Poem for February 22, 2014
Continuing Black History Month
DREAM DEFERRED
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
The title of my homily for this 6th Friday in
Ordinary Time is, “Talk Is Cheap!”
We have heard that message all our lives - and we’ve said
that all our lives.
How many times have we heard dozens of people describe
someone else: “He talks a good talk - but he’ll never do anything about it.”
How many times have we said the following - in loud -
silently - inside our brain: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard you say that
before.”
Then we add our own little twists of the message - like, “The proof is in the
pudding.” The proof is in the emptied
dish washer. The proof is the garbage
taken out. The proof is in the cleaned garage and the washed car for the other.
It’s a theme in the folk wisdom of every culture.
I didn’t have time this morning to look up Aesop’s Fables and see if he has a
fable with this as the moral of the story: “Talk is cheap!” - but probably.
TODAY’S FIRST READING
We have - as they say - the heart of James’ message in today’s first reading.
James says: “We say to another. ‘Best of luck. Stay warm.
Hope you get something to eat.’ Then we do nothing.”
He’s saying: “If that’s our song and dance - and we say or
think we have faith - we’re kidding ourselves.”
Faith is footwork. Faith is time consuming. Faith costs.
Faith calls for action - service.
We’re aware of kids saying, “I was just about to do it,” but
they never do, do it.
So that’s James’ bottom line: “Faith without works is dead.”
Mouth without follow up - is hot air.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Isn’t that what Jesus is saying in today’s gospel?
His message is giving: Giving one’s life. I like it when we
use the word “time” - giving one’s time - bummer.
I don’t know about you - sometimes the phone drives me crazy
- because it usually means - someone wants me - and that means time and many
times I tell myself, “I just don’t have time.”
Well, what else does Jesus mean but that - when he said in
today’s gospel,
“Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny themselves
take up their cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save their life will lose it,
but whoever loses their life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one
to gain the whole world
and forfeit their life?
What could one give in exchange for their life?”
Jesus says that 100 different ways.
For example, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the 3
who bypassed the man who needed help on the road, had their reasons in their
mind - why they couldn’t help the man who was beaten up.
So another word for
gospel is inconvenience.
CONCLUSION
So we come to Mass to hear the secret of life. It’s dying to
self. It’s giving one’s body, one’s blood, to others. It’s saying to everyone -
Here I am take me - and then letting people take our time and presence.
Or as Mother Teresa told her nuns, “Let the people eat you
up.”
Or as Nike says it, “Just do it.”
FAMILY
Poem for Today - February 21, 2014
Continuing Black History Month
THE IDEA OF ANCESTRY
Taped to the wall of my cell are 47 pictures: 47 black
faces: my father, mother, grandmothers (1 dead), grand-
fathers (both dead), brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts,
cousins (1st and 2nd), nieces, and nephews.They stare
across the space at me sprawling on my bunk.I know
their dark eyes, they know mine.I know their style,
they know mine. I am all of them, they are all of me;
they are farmers, I am a thief, I am me, they are thee.
I have at one time or another been in love with my mother,
1 grandmother, 2 sisters, 2 aunts (1 went to the asylum),
and 5 cousins.I am now in love with a 7-yr-old niece
(she sends me letters in large block print, and
her picture is the only one that smiles at me).
I have the same name as 1 grandfather, 3 cousins, 3 nephews,
and 1 uncle. The uncle disappeared when he was 15, just took
off and caught a freight (they say).He's discussed each year
when the family has a reunion, he causes uneasiness in
the clan, he is an empty space. My father's mother, who is 93
and who keeps the Family Bible with everbody's birth dates
(and death dates) in it, always mentions him. There is no
place in her Bible for "whereabouts unknown."
A. L. Hendriks: ‘An
Old Jamaican Woman thinks about the Hereafter’ from On This Mountain and Other Poems (Deutsch). Reprinted by permission
of the author.
Picture found on line.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
JAMES WELDON JOHNSON'S
CREATION ACCOUNT
Poem for Today - February 19, 2014
Continuing Black History Month
"The Creation"
And God
stepped out on space,
And he looked
around and said:
I'm lonely -
I'll make me a world.
And far as the eye of God could see 5
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.
Then God smiled,
And the light broke, 10
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That's good!
Then God reached out and took the light in
his hands,
And God rolled the light around in his
hands 15
Until he made the sun;
And he set that sun a-blazing in the
heavens.
And the light that was left from making the
sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And
flung it against the darkness, 20
Spangling the night with the moon and
stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And
God said: That's good! 25
The
God himself stepped down -
And
the sun was on his right hand,
And the moon was on his left;
The stars were clustered about his head,
And the earth was under his feet. 30
And God walked, and where he trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.
Then he stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren. 35
So God stepped over to the edge of the
world
And he spat out the seven seas -
He batted his eyes, and the lightnings
flashed -
He clapped his hands, and the thunders
rolled -
And the waters above the earth came down,
40
The cooling waters came down.
Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the
sky,
And the oak spread out his arms, 45
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of
the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And
the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around his shoulder. 50
The God raised his arm and he waved his
hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!
And quicker than God could drop his hand,
Fishes and fowls 55
And
beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said: That's good! 60
Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that he had made.
He looked at his sun,
And he looked at his moon, 65
And he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world
With all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still.
Then God sat down - 70
On the side of a hill where he could think;
By a deep, wide river he sat down;
With his head in his hands,
God thought and thought,
Till he thought: I'll make me a man! 75
Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty 80
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Here's my creation account from my book, Cries .... But Silent
CREATION ACCOUNT
In the beginning
all
was God.
In
the beginning
all
else was silence,
all
else was darkness.
And
God burst
through
the dam
of
silence and darkness
with
his word,
“Let
there be light!”
And
God’s power,
and
God’s spirit
exploded
into creation.
Molten
lava,
red
rivers of fire,
huge
stones and planets
rolled
down the dark hills
of
space, down the empty
halls
of the universe,
crashing,
splashing,
noise
and sound.
Creation
had begun ,
bursting,
splattering seed
into
the empty holes
of
barren time.
“Let
there be life!”
And
the fertile egg
of
earth began.
And
in time
the
naked baby
came
forth
crawling
towards
the
Father,
standing,
falling
rising,
trying
again
and again
to
stand up to the Father.
And
gradually
it
too learned
the
words,
“Let
there be light!”
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
THE I DON’T GET IT PRAYER
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 6th Tuesday in
Ordinary Time is, “The I Don’t Get It Prayer.”
Sometimes it takes courage to say to God or to others - but especially
for starters to ourselves: “I don’t get it.”
And I think it’s a good prayer: “I don’t get it God. I just
don’t get it.”
Hey, sometimes it takes courage to say, “I don’t get it.” when
we’re in a group and everyone is
laughing at a joke that someone just told - but we don’t get it.
We don’t want to look or sound stupid in a group or in a
relationship, but to say, “I don’t get it” contains the message: “I would like
to get it. I want to know what you’re saying or doing.”
I think it’s a compliment when someone says to me after
Mass, “Your homily…. I didn’t get it.”
It tells me that I’m not a growler - or someone to be feared. I get
that. And it’s a challenge to try to be clearer.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Today’s gospel - Mark
8: 14-21 - ends with Jesus asking a question to his disciples in the boat, “Do
you still not understand?”
They don’t get it.
Sometimes it takes time to get it.
Sometimes it takes a life time to get it.
Sometimes it takes the cross to get it.
Sometimes it takes a lot of living to understand life - to
get it.
Sometimes it takes a life time of receiving communion to get
the bread - the giving of his body and blood to us - and we in turn to give our
body and blood to each other - when we are in holy communion - or trying to be
- with each other.
Jesus’ disciples had seen Jesus feed the 5000 as well as the
4000 - but here they are worried about their stomachs and food - because they
only have 1 loaf with them on the boat.
They don’t get it. They don’t get who’s in the boat with
them - Jesus the bread giver and the bread winner.
For starters Jesus is saying, “I don’t get it - that you
don’t get it.”
Well, I get it that.
I’ve noticed it’s not understanding is an ongoing theme we often hear
about as we listen to the gospels.
Mark is getting at that message here - but the Gospel of
John is THE gospel that
really brings out what Isaiah said, what the prophets said, and what Jesus says
in today’s gospel: “People have ears that don’t hear, eyes that don’t see, and
hearts that are not open for new life.”
We’re slow learners.
So the prayer: “The I don’t get it prayer.”
FIRST READING
- FROM JAMES
Today’s first reading from James 1: 12-18 talks about how stupid we can become. We just don’t
get it. We set ourselves up for problems
by walking right into temptations. At some point we need to get it - those
moments that are set ups for anger or gossip or what have you. We dance with
the devil and set ourselves up for trouble.
Then when we get overwhelmed with problems and sins, we
become stupid again and again and we then ask, “How come I keep falling into
sin?” Or “How come God places
temptations in front of me.”
We’re saying, “I don’t get it God - how life works.”
And if it’s a prayer, we might hear God say in return: “Hey
- you gotta do some work!”
CONCLUSION
Mark in his gospel story today might be saying: “Life is
like a boat ride across the waters - and Jesus is in the boat. You’re not
alone. Get it? Don’t forget to get with him.”
In this homily I’m saying: “When we say, ‘I don’t get it to
God or to others - but especially to ourselves, that’s a good time for “The I
don’t Get It Prayer.”
DON'T FORGET
TO SAY, "THANK YOU!"
Poem for Today - February 18, 2014 Continuing Black History Month
“Florida Road Workers” by Langston Hughes: from The Panther and the Lash by Langston
Hughes. Copyright 1967 by Arna Bontems and George Houston Bass. Reprinted by
permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Painting on top: Walter Durac Barnett
Monday, February 17, 2014
RIVERS
Poem for Today - February 17, 2014 Continuing Black History Month
THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS
I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the worId
and oIder than the flow of
human bIood
in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates
when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and
raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi
when Abe Lincoln went
down to New Orleans,
and I’ve seen its muddy bosom
“The Negro Speaks of
Rivers” by by Langston Hughes: Copyright 1926 by Alred A. Knopf. Inc., and
renewed 1954 by Langston Hughes. Reprinted from Selected Poems by Langston Hughes, by permission of the publisher.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Archbishop Lori's Homily Text
Commitment Weekend
February 15-16, 2014
Dear Friends,
I’m happy to have
this opportunity, as your Archbishop, to visit with you today. One of my great joys in my service here in Baltimore is personally
visiting the wonderful and vibrant parishes that make up our Archdiocese. I’m
in the process of making my way around to all of our parishes. So if I’ve been to your parish, of if I’m
still on my way, I’m coming soon - to a parish near you.
You know, these days
are especially inspiring days to be Catholic. It seems that every day, our Holy
Father, Pope Francis, is opening minds and hearts to the Gospel, opening the
world's eyes to the compassion which is lived out by our Church. This has moved
Catholics around the world to become more in touch with their relationship with
Christ and the Church, reinvigorating our faithful and bringing back many who
had been away.
When he was
installed as Pope on Saint Joseph's Day, last
March, in Vatican City,
the Holy Father called on all of us to 'Be Protectors of God's Gifts.' He said
that the vocation of being a
"protector" ... means respecting each of God's creatures and
respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people,
showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the
elderly, and those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means
caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one
another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves,
in time, protect their parents." The Holy Father continued, "It means
building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect,
and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and
all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors, "he said, "of God's
Gifts!"
Certainly, this is a
call to stewardship - examples of which are found countless times in the
Gospels - stewardship of our community, our family and our faith. For this
reason, we have chosen "Be Protectors of God's Gifts" as the theme
for the Archbishop's Annual Appeal this year.
This is most
fitting, as the focus of the Appeal is stewardship - a very responsible and
loving way of caring for God's Gifts that have been entrusted to us: defending
them from harm ... helping them to grow ... and making them better so they can
be handed on to the next generation.
The Archbishop's
Annual Appeal helps us protect, foster, and sustain the essential services and
ministries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore so that we can proclaim the Gospel,
celebrate the Sacraments, and extend the love, mercy, and charity of Jesus
Christ in the world.
I'm happy to have
this opportunity, as your Archbishop, to visit with you today. One of my great
joys in my service here in Baltimore
is personally visiting the wonderful and vibrant parishes that make up our
Archdiocese. I'm in the process of making my way around to all of our parishes.
So if I've been to your parish, or if I'm still on my way, I'm coming soon - to
a parish near you!
The Appeal allows us
to share our good works and spread the Good News of God's love throughout our
Archdiocese, from its westernmost reaches Garrett and AlleghenyCounty, to Tyndall, to HarfordCounty,
to Annapolis, to Clarksville,
to Frederick, and to BaltimoreCity
itself.
The Appeal helps us
sustain the essential mission of the Church - to evangelize, to teach the
faith, to ensure that there's a strong sacramental life in the Archdiocese ...
to keep our schools strong ... to carry on a vibrant program of nurturing and
forming priestly vocations ... to supporting our retired priests, and to
extending a helping hand through our charitable outreach to the less fortunate
members of our community.
In other words, the
Appeal touches all the cylinders of the engine that is the Archdiocese of
Baltimore, helping them to fire properly and keep everything running smoothly.
The generosity of those who give to the Appeal in many ways transforms lives,
bringing hope to those who have none, bringing comfort to those for whom
day-to-day life is a struggle, and, most importantly, bringing God into the
lives of those who have lost their spiritual way, guiding them to the path that
leads to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet, I'd also like
everyone to regard the Appeal as a call for each one of us, in our own lives and
vocations, to "Be Protectors of God's Gifts." Parents protect God's
Gifts by providing an example to their children of living lives of faith and
virtue.
Parishioners are
called to active involvement in the life of their parishes, and doing all they
can to help see that every member of your spiritual community becomes more in
touch with God's love. And for all of us, protecting God's Gifts is a matter of
prayer, as we ask God's blessing, and the intercession of Our Lady and the
Saints, as we go about the work of the Lord.
A moment ago, I
mentioned that the inaugural homily of Pope Francis was delivered on the
Solemnity of Saint Joseph. The Holy Father describes how St. Joseph was, in many ways, the ultimate-protector
of God's Gifts, safeguarding Mary, Jesus and the Church. Saint Joseph, the Pope
said, was "constantly attentive to
God, open to the signs of God's presence and receptive to God's plans, and not
simply to his own ... Joseph is a "protector" because he is able to
hear God's voice and be guided by His will ... " The pope continued,
"in him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to "God's call,
readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation,
which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect
others, so that we can protect creation!"
I ask that you
reflect with me on these words from our Holy Father, Pope Francis. I am
confident they will inspire you, as they inspire me, and encourage us together
to take on this role of "Protector." Ours is the privilege, and the
responsibility, of preserving our Catholic faith and assuring that our
children, and their children, will encounter Christ and His love through it,
just as we have. I confidently ask your generosity, and your participation in
this year's Archbishop's Annual Appeal. Let us all join together in being
"Protector of God's Gifts."
Thank you, dear
friends, and may God bless us, and keep us always in His love!
JESUS
I’M TRYING TO GET
WHAT YOU’RE SAYING HERE
[With the Archbishop’s
talk about the Annual Appeal on audio tape, I didn’t have to preach this 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. However, I still wanted to ponder today’s readings - especially today’s gospel
from Matthew 5:17-37. It’s part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. So here’s a
quick - first draft - poetic type reflection - on today’s gospel. I suggest you
read Jesus words in today's part of the Sermon on the Mount as they appear in English in Matthew. Better provide a warning: "If you read what follows, you’ll see that
I’m still not sure of what Jesus is getting at."]
Jesus, today you begin by saying, "Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets." Okay, laws are important - even the tiny ones. Hey, I don’t want
hair in my dessert or an eye lash in my soup. I get that.
But what I don’t get is your wanting me to be righteous - even more
righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees. I thought you went after those
boys for not getting a better vision of the kingdom of heaven - in the here and
now. They were straining to see too many gnats and missing the camels. They were seeing life with blurred vision - a
polite way of saying: “Don’t you get it? You’re being blind boys! You're being blind guides.”
Jesus I noticed in the English translation we use that you talk about
laws and you talk about commandments. Are you or Matthew trying to make a
distinction here? By laws do you mean
the laws about washing the outside of cups and dishes, kettles and pots - while not looking within
the vessel? "Hello scribes and Pharisees! Check within.” [Cf. Matthew 23] By commandments do you mean the big stuff -
like not killing - like honoring your
father and your mother? I’m not sure if you’re making that distinction here?
I think I get your insight into anger and name calling - when
it comes to how we deal with one another. I get that. We might not be killing each other - but we are killing each other when we get
fired up and we ignite within our hearts and our homes a hell of a situation -
with these things we hold against each other. We come to church - we appear
before the altar - but we come with a burning garbage dump within - like
Gehenna - which was the name of the city dump in Jerusalem - where everyone dumped and burned their
junk. I hear you saying loud and clear: take care of first things first - otherwise you'll be living with a divided heart. So I get that one. If we don’t reach for reconciliation out there with our
sisters and brothers - we’re not going
to have it when we’re in worship in here before your altar - with our sisters
and brothers. So we better settle differences with each other - because the
differences now are pennies compared to the dollar cost to come.
I also think I get your adultery and lust stuff. It sounds
to me like the same as your anger and yelling at each other message. Go within! Next, I get your metaphors about plucking
out one’s eyes or cutting off one’s hands. However, Jesus, this doesn’t sound like you're being meek and gentle of heart. I just
hope people don’t take you literally - like one of your disciples whacking off the ear of the servant of the high priest when you got arrested. [Matthew 26:51] Ouch! Obviously, people
with sexual addictions better make some drastic cuts - if they don’t want to be
consumed with porn or multiple toxic relationships problems.
And marriages need a lot of work - a lot of self-dying - a
lot of communication - a lot of give and take - if they are going to work. I get that you want couples to experience the marriage banquet that a good marriage can be. And obviously deadly divorces can be
just that: deadly for two people as well as kids. And yes some marriages are
mistakes - I still don’t know how to put your words “unless the marriage is
unlawful” - as our English text puts it - into a scenario that fits so many
complex scenarios - all those various ones married couples can get themselves knotted up in.
And lastly, I get a bit of what your words about swearing mean. I hear that modern Americans
don’t know how to swear like you heard people in your day swear. They pointed to
the sky - or down to earth at the ground - or towards Jerusalem. They seemed to swear on anything and everything
to prove they were telling the truth and nothing but the truth. Wait, come to
think about it, we’ve all heard people
tell us they are swearing on their mother’s grave or a stack of Bibles. So I
guess you are screaming for simplicity. Instead of a lot of swearing, simply give
each other a clear “Yes!” when we mean “Yes” and a definitive, “No!” when we
mean "No!"
That’s all for now Jesus. However, I’m still trying to get to what
you’re saying here. Speak Lord, I’m trying to listen. Amen.
OOOOOOOOOO
Painting on Top: Sermon on the Mount by Fra Angelico
.jpg)