October 9, 2022

WHAT’S IT LIKE? 

20  QUESTIONS

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The title of my homily is, “What’s It Like: 20 Questions?

 

I have 20 Questions to think about as we come to the end of this retreat.

 

You have to be sitting here wondering – questioning - thinking about lots of things – just before you’re heading home.

 

I’m sure you’re wondering – questioning your life – or the lives of those you live with, work with, neighbor with -  without even realizing you have 4 or 5 good questions that came up while making this retreat.

 

Today’s First Reading and today’s  Gospel trigger the question: “What’s it like to have leprosy – a skin disease – when everyone goes, ‘Oooooh! Oooh! Ugly!  Disappear!’?”

What’s it like?

 

Maybe one of these 20 questions that I bring up – will trigger some questions you wonder about unconsciously.  Maybe one of these 20 questions will help you sum up this retreat – in a clearer way. Maybe you’ll realize it’s never over till it’s over – and you have more work ahead.

 

20 QUESTIONS

 

What’s it like to make a retreat on presence – real presence – with God and with each other – and you go home to the same old same old - being with people who are in the room  - but they are always on their phones with people in far distant rooms and interests?

 

What’s it like to go to Mass – where you experience God’s presence in the bread – and in the Love of God – and your kids and grandkids – are into sleep and sports and everything else on Sunday morning?

 

What’s it like to have terrible skin?

 

What’s it like to have dark skin – darker than anyone else in your family? You were adopted.

 

What’s it like to have more acne on your face than a stop sign has paintball gun splotches on the first road outside a paintball gun shooting range?

 

What’s it like to be alone at a wedding – and your spouse has died or left you or you had to break up – or what have you – and everyone seems connected to someone and you feel so single, so singular, and so all alone?

 

What’s it like to come into church late because it was tough getting an aged mother or four kids organized for church and the traffic was crazy and the only seats are the front row of church – and you got to go down that long aisle – feeling so conspicuous?

What’s it like to have a couple of kids – and grandkids - and you do everything possible for them and nine of them never ever say, “Thank you!”

 

What’s it like to have 2 kids with heavy duty tattoos – and at a lunch break or a coffee break – everyone is making fun of people who are so dumb for getting tattooed?

 

What’s it like to have wrinkles – lots and lots and lots of wrinkles?

 

What’s it like to have a sister with 3 college degrees and her kids college degrees on the walls of their  basement pool table and pingpong table room. You dropped out of high school – but did get a GED in your 30’s?

What’s it like to have had an abortion and you come to a church that seems to only have pamphlets and pictures at every entrance about abortion – and you don’t notice anything else and you have made your very difficult and painful peace with God twenty years ago - but it seems to get triggered every time you come to church?

 

What’s it like to be a kid that loves skateboarding and everyone curses you?

 

What’s it like to start telling a story – and you’re cut off by someone who wants to tell their story – which your story triggered – and they are louder and get more central than you?

 

What’s it like to be preaching and you notice 37 yawns and 23 watch watchings – in your 9 minute and 49 second homily?

 

What’s it like to be a Catholic and a couple of people at work say things like: “I would think someone like you would have got beyond church a long time ago?

 

What’s it like to have had a mastectomy?

What’s it like to be overweight and you’ve tried 316 different diets and you have estimated that you have taken off 1,160 pounds in your lifetime so far – and you’re 6 pounds heavier than when you started your last diet?

What’s it like to have had plastic surgery and you overhear some friends in the other room laughing at your plastic surgery?

CONCLUSION

What’s it like to be me?

What’s it like to be you?