IT’S A MYSTERY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “It’s A Mystery.”

Have you ever been asked a question and you answered the other person by saying, “It’s A Mystery”?

In other words, “You don’t know.”

The older I get, the more I say, “It’s A Mystery.”

In fact, is that the sign of reaching old age – or the age of wisdom – the day we say, “It’s A Mystery!”?

SOME THINGS

Some things can be figured out – and it would be a cop out to say, “It’s A Mystery.”

Or it could be laziness – and we just don’t want to take the time to understand the difference between a 6 cylinder and an 8 cylinder car - or how to change a digital watch - with all those buttons on the side - and the directions are incomprehensible - and there is no little kid around to ask.

Or we know but we don’t want to tell some little 6 year old kid how babies come about or how come some parents make kids go to bed at 8 o’clock while other parents with kids the same age make them go to bed at 9 o’clock – or why some seem to have no set time for kids' bed time?

So some things can be known and some things are mystery.

Like earthquakes. We know why they happen – but we don’t know when they are going to happen. But maybe in the year 4010 they will know exactly when an earthquake is going to happen. What will that be like?

OLD SONG

There is an old song, “Ah Sweet Mystery of Life ….”

Some mysteries are sweet – like the beautiful day we had today. And some mysteries are not sweet. They are bitter. Like all that snow we had two weeks ago – unless you wanted all that snow – and you got out of all that school.

So life is both sweet and not so sweet, bitter, and sometimes bitter sweet.

Why do some birds go south every winter and some don’t?

I have no idea.

Why do some kids have all the brains – and the rest of us are B and C students – and we try and try – and this kid who never seems to study – gets A’s every time?

Why does life seem so unfair at times?

And why do I get the break at times? I’m on a long line at K-Mart – and every line is long – and surprise – the check-out counter next to me opens up just that minute and I’m last on the line and the lady signals to me – and I’m the only one who sees her and I walk over and now I’m first on line.

I think of Jesus’ words, “The last shall be first….”

But why did this happen to me today?

“It’s a mystery!

Yet they say great athletes – and musicians – and snowboarders – get that way because of practice, practice, practice - or merging talent with practice.

TODAY’S FIRST READING: MOSES

The Moses story in the Book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible, is quite mysterious.

As a baby all baby boys in Egypt are to be killed – that is, if they are born of Jewish parents. Why do people kill other people?

It’s a mystery.

Yet we can take some time to figure it out – at least we can start with ourselves. Why do we hurt brothers and sisters? Why do we hurt friends? Why are we selfish at times? Why do we pick on people who are different?

It’s a mystery – yet we might be mind lazy – or we’re jealous – or we think we can feel better about ourselves by making fun or persecuting someone different from us.

Anyway – Moses is put in a basket and floated on the water towards the Pharaoh’s daughter – and because everyone loves a baby – why – we just do – and Pharaoh’s daughter saves and raises little Moses.

So far so good.

Then Moses grows up and one day he sees an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew and Moses goes crazy and kills the Egyptian and then looks around to see if anyone sees him. Then he hides the dead body in the sand. The next day he finds out he was seen and so he runs away. He heads for the hills.

Here he had everything – next he has nothing – so he becomes a shepherd in the desert and in the hills.

Now - finally getting to today's first reading ....

One day while shepherding Moses has a great vision – way up there in the mountains.

He sees a bush. It looks like it’s on fire – but it doesn’t burn down.

He hears a voice. He hears his name, “Moses, Moses!”

He answers, “Here I am?”

And God says, “Come no nearer. Take off your sandals. You’re standing on Holy Ground.”

The voice continued, “I am the God of your fathers, of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses was experiencing big time, “It’s a mystery.”

Moses covers his eyes. Moses is scared – filled with big time afraid.

Moses hears God say, “I have witnessed the pain of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of complaint against their slave drivers. I know their suffering. I have come to rescue them from this land of Egypt and I’m going to bring them to a land of milk and honey.”

It’s not in our text today – unfortunately – but God says next, “I am sending you to them to tell them to come with you. I am sending you to the Pharaoh to go and say, ‘Let my people go.’” [Read Exodus 3:1-15 and not just today's reading, Exodus 3:1-8a-13-15.]
Moses asks this voice, this vision, this mystery, this God, “What is your name?”

And God says, “I am who am.”

Others translate this by saying, “I am who I am!”

Others translate this by saying simply, “I Am!”

QUESTION

Why didn’t God do this when the Jews were being killed by the Nazis?

Why didn’t God do this when there was that big slaughter of Armenians by the Ottamans?

Why didn’t God do this when there was that big slaughter of people in Rwanda?

Or why doesn't God do more about children that are abused?

Why is there sin and selfishness?

Why is their evil?

It’s a mystery.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Or take today’s gospel.

Why did Pilate – one of the head Romans in Palestine around the time of Jesus – beat up and kill some Galileans - a little know historical moment mentioned here in the Gospel of Luke?

Or why did a tower collapse at Siloam in the time of Jesus and kill 18 people?

Why does a earthquake happen in some places during the day when kids are in school and the school building collapses and a couple of hundred kids are killed and it could have happened at 2 in the morning and less kids would be killed?

Why? Why? Why?

I don’t know.

It’s a mystery.

I am serious about saying this. I am not trying to be flippant.

Okay, I hope when they rebuild Port-au-Prince in Haiti – they will do two things. If they know where there is a earthquake fault line, they won’t build over it – and when they put up buildings, they will use the best information they have to build somewhat earthquake proof buildings.

CONCLUSION

In the meanwhile, today’s gospel also talks about a fig tree.

Fig trees are supposed to give figs. If they don’t they should be dug up and not take up space – space where another fig tree can be planted – that will give a fig.

That’s no mystery.

Well, it’s a mystery to me why Jesus waited till he hit around 30 and then began to walk around healing, preaching, telling stories and challenging people.

It’s a mystery to me what Jesus saw when he saw people.

It’s a mystery to me why he healed this person and must have walked by other people who needed healing.

There is a story in the Gospel of Mark that takes place in the city of Bethsaida. Jesus heals a blind man. Jesus puts spit in the man’s eyes. Interesting. Then Jesus puts his hands on the man and asks him, “Can you see anything?” The man says he can see people but they look like trees. [Mark 8: 22-26]

To me it’s just like being in the eye doctor’s chair. They ask, “What do you see?”

I say, “I see blur.”

They do something and ask, “Is that better.”

I say, “Better.”

Well the blind man says, “I see men as trees – but they are moving.”

Jesus puts his hands on the man’s eyes again and he starts to see clearly. Everything is exact and distinct.

Why didn’t Jesus heal the blind man right away – like he does in the other blind man stories in the gospels?

I don’t know.

It’s a mystery.

Well, thinking about today’s gospel, at times I think Jesus saw people as trees – and some of them were doing nothing. They were trees that were just taking up space. Walk through any forest and you’ll see trees like that. Well, there are people who are like trees that are not producing – and those who know them – want to write them off – "dis" them.

But in this story Jesus gives this tree a second chance.

That’s why I love this story and love Jesus.

Jesus gives second chances.

Why?

It’s a mystery.




This is a homily for our young people's Sunday evening mass on the 3rd Sunday in Lent, C, March 7, 2010

P.S. This Monday morning, March 8th, 2010, I was looking for something online from NPR Radio - and surprise I found a neat 5 minute piece from March 5th - that has as its ending - some of what I'm saying in this homily. If you use Google as your search engine, type in the following: "NPR Weekend Edition - Poverty and Chastity for Every Occasion."