The title of my homily for this 22 Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Regard.”
Spelled: R E
G A R D
Regard....
It’s a word that I have never stopped to look at or think
about. I never gave it any regard.
How about you?
I like words. I
like to look up their roots - their meanings, etc. etc. etc.
And I want to keep on learning words till I get dementia
- and then it’s all spaghetti inside this sound box of mine - called my mind.
Why this topic for a homily?
The word “regard” appears in the opening statement in today’s
first reading” “Brothers and sisters: “Thus should one regard us ….”
That triggered my mind to stop and think about this theme or topic
of, “Regard.”
HERE’S A GOOD
STARTING QUESTION
Do we care about how others see us - judge us - regard
us?
How we look … how
we talk … how we eat … how we speak?
Do we look in the mirror as we dress ourselves or do our
face: "How will others regard me in this outfit - or with this look?"
Did you like the TV commercial for Men’s Wearhouse.
George Zimmer would talk about his suits and say, “You’re gonna like the way
you look. I guarantee it.”He was
selling high regard. He said, you’ll get that if you wear one of my suits.
So I’m assuming we want to be regarded as normal -
fitting in - looking okay - looking good?
What about disregard? What’s going on there? What about people who feel disregarded - disqualified - "dissed" - because of their accent, color, religion, place of origin, look?
Do people who are a PITA - pain in the you know what - often
disregard what others think - and just barge - or ram rod themselves - into a
scene or a discussion or the planning - and want their
way - regardless of what others think - and as a result - they don’t get positive
regard?
So do we people want regard - negative or positive - whether
we admit it or not? So please notice the word "guard" - one who watches - in the "gard" part of the word "regard."
Those are some immediate observations and questions about the issue of,
“regard.”
IT’S ALL GREEK
TO ME
The word “regard” is in the English translation of today’s
first reading. [Cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1-5] It was written in STOP sign red for me.
If a word grabs me in the readings for the Mass of the
day, I like to look up stuff about that word.
It it’s New Testament, it would be Greek; if it’s the
Jewish Bible it would be Hebrew.
We studied Greek for 4 years - not as much as Latin - but
we took Greek - especially since it’s the original language of the New Testament - so
that’s sitting in my resume.
We had Latin for 8 years - and our main philosophy and
theology books were in Latin - but I always wished we zeroed in on Greek and
Hebrew - more - that they had a higher regard.
As to Hebrew, we had that one class a week for two
semesters. That was it. To this day, I don’t know how I passed.
With the Internet and with some good books I have, I can
dabble in both Greek and Hebrew - especially when I’m preparing a homily and
want to look up a word.
I have read several times - in books about preaching,
“Don’t say in the pulpit, ‘In Hebrew or in Greek, the word in our text is” and then mention a
Greek or Hebrew word.”
I disregard that warning or prohibition - because if
we’re not aware of the Greek or Hebrew words - we can be babbling inside an
empty 55 gallon drum about what’s not in the scriptures. At the very least, I want to know the meaning
of the words in the original text for the Mass scripture readings. I fail often on this - by preaching
about an English translation - idea or word - and I’m missing what was in the
original languages of the readings.
In today’s first reading from 1st Corinthians,
“regard” was the English word chosen to translate the Greek word, LOGIZESTHO -
from the Greek verb, LOGIZOMAI.
It was the word used in everyday business in counting
apples and oranges, estimating, calculating, figuring out how many tables and
chairs to set up for a dinner or what have you.
When it becomes a metaphor, it means figuring out what
must I do in order to be saved - in order to be right.
What do I do to get positive regard - from myself, my judgment - or others - but especially from God?
Do I really mean it, when I say to God, “Thy will be
done”? Do I really want to do each day - what God regards should be done each day?
So Paul - here in his First
Letter to the Corinthians talks
about what we must do to be judged good servants. What’s required?
Then he gives what he sees as the key ingredient. It is
to be trustworthy.
Then Paul talks about who the one is who makes this
judgment: it’s the Lord.
So the Lord makes the judgment in the deal. God does the
reckoning. God lets us know if we figured out - if we got it right - in what we
should be and should be doing regarding what’s important.
Take for example, a group of people who volunteer to serve at
a dinner for others. It could be a church group or the Red Cross or what have you. The person who gives their
word and then shows up and gives it their best will get high regard as a
servant.
They are proving themselves trustworthy and they get high
regard from God.
The proof is in the pudding - better making it and serving it.
The Lord’s good servant gains the trust of all.
Weren’t we all moved by the moment in the movie, “A Man
For All Seasons,” the life of St. Thomas More,
when he said it was not Henry VIII whom he was worried about. It was
God. He wanted to be God’s good servant.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
In today’s gospel, John the Baptist has high regard. [Cf. Luke 5:33-39.]
Now there was a serious guy - when it comes to prayer and
fasting.
The scribes and the Pharisees see Jesus’ disciples. They
don’t look as strict - so they got low regard.
Jesus gets low regard as well.
What’s the plan for getting high regard?
What’s the plan for getting high regard with God?
People want to know all the time - if they are church goers
- what do I do to get high regard from God?
People who go to church - sometimes do what they do - to
get high regard - recognition - “Wows!” - from other people. “Now she’s a holy
person.” Who is the holy person - the saint - the Good Christian?
Jesus laughed at this when he saw externalism and showing off in the Pharisees -
in praying, in giving alms, in fasting, and said, “Amen they have had their
reward.” [Cf. Matthew 6: 1-18; Matthew 23.]
I sense that people are asking all their lives the high regard question - especially
when they are getting older and looking at their life. It's the meaning of life question. It's why Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night. Read the third chapter of John thirty times thirty times. It's why the rich young man came to Jesus, "What must I do to gain eternal life?" [Cf. Matthew 19: 16-22.] Down deep they are wondering what God’s estimate - what his LOGIZOMAI - his accounting for us is? How does God judge us here and now?
Hey does God judge us after we die?
Is it an accounting - a reckoning - a regarding our life?
The scriptures certainly say that.
Jewish theology certainly said that - for those who
believed in an afterlife.
One thought in Hebrew thinking was: it’s a scale - if you
did 465 things right and 466 things wrong. Sorry.
Luke - and now Pope Francis - is saying, we will be
regarded, reconciled by mercy. I’ll take that one.
Matthew sneaks in that we have to do something - have the right garment for the wedding
banquet.
Matthew 25 says we have to feed the hunger, clothe the
naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned - otherwise we’re a goat - and we’ll be told to go to hell.
Jesus tells us it’s never too late.
We can always pour as we heard in today’s gospel - new
wine into new wine skins. We can come into the vineyard in the last hour. We can also keep our old good wine in our old wrinkled skins and bring both the old and the new with us into the eternal
wedding.
CONCLUSION
So that’s a homily about regard.
As I thought about it - I realized I have to give this theme of regard - a lot more regard - a lot more recognition - a lot more
understanding. Amen.
The title of my homily for this 22nd Tuesday
in Ordinary Time is, “The Mind of God.”
Today’s first reading ends with these two comments: "For 'who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?' But we have the mind of Christ." [Cf. 1st Corinthians 2: 10-16.]
I would assume that is the dream - that
is the hope of all of us - all of us
looking for a deeper spiritual life - to have the mind of Christ - and then to go deeper - deeper into the hope that
Christ will bring us into the mind of God.
Now that’s prayer - union and communion
- holy communion - not the babbling of words - but getting out of the boat -
heading for Christ - sinking deeper and deeper into the ocean of God - Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. [Cf. Matthew 14: 22-33.]
TODAY’S GOSPEL
The first step then would be to follow
Christ - to hear Christ in the Gospels - to picture the people who approached
Christ and see who Christ is.
We wade into the gospel of Luke today - moving out of Matthew last Saturday.
Yesterday we missed the going into the synagogue in Nazareth to hear Jesus’
inaugural address in Luke - because yesterday was the feast of John the
Baptist.
Luke will teach us so much more each
year - the mercy of God especially in this year of mercy. Open up the flood gates….
I loved today’s gospel for starters -
that it’s the crazy guy - in the synagogue of Capernaum who first gets who
Jesus is - that he shrieks in a loud voice “Leave us alone! What do you want of
us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the
Holy One of God.”
Can we be crazy enough to say to Jesus:
“I know who you are: the Holy One of God.”
FIRST CORINTHINIANS
In today’s reading from 1st
Corinthians, Paul goes another way. He is going to let the Spirit bring us to
the Father - to let the Spirit bring us into God.
Come Holy Spirit!
We slipped into the 1st
Letter to the Corinthians last Thursday - and we’ll have this letter of Paul
till Saturday September 17th. This is one of the blessings of daily
Mass - we get a chance to hear and get into lots of the holy writings.
So hopefully we want to get into God: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit: the Trinity.
Augustine tells us he discovered from a
little kid on the beach - that you can’t fit and fill the ocean into a little
kid’s beach pail - any more than fitting the Trinity into our little minds. Yet
we go to the beach to fill our pails and wade into the ocean. We come into
church - we come into prayer - to fill our pale little self and wade into the
edge of God.
Jesus often tells us, See me, see the
father. Hear me, hear the father.
In his words for today, Paul is sort of going
a different way - here in today’s first reading.
The commentators on today’s first
reading tell us that we all have a spirit - pneuma
in Greek. Paul then tells us that we also have a soul - psuche in Greek. Psuche is the life principle in every living thing. We have that
gift of life. We see that life in dogs and cats, birds and fish. We know the
difference between a dead fly and a live one - a dead another and a live
another.
He tells us we have a choice to live by
the pneuma or just the psuche.
To live by the spirit is to move into
the Spirit of God who will bring us
CONCLUSION
This is long enough for a weekday Mass -
so if you have time read today’s readings again.
Let me conclude with Paul’s words for
today I hope I didn’t complicate his message up too much.
Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit scrutinizes everything,
even the depths of God.
Among men,
who knows what’s going on within us
except our spirit that is within?
Similarly,
no one knows what pertains to God
except the Spirit of God.
We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.
And we speak about them
not with words taught by human wisdom,
but with words taught by the Spirit,
describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.
Now the natural man
[that is the
one who lives only with his psuche]
does not accept
what pertains to the Spirit of God,
for to him it is foolishness,
and he cannot understand it,
because it is judged spiritually.
The one who is spiritual, however,
can judge everything
but is not subject to judgment by anyone. For "who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him"?"
But we have the mind of Christ.
Monday, August 29, 2016
COURAGE OR
WEAKNESS
[Today we commemorate the passion or suffering or the Beheading of John
the Baptist. Today’s gospel story from Mark 6: 17-29 - triggers thoughts about
different characters - some courageous - some weak. Hence this reflection on
courage vs. weakness.]
It takes courage to say, “You’re right. I’m wrong.”
It takes courage to say, “Help!”
It takes courage to say, “I had too much to drink.”
It takes courage to say, “I made a mistake.”
It takes courage to say, “I promised too much and I can’t
deliver.”
It takes courage to say, “I sinned.”
It takes courage to say, “I’m trapped.”
It takes courage to say, “Oops. Dumb me.”
It takes courage to say, “Lust took over.”
It takes courage to say, “Please forgive me.”
It takes weakness to hold onto a grudge!
It takes weakness to remain silent, instead of screaming,
“Stop.”
It takes weakness to say, “Get rid of him. Cut off his
head.”
It takes weakness to say, “I’m going to get you for saying
that.”
It takes weakness to say, “More wine.”
It takes weakness to say, “I’m only human – so I have to do
this - otherwise I’m going to look like a fool.”
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Note: Painting on top - Benozzo Gozzoli (1461-1462)
The title of my homily for this 22 Sunday in Ordinary Time
[C] is, “Dirt.”
Last Sunday I preached on just one word, one image -
“Doors” - and I found that helpful for meditation and reflection. I don’t know
if anyone else did, but I did. And I noticed doors all week. Maybe this week
I’ll be seeing dirt. I vacuum my room at least once a year.
When I read today’s readings, the theme
of humility jumped out at me and as we all know, the word “humility” comes from
“humus” - earth, dirt.
Humility is being down to earth - basic - knowing where
we come from. It means not being inflated - not being filled with oneself.
That’s the image of the hot air balloon - not down to earth - but trying to fly
higher and higher above everyone else.
So a homily on humility - earth - dirt - being grounded.
EARTH - DIRT
As you know there are two creation accounts in the first
few pages of the Bible. The first creation account has God creating us - male
and female - from a distance. “Let there be light….Let there be man and woman -
male and female - made in our own image and likeness.” [Cf. Genesis 1:1 to 2:4.]
In the second creation account in Genesis [Genesis 2: 5ff.]
- which follows the first - God - Yahweh - comes down to earth. God gets his
hands dirty - in making us. In this second creation account - the one that is
the older story - the more down to earth creation account - God is feeling all
alone, so God decides to make us and form
us and sculpt us out of the ground, out of the earth, out of the clay, out of
the mud, out of the dirt.
As we hear on Ash Wednesday - and it’s rubbed into our
skulls, “Remember you are dust and into dust you shall return.”
That’sTHE
Ash Wednesday sermon - THE Lent Sermon - every year - heading for Easter
- the Resurrection of the Body! Eternity baby…. eternity .... the plan is to live forever.
That gives me hope - in the recent experience of two stillborn
baby moments at Anne Arundel Medical Center.
Death. Life. Questions. Faith…. Why? Why? Why? Cry? Cry?
Cry?
Every funeral brings us down to earth - especially if the
person is our age or younger. Most Catholic funerals - whether it’s the casket
or the cremains - the ashes - has sort of a cover over the reality.
Yet the reality of death - time limits - the bottom line
- hits home every time.
The last Jewish funeral I was at - for a close friend of our family - Gloria
Goldberger - we all got to shovel some dirt and drop it down onto the casket
which had been lowered into the deep dirt cut hole in the ground. I’ve been at some Catholic funerals when we
did that as well. And in being handed the shovel we get some of that dirt on
our hands - as we shovel it down into the ground.
Yet death is not a dirty little secret. We know a good
bit about it - the longer we live. And faith helps…. Come Lord, Jesus.
TODAY’S
READINGS
Today’s first reading from Sirach says, “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are.”
Today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that when we approach God - it’s
like coming to a high mountain or a great city - Mount Zion or to the heavenly Jerusalem.
It’s enormous. It’s awesome - and we are speechless in comparison.
The big can make us feel small.
Today’s gospel from Luke tells us that everyone who exalts themselves will be
humbled. So when you are at a wedding banquet - sit in the back or the room. Sit
at table 23. Then someone might tell you to move up front - unless everything
is numbered - and sometimes that causes uppityness.
Today’s gospel has Jesus telling us, “When you hold a
banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind”. When you do that,
you’re not doing it for payback or to impress everyone - but to be nice to
everyone.
I like to think at every mass - we are the poor, the crippled,
the lame and the blind - yet the priest gets the cushy chair up front - in a
higher place. Talk about higher hot air balloons. You have to laugh.
And in our own way, each of us is poor, crippled, lame
and blind.
We are here as Jesus’ guests at the celebration of the
Mass.
HUMBLE OF HEART
- HERE ARE 5 SECRETS OF HUMILITY
Jesus was off on being humble of heart - not humble of
show.
That was the Pharisees. That was the scribes - the ones
who could write.
So let me present 5 secrets - 5 steps of humility. There
are more. Enough already.
First: we have to learn to laugh at ourselves - and not
take ourselves too seriously. To be humble - we have to have a sense of humor.
Look in the mirror at least once a day and laugh at your nose or your ears or
your day.
I have never forgotten the story - a bishop told us - about
this very pompous archbishop in Brazil - head of the bishop’s conference.
Someone put a whoopee cushion under his seat cushion and all waited till he
finally sat down. And all laughed - except himself.
Two: It’s not all me. I am part of the whole world. I am
part of the whole universe. I am stardust.
It’s not by accident that the second creation account in
the Book of Genesis has God taking dirt, clay, mud, mother earth and forming
us. Then God breathed his SPIRIT - RUAH - LIFE - into us. That’s moving from humiliation
to exaltation.
We are the seed and egg of our mom and dad. We are our
mom’s body and blood. We were in holy communion with her for months. We are
what she ate. What she ate and drank came from the earth. We are broccoli and beef. The food from the earth we came from - each
time we eat - are microbes, atoms, particles from tree leaves, a disintegrated
king’s underwear from 1000 years ago - as well as a weasel that was grabbed by
a hawk and on and on and on. That should keep us humble as well as amazed.
If you use Google, type into the search engine, “What are
we made of?”
Surprise: we are stardust. We are part of the big planet
explosions of billions and billions and millions of years ago. Have you ever
read what’s on the side of the package of a loaf of bread or a box of Cheerios?
We are iron and a whole bunch of stuff.
The microscopes they will have 100 years from now will tell how much of us is
nickel, gold, uranium, and krypton. Eat your heart out Superman or Superwoman.
Our cells are replacing themselves all the time. Listen carefully. We lose 30,000 cells every minute - and a lot
more. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drop. Drop. Drop.
I read on Google
that 93% of the mass in our body is stardust. We are talking about humility
here. But how about that for being exalted?
Three: Be oneself and not try to be who we are not. Comparisons can crush us. The advertising
industry thrives on this issue. I love the saying: “Be who you is, because if
you be who you ain’t, then you ain’t who you is.”
I have discovered that some people are unhappy about
aspects of themselves. I have discovered some people are envious of those with
better looks and shape - cars and cash. I have discovered people know people
they don’t want to be or be like. I have yet to discover someone who really
wants to be someone else. I think we
know down deep: this is me for better for worse, for richer for poorer, till
death do I fall apart.
Fourth: Be it ever so humble, there is no place like
home. We need family, home, friends, who know us - who don’t let us get away
with being a phony. I’m not married, but I’m assuming marriage, the dining room
table, coffee cups left in the living room, nakedness - real nakedness - is
when another knows who we are and they still accept us and love us and laugh
with and at us - and at our love handles.
Fifth: The fifth key to humility is acceptance of all
this. Acceptance is a key concept in the
serenity prayer. Acceptance is a key to happiness - as well as humility. There
are things we can change and there are things we can’t change. And we need to
have the wisdom to know the difference.
Wrinkles, a bad back, a slip on a banana skin, dandruff,
aging, dripping, drooping, traffic jams, enjoying ice cream and spilling some
on our shirt and laughing and licking it after trying to lift it off our shirt with
our index finger - are all part of life - from 4 to 40, from 8 to 80 - and on
and on and on.
Visit nursing homes. Talk to young people and old people and all those in
between. Accept life’s realities. Listen and learn - and accept.
Pause while going by churches and cemeteries - and make
the sign of the cross - and laugh.
CONCLUSION
John Seldon (1584-1654) - long dead - wrote, “Humility is
a virtue all preach, none practice; and yet everybody is content to hear.”
SAINT AUGUSTINE
AUGUST 28TH,
HIS FEAST DAY
Patron saint of
hesitation….
Patron saint of putting off chastity….
Patron saint of
being late in loving God….
Patron saint of
journal keeping….
Patron saint of
Confessions….
Patron saint of
trying the different….
Patron saint of
being and becoming honest….
Patron saint of reading, "Tolle et lege”….
Patron saint of
long prayers - a whole book….
Patron saint of honestly….
Patron saint of
those in love with loving….
Patron saint of
“Hear the other side.”
Patron saint of trying to grasp the Trinity….
Patron saint of trying to see the City of God….
Patron saint of
admitting to having dark corners in the mind….
Patron saint of
beauty - especially within ….
Patron saint of,
“Love and do what you want.”
Patron saint of,
“Believe in order to understand.”
Patron saint of, “the
desire in prayer is the prayer”….
