BACK PORCH

Sitting there

alone

on the back porch,

I spot

a quiet

brown bird

gliding,

turning,

landing

perfectly on a 22 foot high empty branch,

only

to take off

almost immediately,

escaping into the woods.

It was then

I saw the hawk

on a nearby tree

shake its wings

with pride,

for a split second.

It was then

I could hear it saying,

“Don’t even think of it.”

You have to know the territory.

By the way,

there is another rocking chair

here on this back porch

waiting for you.

I hope I don't scare you away.

© Andrew Costello, Reflections, 2008

PEOPLE
ARE DIFFERENT

Some people are rivers;
some people are still ponds.
Some people are oceans;
some people are ice.

Some people are silent and still;
some people are splashing waves.
Some people are deep;
some people are shallow, shallow.

Some people can drown you;
some people can be a soft rain.
Some people can put out fires;
me? I’d like to be a cold water fountain
on a hot, thirsty day.

© Andrew Costello, 

Reflections, 2008

JUST ONE PROVERB

INTRODUCTION

The title of my reflection is, “Just One Proverb.”

Today’s first reading (Proverbs 21: 1-6, 10-13) gives us 10 proverbs.

I read them a few times to see which one hits or grabs me the most if I had to pick one of them.

PROVERBS 21:2

I decided on the 2nd one – Proverbs 21: 2: “All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves hearts.” [New American Bible Translation – NAB]

OTHER TRANSLATIONS

Next I checked out 5 other Bibles to see if another translation of Proverbs 21:2 would grab me more. Here are 5 other translations:

[Jerusalem Bible: JB] “A man’s conduct may strike him as upright, Yahweh, however, weighs the heart.”

[Jewish Study Bible -JSB] "All the ways of a man may seem right to him, but the Lord probes the mind.”

[New Revised Standard Version: NRSV] “All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

[New English Bible: NEB] “A man may think that he is always right, but the Lord fixes a standard for the heart.”

[King James Version: KJV] “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the heart.”

By doing that I think I got the gist of the proverb.

THE GIST

We think we’re right in doing what we do – but the proverb challenges us to pause and bring God into the picture.

It challenges us to ask: Is this God’s will? If I sat down at table with God and talked over my decisions - would any of them be different?

It challenges a Christian to ask, “WWJD?” What would Jesus do in this situation?

Someone makes a mistake and they are wrong and we know they are wrong, but they keep telling us we are wrong. We get angry. We want to slam them verbally. We pause. We think. We say a quick prayer. Or we hear our conscience say, “Maybe you’re right, but why rub it in?”

Or we struggle to make a decision about moving. We're thinking about taking a new job in another part of the country. Then we stop and pray over it. We decide not to move because our kids are at a crucial age. We’ve already moved three times, so we say, “This is a great opportunity, but money isn’t everything. Kids, family, neighbors, friends, church are better if we stay.”

Or we’re sure we’re right about something, but we say to ourselves, “Maybe I ought to get a second opinion.”

Or we’re sure we’re right, but we say to ourselves, “How many times have I been so sure of myself and surprise I was wrong. So maybe I’m wrong about her or him or this or that. Come Holy Spirit.”

CONCLUSION: MAKING A PROVERB A PRAYER

Maybe trying to put this proverb into a prayer might also be an eye and soul opener. So here are three quick first draft tries at turning Proverbs 21:2 into a prayer.

1

God, I like to be right –
who doesn’t? –
but tip the scales
in favor of the most good
for the most people.

2

God,
we are being bombarded
by all this political wrangling
and name calling.
It seems everyone
has to be right in debates
and political ads and
talk show and call in programs;
and politics are ruining our coffee breaks
and tail-gate parties,
so why can’t we let go of the infighting
and love one another
and cut the nonsense,
pursue the truth, live the truth,
and make decisions for the common good with love. Amen.

3

Lord,
when it looks
like I’m being pig headed
and I’m feeling the need to be right,
and I’m actually wrong,
and I’m being stupid,
for God’s sake,
put your pinkie
on the scale
of the person
who is actually right,
so I can see it. Amen.





[I have only been including in my blog, homilies from Sunday, but someone asked for a copy of this homily. The readings are for the 25 Tuesday Ordinary Time, Sept. 23, 2008. I know that all of the translations above use the word "man" - except one. I prefer translations that are more inclusive. Surprise, if I change what's in the book, I've had people yell ; if I don't, I have people yell. I laugh during the readings, because more and more people are reading the readings - and they know if a reader adds "and women". I think it's funny - better, that it's strange that so many people are reading the readings - instead of just listening. If this was done during a play, someone would say, "This is crazy!" I realize people have hearing problems. I realize some people get more out of a reading if they are reading it. I realize that some people can't understand some readers. I realize publishers make money if people purchase these little books that have the readings. Who's right? Who's wrong? Or are they the wrong questions? I think it's more important to have a sense of humor than a sense of righteousness. Religion can be as tough as politics when it comes to the question of wanting to be right - the topic of this homily and what I looked at reflecting on Proverbs 21: 2. Enough already.]

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

Children,
running, laughing in the playground just outside their classrooms.
A mother,
crying in her car in a parking lot, caught inside her marriage mistake.
An ambulance,
screaming, rushing somewhere in the mornning.
Then rain,
steadily dripping on deep green leaves – drip, drip sounds down to hard thirsty ground.
Me,
watching a fly wanting to get outside – buzzing to be free –
so I walked to my window, opened it up,
and let the fly, fly away,
while the kids across the street ran inside,
and I stayed at my window
watching and hearing the sights and sounds of our world.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2008

THE INFINITE

During the day
there are those brief moments,
a connection or reconnection
having lunch with a friend,
sharing good bread, cold butter,
tomato bisque or great pea soup with ham,
a funny wise crack at work,
or a slip of the tongue, the laugh,
or even a moment of pain,
being hurt, ignored, or simply
forgotten – and the day ticks on,
and then those moments are forgotten
before sunset or supper,
but sometimes in the night,
before going to sleep,
these moments of joy or pain come back,
remembered, sat with, brought to prayer,
and slowly the spiritual
becomes the possible dawn
of the Infinite.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2008

VENETIAN BLIND

Slices of afternoon sun
silently slide in and sit there
on the couch waiting for me
on the other side of the room.
I’m blind when I sit here
on this side of the room,
stuck in this stuffed chair,
when I only see the shadows,
when I only see the darkness.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2008

RIVER ROAD

He loved to walk alone
along the old macadam road,
along the edge of the river.
That’s where he did his best talking to himself.
Potholes, broken bottles, discarded beer cans –
didn’t bother him.
They were in his past.
Now it was only the river,
the flowing of the waters,
the present and the future.
He stopped now and then,
here and there, along the road,
to see the sun reflecting
on the running river ripples,
and then to hear the delicious
sucking sounds
of our Forever Flowing God.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2008