WHO ME?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 13^th Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Who Me?”

WHO ME?

Isn’t that a question we feel from time to time?  We’re standing there and someone says something like, “It’s noisy around here!” Or they say, “Someone left the milk out?” Or, “Nobody seems to empty the dish washer.” We wonder if they are aiming their comments at us. That’s what I call a “Who me?” moment.

In other words, “Are you talking to me?”  “Are you blaming me?”  “Are you asking me?”

“Who me?”

Let me curve or push that question a little deeper.

Let me paint a few "Who me?" pictures - situations when someone feels a call to do something new - something different. 

Who me? 

The little girl sees her mom so much bigger than she is. In imitation, she puts on her mom’s high heel shoes? 

The little boy wants a dump truck, because he sees the big guys on the highway in big dump trucks.

We see a neighbor walking briskly every morning past our house as we stand there in our pajamas with a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other and we’re looking out the front window. We think to ourselves, “I got to  get back into shape.” 

Or we see someone who prays and goes to church and we think, “I need to get back to church!” 

A widow told me recently that she knows two women who both lost their husbands. One mourned and seemed unable to snap out of the pain. The other mourned and got moving again. She found herself saying to herself, “I have a choice here: to crawl into the grave with Charlie and pull the grass over me or I have the choice to come back to life. Charlie would want me to wake up.” Then she said, “I made the to be alive again choice. Amen.”

Those are what I call, “Who me?” moments.

They are calls to change - to follow a new path - a new way of doing things. They are calls to get out of ruts and out onto the highway of doing life. “Who me?” moments are those calls - urges - that we feel are being aimed at ourselves.

CARAVAGGIO

When I read today’s gospel, The Calling of Saint Matthew, I thought of the painting by that name by the famous painter Caravaggio [1571-1610]

Last September and early October I was on a 2 week cruise to the Mediterranean. Nice. On September 30 we docked at Civitavecchia, Italy. Next came a bus to Rome. I was planning on simply going to our Redemptorist house there. Others had expensive tours to the Vatican or to this or that. I had done that years ago. I went down to line up for the bus. There I spotted two ladies from our group who were simply going to Rome by themselves to walk around and see what they saw. I switched my plans and went with them for the day. Good move. We had a good day. We didn’t see the Pope, but we saw St. Peter’s and lots of churches.

Now, why am I telling you this. Answer: I’m about to get to a “Who me?” moment.

When we were near the Piazza Navona fountains, we spotted a church and so we went in. It was the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi - St. Louis of France - the national French church in Rome. Surprise! It had three Caravaggio’s - 3 Caravaggio paintings - in it.

Then I saw this book: “The Bible of Caravaggio - Images from the Old and New Testament.” [Point to the book!] I think the cost was 10 Euros. It was kind of expensive and I’d have to carry it for the rest of our walking. Yet I could hear the book saying, “Buy me!” And I could hear myself saying, “Who me?”

I always think to myself at the moment of choice whether or not to buy a book. “Will I use it for a sermon some time?”

It’s that time to use that book. However, I’ve found myself looking at it from time to time - so I have got my 10 Euro worth from it.

When I read today’s gospel, The Calling of Saint Matthew, I said to myself: “That’s the painting on the cover of that Caravaggio book you bought in Rome last year.”  Sure enough. I went looking for this book and found it right there with my books on the Bible.

Here on the cover and then inside and then again is this same picture of The Call of Matthew. Of the 3 Caravaggio’s in that church, I like this one the best.

The painting is vintage Caravaggio - darkness and light.

In his day Caravaggio had followers and those who used his style.

When I read up about Caravaggio, I read that without him, Vermeer and Rembrandt would not have been the Vermeer and Rembrandt that we know.

Caravaggio lead a volatile life - fighting - killing a few people in duels - being condemned to death by one pope - being commissioned to do church paintings by various cardinals and churches - being hunted - and dying mysteriously at the age of 38.

As I read about him and read his life, I kept reading that he had a deep spirituality. Did all these scenes from the Bible challenge him one on one? And Caravaggio seemed to center in on people one to one when they were facing life threatening and life changing moments. For example, in his painting, Conversion On the Way To Damascus, Saul who becomes Paul is pictured not in a big group of people as most paintings of his conversion are portrayed, but the conversion takes place in a stable - just Saul, just one other person, and a horse. I kept wondering as I studied his paintings, what was he thinking as he painted this particular painting in this manner?

If you have time and you use a computer, type into Google or any search engine, "Caravaggio" and just look at his wonderful paintings.

He was commissioned to do many church paintings - and the authors of this book talk about his spirituality and his messages of light and darkness - the advent and arrival of God and grace into a person’s life. From what I read, the specialists think he was into giving strong spiritual messages. This painting certainly hits me.

I might be partial because I love light and darkness in photographs. I took lessons once. The photographer and his wife who took me on a field trip to learn how to take pictures said: “Photography is all about light and shadows and darkness. The best time for taking  pictures is an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset - when the light is coming into your pictures from the side." That was Lesson # 1.

BACK TO “WHO ME?”

I stood there in that church of San Luigi dei Francesi for quite some time - studying especially the painting of The Calling of Saint Matthew -  knowing I was seeing history and a great painting.

In today’s gospel -Matthew 9:9-13 - he is at his custom’s post. In Caravaggio’s painting Mathew is in a room. This book says it’s a tavern. There are 4 men sitting at a table. There is one person with coins and there is a pair of dice sitting there. Jesus and Peter are standing there. Jesus points at Matthew and Matthew points to himself - as if to say, “Who me?”  In Luke 5:27 we have the same scene and same story, but Matthew is called Levi there.

It’s a moment of grace for Matthew. It’s a call from Christ to follow him into a new way of doing life. It’s a “Who me?” moment.

When I was pausing to study that painting in that church in Rome, I found myself thanking God for the calling to be a priest.

CONCLUSION

So for a homily message for today, I chose the “Who me?” message.

I see in both Caravaggio’s painting of The Calling of Saint Matthew and today’s gospel, “The Call Message.”

When we look at paintings, ask yourself, “Is there a ‘Who me?’ message in this painting. Is there a call for me to follow a new way of doing things.

I hear in Caravaggio’s paintings that God - Jesus - is calling us in all sorts of life scenes - not just in church.

I hear in the readings of Mass - calls to ask, “Is this reading pointed at me?”  Like today’s first reading from Amos, he talks about people who cheat on the scales. Of course most of us are not in the market place or at gas pumps, cheating on the scales or gauges. [Cf. Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12.]

Yet we might cheat ourselves. I love it in doctor’s offices when I notice people taking off all the weight they can when they get weighed. We are the weight we are. The scale is not us. If we are overweight or way too underweight, then why cheat ourselves of health? 

This is an aside: A funny thing happened to me at my last visit to our doctor. The nurse weighed me and said I lost weight. I hadn’t. My last exam was in the winter, so  I stepped on the scale still wearing my winter coat. When Doctor Lisa came into the examining room she looked at what the nurse wrote and she said, “You lost 7 pounds.” I answered, “Nope, the last time I was here was winter and I had on my heavy coat.” She said, “Oh.” Then she’s tapping my back and stops and says, “Nobody wears a 7 pound coat.”  I said, “Well I did and back then you said I put on weight.”

Who me?

I’m talking too long.

Who me?

Jesus is calling us every day in every way to live in a better light - to come out of the darkness and walk in the light.

Jesus comes up to us no matter who we are and where we are - tavern or tax office - toll booth or playing cards and he’s calling us.

He’s calling us out of darkness into his own wonderful light.


He's saying what he said to Matthew, "Come follow me!"


"Who me?"