“A good scare is worth
more to a man than good advice.”
Edgar Watson Howe,
Country Town Sayings, 1922
Monday, July 9, 2018
REBOUND
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 14th Monday in
Ordinary Time is, “Rebound.”
“Rebound” - a neat word - as in basketball - a shot is
taken - a miss - but someone gets the rebound.
Or a team loses - but they have another game - a fresh
start - and this time they win - and the newspaper - in the headline uses the
word, “Rebound!”
HOSEA
Today - for our first reading - we begin hearing the story
of Hosea - and it’s a story of a relationship - that is a struggle - Hosea and
Gomar- husband and wife - Israel and God. [Hosea 2:
16, 17c-18, 21-22]
Gomar - a prostitute marries Hosea - and she falls back into
prostitution and still Hosea - with great emotion and pain - takes her back.He loves her.
We find in his relationship to her - the word “hesed” - a key Biblical Hebrew word -
meaning so much: loving kindness - mercy
- forgiveness - loyalty.
It’s spelled, HESEDorCHESED.We hear it in words like Hasidic.
The book of Hosea is a book about rebound.
MERCYAND
FORGIVENESS
Every relationship needs “rebound” - fresh starts -
trying again and again and again.
Jesus forgave Peter for betraying him.
Jesus preached forgiving 70 times 7 times.
Would the Judas story have had more impact - if Judas
didn’t kill himself in the horror of his betrayal of Jesus?Would the stations of the cross been
different - if Jesus could have somehow went to the Judas tree on the way to
Calvary and talk Judas out of killing himself?
YESTERDAY’S CAPITAL
Speaking of Hosea, in yesterday’s Capital, our town of Annapolis’ newspaper had an incident in the
Dear Abby column about someone described as “Dumbstruck in Chicago.”
Dear Abby - that first Abby died years ago…. This column
is being continued by her daughter. I
like to say I was at a dinner in Chicago - where I met that first Dear Abby. As
I was leaving I shook her hand “Good-Bye”.I always regret that I didn’t give her a quick kiss on her cheek - but
wow did she have a lot of powder make up on.
Yesterday’s Dear Abby letter describes a situation that goes as follows: “After
reading the letter from ‘Dumbstruck in Chicago,’ who’s dating a recently
divorced man who was unfaithful to his ex-wife through multiple affairs and
one-night stands with prostitutes, I cannot stay silent. That man screams of
being a sex addict. He needs the help of a certified sex addiction therapist
before he wrecks another woman’s life.”
It continues, “Dumbstruck should RUN - not walk - to the nearest S-Anon
meeting.It’s a 12-step program for
people who have been affected by another person’s sexual behavior. These
behaviors included infidelity by emotional or physical affairs, one-night
stands with prostitutes, hanging out in strip clubs and porn addiction.”
Continuing, “S-anon saved my sanity and gave me the
courage to offer my husband of 30 years a choice - recovery or divorce? Because he knew I was serious, he reluctantly
went into Sexaholics Anonymous as well as therapy with a certified sex
addiction therapist and has been sexually sober for five years.Our marriage is better today than I ever
dreamed it would be.
“Sex addiction is a disease and needs to be recognized as
the cause of ruining many marriages and tearing families apart. Please, Abby,
suggest SA and S-Anon when you reply to people who write you about these
issues.”Signed: “Anonymous in Kentucky.”
CONCLUSION:
Now that’s a story about Rebound. In case you might think
this should not be mentioned in church - ha em, read the book of Hosea. It’s one of the books of our
Bible.
July 9, 2018
FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN!
The cave woman went out to get
some water - but stopped to spot
and watch a red cardinal pausing
to view a valley from a branch.
A 16th century cardinal paused
to watch the smoke from a candle
going out and rising towards the
ceiling, as he said, “Oh ... life ….”
A grandfather with red suspenders taking 3 grand-kids for ice cream and getting one for himself as well, thinking, “Diabetes! Why not?"
“Listen, you son of a
b...., life isn’t all a g..-damn football game! You won’t always get the girl!
Life is rejection and pain and loss.”
Frederich Exley,
A Fan’s Notes,
1977
Sunday, July 8, 2018
HOMECOMING
[Instead of a homily, I rewrote today’s gospel in story form - changing it a bit. And it’s a change
of pace. This is called, “Homecoming.”]
“Why not?”
“It’s been a while since I was back home.”
“It will be good to see how mom is doing.”
So Jesus headed home - for some home cooking - to see how
the carpenter shop was doing - to sit and talk -without the pressure of the crowds.
“It will be good to get away from Peter and Andrew - and
James and John. It will be good for them to get a break from me. Being a
prophet can be a draining - full time - experience. I’m sure their families -
especially Old Zebedee - in Capernaum - will be happy to know his boys are alive
and well. They did leave rather suddenly - that day - when I simply said, ‘Come
follow me!’ and they dropped their nets
and did just that: follow me.”
Jesus walked up the streets of Nazareth. It was high noon
- hot and humid - and people were indoors - or in the shadows. Some people
stopped talking or doing what they were doing - when they spotted him - sort of
dumb struck. You could read on their faces, “He’s back!” A few waved a silent
sort of, “Hi.”
Mary was shocked to see him open the front door - of
their two room home.
“Jesus!”
The hug and the hold was long and tight.
“Welcome home!”
Jesus said, “Mom, I missed you. I miss you.”
Tears of joy flowed freely - down both their faces.
Mary said, “Sit down.Relax.I’ll get you something to
eat.”
Then she said,“Wine
or water?”
He got the joke - and the smile on her face - and the
wink in her eye.
He said, “That was a good wedding, wasn’t it?
She said, “The couple over there in Cana still talk about
you.”
She placed before him a chalice of red wine - and another
one for herself - opposite him - at the wooden table - a good solid wooden table. Joseph always made the best.
Jesus knocked on the wood and said, looking into her eyes:
“I miss him too.”
At that comment, she came over and gave him one of those complicated
sit down and standing up hug and a kiss on top of his head.
She came back with some delicious bread - broke it -
handed him some.
She sat down.Then
with cup in hand - they clinked chalices - ate bread -and shared what’s
happening.
Words became flesh - as she told him about their
relatives and neighbors.
Even though - she assumed - by now - everybody in town
knew he was back,nobody bothered them.Nobody was at the door.
He told her, “This feels good. It’s good to be home.”
He told her where he had been, “Capernaum, the Lake, up
north and down south.”
“People are struggling,” he said. “People are struggling
- but life is good.”
She told him how James and Joses, Judas and Simon, and
all his male and female relatives were doing.
She told him, “The carpenter shop is still going
strong.Your cousin is doing a good job.
The town misses you. They especially miss Joseph.”
“Me too,” said Jesus.
“Me too, said Mary.
Silence.
There were some nice moments of silence - the kind that
are essential - to one to one conversations - the salt and pepper of good table
talk - the bread and wine - of a good
homecoming.
Mary then told him that folks in town thought he went off
the deep end - leaving us to become a prophet and a teacher, a rabbi and a
story teller, a healer and a challenger.
Jesus said, “Listen, I laugh at that myself. A prophet at
first - especially if he is a stranger - gets listened to everywhere- except back home - with his own family and
kin. Family see right through you.They
never would expect anything good could come from a tiny town like this.I try to tell folks that it all comes from
within - not from out there.
Silence.
“Then - out there - it’s only when they really listen -
to what I’m trying to say - that they get riled up and want me to leave or to kill me - because folks often don’t like
what they know is within.”
Mary said, “When they ask me where did you get all your
wisdom - that you never went to school here - I say, “Hey, he didn’t leave here
till he was 30. He learned everything - as far as I could figure out - before
he left here. He learned from watching -
watching - watching - the birds of the sky and the flowers of the field.”
“I tell them that you were always a great listener -
listening to people tell about lost sons and daughters - who slipped away to
far countries.”
“I tell them you noticed the Pharisees and those who had
to have front seats in the synagogue and at celebrations.”
“I tell them you always stopped to check the wheat and
the grapes of the vines.”
“You knew good fruit and bad fruit.”
“I tell them when you came to forks in the roads, you
always took the narrow path. That was you.”
“Thank you, mom. Thank you.”
He stayed there for a few days - saw a few of the
neighbors - visited and prayed over and cured a few sick people by laying his
hands on them, but it seemed that his
original comment was right on the money: “A prophet is not accepted in his own
town - his own native place.”
As he left home - after some good home cooking - some warm
home love - from his mom - he could accept the loneliness of not being accepted -
not being known for who he really was.
As he walked to catch up with his disciples at Capernaum, he said to himself, "I guess, you can’t work miracles in people who won’t sit down with themselves - who won't sit down with others in communion - who won’t sit down with bread and wine - who won't break open and pour out and
really share the body and blood of their lives with each other.”
July 8, 2018
NAME THAT TUNE NAME THAT TEXT
Want to know what makes the other
tick, tap, bubble, burst, or dance?
Ask the other, their favorite song or
musical piece - Voila! There’s
the answer. Want to know God's favorite Bible text. Voila! How about Galatians 6:2 or Luke 18:16?
“Evolution is fascinating to watch. To me it is most
interesting when one can observe the evolution of a single man.”
Shana Alexander,
“Evolution of a Rebel
Priest,”
The Feminine Eye, 1970
Drawing by Mark Lelieveld
Friday, July 6, 2018
COUNT THE SILVER
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 13 Friday in Ordinary
Time is, “Count The Silver.”
NEWSPAPERS
At St. Mary’s Rectory, we get four newspapers every
morning: The Capital, The Baltimore Sun,
The Washington Post and The New York
Times.
That’s a lot of papers. That’s a lot of money. I remember
as a kid that newspapers cost a few coins - dropped on the newspaper stand as
the vender counted the silver coins for the papers.Now they cost a lot more. Now there is paper
money along with the silver coins.
I assume there is a long history why these papers arrive
at our doorstep on Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, Maryland every
morning.
I can see The
Capital - to get the Obituaries and the Sports. I’m sure you heard the cute
quip: the obituaries are an old ladies sports column.
I figure we get The
Baltimore Sun because we always have had guys from Baltimore.
I figure The
Washington Post - because we’re not just local; we’re national and
international. Hey Father F. X. Murphy
was stationed in St. Mary’s, Annapolis for years and he was international.
And then there is The
New York Times. One of mysteries is why some people attack The New York Times. They voice the same sounds
I hear when some folks attack Notre Dame and other Catholic colleges as not
being Catholic. Don’t want to go there in counter comments - other than saying
that.
I’m wondering how long before someone will look at our
budget and say, “That’s a lot of papers.” The Baltimore Sun bought up the
Capital and that means repetition. Why both papers? I’m also seeing that less
and less people read the papers - like the young guys. I’m also hearing
thatnewspapers have cut down on staff -
so the news is not that varied.
I like newspapers. I worked for The Brooklyn Eagle as a kid.I’ve read newspapers all my life. I love it when I spot a copy of The New York Post or The New York News - because they have
many sports columns.I also love to spot
a Wall Street Journal. I love their
drawings and their pieces.
How about you?What’s your take on newspapers? What’s your history and your parents history
with newspapers?Where do you get your
news?
If you read the papers, what do you look at first?
Sports? Obituaries? Cartoons?Crossword
puzzle? Letters to the Editor? Columnists? Sales?
Have you switched over to the Internet or TV for your
news?
How serious do you feel the obligation to keep informed?
So in this homily that’s the first item I wanted to make
some comments about. A homily can trigger thoughts and questions. So I hope I
triggered an awareness of newspapers and where we get our news.
THIS MORNING
This morning I did what I do every morning - in general.
After breakfast, Igo through those four
papers we get - starting with The New
York Times - first section - OP-ED pages. Then depending on time and
schedule I go to the Washington Post and then if I have time I check out the
Capital and the Sun.We had a scripture
professor - Father Gene McAlee - who
stressed reading the papers and compare at least the coverage on the same topic
in different papers.
Then I go upstairs to my room and if I have to get
together a homily for the morning, I read the readings for today. This
morning,I wanted to get some thoughts for a homily this morning
here at Heritage Harbor.
SILVER
The first reading from Amos has part of a sermon or blast
from Amos, “We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair
of sandals, even the refuse of the wheat we will sell.” [Check Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12.]
I put the text down and asked myself, “Didn’t I just read something about silver in
the Capital or was it the Sun or was it the Post or was it the Times?”
I went back downstairs to our common room where the
papers are. I went searching for wherever I saw the word “Silver”.
I started with the
Capital. No luck. I went to the Sun.
No luck.I went to the Washington Post. No luck. I was sure it
wasn’t in The New York Times.
It was in The New
York Times - and it was in the title of the Main Editorial Column. There
were the words, “Count the Silver.”
I paused and asked myself, “What does that mean? Where does that phrase, “Count the silver” come from?”I said to myself, “I’ve heard that phrase.”
The column didn’t explain it. Then it hit me - the
obvious: when someone or so and so visits our house, count the silver,
The Editorial was about Scott Pruitt - and yes - that was
their take on him. Count the silver.
Then I felt the big regret - as priest I try not to talk
politics. I don’t want to talk about what party I belong to - nor for whom I’m voting for. So I try to be careful about the pulpit and
politics.
Next I felt the big thing I have felt in this past year
or so: a lot of this stuff is not politics - but it’s morality.
Uh, this is tricky stuff.
I follow the principal of avoiding the bully pulpit.
Translation for me: if someone doesn’t have a chance to
answer back, don’t speak about XYZ.
Then the thought: maybe speak up and out - when there is
a critical Mass about current issues we need to deal with. I have spoken up at various Masses about a few
issues that were current - that I thought needed speaking out about - and some
people expected something should be said from the pulpit. Other people
screamed, “No!” I got uproar one Sunday.
LISTEN TO AMOS
Nevertheless, Amos is speaking up and out about injustice
in today’s first reading.
I believe we need to do what Karl Barth said: Take your
Bible and put it on the table. Next take your newspaper and open it up and put
it on the table. Now having looked at both, write your sermon.
Next, I will say loud and clear that you could take Amos
and open it up to today’s readings and then open up today’s paper and read
about the money laundering, the EPA being stripped of regulations- and now the new guy - who right now will
take Pruitt’s place, is a lobbyist right now from the Coal Industry.
To me, the same thing that happened in Amos times, is
happening now. It seems to me that money, silver, getting more money is the
goal.
It costs money to stop or cut down on emissions and
pollution.It would certainly be cheaper
to have deregulation.I would assume
that there are lobbyists out there who want to cut back on such rules.
I remember the first time I was in a car - crossing the
border from Nogales, Arizona, USA and going into Mexico. I noticed immediately, how the cars
cough a lot more pollution in Mexico - than in Arizona.Next I read that these guys at the top of EPA
want to cut down onAuto Emissions
testing. As stated, to filter out pollution costs money - and that silver goes into the pockets
of the rich - and not in emission filters for the lungs of the all.
So what was happening in Amos’ time is happening in our
time.
CONCLUSION GOSPEL
This sermon has gotten too long. You can change the
channel, You can put down a paper, but
you can’t shut up the preacher.
I think this is enough. I preached on newspapers and some
stuff on money as a motive for doing unhealthy things.
In today’s gospel, Matthew 9: 9-13 calls for mercy not sacrifice.
In today’s gospel Matthew tells us that Jesus came to
call us sinners.
Maybe by admitting that we’re all sinners - that we all
contradict ourselves in so many ways - so let’s work together to make life
sweeter for each other. Amen.
“’One sacred memory from childhood is perhaps the best education,’ said Feodor Dostoevski. I
believe that, and I hope that many Earthling children will respond to the first
human footprint on the moon as a sacred thing. We need sacred things.”
Kurt Vonnegut,
Wampeters, Forma,
and Grandfalloons, 1974
Moon footprint: July 20, 1969
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
*
IF IN DOUBT,
SPEAK UP AND OUT YOUR DOUBT!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “If In Doubt, Speak Up And Out Your
Doubt!”
Spit out. Doubt!
Today is the feast of St. Thomas - and he’s famous
because of his doubt.
Hey, we don’t know too much about some of the other apostles - apostles like Barthomew, Simon the
Canaanite- [not Simon Peter], James The
less, Jude, [not Judas] - also known as Thaddeus.
But we do know about Thomas - mainly because of his
doubt.
And when it comes to religion, there are lots of silent
doubts - unexpressed doubts - theological wonderings.
Thomas gets sort of picked on by Jesus - for being the
doubter. Then Jesus uses him to praise
those who make great acts of faith.
As we heard as the ending to today’s gospel, “Blessed are
those who have not seen and have believed.”
THE VALUE OF DOUBTERS
In this homily, I’m giving praise to those who doubt.
Do we have enough milk? Did anyone make sure the widows
are closed? Is the restaurant open on
Monday evenings? Who’s in charge of making the reservations?
Maybe Flint Michigan would not have had so much lead problems with their water -
if the city manager and those in charge did regular checkups.
Catholic Dioceses would have saved millions and millions
of dollars if someone checked out their doubts about Father So and So.
A big benefit from the abuse problem in the Catholic
Church is that parents keep a better eye on who’s trying to be with their kids.
We took a horrible hit - kids getting hurt - and lots of folks not going to
church because of the sins and bad example of others. Any of you who have volunteered
for school and teaching kids know you
have to be certified. It’s a pain at times, but this doubt culture is
protecting kids better.
In other words, having doubts can sometimes have
benefits.
A FEW COMMENTS AND A FEW QUOTES
Galileo said, “Doubt is the father of discovery.”If those in charge - of the thought police in
the Catholic Church - would have had some doubts about their sureness thatGalileo was wrong, maybe we wouldn’t have
been tagged as being so unscientific.
I love the saying - by someone named Francis Sayer ,
“Religion isn’t yoursfirsthand until
you doubt it right down to the ground.” Francis Sayer, Life magazine,April 2, 1965
That fits in with Isaac Bashevis Singer’s comment, “Doubt
is part of all religion.All the
religious thinkers were doubters.”
Rene Descartes wrote, “If you would be a real seeker
after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far
as possible, all things”He said that in
Principles of Philosophy, 1644.
But I better add that we need also to have doubts about
our doubts.I say that because when I
was looking up ideas and comments about doubts the followingstatement by a John Hutchinson, in Faith,
Reason and Existence, 1956, hit me, “ There isa measure of truth in the traditional doctrine that … all doubt is at
bottom a dishonest rationalization of sin.”
CONCLUSION
That brings me full circle.
So todaywe celebrate the memory and the story of
Saint Thomas the Apostle - which I believe is saying, “It’s good to have faith
- but we’re also allowed to have doubts - and hopefully our doubts bring us
find faith - especially in the wounds of Christ and the realities of life
around us.
___________________
* Painting on top: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas [1601-1602] by Caravaggio (1571-1610)
