DOUBTS ABOUT JESUS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Doubts About Jesus.”

What are your doubts about Jesus?

“Don’t have any!”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope!”

“You mean to tell me you never had any doubts about Jesus?”

“Never!”

"You mean to say you didn't hear about the new book on Mother Teresa of Calcutta - and how she had years of doubt - or the so called Dark Night of the Soul?" [Cf. Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light - The Private Writings of Mother Teresa, authors Mother Teresa and Brian Koludiechuk]

"Nope!"

“Okay! But I’m still going to preach this homily entitled, “Doubts About Jesus.”

TO BE HUMAN IS TO HAVE DOUBTS

To be human is to have doubts. Doubts are part of relationships. Doubts are part of love. In fact, if doubts were not part of love, love wouldn’t be as great as it can be.

Doubts get us thinking. Doubts get us talking. Doubts get us listening to each other better. Doubts can bring us reassurance. Doubts can get us to love another even more.

A LOVE STORY

I never forgot the love story a woman told me a long time ago – and she said I could use it in public anytime.

Her father was a disaster – and so she had problems with any notion of God as Father.

She knew this about herself.

I had heard while studying to become a priest – that you’ll meet people who will have doubts and difficulties about calling God “Our Father” – because they will have had trouble with their own fathers. Here I was experiencing the reality, not in a classroom, but in a one on one conversation with this lady.

She was having trouble, having doubts, about God, about believing that God loved her – even more, that God knew she existed – and if God even knew that – whether God cared about her.

Out of the blue in response, I said, “Do you know anyone who loves you – anyone who knows you exist – anyone who cares about you?”

“Oh yeah,” she said, “my husband loves me.”

I remained quiet – hoping she would flesh that out.

She did.

She continued, “Once I was sick in bed for the longest time and he had to care for me – clean me – help get me better."

Then she added, "I was amazed at his patience. I don’t know if I would have his kind of love.”

Then she said, “One day I asked him, “Why are you doing this?”

“He said, ‘What?’ – then added, ‘Oh, because I love you.’”

She became quiet – then said, “I guess at times I doubted his love – but that cemented it.”

Being the priest I suggested, “Why not see God as husband?”

At that, the light went on in her eyes.

TODAY’S READINGS

In today’s gospel John the Baptist is in prison. While there he starts hearing about what Jesus was doing.

In the other John the Baptist stories that are embedded in the gospels – there are not that many – we see that John the Baptist was one tough person – calling for strict, tough, changes in one’s life.

Compared to James – whom we hear in today’s second reading, John the Baptist is not a person who has patience as one of his main characteristics.

James tells us to be patient – like a farmer waiting for the fruits of the earth – being patient for rain to fall – especially when it’s not falling.

John the Baptist is not like a farmer on a rocking chair on a porch pondering calmly the evening sky. No, he’s like a farmer who has an ax in hand and is chopping, chopping, chopping, at roots – and pulling them out of the earth with muscle and might, sweat and strain.

John called for a violent revolution in how we live our life.

He’s the type of person who would end up in prison because of his words. He did, because of his prophetic attacks on Herod – who stole his own brother’s wife. He was the type of person whose words were written not on nice pink paper – but on sand paper.

He could rub others the wrong way. [Cf. Luke 3: 19-20; Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:17-29.]

So when he hears that Jesus is healing the blind, helping the lame to walk, cleansing people from leprosy, making the deaf hear, raising the dead, and preaching good news to the poor, John the Baptist, while in prison, asks some of his disciples to go and ask Jesus if he is the one who is to come or should we look for another?

John the Baptist was having doubts about whether Jesus was the one we’re all waiting for.

THE SIX PEOPLE IN MARRIAGE

Sometimes I say to couples getting married that there are six people in the getting married situation. The he, you think he is. The he, he thinks he is. The he, he really is. The she, you think she is. The she, she thinks she really is. And the she, she really is.

Say that ten times fast.

APPLIED TO JESUS

Is it the same way with Jesus?

Is Jesus, the Jesus we think Jesus is?

Maybe doubts will help us discover Jesus in a new way.

THE NEW TESTAMENT & CHURCH HISTORY
I have discovered that the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament are constantly dealing with the Jesus Question?

The Jesus Question is: "Who do you say I am?"

The question is put there for us.

How do we answer that question?

I have discovered that the history of the Church is constantly dealing with the Jesus Question.

I have discovered that we are blessed with many answers to the Jesus Question.

Peter answers the question this way: “You are the Christ!” [Cf. Matthew 16:16; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20.]
We all know that when Jesus was arrested, Peter was asked three times if he knew Jesus. And we all know that Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. So I’m sure on the morning after the Resurrection when Peter saw Jesus at the Lake of Galilee, Peter answered the question this way: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You are the one I denied three times.” But Jesus asked a new question. He simply asked three times, “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?” [Cf. John 21]

As I was preparing this homily, it hit me to pick 4 different ways Jesus is presented in the 4 gospels.

Matthew answers the question many ways. I like to read that Matthew describes Jesus as the New Moses – who will lead us out of the slavery of our Egypt - across the desert so we can be cleansed - to the Promised Land, to New Life, to the Kingdom, to a New Vision on how to live the life we’re all looking for - the Will of God. The Old Moses gave us the Ten Commandments on the Old Mountain; this New Moses gives us those commandments and a lot more – for example the Beatitudes on the New Mountain – challenge us to more than a life of avoiding sin, but to a fuller life with Christ.

Mark answers the question many ways. I like to read Mark seeing Jesus as doing a lot more than speaking – that the Christian serves more than he or she talks. I think that Mark is saying that action speaks much louder than words. Mark is the shortest gospel.

Luke answers the question many ways. I like to read Luke seeing Jesus as the one who sees the people we don’t see – the poor, the children, the unnoticed. The Mediterranean world was a world dominated by males. Women were kept in the back room. Luke begins with Mary out front – and the stone ceiling and walls for women in his day begin to disappear – and then we see Jesus coming through all walls – meeting and greeting all kinds of women and men. Women of today talk about glass ceilings. Obviously, we have a long way to go.

John answers the question many ways. I like to read John seeing Jesus as the poet – that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, that Jesus is the Living Bread, the Living Water, the Good Shepherd, and the New Wine – the Husband, the Image of his Father and on and on and on.

CONCLUSION: THE THREE COMINGS OF CHRIST

We’re preparing for Christmas – so we're preparing for coming of Christ.

As I reflected on this, I would say, "We're preparing for three comings of Christ."

We're preparing for the first coming of Christ - the memorial of what happened over 2000 years ago.

We’re preparing for the great so called, "Second Coming of Christ" at the end of the World. In the Early Church they thought this was immediate, so there are lots of parables and hints that it was about to happen. Surprise! Here we are in the year 2007 and we know the sun and the earth promise to be around for a long, long time, in spite of global warming and nuclear threats and disaster movies from time to time.

We're also preparing for personal comings of Christ in new ways - and this is where I would put the stress in this homily. At this point in my thinking, I would call these "Third Comings of Christ."

I think the first step is to have a few doubts – maybe Christ wants to be born again in me – not inside my cozy "Inn Places" – but outside - in my "stable" - better unstable places. I might have boxed Jesus into a Jesus that isn't Jesus.

Christmas is a time to open boxes. Christmas is a time to receive gifts. Christmas is the time to journey like a shepherd, shepherdess, King or Queen, Wise or Unwise, to Christ, with or without gifts.

I know that the Jesus I knew at 20 is very different than the Jesus I know at 68 – and right now I hope for at least 10 more years of a challenging relationship with him – and I’m sure there will be more doubts and denials – as well as more and more insights and challenges – and probably a hope for more years after that.

Maybe Jesus wants to be born in the messy manger of the me I really am – and not the me I think I am.

MANNEQUIN

Always on display,
out front, always in season,
dressed in the best
of clothes and shoes -
the latest fashions,
forever thin,
forever firm,
forever young,
and forever unaware
that people never really stopped
to get to know her.
To be honest,
nakedly honest,
she had no personality,
no smile on her face,
no life or light in her eyes.
In fact, she was so
wrapped up in her clothes
that she didn’t realize
that people only came near her
to see her latest outfit
and the price on her sleeve.

© Andy Costello, Poems 2007

FLY ON THE WALL

For years,
well, actually it was probably
for all his life,
he was left out and unasked.

This hurt.

Hey, it hurts never to be asked.

Then one day,
on the other side of this ongoing hurt,
he had an insight.

He realized
he was the proverbial fly on the wall.

As this thought buzzed him,
he realized nobody realized
that he noticed everything.
He knew all the office affairs
and all the office intrigues.
He knew who was laughing at whom
and who was really the boss.

He knew who worked,
who didn't work,
and who got all the credit.

And so he had
these great inner conversations with himself
about these domino like comments that
he overheard in washrooms and at coffee breaks.

And at times he would question
or pray or learn or laugh
or at times cry inside himself
about all these people
who never saw him standing or landing there.

Once, while comparing
these other conversations with his own,
he decided it wasn’t all that bad
to be the way he was.

However, on the Sunday, in church,
after that once, he laughed a humble laugh.

"It works this way, every time, doesn’t it?"

As the gospel was being read,
he heard Jesus saying that
he could read Pharisee’s thoughts.

He laughed inwardly,
“Oh my God, Jesus has been
hanging there, a fly
on the window of my soul
all these years - and
I thought I was all alone."

Then the thought:
"Maybe the two of us ought to fly off
to some quiet place for a long, long talk?”

© Andy Costello, Poems 2007

VIOLENCE 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Violence.”

To spell it out for the sake of clarity: V I O L E N C E
I would like to think out loud a bit about violence, because it’s an issue that is wedged into today’s first reading.

I'm sure you noticed the violence in today's gospel as well. It presents some of John the Baptist’s message. He preaches with some rather violent images. I don’t think I would enjoy Sabbath services, if the preacher was a John the Baptist type. I sense some people want that – but saying that up here from the pulpit, without a chance for response, could be a sneaky low blow on my part – and that’s a point I want to make in this sermon as well. There is such a thing as sneaky subtle violence.

So I would like to think out loud a bit about violence, because I think it’s a reality we ought to reflect upon from time to time.

A RABBI & THE KORAN

I was at a Jewish wedding a few years ago and I was talking to the Rabbi who asked me if I had read the Koran. I said, “No.”

“Well,” he said, “I was thinking we all ought to read it – in an effort to understand each other.”

So I began reading it – knowing one misses most of the nuances – if one cannot read it and understand it in its original Arabic language.

Somewhere, after reading about 60 pages, I began to notice the word “fire” over and over again. I went back to page 1 and started to read the Koran from the beginning again, this time underlining the word “fire” with an orange highlighter pen.

I began to notice lots of violence and annihilation. I kept spotting that unbelievers and those who did evil were being condemned to hell – forever – and God is the one doing this.

Yes, the translation I had picked used the word, “God” for “Allah”.

I knew the mid-east word for “God” was “Al”, “Allah”, “El”. We know that “El”, one of the Hebrew words for “God”, is at the tail end of various Hebrew first names, Rachel, Michael, Nathaniel, Daniel, Samuel. There it is at the beginning of Elizabeth’s name as well. I couldn’t find out if Eleanor fits in there. Then there’s Elijah and Eli.

Being a football Giant fan, obviously, I wish Eli would live up to his name a lot more – today against the Eagles and next week against the dreadful Redskins.

Ooops, I’m getting sidetracked, and I’m making a sneaky dig at the Redskins. And many people consider football a very violent game as well.

THE BIBLE

While reading the Koran slowly over a long period of time, I began to notice the word “fire” in the Hebrew Scriptures as well – as well as violence – and then I began to also notice both “fire” and violence in the Christian Scriptures.

That became an “uh oh” of an echo as I read the Bible.

Haven’t we all read a Psalm – and it’s beautiful – and we’re enjoying the prayer and right in the middle of the beauty is a zinger – wanting God to zap someone?

CLOSING THE BOOKS
Closing both books, the Bible and the Koran, I began asking myself, “How about violence inside the pages of my story? How about fire and violence inside the pages of my emotions?”

Obviously, both appear in everyday newspapers and TV news reports. But how about self? Myself?

I needed to make an examination – to look at a check list – but where do I begin?

Not having children, not being married, instead of spouse or kids, I began with road rage as the first place to examine my life.

I probably have beeped at dumb drivers about 10 times in my life – but not out of anger – but as an attempt to wake folks up – on cell phones – or because they switched lanes without a signal and almost caused an accident.

Living with priests I have the experience married folks have of driving with those you live with – and some priest drivers have scared me. I discovered experientially from other priests that there are Type A Behavior drivers and Type B Behavior drivers. Type A are tailgaters. Type B are not. But Type B bother Type A types. Based on my words there, obviously I am a Type B Behavior driver. I like the middle lane – go 3 to 5 miles over the speed limit on the big roads – and use cruise control whenever possible – and I know this annoys some people. Sorry. Hey, I’m trying to accept you. Please try to accept me.

Little kids screaming in church don’t bother me. For some folks this drives them nuts. I hear screams. We all hear screams. Scream. Scream. Scream. And I’ve heard many people complain about priests who complain about screaming babies. I’m not dumb. Like everyone else, I don’t like criticism. So screams are part of life. Growing up, our family never had a car – so we took public transportation. I have very early memories of going to visit our cousin in Elmhurst, Long Island, New York, my dad’s brother’s family, and being cranky and crying – when they had to wake me up on the way home when we had to switch different trains to get back to Brooklyn.

And I have lots of nieces with lots of little ones. I’ve seen kids scream and yell and laugh and smile – in the same minute. And like grandparents, I only see them for short spans of time. Parents have to deal with kids all the time – and then there are the teenage years.

Last week I was on retreat for three days with the junior class in our high school – and this coming week I’ll be with some seniors for a 4 day retreat.

I have been reading anything I notice on the teenage brain. One image that hit me was that there is a rusty switch in there and it’s great when something goes through their skull and flips that switch and the kid has an epiphany moment.

FRUSTRATION: TO YELL OR NOT TO YELL

Examining my conscience on this theme of violence within my story, I see myself as “The Silent Type.”

I don’t see this as virtue – but as an inherited reality. Both my parents were the silent types – my dad especially. He was all smile.

I do regret that I wasn’t smart enough to have had long talks with him about what he was thinking and feeling through the years.

I did sit down with him once – just before he died – and jotted down about 30 to 40 pages of notes about where he came from and where he worked and lived. I found out about his 9 years of love letters to my mom asking her to marry him. But as to feelings – regrets – resentments – frustrations – no. Yet, I sense, he was a man of deep peace – and all was blessing. All was gift. Praise God.

My mom was quiet as well – not as much as my dad - but like my dad and many in her generation – but less in mine – you didn’t get into touchy, feeling stuff. You just worked and did your life jobs – day after day after day.

Were they frustrated with life? Were they satisfied with life? Did they pinch themselves being blessed with 4 kids: two boys, two girls?

My sisters make quips at times that the boys were favored – especially my older brother – by my mom. Hey, the oldest boy in an Irish Catholic family, what else would you expect?

As I think about this, I realize we were at the bottom of the Richter Scale when it came to family earthquakes. We were poor, but we didn’t know it. We were blessed and we thought everyone else was as well.

Violence takes place not just in Iraq. It takes place in the heart and the home as well.

I came home one Christmas from the Seminary and my sister Mary showed me the front page of The New York Daily News. A kid I knew from across the street had shot his mother and killed her. This was long before cell phones. He wanted to get on the phone and she was on the phone too long talking to her boyfriend.

Violence was not too far from our doorstep.

PASSIVE AGRESSION

It wasn’t till I took courses in pastoral counseling that I heard about passive aggression – subtle sabotage by someone against someone else – silent digs – locked doors – slammed doors – frozen faces. “I’m sleeping on the couch.” “You can go to bed. I’ll be up later. There’s something I want to see on TV or there’s something I have to take care of on my computer.”

I know I prefer silence as my weapon of choice.

I know it works – or at least I hope it works – to get people to stop and think – “Maybe my behavior is bothering people.”

I know silence sometimes makes people stop and think.

What is your weapon of choice?

Yelling?

Like silence one has to ask, does it work? Or do others become immune or inoculated by angry outbursts – that stick like a needle – hurt for the moment – and then we become better fortified from another’s angry outbursts.

I think silence and passive aggression are better than violence and angry shouts. Nobody is shot. Things are not broken. People are not physically hurt. However, ....

COMMUNION AND COMMUNICATION

Obviously communion – sitting down to a peace table in Annapolis and holding peace talks will certainly make every family in Annapolis better.

Obviously, gripe sessions – what’s going wrong around here? – are important; but then we better counterbalance the gripe sessions with grateful sessions and talk about – what’s going right around here? We need to give everyone a chance to thank those who are pulling their load – lugging the garbage out, vacuuming, sweeping, emptying the dish washer, keeping the bathroom or bathrooms clean, picking up after oneself, etc. as well as labeling laziness as laziness and challenging each other for a fair distribution of work.

A home or a workplace where people are grinding their teeth with inner conversations of resentment after resentment, chewing on the cud of the crud around here, and then sniping with words at coffee breaks, etc. is not a healthy place to be.

FIRST READING

That brings me back to today’s first reading. It’s from Isaiah and it describes with great imagination what every home, neighborhood, workplace, county, country, world can be.

Edwin Hicks did over 60 paintings of this Peaceable Kingdom that Isaiah describes in chapter 11.

He dreams that there is always hope. A divorce or a death can be seen as the family tree being cut down – but surprise, Isaiah sees a shoot sprouting from the stump of Jesse. There is always hope. A root might look empty, but surprise, Isaiah spots a bud blossoming.

He sees that the Spirit of the Lord can change things.

He sees a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and fear of the Lord, can change things.

He sees that an end to judgment by appearance and hearsay is called for.

Then – it happens every time – some violence sneaks into even Isaiah’s beautiful dream here. Just as I was reading words of violence and annihilation in the Koran, here Isaiah has God striking the ruthless with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Then he switches back to his dream – after God zapped the bad guys – the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the goat, the calf with the young lion, and a child shall lead them.

What a beautiful dream – lions eating with ox, cows with bears, and the child being able to play near the cobra’s den.

CONCLUSION

As the song line goes in My Fair Lady, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful?”

Isaiah’s dream is possible not impossible – when we start with ourselves and then with ourselves in our family and our small circles.

Isaiah’s dream is very possible when we take the time to open the pages of our own book – our own story – and see where we are violent, or angry, or frustrated, or silent, or aggressive, or passive.

Highlight with a bright orange marker those feelings. Then bring the Christ Child into that communion and communication with each other. Then let Christ grow up to the Adult Christ as we grow up as Adult Christians. Amen.

ORIGINAL GOODNESS
ORIGINAL SIN

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Original Goodness, Original Sin.”

Some use the words, “Original Blessing" instead of “Original Goodness."

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

There are many themes to ponder. This year I decided to do a little thinking on, “Original Goodness, Original Sin” – especially because we use the words when talking of Mary: “She was conceived free of original sin.”

BAPTISM
Whenever I do a baptism of a baby there is a moment I feel a bit queasy and uneasy. I feel this when there are references to sin – original sin. Here is this beautiful baby – who only brings delight – especially if she or he is the first child – and this baby has obviously committed no sin.

I have to remind myself that baptism of a baby - is also a special ceremony of thanksgiving for the birth of this child.

I have to remind myself that baptism of this person is their Exodus moment, their Jordan River moment.

I have to remind myself that baptism is a sacrament – an outward sign that brings an inflowing of grace to this child and to others.

I have to remind myself that the stress in this sacrament is that parents and god-parents will do their best to give good example to this child – and the baptismal ceremony stresses that.

I have to remind myself that the sacrament of baptism is a ceremony in which the newborn child is brought into the church, into the Christian community. And the Christian community says, “Yes! We welcome you into the body – into the family of the church. You are not just a member of one family. You are a member of all our families.”

I have to remind myself that the Sin called "Original Sin" when experiencing Baptism is not a mark on a soul. Catechists had to come up with some kind of image to describe a reality. Then they taught that this mark is washed away by the waters of baptism. Catechists today have to try to describe an atmosphere - a tendency in all of us to selfishness - a pull in us to make self first and others last. And we need to experience good example of folks around us who put others first.

Adult catechists have to get people shaking their heads up and down - doing a "yes" with their heads in agreement, with "I know what you're talking about", with "I've been there too", when they talk about Paul's insight and epiphany that we say "yes" to doing good that day and we go out and do the opposite. We do the things we hate. We break diets and resolutions and promises all the time. [Cf. Romans 7:14-25]

Preachers and Spiritual Directors have to point out how Augustine had the same experience and insight - and point this out in Augustine's Confessions - where he constantly talks about the different pulls he was experiencing [Cf. Chapter 10 especially.]

Catholic Theologians have to state at some point the long theological struggle on whether Mary was free from sin and its pulls and how this could be - sort of like Mary in today's gospel saying, "How can this be, since I have had no relations with a man?" It wasn't till 1864 that this teaching was proclaimed as a dogma of the Catholic faith - and the Dogma of Assumption of Mary into heaven - followed in the year 1950.

Here we run into different streams and currents. Pedestals and down to earth.... Divinity and humanity....

Saying Mary was immaculately conceived puts Mary on a pedestal - and just as we try to proclaim Christ's humanity along with his divinity - how do we proclaim Mary's humanity - especially when other Christians say we are making her divine?

The Immaculate Conception is mystery. This is tough stuff to bring up at an 8 o'clock Mass on a Saturday morning in December.

ORIGINAL GOODNESS
The Book of Genesis gives a powerful poetic description of how the universe was created by God. In fact, there are two creation accounts in the book of Genesis.

The down to earth account has God sculpting us out of the clay of the earth and forming us – like an artist, like a sculptor – and then God breathes life into us. Beautiful. One can picture that. [Cf. Genesis 2:5 to 3:24.]
The up in the air account – has God just speaking out, “Let there be light – and water – and earth, sky and animals” and then the refrain, “And all us good.” [Cf. Genesis 1:1 to 2:4.]

This was rich and important theology by the Hebrew writers – who wanted to say and teach and proclaim that everything that God makes is Good.

There are people who don’t think this. They think alcohol or sex are bad.

No! All is good – that’s God’s original goodness creating everything – especially us.

ORIGINAL SIN

Then the question of evil came up. Okay – if God created everything and everything is good – where did evil come from?

Why wars and brutality – and stealing and abusing – and selfishness and self-centeredness?

Theologians will answer, “Because we are free and if we are free to choose, we are free to chose sin.”

Storytellers will tell us the story we hear in today’s first reading.

Every parent – every human being – knows that we can not only be good, but we can also be bad.

So today’s first reading talks about a fruit tree. We know the story. We make it an apple tree – but we don’t know what kind of fruits were on this tree. And God said, “You can have it all – but you can’t eat from this tree.”

There is always a catch. There is always the possibility of wrong choices. We can all self destruct.

In fact, this human tendency to be selfish – to stick our tongue out at our parents – to be brats – to snitch – to lie – to push – to try to cause attention – to be selfish – is in all of us – and these temptations are in the little kid till the big adult.

We take the forbidden fruit. Pornography and prostitution are ways of making money on our inner self destruction.

I love the Hebrew phrase, “Yetzer hara” - the evil force at our door. The inner itch to slip and slide into self destruction.

This is what is prayed over at baptism. This is why we pour water on babies and adults who are baptized – to acknowledge our need to receive help from parents, from god-parents, from family, and from Church – to avoid sin and do good.

MARY AS MODEL

The theology of the Immaculate Conception likes to contrast Mary with Eve – calling her the New Eve.

In that first reading we hear about Eve going against God and then bringing her husband down – and both blame each other – as well as the serpent.

Evil – the whisper of Satan – the hiss of the Serpent – is very real. “Take the money.” “Cheat.” “You’re on a business trip. He’ll never find out. She’ll never find out.”

Mary takes the fruit offered by God – it’s Jesus – the fruit of her womb – and we are told to “Take and eat!”

BUMPER STICKER
There is a wonderful bumper sticker – which we’ve all seen in the past 25 to 30 years, “Practice random acts of kindness.”

Just as there is original sin, there is original goodness.

Just as there is temptation to do evil, there are temptations to do good.”

Just as people mess up the earth, there are people who do what they can to fix up our earth.

Just as there are whispers to sin, there are also suggestions, inner silent nudges to be graceful.

SHAME SHOWS

Somewhere in this conversation there is the theme of shame. When we sin, we become naked. We feel shame. We’re embarrassed. Shame shows.

The best dressed person in the room, the best looking person in the room, feels horrible – crummy – when they sin - unless they have become totally embedded in sin - and have forgotten how to feel guilt and/or shame.

I see that as the gist behind today’s first reading. Can a husband or a wife see through a cheating spouse – and see right through their "Stop looking at me eyes"?

MARKET PLACE STORY – FLOUR IN ONE'S HAIR

I remember hearing a story somewhere – from way back. I’m not sure exactly how it goes, but I know the gist of the story.

Someone in this small village was sneaking into people’s sheds or back yards and stealing bicycles.

The people didn’t know who was doing the stealing, so they went and asked a holy man if he could help.

He said, “I'll try. Gather all the people in the village in the square.”

The wise man stood before everyone and asked, “Is everyone in the whole village here? Look around and yell out the name of anyone you don’t see here – a neighbor or a friend?”

Some people yelled out names – but from the back or the front, someone would yell, “I’m here.”

After determining that everyone in the village was there, the wise man said, “Someone is stealing bicycles in this village. And the person who did it – has some white powder on the back of their head.”

The wise man stood there and watched the crowd. Then he spotted a man taking his hand, putting his hand to his head, and patting his hair in the back.

The wise man yelled out, “There is the man who stole the bicycles.”

The crowd gasped a big loud, “Wow!”

Then the wise man said, “Let’s all head for this man’s house.”

And the whole crowd headed for this man’s house. They went into a big shed in the back of his house and there were the bicycles. And they all took back their bicycles and they brought the man to the local jail.

CONCLUSION

Goodness shows. Sin shows.

Kindness shows. Evil shows.

Adam and Eve saw their nakedness. It was obvious. Sin shows up on the skin with blushing – or the inability to look each other in the eye.

God looked at the crowd of people and saw Mary, the sinless one. He looked and saw her goodness and kindness and fullness of Grace.

God called this one - Mary - to be his mother.

Mary models goodness – and kindness.

And it shows. Check out the history of this world's millions and millions of pictures of Mary everywhere.

This feast calls us to move away from sin and move towards goodness, kindness and to be full of Grace.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Painting on top, The Immaculate Conception, by the Spanish artist, Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez, 1599-1660.]

NOAH

[This was a "homily story" for the kids' Mass this morning - on this First Sunday of Advent - Year A - December 2, 2007]

Once upon a time, there was this neat kid named Noah.

Now, Noah was one of those kids who was always neat. His shoes were always tied. His shirt was always tucked in. His tie was always right up to his top button – even after running around the school yard on a hot day during recess for a half hour.

Other boys – especially his two brothers were just the opposite. His parents seeing the contrast – seeing the difference between Noah and his two brothers, Nathan and Nicholas, in the ways they took care or didn’t take care of themselves or their stuff – wondered at times and laughed, “Where did we get this kid, Noah?”

When he ate, his string beans, his carrots, his potatoes, his gravy, always looked too neat on his plate. This was Noah. It was not something that he had to work at. Neatness just came to him naturally.

Noah was one of those kids who was a Boy Scout before he became a Boy Scout. He was always prepared. His parents noticed this about him from when he was in kindergarten – maybe even before kindergarten – even pre-K – even in his high chair.

He always had an extra box of crayons – an extra ball point pen – an extra pad of paper in his school backpack. “You never know when you might lose a crayon and the teacher says to draw the roses red, the branches brown and the leaves green – and maybe some kid might need an extra crayon or doesn’t return your brown, green or red crayon that he or she borrowed from you.” And kids always borrowed from Noah. He always had extra stuff. He was always prepared.

He loved those tiny catsup packet’s and mustard packet’s when the family went to Burger King or McDonald's or Wendy's. He always took two of each. He never spilled his soda. His tray was always neat – and he always went and dumped his waste in the big garbage pail – even when he could hardly reach the top.

When the family went on summer vacation to the beach, he always wanted to pack his own pack – always making sure he had 8 sets of underwear, 8 sets of socks, etc. if they were going to be away for 7 days. It was always one extra with him.

He liked umbrellas. He liked flashlights. He liked boots and galoshes. He liked extra batteries. He even looked at the tires before he got in the family SUV – and sometimes he would even lean on the spare tire when the back was open to make sure it had enough air. “Hey you never know.”

This was Noah – and everyone in the family knew this was Noah – and they long since stopped kidding him about his neatness and organization skills. His mom and dad stopped using him as an example to his two brothers a long time ago, when they would be quite sloppy.

Yes, Noah became a Boy Scout – and an Eagle Scout – and when he got older he joined the local rescue squad. He liked helping people who needed help.

When he went to college, he knew what he wanted to be – an engineer – and not any kind of engineer – but an engineer who built strong bridges and dams and strong walls along waterfronts, along rivers, lakes and the ocean, to prevent floods.

He had watched TV very carefully when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico. He saw all those people who lost their homes and their cats and dogs and everything. He wanted to help people in the future from being flooded.

And that’s what Noah did. Even though he was from a Navy town, even though he saw Army lose in football to Navy 18 years in a row, Noah joined the Army after college and was able to get into the Army Corps of Engineers.

And that’s what he did with his life – helping people prepare for storms and floods.

His parents were proud of their boys, Noah, Nathan and Nicholas.

Nathan ended up owning and running a Starbucks – and did well – even though there were 14 other Starbucks within a mile of his store. Nicholas ended up starting a Santa Claus suit factory – and was very busy – especially at this time of the year.

All three boys were back home when their parents were celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary. That December Sunday morning, all were at Mass together, Mom and Dad, and Noah, Nicholas and Nathan, and their wives and kids.

That Sunday morning, it just happened that Noah ended up sitting between his mom and dad. Secretly, he was always their favorite – but moms and dads can never say that – but all kids know their parents have favorites.

And that Sunday morning, it just happened that in the gospel Jesus talked about the people in Noah’s time who didn’t prepare for the big flood and all were lost - except for Noah and his family. Noah prepared well – building his ark – his big boat – saving his family and all the animals.

When his mom and dad heard this they both automatically elbowed Noah at the same time.

And Noah’s mom and dad, both came up with the same idea at the same time. They both lied. Okay, it was a white lie, but both lied as they whispered to Noah, “That’s why we named you Noah. You were always so prepared.”

And Noah smiled – but he knew they were lying, because he knew he was named after his dad’s dad, whose name was Noah – and who died of cancer just before Noah was born – and never saw Noah – but his grandmother saw him – and she stopped crying once she heard that her grandson was being named after her husband, Noah – “Noah the Neat,” as she always called her husband.

HOW DO YOU
PICTURE

CHRIST?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “How Do You Picture Christ?”

I thought that would be a good theme to think about for this Sunday’s feast: Christ the King – this last Sunday in the Church year. Then we will start Advent on the following Sunday – December 1st - as we move toward Christmas – with Christ being featured as a baby.

ONE PICTURE

If you had to pick one picture of Christ that says a lot to you, what image of Christ would you choose?

What are the choices?

Christ on the Cross? Christ the Good Shepherd? The Risen Christ? The Christ Child? Christ in the Garden? Christ in the Sky? Christ of the Banquet – feeding us with the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation? The Peacemaker? The Prophet? The Suffering Servant?

After the last two Masses people gave me some of their choices. One lady said, “I like to picture Christ in the desert – in deep prayer.”

How do you picture Christ?

People have pictures of their spouse, their children, their family, their friends, in their wallets – and now on their computers and cell phones, etc. Does anyone have a picture of Christ in their wallet? What’s in your wallet?

TITLES OF CHRIST

Christ has many titles: the Lord, the Savior, the King, the Redeemer, the Friend, the Risen One.

Today’s title is: Christ the King.

Why not Emperor? Why not Leader? Why not President? Why not Boss? Why not Center? Why not Heart? Why not Meaning? As in Christ is the center, the heart, the meaning of my life. As in: “Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

TODAY’S SECOND READING

Today’s second reading, I think, is the best of today’s three readings for this feast of Christ the King. After yesterday’s 4:30 Mass a lady asked me if the gospel was the correct reading. She said, “Isn’t that a reading we hear in Holy Week?”

I said, “Yes, but they were trying to come up with readings to fit the theme of Christ the King – and today’s gospel talks about Jesus on the cross as king.

Today’s second reading has what scholars think is an early Christian hymn that Paul brought into his letter. Listen again. For us who follow Christ:

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
the visible and the invisible….
He is before all things
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of the cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
To me that is a wonderful poetic vision of who Christ is for those who have made Christ the meaning, the center, the foundation of their life.

THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

This feast of Christ the King was established in 1925 with Pope Pius XI’s encyclical on Christ the King (Quas primas). So it’s a rather recent feast – but it can be traced back to Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378 - 444) – as well as the New Testament. Pope Pius XI saw what so many of our modern popes, and parents, and people have seen: people dropping Christ out of their life – and going the rest of the way without a religious center – or focus – or foundation for their life.

Peter Berger, the sociologist, in a lecture, mentioned a French sociologist, Gabriel LeBras, “the father of religious sociology". LeBras used the image of a magical train station in Paris. People would leave the farm and the countryside of Normandy, the most Catholic section of France, and take a train to the big city. When they got off the train , they left their past behind – especially their Catholic faith.

Today, for many, it’s college – or high school – or what have you. Through the years, I’ve heard the one thing the bishops of the United States could not agree on is a standard age for confirmation – because this might be the last time we see these kids till they are married or for the baptism of their kids – or the death of their parents.

Peter Berger says that the statistics and some studies don’t “prove” that “so many modern people have lost their religion”.

Yet what title, what image, what picture do we present, when we want to proclaim Christ to our world – to each other?

Whether “King” is the best word or image for Christ – some word and some image has to be chosen. What word and what image do you use to describe Christ?

And how do you picture Christ?

WASHINGTON D.C.

In 1959 I visited Washington DC – and I went with my brother to the National Shrine – the big basilica - of the Immaculate Conception on Michigan Avenue.

He had met and married my sister-in-law, Joanne, who grew up on Michigan Avenue.

We walked in and we walked around. When I looked up, I was floored by the gigantic red powerful image of Christ in Majesty up front – in the center – above everything. Christ did not look wimpy or weak or washed out. He was up front and central. [It's the top picture of the four pictures at the beginning of this homily.]

It’s said to be one of the largest ikons of Christ in the world. It has 3 million tiny tiles – taking up some 3,600 square feet. [Check out the web site: National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.]
It was a “Wow” moment for me.

Looking back it was to be a religious experience for me – because it had an impact on my thinking about Christ in my life.

Has that ever happened to you when walking into a church, or cathedral, or mosque of temple?

That’s the purpose of religious art – to overwhelm, to speak out, to scream out to us – to proclaim God!

At St. John Neumann’s Church, our other church here in Annapolis, we have that gigantic cross of Jesus. I’m sure it’s like the proverbial saying about priests and pastors: 1/3 like you, 1/3 don’t like you, 1/3 don’t care. What does that image of Christ say to you?

I’m sure it says a lot more to people who are there for a funeral – than those who are here for a wedding.

We Redemptorists were founded by St. Alphonsus – who wrote and meditated and preached deeply on the cross – Christ the Redeemer hanging on a cross – and dying there for our redemption.

What image of Christ would you put up front and center of the church building of your dreams?

This is the last week with the 2007 missalettes. They print millions and millions of these – and they are with us for a year. Some parishes like ours cover them so you don't see the picture; some parishes cover them with see through covers; some parishes have no cover at all.

I don’t know if this image of Christ is a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. I’d be in the 1/3 that doesn’t like it. It doesn’t grab me. It doesn’t give me a “wow”. I say that nervously, in case the artist is in this church – or someone here is related to the artist. Hey, you never know. But this image grabbed someone – or the team that worked this out – this picture of Christ at the Last Supper. Next year’s picture is similar – but I like it better because it doesn’t show any people – just the bread and the wine and the food on the table of the Last Supper. I think this type of art work goes better without drawings of people. I’m giving my taste and opinion here – and like most art: like and dislike is in the eye of the beholder.

Why not put on the cover the powerful Red Christ, the Pantocrator in the National Catholic Cathedral in Washington DC – or the many powerful Eastern Orthodox images of Jesus? [Check out the 4th picture of Christ at the beginning of this homily.] I have to admit, ever since I saw the image of Christ in the National Shrine in 1959, I’ve been biased towards that kind of an image for the up front and center image for a church or a missalette. Or why not a picture of a great stained glass window? Why not a strong image of Christ on the cross? I remember watching a TV documentary on where Pope John Paul II came from in Poland. There was a scene from a cemetery where the camera scanned some strong and dramatic crucifixes. Compared to other crosses showing the suffering Christ, those Polish green and stained bronze images of Christ were a lot more poignant and powerful than a lot of those tan all the same wooden or plastic crosses of Christ.

I like the image of the laughing Christ – but that is not my central image of Christ – but I do hear Christ laughing at me at times. How about you? Do you ever have a good laugh with Christ?

I took a mini-course on religious art somewhere along the line. I don’t remember much – other than the teacher saying there are tons of junky religious art out there – and from then on in – I was able to say at least to myself, “Junk!” “Junk!” “Junk!” as I looked at religious pictures or statues or walked into religious places.

There are many rich images of Christ to choose from. Check out the masters. Type into Google names like El Greco, Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Caravaggio. If all else fails, pick Rembrandt. [It is the second of four images of Christ in the beginning of this homily.]

On my wall in my room I have two images of Christ: a Greek Icon of Christ from Spain – that my niece Claire and her husband Christian gave me as a gift for doing their wedding. It’s a very serious Christ and I look to him in prayer as I begin working on a sermon. “A sermon is a serious moment!” I have a wooden crucifix that Father John Harrison gave me after my good friend Pasquale Tremonte died over in Seaford, Delaware, two years ago. They were stationed together there. Pasquale was a great character and was forever forgetting things as well as being clumsy – and this Christ is hanging there without arms. I’ve meditated on that a lot - while wondering, "What happened?" My sister Mary paints and likes paintings, so a few months ago I gave her a third painting I had on my wall for years. It’s a dark blue image of Christ walking down a road carrying a cross and calling people on the side of the road to follow him. They are dressed as clowns. It was hanging in a bar and drug and hippie place in Long Branch NJ and a guy I helped with his addictions bought it off the wall and gave it to me as a gift for helping him. [It's the third of the four images of Christ I have in the beginning of this homily.]

How do you picture Christ?

CHRIST THE KING

As we all know, Christ as King is a great paradox. He was a king who got a crown of thorns and had a cross for his throne. He was a king who washed feet and rode a donkey into town. He was a king who said, “My kingdom is not of this world – but what I want to do in this world is to serve. I have no army – but I do have all those who want to follow me – and if you want to follow me – you have to die to yourself – and discover life is not about ego or power of self – but about children and the poor and the not noticed.”

As we all know, Christ the King is the model for moms and dads, popes and priests, politicians and mayors, for all those who serve others. The message is: put those we serve first. That’s what it’s all about.

CONCLUSION
So this feast is a good theme to think about, as we come to the end of the Church Year. To sum things up: “This feast is a good feast to think about as we are about to begin a new Church Year." The question or questions I’m asking in this homily has been: how do you picture Christ, how do see Christ, how does Christ fit into your life?

To continue the dialogue, please put on your schedule, your calendar, the Parish Mission which starts here next Sunday – as a way to deeper one’s relationship with Christ. With our busy schedules, make one evening, two evenings, three evenings, all the evenings – and / or the morning sessions of the parish mission. Avoid the Christmas rush. Slow down and hide in this sacred place.

What’s great is that there is a mission going on for our Hispanic parishioners at this time as well a high school retreat for our juniors that week as well – up in New Jersey. Great! We Redemptorists were started with the purpose to preach missions and retreats – 275 years ago this year.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 

VIRGINIA BEACH, 2007