FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE KNITTER

She was a knitter.

She learned to knit by watching her mom - who was a knitter.

And her mom learned how to knit, by watching her mom knit, so the story goes - way back and back and beyond back into the hill countries of memory - as those who knit stories together will  tell you.

When she was pregnant with her first child - she, Elizabeth, knew he would be a boy. It was in the way he would suddenly jab her - kick her  - like boys do in the back of a cart together. They love to jab, push, kick each other - especially on long trips together - when going to visit the relatives.

All through the months she was kitting him in her womb - while she sat knitting blankets and coveralls for her son to be, she thought a thousand thoughts, she prayed a thousand prayers.

What to name him - when asked this pregnant woman question - she would say, "John."

Her husband Zechariah - tongue tied because he couldn't believe at their age - they could be pregnant - had written this down on a tablet for her to read.

Nobody believed her. "What do women know?"  - some women said.

Well,  that’s the name he received at his birth - "John!" even though their neighbors - as well as their relatives said, “Nobody in the family has ever had that name.”

So, Zechariah still tongue tied, grabbed a tablet once again and wrote boldly and clearly, once again, “His name is John.”

And John was his name….

And Zechariah's tongue was loosened ....

And his mom - while John  was crawling, growing, standing, beginning to speak, would watch him from the corner of her eye. While knitting in the heat of the day - she was knitting together in her imagination - stories and scenes - great deeds and powerful things this son of theirs - would accomplish in his life.

That was the promise. That was the hope. That was her delight in the dark of night.

And why not - she thought to herself: this is what Mary and I talked about when she visited me - when she and I were both surprised with our surprise pregnancies - what would become of our sons?

And Elizabeth, the knitter, was right. The thoughts she had when God was knitting her son in her womb came through - became true. Her son became a polished arrow. He knew what he wanted and went there directly every time - as if God was an archer and John was his arrow - and change and conversion, renewal and repentance was the target. He was a sword. And boy could he be sharp with his tongue because of his seriousness and his severity and his strictness.

And Elizabeth wondered and watched as he grew older, bolder, stronger and more direct, “What will become of this child who was knitted in my womb?”

Then the further thoughts? "What will become of Jesus? What will become of Mary - whom I praised that day way back when, 'Of all women you are the most blessed? Blessed is the fruit of your womb.'”

At that thought from way back,  Elizabeth smiled, because when she blessed Mary with that comment - John made a great “Amen” of approval with a good kick within her being. He caused her to drop her knitting needles and wool to the ground - and she embraced Mary, woman to woman, baby in the belly to baby in the belly. Amen.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Painting on top: The Visitation - 1503 -

by Mariotto di Bigio di Bindo Albertino [1474-1515]

SEEING  

IS SOMETIMES 

BELIEVING

Quote for Today - June 24, 2011

"We saw the large white stars rise one by one,
                Or, from the darken'd glen
Saw God divide the night with flying flame,
                And thunder on the everlasting hills."

Alfred Lord Tennyson [1809-1892], A Dream of Fair Women, 1.  223

LIGHTNING

Tonight: lightning, lightning, lightning,
zigzag bolts and jolts and volts
of electricity zapping, flashing,
crashing downwards, down towards the
ground, or clouds tasering clouds
above the Bay and out beyond that.
I’m watching in awe. I’m like the paparazzi,
taking picture after picture with my eyes
- flash, flash, flash, click, click, click.
I’m seeing fireworks. God! I’m seeing You,
God, in these great pictures of great power.
Then I ruin it all in a moment - with the
question: “God, why doesn’t this happen
in prayer? God, why don’t I feel your
presence like this in church?” Then came
the loud answer: thunder and a whole flow
and series of a dozen or more electric shocks,
shooting across the horizon - causing me
 to laugh, to say, to pray, "Okay, God,
I got it. Dumb, dumb, dumb! You’re
telling me, yes, you’re yelling to me,
'Take what you get it and enjoy it.
See what you see and savor it. Know
what you know when you know it.'"

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2011

Photograph by Dan Mccauley

found on line.

FAILURES 

Quote for Today - June 23, 2011

"His failures are priceless experiences in that they not only open up to the way to deeper truth, but force him to change his views and methods."

Carl Jung [1875-1961] Modern Man In Search Of His Soul, 1933

DROPS AND DROPS OF RAIN

A summer storm is yelling and telling me
to “Quick! Look out your window.”
I look out through the black glass of night.
More! I open up my window to hear
the surround sound of falling rain
on our green, green garden below.
1,000,000,000 plus drops of rain
are pelting and pounding the plants
and not one of them is complaining.
Better: they are sticking their tongues out
to taste each drop, each gift of sky water,
like kids on a summer night licking ice cream.
Looking out my window, it's as if
I’m in a choir loft,  looking down
into the church of night in prayer.
The sky is giving; the earth is receiving.
Once more God is surprising us,
sprinkling us, playing with us,
baptizing us with 1,000,000 plus
drops and drops and drops of rain.
Surprise! I go downstairs and walk outside,
so I can get rebaptized in this church of rain.
Better: so I can stick my tongue out to taste
each drop of rain - to give thanks, eucharist,
to be in communion with our Giving God.



© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2011

The oil painting on top is entitled, "Rhythm of the Rain," by Francine Henderson.

FACT OR FICTION?



Quote for Today - June 22, 2011

"An autobiography can distort; facts can be realigned. But fiction never lies, it reveals the writer totally."

V.S. Naipaul, Quoted Janet Hitchman, Such A Strange Lady

THE NARROW GATE

[The following is a puzzle homily for this 12th Tuesday in Ordinary Time. Today's short gospel - Matthew 7: 6, 12-14] - has the images of pearls and swine and the Narrow Gate. This puzzle came to me last night. It's a first draft  adventure - see where the puzzle takes you.]


He was told in a dream – that - if he wanted to discover the secret of life - he simply had to go to such and such a street – and then enter by the narrow gate!

So he went to such and such a street – only to discover that at least half the gates and then some were narrow.

He didn’t know what to do next. Wait for a further dream? Ask someone? Pray? Go backwards to where he was before he had the dream? Wait for another dream? What now? What next?

He saw benches here and there along both sidewalks of that street, so he sat down to see if some kind of an answer would show up as well. Sometimes it’s smart to sit and pause. Sometimes it’s smart to sit and study. Sometimes it’s smart to stop and go neither backwards nor forwards. So he did that for about an hour.

Next, he took out a pad and pen that he had in his pack to jot down who and what he could see and connect with each gate and each house on the street. Each was numbered. He wished he was told in his dream the correct number for the correct gate.

If a narrow gate opened and someone came outside, he would make a quick pen scratch of the man or woman or child who was coming out or in – add their gate number – and in time he figured he would figure out the right narrow gate, from studying each person who would come and go through each narrow gate.

In three days – by sitting on every bench on both sides of the street – he figured out who was who on the street.

But he still didn’t know the right gate to enter.

Next – to make progress – he would surreptitiously and nonchalantly follow those who came out the narrow gates.

Some were saints; some were sinners. Some traveled light; some carried with them great lots of stuff – lots of packages.

Nobody noticed him. If they did, they might have said to themselves, “Just someone.” or “Just a stranger!”

In about a week he narrowed down the right narrow gate to 3 families – 3 gates.

Each was graceful to strangers. Two offered him a bottle of water. It was just at the beginning of summer. Each were good to kids and stopped to make comments to neighbors. All had sweet smiles.

All three put some green bills in a violin case of a street musician. He played music that brought pauses and applauses.

He would follow them and see how they treated waiters and waitresses – how they treated the person behind the counter in stores – how they let people out ahead of them at doors – and on and on and on.

Finally – he made his choice. It was Narrow Gate number 17. He knocked on the gate nervously. He heard a knob turning and sure enough, the owner opened it up and said, “Hi. I’ve been waiting for you. I saw you on the street lots of times. Welcome. Come into my house. Let me get your something to eat.”

A  HUNDRED MILLION 
MIRACLES ARE HAPPPENING 
EVERY DAY.

Quote for Today - June 21,  2011

"The miracles of the church seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always."

Willa Cather [1873-1947], Death Comes for the Archbishop, 1927

MEASURING UP TO

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 12 Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Measuring Up To”.

In today’s gospel, Jesus gets his mind and grip on one of life’s big issues: measuring up to. [Cf. Matthew 7: 1-5]

With out Gospel reading today, Jesus is still preaching his Sermon on the Mount. We’re still contrasting it with Moses in the Book of Exodus as he gave us the Ten Commandments when he came down from Mount Sinai. Jesus, the New Moses, tells us on this new mountain to keep those commandments, but as we’re listening to him we are hearing that there is so much more on how to live life to the full.

Today’s gospel begins, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.”

The Greek words for “judging” and “measuring” are “KRITES” and “METRON”. They become the roots for English words we’re familiar with: criteria or critic, and metrics.

IN JESUS’ TIME

In Jesus’ time judging, stereotyping, criticizing, measuring, carping, labeling, and pigeonholing were big time energy consumers. (1)

And Jesus ends up being killed by those who didn’t allow him to be who he said he was: “I am who I am!” Jesus was saying with his life: “I can’t be someone else that you might be looking for.”

Read the gospels with an eye on just this one issue of expectations. You’ll spot many, many times when people are judging, miscasting, being critical, complaining, throwing rocks at others. You’ll notice that people keep on wanting others to behave in a way that is different from the way they are. Once more we think our way is the right way and the only way. Spot this issue and you’ll be able to mine a lot of good growth challenges for self – and come up with a less painful attitude towards others.

TODAY

How about today – how about in our lives – how much energy do we consume in inward criticism and judging others?

Life is loaded with this issue of measuring and judging others.

We have to climb the mountain of our own mind – because that’s where the action is. First of all there are all those rulers and tapes and measuring methods we compare ourselves against. What does God expect of me? What does my family expect of me? What does society, neighbors, expect of me? Am I living up to my goals that I set for my life? Do I measure them against some list I have in mind about getting into heaven or hell after this life? Next – I have all kinds of expectations and rules for life for neighbors, for kids, for parents, on how to eat, how to drink, how to pick up after one’s dog, etc.

Last night 4 of us went to a restaurant for supper and the table next to us had a big family group – lots of kids – and after they left, two waitresses had to sweep up from the floor a lot of pieces of ripped paper, 3 crayons, and several pieces of food. They didn’t measure up to how I was trained to leave my place at a restaurant.

It’s a good idea to see what are my expectations about life and life’s various situations. It’s good to get in touch with how we measure and judge others, situations, failures and successes.

For example, I think there are two kinds of drivers: Type A and Type B drivers. Type A Drivers ride on other’s tail pipe. They come right at one’s back. They rush to red lights and stop signs – braking, braking, braking - as they get close to the light or car in front of them. Type B Drivers are laid back and give the car in front of them plenty of room.

Type A drivers have to buy new brakes sooner than Type B drivers.

I am a Type B driver – but who says I’m right? Notice I tailor the description of these two types to my advantage.

I sense that Jesus is saying this desire of wanting others to play our game, follow our rules – meet our expectations - can lead to a lot of energy fusion and confusion and anger, etc.

Jesus did say to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give the shirt off your back. He’s saying something there. Jesus is so other centered.

He doesn’t use seem to use rulers or measuring tapes that others use.

I would assume if we broke our rulers and burned our measuring tapes – we’d be a lot happier.

TWO CONCLUSIONS AND TWO SHORT JOKES

Imagine going through life – seeing life as if it was an arena with judges sitting there with cards with numbers #1 to 10 on them – and after each thing we do, they raise a card: # 3 or #8 or #25.

Who said life is a ice skating contest or a Dancing with the Stars contest and we get judged?

Wouldn’t it be more interesting and more joyful if it was a dance – or an ice skating pond and nobody was judging us.

There 2 jokes that I love and they fit here?

Did you ever hear about the one armed fisherman who caught a fish this big?

Or did you ever hear of the one armed golfer, who missed a put by this much?

Sometimes two arms can be a handicap. We need to make our ruler or tape measure endless. Amen.

So why not stop drinking our coffee in one of those see through measuring cups - that have numbers and markings on the side. Pitch that cup. Break that glass. Use a regular cup and enjoy the taste of coffee or tea or cocoa or whatever you’re drinking of life’s great tastes.

NOTES

(1) Cf. notes on Matthew 7:1-5 in Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN, page 67.

APARTMENTS  OF  RELIGION

Quote for Today - June 20, 2011

"The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion."

John Updike in the introduction to The Best American Short Stories 1984, Houghton Mifflin 84, quoted by Anatole Broyard, New York Times, November 11, 1984

ARTHRITIC HANDS

He stood there at his dad’s hospital bed –
rubbing his dad’s shoulder – knowing
there was only so much time left in his old body.

His dad must have been down to 144 pounds by now.

He knew death was in hospital room 307 – along with
family and tears and wonderings about, “What’s next?”

With his left hand still on his dad’s bony shoulder,
he reached for his father’s right hand with his right hand.

He held it. He moved it. He lifted it. He wanted his
dad to give him some sign or signal with a grab
or a grasp telling all he knew they were here.

There was no response – but he didn’t give up.

He then slid his left hand down to his dad’s left hand.

His two hands were now holding his dad’s two hands.

He was gentle because the arthritis had made
both hands so bumpy and boney.

Holding his daddy’s hands, he remembered
his first bicycle days. These two hands had lifted
him onto his 2 wheel bike and walked him around
the block 100 times – till he got the trick of it.
His dad was his training wheels. This saved money.

His dad’s hands had fed him and led him
and showed him how to throw a football
and how to hold a hold a fishing rod.

There still was no sign. No signal.

His dad was unconscious the whole time.

His sister said, “Let’s pray!” –
and they all began the Our Father –
all holding hands that were connected
to their dad's hands and at the “Amen”
he suddenly twitched and voiced  an “Amen.”
and died surrounded by love
and hands and family. Amen.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2011

A TRINITY OF RELATIONSHIPS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “A Trinity of Relationships!”

Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity as well as Father’s Day.

What to preach on?

The word, “relationships” popped up loud and clear: “relationships.”

FATHERHOOD

Obviously, fatherhood is a relationship. No child, you’re not a father. But you can’t be a father without a mother – no kidding – so a child is part of a trinity of relationships. There’s a message here somewhere.

I am aware of step-fathers, adoptions, and those who use their fathering tasks and skills – but all those particulars are also about relationships.

And I always liked Groucho Marx’s line – which I like to use from time to time in the pulpit – to see if people in church are awake: “If your parents didn’t have any kids, chances are you won’t either.”
I like weddings – because it’s father, mother, son or daughter – in focus – big time. The mother walks down the aisle and lights the unity candle – a symbol of the light from this family is being passed down to a new generation – which will be connected to another family. The father walks the daughter down the aisle and presents his daughter to his future son-in-law. At the wedding son dances with mom – daughter dances with dad. And all watch a trinity of relationships. There is a message here somewhere.

DENVER IN SEPTEMBER

I’m in Denver a few years back for a wedding. It’s Friday morning and I went to the church – and outside the church – in big time – down town Denver – there are what looks like 250 men on line. I go inside the rectory to let them know I’m here for a wedding and I ask about the men. Answer: “Oh they are the men we feed every day.”

I go back outside and walk around. It’s September and I wonder where these men will go in November and December. I wonder deeper. Who are these men? Most seemed to be from 25 to 45. How many are fathers? Did they run away because things got too tough or what have you? What do they think about at night? What do they think about on Father’s Day? What do their kids wonder and worry about at night – at graduations – or on Father’s Day?

As I walked around Denver and seeing lots of these guys, I began wondering about Westerns. Were the cowboys and the outlaws – we saw in all those movies growing up – just like these men – who escaped their fatherhood, their responsibility, their wives, their children, their families, and went west?

I didn’t know the demographics. I didn’t know the facts; but that’s what I mainly thought about as I walked around in downtown Denver – that September.

CANCER

I remember having a wedding here in Annapolis. The father of the bride told me at the rehearsal on Friday evening – just talking in the back before the practice. “5 years ago I got cancer – and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to walk my daughter down the aisle if it kills me’” And then he added, “Smile!” He continued, “Tomorrow, thank God, I’m alive to walk her down the aisle.” Then he added another neat comment. “I walked her down the aisle for her baptism and I said to God that day, ‘I’ll also walk her down the aisle for her wedding.’”

There’s a message in there somewhere.

700 PEOPLE

There were about 700 people here for a funeral on Friday morning – Grahame Rice. He died last Sunday swimming in the Bay for a charity event. He leaves behind a wife and two kids and a lot of friends and a lot of relationships. He prayed with us here in this church at Sunday Mass just like us this morning.

I began by saying, “I don’t want to be here – and none of you want to be here – but here we are – to support Grahame’s wife and kids and family and each other. Then – I preached – knowing there is nothing I could say that could take away the hurt and pain – other than time and God and good people helping good people.

I did feel good that I came up with a good line for my homily – at least I thought it was a good line. “This year the biggest Father’s Day card you’ll receive is the story of Grahame – because you all know he was such a great father to his kids and so many kids.” I added, “One lady told me that a kid had said to her, “Mr. Rice was the kind of father every kid wants.”

There’s a message there somewhere.

NUMBER PAINTING

I bought my father one of those number paintings for Christmas in 1969. It had a dozen different colors or something like that. His emphysema was getting worse – and he couldn’t get up and out as much – so I wanted him to have something to do. When painting the house – inside and out – I noticed he had a great smile while doing trim work. Well he only got to number paint number 4 or so. We saw him in the hospital on Father’s Day that June 1970 and he died a week later. I took the painting. I never finish things like that, but I finished that painting. It was of the Last Supper.

There’s a message ther somewhere.

THE TRINITY

I am grateful for the gift of faith that my mom and dad gave to us.

I am grateful for the gift of faith that our church has passed down to us. God is a God of salivation – not a God of condemnation. – as we heard in today’s gospel.

I am grateful for the teaching and the theology that Christianity teaches – that God is 3 persons – a Trinity of persons – a Trinity of Relationships. These are human words. We have to die to find out what God is really like. And we all prayed: “Not yet, God. Not yet!”

That God is a Trinity is quite a teaching. It’s quite a belief. It’s quite a revelation. It’s beyond our understanding. It’s something we could never come up with up with on our own.

We can discover God without the Bible or revelation. Show me a chair or a car – and tell me it just happened. There has to be a carpenter or a carmaker.

Show me the stars at night – the hair of a golden retriever on a mission running in a field – catching a Frisbee or a ball – the hands of a child – the smile of a Down Syndrome person – the taste and look of watermelon in the summer – the White Mountains of New Hampshire – the Rockies – Zion National Park – dolphins running – fire flies on a summer night – and tell me there is no Creator. If you tell me you don’t believe – I will shrug my shoulders and say, “Interesting!” Hey, we can be stiff necked people – as the folks in today’s First Reading might have put it.

Show me a child – I know there is a father. Pinch myself – I am here because of my mother and my father.

So creations proclaim that there are creators. Effects proclaim that there are causes. If the pins scatter in the bowling alley, someone threw a bowling ball.

That’s God the Creator – that’s God the Imaginer – that’s God the artist – that’s God the Designer – that’s God the Sculptor – that’s God at play.

The title of my homily is, “A Trinity of Relationships.”

God the Trinity – brings us to Christ and the Spirit.

God the Trinity – brings us to relationships.

God the Trinity – brings us to communication – to be in communion and communication with each other – discovering and developing all those strong interpersonal skills we heard about in today’s Second Reading.

God the Trinity – brings us to a dynamic – of Three Persons – involved in this vast universe – involved in the lives of billions and billions of people – involved in billions and billions of years so far and billions of years to come – and then some – based on the life expectancy of our sun – and who knows what our world will come up with? We intelligent folks have been around for less than 100,000 years – and that’s a tiny slice of time.
In Christianity the Trinity is labeled as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Who knows how that belief will keep developing and unfolding in time to come?

THERE’S A MESSAGE HERE SOMEWHERE

The one big message for me as one human person is to ask God to continue to have a relationship with me – that I continue to grow – into this Trinity – to start that now and enjoy the dance, the banquet, the whatever God is, for all eternity.

I have learned the truth of one of the earliest messages of the Bible – Genesis 2:18, “It’s not good to be alone.”

God knows that – the sooner I learn that and enter into that – with God as a Trinity of Persons – the better it is for me – the more I am made into the image and likeness of God.

CONCLUSION

Let me close with one of my favorite stories. It’s from Robert Fulghum. He’s in his house – reading or writing – and some kids are outside on the street playing “Hide and Go Seek!” and some kid is hiding in Fulghum's front yard. And he says, “Every group of kids always has one kid who is super great at hiding.”

And he says he wants to open up that window and yell down to the kid, “Get found kid. Get found kid.”

And I wanted to yell to all those fathers I assumed I was seeing in Denver, “Get found kids. Get found kids. Your kids want to find you.”

And I want to yell to every father who is hiding in his work or in his hobbies or his computer or what have you, “Get found dad. Get found dad” and if you’ve been found they you know that every day is a Father’s Day.

And I hope we all continue to hear The Good Father yelling to us in the garden. I hope we realize the whole game it start yelling out to me, “Find me. Find me – find my Son and his Holy Spirit as well.

IT KIND OF MAKES 

ME WANT TO KNOW,  

"WHAT WAS FREUD'S 

DADDY LIKE?

Quote for Father's Day - June 19, 2011

"I could not point to any need in  childhood as strong as that for a father's protection."

Sigmund Freud [1856-1939]

P.S. This from a guy who also said, "At bottom God is nothing more than an exalted father." in Totem and Taboo [1912-1913]

VAN  GOGH

Quote for Today - June 18, 2011

"What makes people the world over stand in line for Van Gogh is not that they will see beautiful pictures [but] that in an indefinable way they will come away feeling better human beings. And that is exactly what Van Gogh hoped for."

John Russell, New York Times, October 19, 1984

Painting: "Starry Night Over the Rhone," by Vincent Van Gogh, Oil on Canvas, Arles, France, September 1888. It can be seen, if you get on line,  at the Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Tap, tap the painting with your mouse to make the painting larger on your screen.

BOASTING OR BRAGGING

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11th Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Boasting or Bragging!”

The last line in today’s first reading is, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

Paul is the one who is saying this. Boasting or bragging are synonymous – and scholars are not sure just what the origins of both these English words are. Either is a good translation of the Greek verb, “KAUCHAOMAI” – which is used in our text today – 2 Corinthians 11:18. One Greek Bible dictionary says “glory in” would be a good first meaning. (1)

Glory in, boast, brag, we have all experienced people who are after the glory, people who are braggers and boasters. However, to be honest, don’t we all have something we’d like to brag and boast about.

What does our list look like: accomplishments, car, house, looks, money, where we've been, whom we met? What's in our trophy case?

IT’S FUNNY

Paul says in his letter here that he will only boast of his weaknesses.

It’s funny because he says that just after he has given us a list of all the struggles and sufferings and trials he has gone through. Of course he keeps adding, “I’m speaking foolishly or crazy here!” Yet he still tells us that he has had far more imprisonments, beatings, brushes with death, was beaten 5 times with 40 lashes minus 1, was stoned once, was beaten with rods 3 times, was shipwrecked 3 times, hungered, thirsted, traveled, much more than everyone else, and by the way, I’m not bragging about all that. I only brag about my weaknesses. Listen again to the last line in today's first reading: “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel – Matthew 6: 19-23 - doesn’t use the word “boast” or “brag,” but Jesus pretty much challenges us about stuff – which many use as things to prop themselves up to look better than others.

Then there are those who use a great body to look down on those who are overweight or what have you.

As I thought of that – for some reason I thought about eyes. In the vestibule of the church – after Mass – as people are leaving – when saying, “Good bye!” and “Have a great day!” I try to look people in the eye. It happens very fast, but I want to be able to boast and brag that I try not to be mechanical. Smile.

Well, in doing that, every once in a while, there is the person with amazing eyes – different eyes – stand out eyes. I’m sure you’ve met folks from time to time with fascinating eyes. I never asked that person, but I sense they know they have special eyes. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to tell them, “You have fascinating eyes.”

This triggered the remembrance of the girl on the cover of National Geographic in 1985 who had fantastic green eyes. Then I remember reading that someone went back a few years ago to the Afghan / Pakistan border area and found her. She aged prematurely – and that cut down on the beauty of the frame that held those eyes – her face – but she still had great eyes – and a photographer captured them again. I found the 1985 girl’s picture and put it on top. Check out the story on Google - if you want to see what she looks like years later.

So if you have great eyes, brag about them – at least in the mirror - to yourself once and a while.

Now back to my homily, after that distraction. Great eyes can be very distracting.

Jesus is far more interested in the inner eye – to get that right – and forever – the I who I really am – the real me.

Jesus challenges us to look at how we see!

Are we walking by the unseen? Do we see ourselves as better than everyone else? Do we see as Jesus saw?

CONCLUSION: ON SECOND THOUGHT

However, on second sight, I think I got the insight on why St. Paul brags about his weaknesses: they got him to realize he can’t solve his problems – only God can – and our weaknesses can bring us to our knees.

In AA or any of the 12 Step Programs that flow out of it – the first step is to admit our weakness over some addiction. The next step to ask a Greater Power to help us overcome that weakness. We need God - we need Group  – Community.

So isn’t that one of the reasons why we come here to Mass – why we come before Christ on the cross – the big sign of weakness – so that we can rise each day to a better Way to do life.  Amen.



NOTES

(1) W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Four Volumes in One, Zondevevan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1952.

WANTING OTHERS TO

BE OTHER THAN THEY ARE

Quote for Today - June 17,  2011

"The passion for setting people right is in itself an afflictive disease."

A comment by Marianne Moore - remembered at the time of her death - Feb. 5, 1972.

Picture on top of Marianne Moore throwing out the first ball at Yankee Stadium in 1968. As a poet she also wrote about baseball.

WHAT IS SAID OUTWARDLY,

WHAT IS SAID INWARDLY

Quote for Today -June 16, 2011


"The voices blend and fuse in clouded silence: silence that is infinite of space: and swifty, silently the sound is wafted over regions of cycles of cycles of generations that have lived."


From James Joyce [1882-1941] in Ulysses [1922].  June 16, 1904 is the day James Joyce met Nora Barnacle [1884-1951] - who worked as a chambermaid in Finn's Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. He asked her to cake a walk with him.  The picture on top is a picture of James and Nora walking. I don't know whom the person on the right is. The whole book takes place on just one day. June 16, 1904 is the day chosen for the main character in the book, Leopold Bloom, who goes on his Odyssey through Dublin that day.  The book has about 265,000 words - written in a stream-on-conscious  form. It became a classic 20th Century novel.

BORING INTO A BORE

Quote for Today - June 15, 2011

"It's so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see one."

C.S. Lewis [1898-1963], Letters to Malcolm, Harcourt, Brace and World, 1964

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE 

ON MATTHEW 5: 48?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for the 11 Tuesday in Ordinary Time  is, “What’s Your Take On Matthew 5:48?”

Matthew 5:48 is the last sentence in today’s gospel reading. My take on this text is that a lot of people are familiar with it. Jesus said, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

A lot of people have taken that text to heart and their take on that text has a big impact on their lives.

I probably have preached on this text a good 50 times – because I know from listening to people that this is one of those texts that people are very aware of. There are those who think it means that they have to be perfect in specific areas where they know they are not perfect. They think that without any nuances. And having heard various takes by various preachers and commentators on this text, there are nuances – or different takes.

Warning: don’t take my take on this text.

Message for today: take a good look at your take on this text – and then reflect on where that takes you – or could you take another take on this text?

Once more the text: “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Question: Is there a perfect take on this particular text?

THIS YEAR’S TAKE

This year my take on this text goes this way.

The text that comes down to us, comes down to us in Greek – and the Greeks had their take on what perfection is. Nobody is perfect. The Greek word used in today’s text is, “TELIOS” – which means perfect, complete, finished, mature.

Is the Greek take on this text – my take on this text?

Here’s Jesus telling crowd in the Sermon on the Mount – to be perfect – and then to make it even tougher, “to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.”

That’s quite a goal. That’s quite a target. That’s quite an aim.

And many times people feel guilty – because they don’t measure up to perfection – what they think would be perfect – and then on top of that, what they think God would think would be perfect in this situation. For example, a person reads the reading perfectly, except they feel they mispronounced one word or stumbled on one word – or they turned two pages instead of one when the reading goes into a second page and they stand there confused for 3 seconds – that feels like 3 years. “Oh my God, I blew it. I was a disaster.”

The Greeks had the idea everyone and everything has a TELIOS – an end – a reason for its existence – and that’s the target to go for – and if you reach it, you’re perfect.

SHOT AN ARROW INTO THE AIR

I like one of the Greek takes on sin. It’s called HARMATIA – meaning literally missing the mark. The word would be used in archery – and there’s the target – and you shoot the arrow at the bulls eye and if you missed, that’s HARMATIA. If you hit the bulls eye, you’re perfect.

So the goal is to get 100 or an A in the test – make the perfect meatloaf and make and bake the perfect Key Line or Key Lime Pie – it’s spelled both ways – and if there is one tiny thing wrong – imperfect – they you hit HARMATIA. You missed your mark.

Would a person be happier in life if they didn’t worry about perfection when it comes to pies and dusting. Just do it. Just do your best in the time you have. And while dusting or pie making, enjoy the breeze coming through the windows. Or look out the window at a scene taking place across the street. There’s two little girls twirling hula hoops on a green lawn and they are laughing and having a great time. And that evening laugh because nobody notices dust, but everyone enjoys the taste of Key Lime Pie – and don’t notice if it has an uneven crust or some of the pie is slipping over on the side of the dish – or heavens forbid, there is a little bit of dust on the pie. Smile. I won’t tell, if you won’t tell.

I like the image of a kid with a bow and arrow and he or she just shoots it in the air – and that’s the goal. One can’t miss if you’re just shooting an arrow into the air. That person is perfect. Even if the arrow slips and falls 2 feet to the ground, one hit the air. Perfect.

Now to be perfect in prayer, driving, speaking, commenting, mothering or fathering, being a Christian Catholic, that’s a goal. And depending on how we take “perfection” can determine our mind set and attitude about life.

In today’s gospel Jesus spells out where to be perfect: in loving not just one’s neighbor, but in loving one’s enemies – in praying for those who hurt us.

Tough stuff – but it’s so other centered and not so self centered – which can be the case of people who are scrupulous or nervous about every distraction in prayer or every fleeting so called “bad thought” that flies across their radar.

ARAMAIC - HEBREW

Not being perfect, I looked for a loophole. I thought: Jesus preached this in Aramaic – which is close to Hebrew. So what would be the Hebrew, Jewish, take on the idea of perfection?

The Hebrew word used would be TAM or TAMAM. It too means complete, finished – mature. But there is Good News here. Hebrew thought would say, “Hey! Everyone has their faults. Nobody is perfect! So to be perfect, go with God. God will take over and make what you’re doing, if it’s good, perfect.

The Hebrew thought stresses our weakness and God’s strength. God does the rest of the dusting in our mind. God sends the Holy Spirit as a Refreshing Breeze so we can enjoy the cool of the evening – and all those around us.

So if we’re doing anything – reading, praying, helping another, trying to love the person who is a pain or a problem, one says to God, “I’m trying to reach my goals, but you got to be the difference maker. You make it perfect – because I know I can’t.”

CONCLUSION

A conclusion to an imperfect sermon: Passing the buck to God can take a lot of stress and strain off our everyday endeavors.

So, please God, You do the rest with these perfect and imperfect people here on this perfect morning. Amen.

I AM CARVED 
IN THE PALM 
OF YOUR HAND.

Quote for Today  June 14, 2011

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

THERE’S A METHOD 

TO HIS MADNESS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “There’s a method to his madness.”

If someone would tell you to turn the other cheek when someone slaps you on the face – you would think them mad – crazy – stupid.

You’d say, “Others would just take advantage of you and beat you either further.”

Yep, that’s what Jesus said and did. He know all about the crazy human heart. God did not stay, “Far From the Maddening Crowd.” Nope, God became one of us – and experience what the book of Genesis pointed out by Chapter 4 – brother can kill brother.

And as we look at the big cross up here as the backdrop in our sanctuary, we see that he practiced what he preached – he walked the talk right to Calvary. He turned the other cheek and forgave those who slapped and spit and beat and nailed him to a cross. He didn’t get mad. He was mad. He said from the cross: “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

But Jesus knew what he was doing. There’s a method to his madness.

But for some reason, some Christians don’t accept the principle that a non-violent approach to life is the Christian way to do life. I would add that the down deep reason might be that they think it’s mad.

ST. PAUL

St. Paul in today’s first reading from 2nd Corinthians continued the madness and says we Christians put up with “afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts;…” as our way of life. He continues, “We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.”

Non-violence must have been a tough, tough, decision and discovery for St. Paul – because he was a violent man. He was an extreme kind of personality. You knew when he walked into a room – or a town.

When did he discover this was Christ’s way of doing life? When or what caused him to realize this was the message of Christ from the Cross? Did he say in deep prayer with deep feeling to Jesus, “You’re mad!”

JESUS’ METHOD OF MADNESS

If we don’t retaliate, if we turn the other cheek, if we gain the patience Christ had, then the other has no reason to retaliate back at us. Okay, we might frustrate them.  If we forgive because we don’t know the other’s heart and soul and story, then maybe the other will discover peace and forgiveness – and change.

Jesus pushed this – and today we are over 1 billion strong. Paul discovered this and pushed this, and the churches he founded, flourished.

IN OUR LIFETIME

In our lifetime we have been blessed if we saw that Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Caesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and many others have gone this way – and made significant breakthroughs.

They were on the big stage, the big screen, we are on the local scene: family, parish, neighbors.

How do we deal with yelling, anger, sniping, attacking?

I fail at times. I’ve never been slapped in the face nor have I been spit on. In conflict, I try silence and humor – and walk away – most of the time. It seems that others just scratch their heads or then ignore me because I didn’t fight back. I hope I stopped the sniping or the griping - and I hope they walk away with second thoughts.

CONCLUSION

Let me close with 3 quotes which might add a nuance or two to the topic of non-violence – the idea about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, and stopping retaliation.

Cesar Chavez: “Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak …. Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win.”

Bernard Haring, a Redemptorist priest and Moral Theologian, who took a lot of verbal attacks and comments behind his back, said, “It belongs to the very substance of nonviolence never to destroy or damage another person’s feeling of self worth, even an opponent’s. We all need, constantly, an advance of trust and affirmation.”

And lastly, a comment from Michael Fink. I don’t know who he was: “You’re lucky I took me a vow of non-violence, or you’d be suffering some pain right now.”

STUCK IN THE PAST

Quote for Today   June 13, 2011

"They spend their time mostly looking forward to the past."

John Osborne [1929-1994], Look Back in Anger (1956) act 2, scene 1.