BOOKS:  TAKE  AND  READ

  

INTRODUCTION
 
The title of my homily is, “Books:  Take and Read.”
 
In St. Augustine’s famous book, The Confessions, there is a scene where Augustine is in a garden and he hears a kid sing songing the words, “Tolle, lege…. Tolle, lege.”
 
“Take and read. Take and read.”
 
And he picks up the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans – and reads the 13^th Verse in the 13^th  Chapter, He hears Paul saying,  “Put aside the works of darkness and walk in the light. Stop sinning and be converted.”
 
Have we all in some time in our life picked up the Bible and read a section and we were challenged - converted – changed?
 
READING HISTORY
 
We all have a history – the memories of our lifetime.
 
Everybody has their stories – childhood best friends – times we fell and broke our skin or bones – birthdays – trips – school – church.
 
When I read today’s readings I thought of my reading history.
 
Did I have a first book?
 
My mother never really learned to read or write. My dad did 4 grades like my mom  - but he learned to read somewhere along the line.  We saw him reading when we were kids and he read poems to us.
 
My older brother and oldest sister were readers - more than my sister Peggy and me.
 
I really didn’t start reading books  till I was in the 3^rd year of high school.
 
How about you?
 
I’ve seen nieces and one nephew as well as many little kids reading as little kids.
 
Not me. I wish I did – but I didn’t.
 
Since then I made up for lost time.
 
How about you?  Do you have a favorite book?  Do you have 10 favorite books?  I saw an article in the paper just yesterday about 10 favorite books for kids.
 
HOW ABOUT THE BIBLE?
 
Do you see the Bible as a portable library?
 
If you walk into a library, you can walk to all kinds of different sections.
 
Do you see the Bible as containing all kinds of literature: history, sermons, letters, fairy tales, songs, wisdom sayings, laws?
 
Do you have a favorite saying from the Bible?  Do you have a favorite Psalm?  Do you have a favorite Gospel?  Do you have a favorite letter?
 
What words in the bible have formed and sculpted you?
 
Have you had good Bible teachers?  Have you taught catechism using favorite Bible passages?
 
TODAY’S FIRST READING
 
Today’s first reading is from the Book of Daniel.
 
Do you know the strange fairy tales and mysterious stories in that book and the reason they are in the Bible?   Like today’s story from Chapter 3 of Daniel. It’s the story of the 3 young men thrown into a fire because they won’t worship the Golden Statue of a false God.  And King Nebuchadnezzar orders the fire  be made 7 times hotter – and then 7 times hotter again.
 
And when people look into the fire,  instead of just seeing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego dancing in the fire, they see a fourth person, Daniel.
 
It’s great story telling. And Daniel  has many wonderful appearances in this book named after him: dreams and visions, the handwriting on the wall, the Lion’s Den, and the story of Susanna.

TODAY’S GOSPEL FROM JOHN
 
And if you were to tell us your favorite Gospel – would it be John?
 
And would you know unique stories in John: Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night, the wedding feast of Cana, the woman caught in Adultery and Jesus says, “Let the one without sin cast that first stone,”  or the woman at the well, and on and on and on.
 
What words have formed us and shaped us?
 
Take and read. Take and read. 
 
My dad had 3 sisters who were Mercy Nuns.  Could they read?  I don’t know.  Now I have a question and I’ll try to get an answer.  I found out where their archives are in North Carolina. They were servants and cooks and cleaners – but did they learn to read.
 
CONCLUSION
 
We can have lots of conclusions.  One would be: to  be thankful for those who taught us to read.