OH, OKAY
NOW I KNOW

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Teen Mass for this 4th Sunday after Easter – C – is, “Oh, Okay, Now I Know.”

PHONE CALLS

How many times have we had the following experience?

We get a phone call and we recognize the voice, but we don’t know who it is, who is calling? We’re trying to figure it out – but the answer is not coming. It can be frustrating.

The person calling didn’t introduce himself or herself at the beginning of the call. They take it for granted we recognize their voice and who they are.

They know who we are, because they are the one who is calling.

Finally we have to ask, “Wait a minute, I have to ask a very important question, who is this?” Or, “I embarrassed to ask, but just who is this calling?”

Then the person – surprised – says, “Oh, this is Sue or Tim or Jack or Jill.”

And we go, “Oh, Okay, now I know….”

And then it becomes a different conversation.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

How many times have we had the following experience?

We’re walking in Borders or Best Buy or in some store or somewhere and we hear music. We hear a beat – a rhythm – some background music – and we say to ourselves, “I know that beat. I know that tune? What is it?” But we can’t come up with a name. And we keep trying – keep listening trying to “Name that tune!”

Last Friday evening I was visiting this home and three people played some music: piano, guitar, then piano again. When the host started to play some piano pieces and I knew none of the pieces – and the same thing happened with the two earlier players. The host played some classical music pieces. But then he played a piece that I recognized. It was the music from The Sting – a movie I loved. It was a Scott Joplin piece and because he loves Tango pieces – he transformed or whatever the verb is – the Scott Joplin piece by adding some Tango rhythms into it. Interesting.

I said to myself, “Oh, okay, now I know!”

PREMISE OR POINT

Here’s a premise. Just like the phone call, just like musical pieces, the more time we spend with a person, the more we remember their voice and their rhythms – their beat – what they are off on – what they are about.

More time – more know.

Common sense – common experience.

FIRST READING

Now a jump to today’s readings. This is a homily – a reflection on the readings at a particular Mass.

In this first reading Paul and Barnabas are preaching to a group of Jewish people. They are telling them that Jesus is background and background music for Jewish scriptures. They are playing that tune. They are trying to point out how Jewish Jesus is and how he fits into Jewish songs and psalms, prophecies and hopes.

The crowd rejects Paul and Barnabas.

If we knew Hebrew and Aramaic – if we knew the sounds and words of these languages – and then we heard the Gospels in Aramaic we would hear similar patterns, rhythms and sounds. Jesus grew up with the Jewish scriptures. We hear that when we hear him quoting Isaiah – the Psalms – and various other pieces of Jewish Scripture. The words of the Jewish scriptures had become flesh in him.

The folks here in the first reading reject Paul and Barnabas. They reject what Paul and Barnabas say is the word of the Lord. They reject the connecting of Jesus to their story.

So Paul and Barnabas bring their song to the Gentiles.

SECOND READING

In today’s second reading from the Book of Revelation, we have the powerful image of the Lamb. It’s a powerful image of Israel. We find it all through the Jewish scriptures. And John in this second reading is saying that Jesus is the Lamb who was sacrificed – slaughtered – just like Israel had been slaughtered – and sacrificed so often.

GOSPEL

And in the gospel, Jesus says that the sheep that are his – know his voice.

I remember hearing a talk once during which the speaker told about a Jesuit priest – who taught scriptures at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, that one summer he went to work on a ranch – a sheep ranch in Wyoming – I think it was Wyoming. The experience gave him new, fresh, understandings of what sheep and shepherds were like.

When a new born sheep is born and dropped in a field – they are very helpless. They need the shepherd. The only voice they know is the “Baa” of their mothers. Well, the shepherd goes through the fields finding the new sleep – makes sure they are all right – and they get to know the voice of the shepherd – so that when he calls – they will come running. Those of you who have a dog – know that dogs knows the sound of your voice. They come running when you call – for a treat – for a trip outside, etc. etc. etc.

CONCLUSIONS

So we come here to church to get to know the sound of Jesus – the voice of Jesus – the vision of Jesus – the music of Jesus – so that we can go out into our world be the love, music, hope, the voice of Jesus to our world.

That’s my homily. I hope you said somewhere in my homily, “Oh, Okay, I know what he’s talking about.”