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

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

A Fathers' Day Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Download 9_words_women_use.doc

Readings: Hosea, 6, 3-6; Psalm 50; Romans 4, 18-25; Matthew 9,9-13; plus a good Alleluia verse, Luke 4, 18, about which I would like to speak.

Hosea: as with most of the prophets, Hosea is disturbed by the infidelity & behavior of the Hebrews.  He tells them how bad they are and warns them that their bad ways will have consequences.  Yahweh will punish them.  He lives about 700 years B.C. & worked the area of the north, called Israel or Galilee.

Me Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor?

Many of you, I am sure, have your favorite auto mechanic.  And if you don't, you probably wish you did.  Rosemary & I have an Italian Catholic family, the Lucidos, who run One Stop.  Trouble with it is that it is a little distance, near 35 & Royal. 

In Richardson there is another of these reliable mechanics.  I don't know the man, but he has a reputation of being reliable, dependable, reasonable with his prices, and a curmudgeon.  A grump, a no patience, no compliments, non-smiler. 

A family I know who has lived in Richardson forever has believed in this mechanic.  The family has raised three kids who are now grown up and at least into their 20's.  As is the case in so many families, one of the kids, the oldest boy, has had his troubles migrating from adolescence into adulthood.  In and out of school, not able to find what he wanted to do, hanging with friends who likewise could not find their way. 

In the past couple of years, this boy finally married, had some kids, and actually graduated from college.  I think this was his first year to teach in special ed.  It looked like the kid was really putting his life together and going somewhere.

In the spring the boy had car trouble and naturally he took his trouble to the family mechanic.  All went well and the car was fixed for a reasonable price. 

A few days later the father got a call from the curmudgeon mechanic.  What do you think he was calling to say? 

"I am calling," he said, "to compliment you on your son."  The mechanic who never gives compliments and who had known and followed the son through his growing pains, said the boy had turned out marvelously, courteous, friendly, saying "Yes, sir," & "No, sir," and was really a pleasure to be around. 

I think dad just about fainted dead on the phone.

I tell this story because it exemplifies one approach to "The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor."  A marvelous line.  For three reasons.

     We are all the poor and need to hear glad tidings.  We are less than we want to be, we hurt others, we fail in business and in sports, we fail as spouses, as parents, as priests.   Then along comes glad tidings: "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.  Pretty good news for us sinners.

   The Lord sends Me to bring glad tidings, good news, compliments.  The Richardson curmudgeon mechanic brought happy tidings to a father who could have felt rather poverty stricken over the years as a parent.  This is one of the main motivations I work as a priest & therapist.

   The result of the glad tidings is greater inner peace–for the person who receives the gift and for the person who brings it.  Certainly the father felt greater peace and probably the mechanic felt a peace.

With whom do you share glad tidings & how?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-06-08.mp3

Readings: Deuteronomy 11, 18-32; Psalm 31; Romans 3, 21-25; Matthew 7, 21-27

Deuteronomy: Just a couple of reminders–

• Deuteronomy is the 5th & last book of the Pentateuch or Torah;
• Moses is reminding the people of how Yahweh has guided and protected them in the desert after escaping Egypt;
• The discourse takes place in the desert outside the promised land, the land where the Canaanites are living.
• Moses is dying and will not enter. Instead Joshua will lead the people.

Matthew & the Foundation of Your House

Because the Gospel of Matthew will be our Sunday gospel now through summer & fall until we begin Advent, which is the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, let me offer some data about Matthew.  I have five observations about Matthew's gospel and a thought about his selection today on foundations for your house.

• Who?  Matthew was not written by Matthew the Apostle. Instead, the writer seems to be an anonymous, non-eye witness Jewish Christian.
• When?  Around 80-85, i.e., about 50 years after Jesus
• Where?  He wrote in Antioch probably.  Rome, Alexandria in Egypt, and Antioch in Syria (today Turkey) were 3 big cities of the the Roman Empire. Antioch was defeated in the 13th Century and never revived, partly because ships could no longer come up river to the city. Sand had collected in the river bed.  Like Seville in Spain.
• What was he trying to do?  He was trying to convince Jew & Gentile that Jesus fulfilled the O.T. prophesies about a savior.  Consequently, he makes multiple references to the O.T.
• Synoptic Gospels?  3 of the N.T. gospels are called the Synoptic gospels, because they are all similar.  Matthew is one of them, along with Mark & Luke.  In fact, Matthew seems to have used Mark & maybe Luke, along with an oral source called Q, as his sources.  Matthew has over 1000 lines, almost 400 of which are identical to Mark.

   In today's selection from Matthew we are at the beginning of his chapters teaching about good living. His metaphor of the house built upon sand makes me think, "Welcome to Dallas!"  Is there a house in Dallas that does not have foundation problems?  If I lay a pen on my desk at home I have to position it correctly or it will roll away.

In fact, a few years ago we invited some foundation companies to give us an estimate on leveling our pier & beam house.  One major company said, "Sorry, folks.  We won't touch this house."  Consequently, we live in a tear down hoping it won't fall down before we are ready to sell and move.

The house obviously is a metaphor for you and me.  We are being instructed to build our lives on spiritual health, especially obedience, which the Deuteronomy reading adds.  Again in these readings, we are presented with a choice.  Deuteronomy calls it a choice between blessing & curse.  I would suggest it is a choice between a path of fear and a path of trust. 

Just like in Dallas, we all attempt to build our lives on a solid foundation.  We would not be gathering here if that were not moving us.  The up side of the metaphor of the house is that we are encouraged again to continue to improve our lives.  The down side is the reality that, like in Dallas, despite our best efforts, we have shaky foundations.  Therefore, are we cursed forever?

I think an answer lies in the readings.  Again we have both positions represented.  We can choose.  The Psalm writer says, "In you, Oh Lord, I take refuge; You are my rock; Take courage and be stout hearted, all you who hope in the Lord."

Consequently, instead of the path of fear, I have chosen the path of trust.  How about you?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-06-01.mp3

Readings: Deuteronomy 8, 2-16; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 10, 16-17; John 6, 51-58.

Deuteronomy: The fifth & last book of the Torah.  The scene: Moses & the Hebrews are in the desert just outside the promised land, the land of the Canaanites, whom they are going to kick out and kill.  Moses is reviewing their journey from Egypt.

The belief that Yahweh punishes and corrects us is not so common today as Moses suggests to the people.  We will read the whole section to get the sense more clearly.

The Banquet

A while back somebody asked me what was the best meal we had in Italy.  It took me a nano second to remember.  It took place the afternoon we arrived in Venice. 

We had just gotten off the train from spending two days with Chebino & Lydia in Pordenone & Aviano.  In fact, if I had eaten the two evenings with Michael I might have considered these meals some of the best, because when Michael walks into these 2 favorite places, the owner comes out and everyone greets him.  He gets all this affection because he is so friendly & outgoing. 

Consequently, everything was cordial & delightful & we received the best of everything.  My only problem was that I don't eat after about 4:00, to eliminate acid reflux without having to take pills.  So I just enjoyed the event and a glass of red wine.

In Venice, however, it was early afternoon when we walked out of the train station and onto the famous Grand Canal, leaving one world and entering one of my most favorite dream worlds.  We descended the broad stairs, turned left at the canal, and walked up one of the main pedestrian walkways of the Cannaregio suburb.  At a small fork in the walkway we went left, crossed a couple of small canals on up & down bridges, took a right across the last canal, and arrived at our convent. 

After we had been received with all sorts of hospitality and settled, I asked the portress Magda to recommend a good, reasonable cafe.  "Turn right out the door," she says, "cross the bridge to the left, and at the next canal go right and look for the tables on the edge of the canal.  The place is called Ristorante Diana on Fontamenta della Misericordia.  Ask for Omer."

When we get there, the guy is all friendly and we take a window seat inside because the sun is on the fondamenta tables.  I tell him we come with Magda's recommendation.  "What is good today?"  He recommends this and that, and we begin with a seafood salad, pasta, have two varieties of fish he said were caught that day, some dessert, and finish off with Samabuca, my first ever, and some small glasses of lemon liquor. 

Folks, we must have been there three hours, a bit beyond my usual finishing hour even though we had begun about 3:00.  It was the best.  Until I asked for the check.  I had never asked Omer just how much each course was costing, trusting in Magda and in Omer.  We paid over $75 per person for that meal, probably the most expensive I've ever had in my whole life.

I talk about this today for three reasons:

• It is Memorial Day & time for picnics, special meals, & banquets.
• We are celebrating the Eucharist today.
• The Eucharist is basically a banquet and cannot be appreciated for what it really is unless we throw a banquet occasionally.

I think a banquet involves three elements for it to come off, place, intention, & time.

• The place can be almost anywhere as long as it has some special quality, grandmother's dining room, a campfire in Yosemite, a Fondamenta della Misericordia in Venice, a Saturday afternoon on a patio, or a Sunday evening around a swimming pool. Even an El Fenix or a Chili's
• When I say intention, I mean somebody has to set it up, say, "Welcome, let's do it." Set a date, a place, and a time. Chebino sees his fly buddy and family in a restaurant and invites them all for dinner the next night.
• Time is probably the most important. It cannot take place in less than an hour, I would suggest. Two or three would be better & best. Trouble with some restaurants like Chili's is you get a bill dumped on your table just as you take the last few bites of the main course. In Italy you may sit there the whole afternoon and they still won't bring a bill until you ask for it. Taking time at the banquet is the exact opposite of fast food or eating while driving.

Never enjoy a long meal and you are missing one of the joys of life, and the Eucharist certainly can't be appreciated.

If we did not have a Eucharist ritual, I think I would invent one.  The Eucharist attempts to take a banquet or special meal and put it into a context where we place ourselves into contact with the God of the Universe.  It is based on knowing how to banquet.

When was your last special meal?  Your next?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-05-25.mp3