2000 PIGS
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Problem - Solution: 2000
Pigs.”
“Problem-Solution: 2000 Pigs.”
LIFE - 101
A good part of life falls under the title or box called,
“Problem-Solution.”
Life has its problems: family problems, work problems,
school problems, scheduling problems, time problems, money problems, health
problems, anger problems, drinking problem, drug problem, laziness, time
problems.
One of life’s learnings is to be able to say to oneself
and to another: “I have a problem.”
Old people like me remember the moment on April 13, 1970,
at 2:59 PM when Jack Swigert, an astronaut, on Apollo 13, called Houston
Control from outer place, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”
Main B Bus Undervolt was malfunctioning.
In time, it became a hash tag - I always wanted to use
that word “hash tag” in a homily - “Houston, we have a problem.”
I've heard people say that many times in the last 47 years, "Houston, we have a problem."
In life, we all need to learn to say, “I have a problem.”
Then name the problem.
We humans mal - meaning bad - function.
Things break. Things go wrong. People go wrong.
TODAY’S
READINGS
In today’s readings we hear about two people who have
problems.
In today’s first reading we hear about David - a shepherd
- who becomes the king of Israel.
If you read the Jewish Bible - you’ll read a lot about
David - who ends up with a lot of problems.
In today’s first reading we hear about Absalom - on of
David’s many sons - who breaks with daddy - and tries to take over the kingdoms
David controls.
David had lots of problems - lust problems, family
problems, perception problems.
He’s sharp in some ways and dumb in other ways.
He wants what he wants when he wants it. He steals
Uriah’s wife - Bathsheba - gets her pregnant - and then has her husband killed.
Polygamy - many wives - causes him lots of trouble.
Here in today’s first reading he has this old guy -
Shimei - attacks him in public. The guy is yelling public slurs and nasty comments about David. One of
his guards says, “Let me chop his head off.”
To solve this problem, David basically says, “Ignore him.”
Then he says, “I deserve it.”
David was smart enough to know his lifestyle got him into
a lot of problems.
In today’s first reading, we'll hear that Absalom gets killed
himself - for riding too fast on his mule. He gets his hair
caught in some overhead tree branches - and Joab is told about this. Joab is the son of Zeruiah, the sister of David. This is all family intrigue here. Joab hearing this moves fast towards Absalom and drives three pikes into Absalom's heart - still alive and still hanging from the tree.
It’s kind of dramatic writing and Bible story telling,
but the story teller is telling us, “There are consequences.”
In today’s gospel, there’s this strange character who
lived and camped out in a cemetery - amongst the tombs. Mark the gospel story
teller, tells us that he often howled and screamed.
If this was Annapolis, everyone would know about this guy
- cities know their strange rangers.
Everyone in this Gerasene region of Palestine knew about
this guy.
And spotting Jesus he runs to Jesus and yells, “What have
you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”
Jesus seeing his problems tries to heal him by praying,
“Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”
Then Jesus asked the unclean spirit his name and he says,
“Legion is my name. There are many of us.”
And the unclean spirit, the sickness in this man, asks
Jesus to let him alone.
And off to the side there is a large herd of swine - feeding on the
hillside.
And Legion - this large herd of unclean voices plead with
Jesus, “Send us into the swine - to the pigs”
- “Let us enter them.”
And Jesus does, and the unclean spirits came out of the
man and entered the pigs and they ran down the hill - about 2000 of them - and
they ran into the lake and drowned.”
PROBLEM
It’s good psychology, it’s good theology, it’s human
experience, for some weird reason, we don’t like to get rid of our problems.
We hold onto our problems - as we fly through the space
of our lives.
We could say to ourselves, “Houston, we have a problem.”
The addict, the person with a drinking problem, the
person with an eating disorder, the cutter, the cheater, the procrastinator,
has the problem for a long time.
We are repeat performers.
We are déjà vu people.
This is Catholic School's week. Now the advantage of Catholic Schools, is that we can hear
this in school and church and life.
The person with relationship problems with guys or gals
or the person who puts off - or is lazy or cheating problems - will have this
voice - this issue for life.
And we all hear that repentance, change, forgiveness,
understanding, prayer, grace, faith, hope and charity - can heal us.
We hear that Jesus can drive the 2 or 20 or 2000 pigs
within us - can be driven out of us.
CONCLUSION
And like this guy in the gospel, we can become calm,
healed and return to our family a new person. Amen.
