CULTIVATING PEACE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Cultivating Peace.”

That’s a phrase in today’s second reading from James.

I think it’s worth looking at - praying over - reflecting on - considering - and then trying to put into practice.

“Cultivating Peace.”

CULTIVATING

I’m sure all of us sometime in our life have tried our hand at planting something. We might have been a kid and we saw those seeds in the inside middle of a light orange honeydew melon. We certainly weren’t going to eat them. “Oooh!” So we asked our mom or dad, “Could I plant those seeds?”

We did. We looked at our pot or plot every day - waiting for new life. Surprise something grew. We didn’t get any honeydew melons, but we got a green plant. A nice surprise for the eyes of a small child.

I’m sure many of you planted tomatoes or zucchini - roses or tulips - and surprise - you saw the fruits of your work.

Has anyone ever had the fantasy of buying 10 or 20  packets of flower seeds and just throw them on the ground somewhere - especially in an ugly empty dirt lot - and then imagine ourselves and others going  by that spot a few months later. Surprise the lot or the highway divider or wherever we tossed or scattered those seeds was filled with flowers.  I always thought that would be a much nicer thing for young people to do than graffiti.

So we know what it is to cultivate.

The title of my homily is, “Cultivating Peace.”

WHAT ARE THE SEEDS OF PEACE?

What are the ingredients of peace?

What do we have  to scatter?

Here’s a random list of positives: listening, fairness, equality, respect, compassion, civility,  forgiveness, education, assuming the good will of the other….

Here’s a random list of negatives: not judging, no racism, no bias, not yelling or shutting down on another or others, no finger pointing…. 

THE LETTER OF JAMES

We’ve been listening to the letter of James for 4 Sundays now - and we have him again next Sunday as our second reading.

I love to say to someone who wants to start reading the Bible: “Start with James.” Starting with Genesis is like going into a library and reading the first book on the first shelf - as you come in the door.  The Bible is a library. Do what people do in a library. Look around - and pick a book that grabs you.

I love to recommend James if someone wants a recommendation on where to start in the Bible. I add - “If you don’t get James, say ‘Uh oh!’ I’m in trouble.”

In fact, I think it would be a great book to start a Bible Book of The Month Discussion Group - if you want to start one.

And talking about Book of the Month, it’s neat that this year we have James for the 5 Sundays of September and September only has 30 days. James is our book of the month. Mark is our book of the year.

In today’s reading from James he tells us how to cultivate war and how to cultivate peace.

If you want war here are the seeds - here are the ingredients: jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, let your passions run riot, covet what you don’t possess, insincerity,  kill and envy what you can’t obtain, fight, don’t ask or if you do ask, ask wrongly - with lots of passion.

If you want peace here are the seeds - here are the ingredients: gentleness, mercy, compliance - and the opposite of the seeds of war.

The title of my homily is, “Cultivating Peace.”

Pope Paul VI is known for his words, “If you want peace, work for justice.”

Pope Benedict XVI playing on those words said, “If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.”

SELF DESCRIPTION

Look in the mirror - look oneself in the eye - ask oneself, “Am I a peacemaker?”

A few years ago I was in a bus and we were coming into Northern Ireland. We were going to stay in the city of Derry - which was famous or infamous for its violence and its clashes. For years I had seen on the evening news the gun towers on the borders between the north and the south. In the towers were soldiers with guns. As we approached the borders there were no towers. Instead there were big flower pots with flowers - instead of soldiers with machine guns.

It was a wonderful sight. It was a wonderful stark contrast between war and peace. 

What’s it like when someone approaches me: war or peace?

As the old saying goes, “There are two types of people: those who cause happiness wherever they go; and those who cause happiness whenever they go.”

Each of us needs to look in the mirror and ask: “What’s it like to meet me? Do people walk away enriched or impoverished?”

Each of us needs to look in the mirror and ask, “What do my conversations sound and look like: complaints - gripes - lots of whining and arguments or a conversation that uplifts, refreshes and makes our day.”

Each of us needs to look in the mirror and ask, “Am I that grouchy old man I said I’d never become when I was a little kid and I had to ask him for my spaldeen - pink rubber ball - that went into his front garden?”

Each of us needs to look in the mirror and ask, “Am I the like that sweet little old lady with the cane on our street when we were growing up or the 5^th grade teacher who always had time for everyone and we said, ‘When I grow up, I want to be like her.’” Have I?

Each of us needs to look at today’s first reading and ask, “Do I gossip or nitpick on the saints amongst us - because compared to us - down, down, down deep, they make us feel ugly about ourselves?

Each of us needs to look at today’s gospel and ask if our ongoing inner self argument is all about our desire to be first, the greatest, and we know we’re not - but instead Jesus is right - the secret is to be last and the servant of all.

I was at a wedding reception yesterday and I was on  Table 2 with the parents of  the bridegroom and their daughter and her 3 kids. I saw first hand the difference between parents and grandparents. Parenting is tougher. I saw how a mom has to be a servant - a big time servant - when you have to feed 3 little ones at a wedding banquet - be a peace maker between two brothers with each other and their cousins who came over from Table 3 and spent lots of time on the floor as well as a good bit of time under both tables - which had white table cloths to the floor.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Cultivating Peace.”

Look in the mirror each morning and looking yourself in your eye, ask, "What's my plan for today?" Hear your answer: "Cultivating Peace!"

How to cultivate peace? Today’s readings especially James gives us the ingredients of how to cultivate peace and also how to cultivate war.

I always like it when they have on the inside back cover of Missalettes, those books with music and the readings in the benches in most churches,  the peace prayer of St. Francis. Our’s does not. So find a copy of that prayer.  Keep it on your bathroom mirror and read it and then cultivate its plan and make each goal your hope for that day as you begin each new day. Amen.