointed to it.  They made eye contact and I saw them connect with a smile as the mother picked up the toy. This was a brief but gracious human contact.
2. At one point after our group got together at the lagoon, my nephew Merik, offered to take Leo and Freddie on a walk around the lagoon. He entertained them for 30 or 40 minutes, and his act of kindness allowed the other adults time to visit.
3. Gina, a close friend of my daughters Joey and Sam, came with her husband and 2 daughters, who are a little older than my grandsons. Gina thought about the 4 kids who would be there and brought snacks for all of them and also light sticks to make necklaces or bracelets or, like Freddie, just to wave around. The kids loved it and I took note of her thoughtful kindness.
4. Most of the group had gotten snow cones while walking around. So I decided to get in line for a snow cone for myself (I was told that there were sugar free ones) and for Gina’s daughter who had missed out on one. It was a really long line of more than 30 people. After a while I struck up a conversation with a woman in line. Later another woman, also in line, joined in the conversation. At one point the latter woman, who was sort of ahead of me and the first women (line not straight but uneven), offered that we both go ahead of her. Of course by this point we had all been in line a long time and had tired feet. That was another act of kindness and mercy.

My question: when have you seen God lately?  And when do others see God in you?

Readings:

Isaiah  55, 6-9,  Our God who is generous in forgiving.

Psalm 145,   The Lord is near to all who call upon him

Philippians 1, 20-27,  Christ will be magnified in my body.

Matthew 20, 1-16,  The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.

Leo says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in. It is so fun."

Isaiah 55  observations—

Who:  My favorite prophet.  In fact , Isaiah 2 is my favorite of the 3 composers of the Book of Isaiah, and our selection today is the very last chapter of Isaiah 2.

When: remember these 3 writers wrote more or less before, during, and after the Great Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.  So, we can guess that today’s selection from Isaiah 2 comes from the time during the Captivity.

What:  Isaiah 2 has some of the best and most beautifully consoling passages. Check out The Messiah. Unfortunately, our little selection today talks about scoundrels and the wicked, in other words, about us.   Maybe these people are mentioned in connection with the people who grumble in the Gospel today.  See what you think.  I am cheating a bit with the reading.  I've added about 4 more lines that are more typical of Isaiah 2.

Y Alesia dice, "Bienvenidos, Todos. Descansense aqui.

This is not Fair!

This morning, Folks, I would like to talk about these workers hired by the vineyard owner.  We hear how the workers who worked all day got the same wages as those who worked one hour and we want to yell, “This is not fair!” 

Want to know what this parable is basically saying?  First, it is all gift.  Everything is gift.  Secondly, comparison is poison.  “How come he got this and I did not?”  “How come I got sick and he did not?”  Our lives are all gift.  Comparing myself with others poisons my spirit.

A story of the week to illustrate.  Guess from where I got it.  From our Yosemite trip.

The Bridge.

There was a man I met on the trail.  It is the second half of our 8 night adventure and the second day of rest, nights 6 & 7.  It is a gorgeous day after a rainy day.   I am standing on a suspension bridge over Woods Creek, just contemplating the beauty all around me.  A great sense of gratitude at being there at that moment.

We are in a valley.  The bridge is about 40 yards long and about 40 feet above a rushing stream.  The bridge sways and rocks when you walk on it.  There are two long cables going over two wooden towers.  There are vertical cables holding up the walkway.  We have a beautiful campsite just off the upper end of the bridge and just above the stream.

The Bridge looking toward our campsite on the left in the trees. Somebody is coming.

An elderly man comes onto the far end of the bridge.  As he approaches my back, I say over my shoulder, “Good afternoon, how are you doing?”, like I do all the time with people I meet on the trail and even at White Rock Lake.   No response.  Thinking he may not have heard me because of the roar of the stream, as he passes my right shoulder, I say, “You okay?” 

He grumbles, “Surviving.” 

His wife is following, so I enquire a bit more.  Turns out they are hiking the John Muir Trail for about a month and they are maybe in a little bit over their depth.  Both are elderly, though not probably as much as my 74 years, but not in good shape.

Contemplating the beauty looking south & east.

The John Muir trail is one of two famous trails going north-south through Yosemite.  The other is the Pacific Crest Trail.  The John Muir runs south from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S.  People hike the whole thing in 3-4 weeks, depending upon food supplies stationed along the way. This year we saw an unusually high number of these John Muir hikers.   For part of our trip we were on the trail for a few miles.  

This couple touched me and I talked later that evening around the campfire with our group.  I mentioned how sad.  I have been overwhelmed all day with the gift of being where we are.  I am so grateful that I can still hike to these beautiful places.  And this hiker is grumpy.  Does he not see the gift?  

It is all gift.  Health or no health, rich or poor, life.   

What is your gift today?

Contemplating, looking west & north. Going right on this bridge we headed down the trail to Lower Paradise Campsite, our last campsite of the 8 nights.