TWO BY TWO
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for
this 4th Thursday in Ordinary Time is, “Two By
Two.”
I take that theme from the
opening sentence in today’s gospel, where Mark has Jesus summoning the twelve
and then began to send them out two by two …. [Cf. Mark 6: 7—13.]
Looking at our lives as
religious, was it your experience that trips with one other guy were much
better than trips alone?
That’s the simple thought
of this short homily – if it’s even a homily.
It’s more a few observations about going it with others being better
than going it alone.
MY EXPERIENCE
Looking at my life I did a
lot of driving alone – but I don’t remember those trips compared to great
conversations I’ve had with one other guy.
I worked for 8 ½ years on
the road preaching with a guy named Tom Barrett. We mainly preached in small towns in the mid-west – working out of
Lima, Ohio. We preached parish missions and it was much better with another
guy. We could compare notes – get the
other guys take on pastors – and talk about the parish mission we just gave on
the way home.
One February we did a
parish mission in Paulding, Ohio, population around 3,500 people and we went in separate cars. It was a
snowy Saturday afternoon. It was less than an hour away from Lima. Tom didn’t arrive for the Saturday night Mass
– getting hit by an 18-wheeler milk tanker on the way there – ending up almost
dying. He was in a coma for 3 weeks – and in the hospital in Fort Wayne,
Indiana for 75 days.
It showed me loud and
clear that I didn’t want to be what we call a Lone Ranger.
I was novice Master for 9
years - serving 9 different classes. The
first year I did it, we had 22 novices and 2 novice masters. It was out in
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. It made life much
easier working with another guy. Then we got a new provincial –who ended that bringing me back east. He had a complaint about our St. Louis
Province for pulling out of our major seminary.
Some of you might be as
old as I am – 80 – so maybe you had some crazy religious life stuff in your
formation experiences. Being in charge, I avoided the crazy stuff we had before the Second Vatican Council. If a guy’s parent got sick or what have you,
guys couldn’t go home. I had the chance
to change all that, so I pushed a guy who was going home to see a sick parent, to
take another guy with him if he was driving.
I have found car
conversations a significant part of my life. How about you?
Last year in May and June when
I was recovering from triple heart bypass, I was in a place like this. Many evenings
after supper I would take my walker down to see my classmate Tony who doesn’t
have much more time to live. He has
cancer in his throat. Looking back now, I’m realizing it was a blessing
connecting with Tony on. We had a chance
to ask each other, “How was it?” as in, “How was your life?”
Tom the guy I worked for 8
½ years in Lima, Ohio giving parish missions is also there – cancer as well.
I’d see him one to one in the afternoons – but
Not enough.
CONCLUSION
My major learning – God
said it first – it’s not good to go it alone.
Go two by two.
1 comment:
I remember your preaching at St. Mary's on the two by two theme .
As a widow , now , for almost 14 years , it is so true .
Going it alone is very difficult . I am thankful for a network of friends who are supportive , but nothing compares with the day in day out of your life partner .
Thank you for reminding us again and again .........
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