STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time is, “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

How many times in our lives have we said to ourselves in the privacy of our brain, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”?

Or a variation might be, “Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!” or “Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!” or “Uuuuuh! Uuuuuh! Uuuuh!”


Or if we are déjà vu dumb – that is, we keep repeating the same mistake over and over again, we might use the Jim Carey movie title, “Dumb and Dumber” and we might even add the superlative, “Dumbest!”


A lady after the 8:30 Mass this morning said to me, “Stupidity is doing the same stupid thing over and over again, expecting a different result each time.”


How many times have we said to ourselves, “That was the dumbest thing I ever did.”?

Now that would be a good dinner conversation.

We talk to ourselves. In fact, we talk to ourselves more than any other person on the planet. In fact, I’m wondering if people are being stupid or dumb – by spending too much time talking on cell phones or texting each other – time they could be talking to themselves – another word for thinking. Thinking is good. Healthy thinking and praying is good. Stinking thinking or stupid thinking is bad.

This weekend is the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock – and there are all kinds of articles and commentaries on radio, TV and newspaper about that weekend. The one that intrigued me the most was that people were standing on lines that were a mile long to get to the few pay phones in the area. It was before everyone had cell phones. It was raining. Small stores ran out of food. There were long potty lines. The New York Thruway was totally stopped so people decided to sleep in their cars – right on the New York Thruway. I’m sure a lot of people were saying, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Looking back, many seem to be saying now, “Smart! Smart! Smart!” “I was there! I was there. I was there!” and I can brag about it.

BANGING OUR HEAD

It’s interesting: when we say, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” we often hit our head. That’s where our brain, our mind, our thinking skills are kept.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Today’s first reading from The Book of Proverbs triggered for me the theme for this homily on stupidity. It begins, “Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table.”There are a whole series of books in the Bible called the “Wisdom Books”. They contrast wisdom with stupidity – smart with dumb – right with wrong – clever with foolishness.

In our growth process – in our spiritual development - it is wise to stop from time to time to reflect upon what’s inside our brain - our attitudes - our "speeches" - our "buttons" - what we're off on. Are we being wise with our use of time and energy? Are we smart or foolish? Are we being healthy or unhealthy with our bodies and our earth?

This is why religions have religious schools – and catechisms – and Bible readings and homilies.

To return to the opening words of today’s first reading, “Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table.”

What’s on your table? What’s in your house?

Close your eyes and take a tour of the house called you. What does it look like? People walk around the neighborhoods of Annapolis and see red brick and porches, old houses and new ones, steps and gardens. People walk around Annapolis and sometimes go into other people’s homes. Some are tours. Some are parties or what have you. Annapolis has a lot of different neighborhoods and areas. And when we’re inside a home for the first time, the owners say, “Let me show you the house?” We see the different rooms. We spot the pictures on bookshelves and refrigerator doors. We see what’s on tables. We take it all in.

Interesting.

I only have one room and I have a saying, “Show me your room and I’ll tell you who you are.” I’m a slob, so I keep my door closed.

We could say the same of a house, “Show me your house and I’ll tell you who you are?”

Then when we sit down to dinner – at another’s table – we see even more about another person or family.

Next time you’re at someone’s dinner table, listen to what others are talking about. Listen to what people are worried about – what people laugh about – what people eat – and we’re finding out who they are.

INNER ROOM

Jesus visited a lot of people. Jesus invited himself into different homes and into the lives of various people.

Jesus talked about each of us having an inner room.

We’ve all heard the Capital One Ad, “What’s in your wallet?”

Robert Fulghum once asked a group of men to put their wallets on a table and have everyone show what’s in their wallet.

Interesting.

Show me your wallet and I’ll tell you who you are?

Jesus would say, “Invite me into your inner room and I’ll tell you who you are.”Our inner room is in here – inside our skull – the skull we hit when we say, “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

Our inner room is in here – inside our skull – the place where a thousand conversations and judgments take place each day.

WISDOM & STUPIDITY

Wisdom! Wisdom! Wisdom!

Wisdom is the opposite of stupidity, foolishness, dumb, dumb, dumb.At different points in our lives – like each Sunday when we come to church for Sabbath Rest – like vacation – like walks – like being alone in car rides – it’s good to check out what we are talking to ourselves about – what’s in our house? – what’s in our inner room?

Listen to yourself and you’ll find out a lot about yourself.

Jesus is a carpenter. His first question would be: Is your house built on rock or sand? Does it have strong columns or is your life shaky?

Nobody has a monopoly on stupidity or sin? Popes, presidents, priests and parents, coaches, cab drivers, and computer folks, the big guys and gals and the little guys and gals, all do stupid things.

How about you?

What did Forest Gump mean when he said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Was he saying, “Nobody is stupid, but we do stupid things.”

Commentators on the movie like to say that was a very wise line because it’s tricky. It might get folks thinking – “Who’s stupid? Who’s really stupid and who’s really wise?” Surprise! It might be the person with the I.Q. of 75.

LEARNING FROM OUR STUPID MISTAKES

We become wise when we learn from our mistakes – especially from our really dumb moves.

I was the youngest of four kids – and one night my mom and dad were out – and my brother or one of my two sisters sent me to the living room to turn out the lamp. We had the two bedrooms in the back of the house. The lamp in the front of the house didn’t have an on and off beaded pull chain. It had broken off. You had to turn the bulb off by hand. It was hot and I pulled my fingers away from the hot bulb immediately and put my fingers in my mouth.

What to do?

I took off my t-shirt and put it over the lamp to cover the light and make my brother or sisters in the back of the house think I had turned it off. Luckily they smelled the smoke and quickly ran out to the living room, pulled the smoking and almost burning t-shirt off the lamp and then proceeded to beat me up.

I never did that again. But I was being logical. I learned from that mistake the first and only time I made it.

When playing Monopoly it took me about 5 times to learn, “If you own Park Place – never trade it to the person who has Boardwalk. Monopoly can be a very long game and the person with hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place has the best chance of winning.

How many times do we have to commit the same sin before we learn? How many next mornings, DUI’s, screaming children, car dents, headaches, vomiting, loss of jobs, does it take for an addict on drugs or booze to hit bottom and get their house in order.

We make mistakes.

That's why we say, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid."

That's why pencils have erasers and churches have confessionals.

So the key thing is to see what we're doing is stupid and then not to be déjà vu dumb.

CONCLUSION

These 5 Sunday’s, besides readings from Ephesians and other books in the Bible, we have been listening to the 6th Chapter of John – and the central message is that a key table to sit down to every Sunday is this meal with Jesus – who feeds us with himself – and his wisdom – and gives us the ability to live forever.

Smart. Smart. Smart.