INFLUENCES:

HOW’D I GET TO BE

THE ME I GOT TO BE?

 

The title of my homily is for this 22 Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “Influences: How’d I Get to Be the Me I Got to Be?”

To me that’s a great question. 

Hopefully, if we spend time and prayer – yes prayer – yes more pondering - we’ll come up with some good answers to that question.

The question came to me after reading today’s first reading – just a part of the 3^rd Chapter of 1^st Corinthians 3: 1-9.

Paul is talking about the building up of the Christian Church at Corinth.

It seems there is a fight or a struggle going on between those who liked Paul and those who liked Apollos. Some said, “I belong to Paul” and some said, “I belong to Apollos.” That indicates some kind of conflict.

If you read the 4 gospels – and the Acts of the Apostles – and the Letters of Paul and John, you’ll pick up hints and comments – that there were personal struggles going on between people – in the early church.

I like to ask people which of the 4 gospels do they like the most.

I like to ask people which of the 4 gospels influenced them the most.

Of course, we should step back a step and say what Paul would say, “It’s Christ! Have the mind of Christ as we heard in yesterday’s first reading.”

I like to ask people: “Whom did we get the gift of faith from?”

Mom? Dad? A grammar school nun? A priest? A parish? A community? A retreat? A book? An author? A tragedy? A death? St. Alphonsus?

We as priests should ponder whom we’re imitating?  Whose sounds are we making? Whose sermons are we echoing?

I was taking a long car ride trip once. I grabbed at the last minute some audio tapes from way back when. Surprise! I’m driving along, I’m listening to a tape on which John McCall the Jesuit tells a story.  It was a cassette tape I hadn’t listened to for 25 years. I laughed at myself because I’m listening to a story that I thought I had made it up. Nope. Not me. It was John’s story. So, thank you John for your story. Or was it yours?

Ooooooh!  Ooooops. We borrow from each other.

I always loved the words from Tennyson in his poem, “Ulysses!” iin which he says, “I am part of all that I have met.”

A couple of months ago, I watched a 55 minute tape of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. They tried to do an album together  in 1976-77 and it just didn’t work. Then they did it again 10 years later – 1987 - and it was wonderful this second time.

On that tape, they talked about their roots, their stories, their development.  They talked about who influenced them. Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger were part of Emmylou Harris career, She didn’t come from a singing family – but she had a great voice. She got  into Rock – then country – meeting and singing with lots of people.

Emmylou Harris met Gram Parsons – who found her – and taught her so much – till he died from an overdose of drugs. Parson’s dad committed suicide and his mom died early of alcohol poison. Those were profound moments and experiences in their lives.

Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton grew up with music in their growing up – Dolly in Tennessee and Linda in Arizona.

It got me thinking.  I couldn’t help but wonder about whose preaching  - whose writings – whose conversations – whose life formed my life.

Enough….

A conclusion for this homily: it would be gratitude, more pondering, more prayer, more reading, more conversations about my opening question and the title of this homily: “Influences: How’d I Get to Be the Me I Got to Be?”

Whoever you are: Thank you!