SEEING - HEARING - TASTING

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Fourth Sunday after Easter C  is, “Seeing, Hearing, Tasting.”

One of Jesus’ comments about people was that sometimes people have eyes that don’t see, ears that don’t hear, and I would add, taste buds that don’t taste.  He heard this from Isaiah the Prophet - as well as from noticing people not noticing people  - as well as not seeing the so much and so many -  that surrounds us. [Cf. Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13: 13-15; Mark 4:12; Joahn 12:40]

3 GESTURES

Could you all for a moment make these 3 gestures: [Eyes- fingers to eyes;  Cup ears; Wiggle tongue and mouth and make sounds as if eating.]

The title of my homily is, “Seeing, Hearing, Tasting.” [Make the 3 gestures while saying that!]

TODAY

Today I’m supposed to stress awareness of one’s vocation - one’s call to respond - as well as to be aware of this earth we live on and in.

I'm going to stress the call for “Seeing, Hearing, Tasting” the sights and sounds and the tastes of this earth.

We could add touching, smelling - scenting,  imagining - but I sense it would be better to go with  just the 3 senses I’m going with.

FIRST CALL - SEEING….

First seeing….

Did Helen Keller see more than those who could see? 

We’ve all seen pictures, images, scenes of the earth from outer space. This great big ball called "earth" has a visible 78% waterscape. The rest is landscape: solid earth, clay, rock, fire, trees, gardens, garbage dumps, buildings, highways, wheat, grapes, soybeans, elephants. rhinos, monkeys, mosquitoes, ravens, orioles, butterflies and buttercups….

That round bluish image of earth from outer space - is like a dark blue swirl marble. It’s like a round eye. It’s like a round Eucharistic Bread. It’s like a grape hanging on the vine of the universe. 

This round earth and this great bang of a Universe is a gift from God - the creator - the sculptor - the artist.

Do we see? Do we praise God for all things bright and beautiful - all things amazing?

I once went with a priest friend of mine to the Coney Island Aquarium. I’m standing there looking into a gigantic fish tank - the silence being broken by the sound of gurgling, guggling, filtering,  water, water, everywhere.

While standing there the doors open and about 200 or 300 inner city kids came into where we were standing. They must have just gotten out of 5 yellow school buses. They were tapping each other - pointing to different fish. They were yelling, “Look at that one! Woo. Look at that one!” “Woo!” “Woo!” “Wow!” “Wow!” “Wow!”

I stepped back and looked at them. I said to Tom, the priest I was with, “Wow. I have forgotten how to see like a kid sees!”  

I had eyes that were barely seeing. I had a mind - an imagination - that had grown old, fat and flabby.

I had forgotten about the first and only time in my life I went snorkeling. It was at a beach in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. I was with 2 other priests. One priest told us to get long sticks. He showed us how to   sharpen the tips of the sticks. We then went out into the blue, blue water. He had told us how to stick the tips of the sticks into these sea creatures on the bottom. We then held them out like marshmallows over a camp fire. Little pieces of their flesh had come out of them and floated there in the water. Next, little   little fish  gathered to eat what was there in the water. Then slightly larger fish came to eat those little fish. Then larger fish came to eat those fish. The fish started to get bigger and bigger. I got scared. I dropped my stick and got out of there. I was seeing up close and personal a tiny bit of what happens in the waters of the earth.

There are a hundred billion, million stories like that happening all over the earth each day - in the waters and on the land.

I have eyes - do I see?

Jesus wanted us to see the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields - the stars of the sky - and the hurting person on the road to Jericho. He didn’t want big people eating the money savings of the little people - or cheating with scales in the marketplace. Rather he wanted to see people being generous to each other on how they measure out their grains, flour and what they were selling. He wanted us to see who was hurting and who needed love - and who needs to touch the edge of our garments - especially the children, especially the poor, especially  the unnoticed, especially those who have rocks thrown at them.

First call: Eyes.... It's the vocation - the call  - to see with our eyes - all on the earth and in the universe around us - that we live and dwell in.

SECOND CALL - HEARING….

The second call - the second vocation is to hear - to hear the sheep - especially the lost sheep - to hear the cries of the poor - to hear the sounds of the earth....

In the gospel we heard for today, from the 10^th Chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus says the sheep know his voice. Jesus says he knows each sheep by its unique “Bah!”

We all know what it’s like to call someone up - and the voice on the other side is someone we don’t know. We dialed the wrong number. We all know what it’s like to get a call - and the other person doesn’t identify themselves - but we know the voice. We’ve heard it before.

The human call is to hear not only the voice - but to hear in the sound - tones and undertones - of that voice - to hear how our mom or dad or brother or sister is feeling that day - that moment - in that call.

The human call is to hear so well that we put down our cell phone and really listen to who is at our family table - or on the couch with the remote.

The human call is to hear our dog or cat or baby brother or sister or nana or grandpa over in the corner or in the nursing home - who would love to be in connection with us.

It’s easy to go to communion at Mass. It’s the sacrifice of the Mass to be in communion with each other.

How good is our hearing?

Did Helen Keller hear more than those who could hear?

Hearing goes with eyesight. I love a comment written by Marian Evans Cross - who wrote with a man’s name - George Eliot - because men could be published easier than a woman in her day: around the 1860’s and 1870’s. In her book Middlemarch, we hear this observation:

“If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in      human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence.” [Chapter 22]

I don’t know hearing sounds in green grass growing, but I’m sure if we put a stereoscope to a squirrel's heart and really listen, it would be pounding.

How good is our hearing? Do we hear the earth? Do we hear the sounds of frogs and owls and police cars rushing in the night?

I love the old teaching: when your hear a fire truck roaring - screaming - going by us on the street or our house - to say a prayer for the firefighters and the persons and place they are rushing to.

I love the recent teachings to be aware of and try to put an end to toxic dumping. Spills and dumping kills all kinds of life. Then the sounds of frogs and squirrels  start to disappear in those places on our earth. 

A day like Earth Day, a month like Earth Month, as well as protests, legislation, fines, pushing for cleanups - certainly are a witness to people hearing the cries of the earth. Gather the evidence of how sloppiness and dumping can lead to cancer - which lead to cries from people suffering from the stupidities and sins against the earth and each other.

THIRD CALL: TASTING

The third call is tasting.

Jesus loved eating.  We see him eating all through the gospels. We see him at the Wedding Feast of Cana - changing 6 stone water jars that held 20 to 30 gallons of water into wine - so a wedding celebration could go on and on and on.  We see him feeding fields of thousands of men, women and children with bread and fish when they were hungry. We see him celebrating his Last Supper with his friends just before he died - not only feeding them with the best of wine and bread, - but he washed their feet, fed their minds with love and light about what life is all about, and he gave himself  that night - body and blood - to us - till the end of time.

That meal still goes on. We’re part of it tonight - and every time we celebrate this meal - called “The Mass”.

I once heard a talk on tape by the Vietnamese  Buddhist  monk, Thich Nhat Hanh - who simply said, “Taste your food.”  He said we can eat a whole bag of potato chips without tasting any one of them. His message of Mindfulness - is healthy - powerful and can make a big difference in our life. I’ve also read at least 4 of his more than 100 books. He urged slowing down and tasting what we're eating - being mindful of what we are doing.

Who enjoys pizza more: the person who grabs 5  pieces - to make sure he or she gets their full - and they only eat 3 pieces - and they don’t taste anything and dump that last piece and a half n the garbage?

Who grasps - who is in communion with Jesus more: the person who comes up the line for communion at Mass concentrating on thinking about  a conversation they are having in their mind about tomorrow afternoon - or the person who glimpses what this Mass is all about. It’s a meal. It’s a great meal with a family of people called Christians. It’s a meal with the history and mystery of Jesus - who has gathered us together to share presence - real presence - with each other. Being mindful is to be aware that to grow wheat takes work, hard work by farmers - then to make flour takes others running machines - then to bake bread takes more workers. It's the same with grapes - becoming wine. It all takes time - people, earth, rain, sun, wind.... 

Taste and see how good our God is.

CONCLUSION

One of the themes for tonight is vocation.

We need people to proclaim these messages.

We need priests to bring us together for this meal - called the Mass. Amen.