ACCENTUATE  THE  POSITIVE 

ELIMINATE  THE  NEGATIVE 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of Saint Martha  is, “Accentuate the Positive; Eliminate the Negative.”

Many people have heard the song, “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive”. It was one of Bing Crosby’s best songs.

A guy named - Harold Arlen - wrote the music.  Johnny Mercer did the  lyrics. Lots of other singers have tackled this 1944 song. It has won many rewards and awards. Johnny Mercer told the story that his agent went to hear Father Divine preach. The agent came back to Johnny  Mercer  and told him  he  had heard a sermon whose  subject was 'you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.'

And Johnny Mercer said, 'Wow, that's a colorful phrase!”

Father Divine (c. 1876-1965) was an African American Spiritual Leader and Preacher - The Messenger - who preached mainly on the East Coast. His full given name was, Reverend Major Jealous Divine. He was born in either Hutchinson Island, Georgia or Rockville, Maryland.

The song was written in 1944 - and really became famous in 1945 - the year World War II ended.

MARTHA MARY STORIES

For today’s first reading we are allowed the first reading for this 17^th Monday in Ordinary Time  -  the Exodus text - we’ve been following.  However, when it comes to the gospel  for today, we are told to use one of the two key Martha-Mary stories in the gospels.  John 11: 11-29 or Luke 10: 38-42.

John 11: 19-29 is put first.

Noticing that choice - I thought of the choice of picking the positive towards Martha story - in contrast with the negative towards Martha story - where Jesus corrects Martha and says, “Martha, Martha, you’re anxious and upset about  many things; one thing is required.  Mary has chosen the better part.”

In the gospel story from John it says Mary was sitting at home - whereas Martha went looking for Jesus when her brother died and we end up hearing wonderful faith words about Martha’s belief in the resurrection of Jesus.

She’s the heroine in the John story - but the Martha story we all know is the negative one from Luke.

EVERY DAY

Every day we have the choice to say good things about another or pick a negative moment about them.

I once heard a talk by a psychologist - in which he said, “If someone says Jack Jones is a nice guy,  nobody responds, but if we  say, ‘Jack Jones is a dirty no good son of a b….’  everyone jumps in with ‘Yeah! Yeah!’ and then they  start giving examples of things they don’t like about Jack Jones.”

Everyone has heard that the only time we hear only good things about another is when they die.

So as the song goes, and it has Bible stuff in it, “accentuate the positive.”  I’ll read it. I can’t sing. Ooops that’s negative. To be positive, I can read - and it sounds like a sermon - well that’s its origin from the famous black preacher,  Father Divine.

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

To illustrate his last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do
Just when everything looked so dark

Man, they said we better, accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No, do not mess with Mister In-Between
Do you hear me?

Oh, listen to me children and-a you will hear
About the elininatin' of the negative
And the accent on the positive
And gather 'round me children if you're willin'
And sit tight while I start reviewin'
The…

CONCLUSION

So every day we have the opportunity to choose the negative or the positive when talking about others - and also when talking about ourselves.

Our move.