SO WHAT BOOK
ARE YOU READING NOW? *

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “So What Book Are You Reading Now?”

I would like to challenge you in this homily or sermon to be readers.

QUESTION

Years ago I was at a family gathering and a family friend nonchalantly asked, “So what book are you reading now?”

“Ooops,” I thought. Silence. Pause. Then I said, “I’m not reading anything now.”

I was in my late 30’s and I was too busy with work – and I had forgotten the importance of reading.

Looking back I was very appreciative that this guy Marty asked me that question, because it made me face the importance of reading books. It got me back to reading.

If he asked me right now, I would answer, “I’m reading a book of poems by Mary Oliver entitled, New and Selected Poems, (Volume One). And I just finished reading, on my sister Mary’s recommendation, a book on Warren Jeffs, When Men Become Gods. It was about a fundamentalist off-shoot group from the Mormons. It was a page turner. The author is, Stephen Singular.

QUESTION

So if I asked you, “What book are you reading now?” what would you answer?

And I don’t mean school books. I mean a book that you can’t wait till you get back to it. I mean a book you finish your chores and school work and disappear into a corner – a favorite place – a back porch – or a secret place where you love to read.

I grew up seeing my dad read – as well as my sister Mary and my brother Billy. In fact, when my older brother Billy played baseball, when he got off the field, sometimes you could see him on the sidelines reading a book at times.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

The gospel I chose for today is from St. Luke. It’s the scene where Jesus came to his home town of Nazareth. He went into the temple on the Sabbath. Luke adds, “as was his custom”. Then the story says, “He stood up to read.” He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Then he unrolled the scroll and read that, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He read how “he was anointed to bring good news to the poor … to proclaim liberty to captives … recovery of sight to the blind … to let the oppressed go free.” [Luke 4:16-19; Isaiah 61: 1-2].

As far as I know this is the only place in the gospels where it specifically says that Jesus read. In several places he asks people, “Haven’t you read in the scriptures…?” He also asked folks to read the signs of the times. [Cf. Matthew 16:3]

We know Jesus was very insightful - and aware of what others were thinking and saying. Joachim Jeremias in his book, The Parables of Jesus, writes about the background of many of Jesus’ parables – and connecting some of them to similar stories from the same time.

I love the story in Luke of Jesus being lost in the temple at the age of 12 and his Mary thought he was with Joseph and Joseph thought he was with Mary on their way home – but he was back in the temple “sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking his questions; and all those who heard him were astonished at this intelligence and his replies.” [Cf. Luke 2:41-50.]

And if one reads the gospels we read not only his stories – but also his wisdom sayings.

QUESTION

So what are you reading?

We have the elections coming up and I hear people saying, “We don’t know who a candidate is.” I say to myself, “Well, both John McCain and Barack Obama have books out. John McCain has a book, Faith of Our Fathers and Barack Obama has a book, Dreams from My Father. People often ask me if I read such and such a book. One recent book was Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope.

So what are you reading?

I noticed that Sarah Palin was asked what her favorite book was or what’s she reading now – and she paused for a moment and said, C.S. Lewis.

His books, Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters are books I recommend very highly. I’m sure some of you read The Complete Chronicles of Narnia.

What would you answer if someone asked you your favorite book or what book are you reading now?

I noticed in Time, Newsweek, People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and other magazines that athletes and stars are asked, "What book are you reading now?”

If you were asked that question, what would you answer?

POEM

I was looking for a poem the other day and came across a wonderful poem by Rita Dove which gave me the theme for this homily.

The poem is entitled, “The First Book.”

Bill Moyers in this book [Hold up book] The Language of Life asked Rita Dove the background of her poem, "The First Book".

She said she went into her daughter’s school and found out that the kids seemed to be scared of reading. She grew up in a family of readers, so she wanted to encourage reading. That’s the background of this poem. Let me read it from this book entitled, The Language of Life. [Hold up book]

THE FIRST BOOK

Open it.

Go ahead. It won’t bite.
Well … maybe a little.

More a nip, like. A tingle.
It’s pleasurable, really.

You see, it keeps on opening.You may fall in.
Sure. It’s hard to get started;
remember learning to use

knife and fork? Dig in:
you’ll never reach bottom.
It’s not like it’s the end of the world –
just the world as you think

you know it.

BOOK BAG

I have here a bag with a few books in it. I have a lot of books in my room, so I grabbed a few books as props for this sermon.

Rita Dove said books can take you into worlds you never thought of.

Here is a book entitled, I Will Bear Witness. [Hold it up] It’s by a man named Victor Klemperer. You can open up this book and find yourself inside another person’s diary. What would it be like to be a Jew in Dresden, Germany from 1933 to 1941? Open up this book and you can find out.

Well, there are lots of books like this. Just walk up and down the aisles of Annapolis Public Library on West Street.

Here is one of my favorite books. [Hold up book] It’s entitled, Reality in Advertising. It can take a person into the world of advertising. Years ago I read about this book and finally found a copy of it in a second hand bookstore. In the preface, the author Rosser Reeves, makes this remarkable statement. “I do not think it is out of order to say that it cost $1,000,000,000 to write this book.” How’s that for a catchy advertisement? How much is that? Anyone here good in math? How much is 1 followed by 9 zeros? A billion dollars. Then he adds, “We spent that much of our client’s money, and made many mistakes, to isolate these principles.”

CONCLUSION: WRITE

This homily or talk asked the question, “So What Are You Reading Now?”

I stressed the importance of reading. I would also suggest writing – not just for school – but for your own pleasure.

I have written several books – and a favorite story is that a former student that I had told me he saw one of my books in a used book store in Chicago for 25 cents. I asked him if he bought it. He said, “No.”

About a month later someone called me from somewhere wanting to buy a copy of that same book and I had to say I had no copies – that the book was out of print. I suggested they search for a copy on-line. After I hung up I went on-line to see if that was a good suggestion. Surprise. Surprise. Someone was selling that book for $127.00. If I had known that, I said to myself, I would have saved a case of them. I immediately called the guy who saw it for 25 cents in a Chicago bookstore – telling him that if he had bought it, he might now be able to sell it for $127.00 on-line.

So I hope from upi as students of St. Mary's, there will be some writers and that all of you will buy my idea of enjoying the gift of reading.

Read!

Now can I have one person who loves to read – not just for school work – but for enjoyment – give me the name of the book they are reading right now.

[Two students raised their hands. One person said they were reading a book about vampires and the other person said they were reading, The Call of the Wild by Jack London.]

* Surprise. I just heard that were further comments about my homily to our high school freshmen and sophomores. So the above is the written version of my homily to them. However, it should be noted that I left my written text in my room. I decided not to use this script for the homily. I did not stay in the pulpit. I walked around a bit while preaching trying to be energetic and alive as I pushed my message to read.

If you check my blog, there are not that many comments after individual pieces - unlike some blogs that have comment after comment after comment sometimes into the hundreds. This homily created some comments out in the real world of "buzz". If anyone wants to make a comment in the world of "blog", go for it. Thanks.

FOUR COINS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Four Coins!”

When you have some time, take a penny, a nickel, a dime and a quarter, and look at them. Study them front side and back. A penny for your thoughts?

All four coins have the image of a president on them: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and FDR. All four have the word “Liberty” on them. All four have the Latin words, “E pluribus unum”. All four have the words, “In God We Trust” on them.

Then, if you want to throw three of them into a fountain for luck or all four of them for extra luck, go for it. That’s 41 cents. Next time you’re exercising or walking through the Bestgate Mall check out the coins in the water pool. I was surprised at all the quarters in there. A while back I heard someone broke in there one night to get those coins. With the way the economy is going, I hope the Mall is well policed with a good alarm system as well as cameras.

I chose the penny, nickel, dime and quarter – because these are the four coins we usually get as change when we buy something – unless we use plastic.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel, when his adversaries are trying to trap him, Jesus asks to see a coin. If he says, “Pay the tax” they will attack him for supporting the Romans; if he says, “Don’t pay the tax” they will turn him in to the Romans for supporting the anti-Romans.

I’m surprised that the text says he doesn’t know who’s image is on the coin. They tell him, “It’s Caesar’s.”

And he gives his classic response: “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

I still like the ring of the old translation: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” [Matthew 22:21]

CONFLICT

Today’s Gospel places us in the middle of a conflict situation.

How well do I deal with conflict?

Obviously, with the elections coming up, people are in conflict with others on moral and political issues. I can’t wait till Wednesday, November 5th, when this election is over – unless they discover hanging chads in some states.

Have you found yourself in the past year or so – on the spot – when someone brings up a voting question?

As priest various people have asked, “Is anyone going to say anything about the upcoming election from the pulpit?”

To me – stress on “to me”, that is an “uh oh!” question – as well as a “no no!” situation. For several reasons - one key reason being conscience - I am not in favor of endorsing or going after candidates for public office from the pulpit. Besides those reasons, the final vote count is not going to be 100 million + or so to 0 – so no matter what one says, other people are going to be angry – whether the final results are a 51 to 49 situation or 53 to 47 situation or what have you.

If you want to read a good document on the Catholic position for voting, read, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.” Tap, tap with your mouse the following www. to read this document.

[www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf]

Some folks will be grateful for this document; some folks will experience conflict with this document . I also assume the bishops had conflicts in hammering out the text.

Conflict is part of life.

Look at Jesus in today’s gospel. They might not have got him that day – but they nailed him another day.

As to ongoing conflict, this hasn’t been my experience. I don’t see myself as getting crucified. I follow the principle voiced in the German proverb: "A drop of honey catches more flies than a hogshead of vinegar." On personality tests that I have taken, I end up being a smiling, shifty, wimpy type - someone who doesn't like controversy.

I have been a priest since 1965, yet I have only been burnt or yelled a few times because of comments from the pulpit - as far as I know. When it has happened, it’s been because of spiritual issues I’m off on – like not killing prayer with too many prayers – rarely on how to vote.

Yet, I’m sure the current game that we’re all playing is trying to figure out how other people are going to vote. So I try to be aware of the bully pulpit as well as the angry pew.

A MISTAKE

However, I make mistakes. For example, last Thursday I mentioned the names of John McCain, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama in a homily at a Mass for our freshman and sophomore young people.

I was not trying to influence their minds on how to vote – because they are not old enough to vote. I was talking about the importance of reading. At one point in my homily I said that I've heard people say they want to know who a certain candidate is. When I hear that, I find myself saying inwardly, "Read! John McCain has a book out, Faith of Our Fathers [1999] and Barack Obama has a book out, Dreams From My Father [1995]. Read Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope [2006]. Read columns. Have an informed conscience. Listen to the debates etc."

My mistake was that I was totally oblivious to any adults in the church – in fact I really didn’t see them – only these two classes of kids – and I was trying to use as examples what’s going on in our country and world and not just the world of school and shoes and sports.

I heard afterwards there were comments. I didn't know if those who made them were joking, neutral, or angry.

Being sensitive, that word “comments” hit me.

Being defensive, I said, "Uh oh!"

My first reaction was the feeling that I was stupid. I know the reality that once you mention a person’s name – just their name – that can cause instant reaction. It can push another’s button. Dumb, dumb, me. That’s why some people wear political buttons – to push buttons. That’s why some people have bumper stickers, to bump people.

My second reaction was to examine my motives. Was I pushing a political candidate? No. I was trying to stress to these kids the importance of reading – not just school books – but books they find themselves looking for time to read. I asked if they have their quiet places – on a porch or a corner - where they can turn pages and enjoy the various places in the world and the human heart that books can take us to.

I thought the message of my homily was clear: the importance of reading. In hindsight, however, I didn't think it was that good a sermon. I didn’t feel much of a connection.

However, after I heard there were comments, I backtracked in my mind. Where did I get the idea to push the theme of reading from? I thought and thought. Finally I had an answer. While I was working on the homily for our high school kids, I was also working on a flyer for someone who had asked for help in putting together a prayer service for autumn.

While looking for a good poem on autumn to put in a flyer, I came upon a poem by Rita Dove entitled, “The First Book.” I had never read this poem before. It was in a book by Bill Moyers, The Language of Life [1995]. It has some poems I like and interviews about particular poems. He asked Rita Dove where the idea for her poem came from.

She said she went into some classroom of her daughter's school and discovered that various kids were scared of reading. She thought about growing up in a household where people loved to read, so she wrote the following poem.

THE FIRST BOOKOpen it.

Go ahead. It won’t bite.
Well … maybe a little.

More a nip, like. A tingle.
It’s pleasurable, really.

You see, it keeps on opening.You may fall in.
Sure. It’s hard to get started;
remember learning to use

knife and fork? Dig in:
you’ll never reach bottom.
It’s not like it’s the end of the world –
just the world as you think

you know it.

I thought that was a great poem. I used it in my homily and I told the kids that I didn’t really start reading till a high school teacher in the 3rd year of high school triggered a love for reading. I couldn’t find enough time to go through James Fennimore Cooper’s stories.

Then I mentioned a book by Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness [1998]. I said it was on the best seller list a few years back and my niece Maryna gave it to me as a Christmas gift. Books, I said, can take you to places you could never enter. Holding up the book I said, “This is the diary of Jewish man in Dresden, Germany during horrible times – 1933 - 1941. If you’re nosey and interested in other people, a book can take you into all kinds of places.”

I mentioned a few other books and felt great after Mass standing in the back of the church saying good-bye to kids flying by when one boy asked me, “What was the name of the author of that book about that man in Germany?” I said, “Victor Klemperer.” He said, “I’ll find it on line.”

Then the next day I felt crummy when someone said I was pushing someone for president in the pulpit.

CONCLUSION: FOUR COINS
I began this homily by saying, “The title of my homily is, ‘Four Coins.”

I then said when you have time take a penny, nickel, dime and quarter – and look at them back and front – and see what they trigger in you.

Let me make 4 closing points looking at these 4 coins.

1) The word “Liberty” might stand out. It’s a word on all 4 coins. Liberty is a great American button, buzz, value word. If they were making coins today, would the word be “freedom” instead of “liberty”? I think “freedom” is more current. Our big holiday is July 4th – a free day – our Declaration of Independence Day.

We hope that all peoples of our world can have freedom.

To St. Paul, Jesus, Isaiah, freedom, liberty is also a powerful theme. [Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 2:4; Isaiah 61:6, Luke 4:18]

Is it for me? Do I try to obtain the freedom of the glory of the Children of God? [Cf. Romans 8:21;

2) “E pluribus unum,” our national motto, is also on all 4 coins.

Our country is a plurality – yet we are called, “The United States”. We have to learn to deal with various viewpoints, a multitude of understandings. This can very difficult – but when we are one, this is our strength.

Our parish is many. We have to learn to deal with many viewpoints – understandings – many comments. This too can be difficult – but when we are one, it can also be our strength.

When there are mis-understandings, it seems that it’s better to talk to each other more than about each other. Here I am talking about something publically that happened to me privately. Here I am talking to people who weren't there. I'm making myself look better than a few people who made a comment. Moreover, I heard this secondhand. In fact, I don't know what the comments were or who made them. So the question: should I say this in a homily? Aren't I being defensive? Yes. Then I said to myself: This is a good example of a conflict situation. So I choose to use this as an example of conflict. Hearing the process behind another's motives or reasons, might bring out the importance and the power of pause and "Go figure." and "Go talk."

3) Four Presidents. There is a different president on each of these 4 coins. Each president is very different from the others – and we will have different ones to come. Will there be changes on our coins 1000 years from now? Will we even have coins? In 2003, the GOP in congress tried to get Ronald Reagan on the dime to take the place of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but it didn’t pass. Nancy Reagan was against it as well.

4) "In God We Trust." All four coins have “In God We Trust” on them. Religion is part of the fabric of life. That is the Christian position. It’s tricky. America was founded by some people who wanted to avoid the religious wars of Europe. If you really want to do some research, study this issue on line. We have quite a history.

I noticed that Thomas Jefferson had lots of issues about Christianity, priests, etc. Yet the nickel with his image on it - as well as the other three coins each have that great message, “In God We Trust.” Obviously, trust in each other is one of life’s big questions - in marriage, the market, in politics, in milk products. No wonder the last resort is, “In God We Trust.”

WHAT’S ON YOUR CALENDAR?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “What’s On Your Calendar?”

There is the here and the hereafter. I think I preach on the here a lot more than the hereafter. However, today’s readings – especially Matthew and Isaiah – challenge us to reflect not only upon the here, but also the hereafter, to reflect upon death and what happens after death – a theme that comes up a bit more as we move more and more to the end of the church year.

The title of my homily is, “What’s On Your Calendar?”

Show me your calendar, your schedule maker, your Blackberry, and I’ll tell you who you are?

I am my schedule.

I am my relationships.

I am how and where, whom and what I spend the time of my life with.

What does your life, your use of time, look like?

What’s on your calendar?

MY CALENDAR

Years ago someone gave me one of those electronic schedule organizers – and I used it for a while – but I also stayed with my small paper calendar schedule book. After a while, the electronic gadget went into my bottom drawer – because I found ballpoint pen and small calendar quicker and more practical.

What does your calendar look like? How have you scheduled your life and your appointments down through the years? Kitchen calendar – electronic catch all – appointment book – what have you?

Yesterday when I was preparing this homily I checked out all my old appointment books. They too were in my bottom drawer. I counted 26 of those little calendars – from 1977 – 2002 - that Hallmark used to put out. They were free and I’d start looking for them every November – along with where to get a flu shot. Hallmark made them larger somewhere along the line, so I sliced and diced them a bit so they could fit in my wallet.

Then after I was stationed here in Annapolis, there were many more appointments, so I switched to a larger appointment book – one that could fit in my pocket – vinyl covered – 7 inches by 4 inches – that cost about 8 dollars at Office Depot or Staples. I have all of those from 2003 till this year – and I already have the one for 2009 – with appointments going into it.

I get very nervous when I misplace my current year’s appointment calendar – because this valuable little book has so much important information in it. And stupid, stupid, stupid, I know the rule for computers, I don’t back up. Many prayers in these past 31 years have been said to St. Anthony when I couldn’t locate the current calendar – but I would always find it.

I can look at these small – rather beaten up – appointment books and see where I’ve been, what I’ve done since 1979. I wish I had been smarter and kept a record of my life since my ordination in 1965 – and well before that.

Anyway. I have written here in my sermon, “Get to a message quickly, or get out of the pulpit – people have appointments to keep" – and to quote Robert Frost, “miles to go before they sleep.” – unless you prefer to do that right now.

INVITATION

Today’s readings continue a key theme from the Gospel of Matthew – the theme of invitation.

We get invitations, phone calls, requests each day for getting together with others. We get wedding invitations – game invitations, invitations to attend meetings – this and that invitations.
What’s on your calendar?

Obviously, being here, Sunday Mass is on your schedule. Obviously, being here is proof you want God in the time of your life.

What we say “Yes” to and what we say “No” to in the calendar of our life tells us a lot about who we are to ourselves.

How do you see life? A burden or a banquet?

Then there are the unscheduled – the moments we didn’t have in our schedule: the accidents, the deaths, the surprises – those phone calls – sometimes in the night – that came and we had to rearrange our schedules.

Some things we can control; some things we can’t control.

This is what makes life so fascinating and so frustrating. The plot thickens. We come around a corner and there is a traffic jam that messes up our schedules and sometimes changes our life.

Life is filled with the planned and the unplanned.

Life is filled with serendipity and sorrow.

Life: a chance meeting at an airport or a bar or church or a game or what have you – and two years later we are married.

How many people are changing their schedules as a result of the economic crisis we’re going through right now?

How many people have said in the last two weeks, “I guess I’m not retiring at 65?”

I hope everyone noticed how today's second reading from Philippians is rather relevant for today. Hopefully, we learn to live with abundance as well as need - to enjoy when we're well fed, but also we learn to deal with life when we are going hungry.

Life is both.

Life is not a straight line.

Death is a flat line.

After death will be the surprise!

A bunch of years back my nephew who works on Wall Street was out of work for about a year and a half. He dropped on many desks his resume – no luck. But at a party an old buddy said, “Where are you working now Gerard?”

“I’m out of work!”

“Oh, here’s my card. Come in and see me on Monday morning.”

He’s been at that place the last bunch of years. I called him on Thursday evening around 7:45 and woke him up. He was exhausted with all the action of the last few weeks - but he’s making a living.

Life is the surprise invitations.

Life: some things can be planned; some things you can’t plan.

THE BANQUET OF ETERNITY

One of the great images of eternity is the banquet.

Death is on everyone’s calendar. We just don’t know the day nor the hour – nor the year.

Life after death is often described as a wedding banquet in both Jewish and Christian scriptures.

The Christian scriptures keep proclaiming Jesus is our Savior – the Way, the Truth and the Life. Our great hope is resurrection – because “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.”

The Christian scriptures also say – our eternity depends on the here and now – whether we love God and neighbor – whether we help create heaven or hell for each other now. Matthew’s addition to today’s gospel story compared to the other gospels has the addition of the story of the man without the wedding garment. If you read Matthew – especially Matthew 25 and the story of General Judgment, presence is not enough. We need to be sheep not goats. We need to be aware and care for our neighbor – to hear the King say, “Come, you whom the Father has blessed, take your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

The Christian scriptures also say – it’s a mystery.

THREE PRIESTS AT DEATH

Father Joseph Donders in a sermon for today’s gospel from Matthew * tells the story of a priest who was dying. He said he was standing at the deathbed of this very holy man. He said the priest gripped both hands with his blanket and the doctor said, “His heart.”

“But his friend whispered to me in the corner of the room: ‘Not his heart: Matthew twenty-two verse fourteen!’”

Matthew 22:14 is the closing sentence in today’s gospel. “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

The priest was scared to death as he was dying.

A former priest standing right there in front of this pulpit was here for the wedding of his daughter. He told me, “I’m in my 70’s and I’m getting closer to death. I can’t wait to find out what it’s going to be like on the other side.”

Surprised, I said, “Not me. I’m not ready yet.”

I remember hearing a story about a priest who was dying. He was watching a Met game when another priest came to give him the Last Rites, etc. The dying priest said to the other priest, “Hurry up, the Mets are coming to bat.”

That surprised me. I hope it wouldn’t be me. The priest who was dying wasn’t a Redemptorist – nor was he from Brooklyn – but he was a Met fan. Poor fellow. That story, which I have never forgot, makes me wonder from time to time, “If I knew I was dying, what would I be like?”

Death is not on our calendar – but from time to time – we realize it’s going to happen on some day of our calendar.

Death – don’t we wonder how we’re going to handle it?

Death – don’t we wonder what is going to happen after it?

CONCLUSION: THE BANQUET ON THE MOUNTAIN

Today’s first reading from Isaiah, Chapter 25, gives a great vision of hope. It describes End Times as a gathering of all peoples on a mountain – and it will be a feast. There will be rich food and choice wines. And the veil that veils all people will be destroyed. The web that is woven over all nations will be destroyed. And then Isaiah says words we need to savor: “He will destroy death forever.”

What a powerful image!

What a great vision of hope!

All the veils, all the webs, all the walls that separate us, will all be torn down. Praise God.

God is for us – not against us. God wants to save us.

Then we heard these words from Isaiah, “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”

I hope when I die someone standing there off to the side will see a smile on my face instead of a fear, and instead of saying, “Matthew 22:14”, that person will say, “Isaiah 25:9 & 10.”

* Joseph Donders, The Peace of Jesus, Reflections on the Gospels for the A-cycle, page 268

WEDDING DAY

All through the years,
she was the younger sister,
background music,
quiet, unnoticed,
but it was at her sister’s wedding
that someone noticed her,
a few dances, a phone number,
and she came home a different daughter,
the only daughter,
now the noticed one….
And in time she too blossomed.
She dated. There were more dances
with the phone number,
while her sister was on her honeymoon,
while her sister settled into marriage,
and one of these days,
it will be her wedding day.

Life: blossoming, unfolding,
petals opening, but all of us
at different times. Interesting isn’t it?

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2008

THE LONGEST JOURNEY
IS THE JOURNEY WITHIN

INTRODUCTION

The longest journey is the journey within. We prefer to slip away and step elsewhere. We tend to keep the door to our soul locked. We hang a sign on the door, “Closed!” We don’t take the steps down to our inner room – to the bottom of our basement - to the bottom of our soul. (1) Instead of meeting ourselves down there, and eating with the Lord in there, (2) we spend our time looking at and judging others – judging their motives and thinking we know their souls. (3)

REALIZING WHO JESUS IS TAKES TIME

Jesus walked around for three years – but it took his disciples another 10, 20, 30 40, 50 years to grasp who he is. We know this because this is how it happens to us as well.

Okay, some people get Jesus faster than others.

We start our lives on the pages of Genesis. We are Adam and Eve – and we are some of the characters that follow. We have a history. We celebrate and kill prophets. We cry the complaints of the Psalms. Hopefully, we discover Wisdom and Wisdom figures in our lives.

Then in the fullness of time – we can become New Testament people. This happens when we realize Bethlehem is not just there – back then. It’s here – right here inside us – and i't right now. The down deep stable of our soul is just as stinky and ox and assy as Bethlehem’s was. Of course, we don’t get this or accept this. “Really? The one who can save us is born in me? Never.”

If and when we connect the gospel story of Jesus with our story, we've hearing the Good News. Bethlehem is a story on the pages of Luke and Mathew. It's Good News when it becomes a story in the pages of our life. That small, cold and crying Baby wants to be born in our inner Bethlehem.

Discipleship is turning the pages of the Gospels and entering into its scenes and interacting with Jesus who walks up and down our inner streets. It's asking the questions the followers and crowd ask. It's Jesus healing our demons and helping us to see and hear and speak. The stories are told so we can realize we are the lost sheep or coin or son or daughter – and the call is to come home to the Father – to forgive us our trespasses – and not be like the older brother when we can’t accept ourselves and eat the fatted calf with our mistake-making-self.

We are growing when we stop to help our brother and sister on the road. We are growing when we put in our two cents. We are growing when we give our few loaves of bread and are surprised with what happens next: love and goodness multiply.

We are growing when we know the Law is there to help us. We are growing even more when we shrink ego or die to self so we can squeeze through the eye of the needle and enter the Kingdom. We grow as we are challenged by do's more than don'ts. Jesus is there to liberate us for a life beyond worrying about sin - ours and our neighbors. It's a life in the kingdom – enjoying the birds of the air and the lilies of the field – enjoying spending time with Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus or whatever our neighbor or friends’ names are. “Joy to the World” is our song.

We are growing when we have Jesus' eye - when we see folks at our doorsteps - on our streets - at work - at home - at school - at church - folks whom we never noticed before.

We are growing when we know down deep within us – our demons can return – and with a fury.

TODAY’S GOSPEL – 27 FRIDAY OT

This is what today’s gospel is about – this story of demons – a way the people of Jesus’ time understood the mystery of the human person. (4)

We have demons. We don't like to accept this inner reality - so we demonize others.

Paul and Augustine will come along and articulate the same message with their take on the psychology of human reality – with their take on evil – to be aware that sin can keep knocking at the door our inner down deep self . We can incarnate evil and then self destruct. Aren’t there days when we say, “I’m beside myself.” or “I’m not myself today.” or “This is not my better self.”?(5) Don't we want to be our best self?

Shakespeare showed us this same inner stuff on the stage – with his plays that hold the mirror up to human nature. (6)

Hawthorne and Melville told us this in their writings. (7)

CONCLUSION: KNOW YOURSELF
We see it every time we’re wanting everyone else to change but ourselves. We see this every time we blame, blame, blame – and make another whom we really don’t know the enemy.

In the meanwhile, go down those stairs and spend time in one's soul - in our inner room.

Be aware! Jesus keeps knocking on our door and it's a good move when we invite him inside. (8)

And beware! The last line in today's gospel has this mysterious warning: the demon down deep inside us wants company....

NOTES:

(1) Matthew 6: 5-6; 7: 1-5

(2) Matthew 9: 9-13; Luke 15: 2

(3) Luke 18: 9-14

(4) Luke 11: 15-26

(5) Confer Romans Chapters 6 to 9; Confessions of Augustine Book 8.

(6) Hamlet, III, ii, 25 “To hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.” Yet as James says in 1:23-24, we take a quick look in the mirror at most.

(7) The Scarlet Letter, Ethan Brand, and “The Haunted Mind” in Twice-Told Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

(8) Revelation 3:20

BUGGING ME

There was this fly who was bugging me.
I grabbed the fly swatter
and got him on a closed window
on my second attempt.
That was three days ago.
Today in a quiet moment
it hit me, “Not fair!
Why didn't I give him or her a chance for more time?
What’s their life span: 15 to 30 days?
I couldn’t tell if he was a she

or she was a he or how that works with flies

or how old it was."

Then further thoughts:

“Isn't it Jainism – that Indian religion -
that advocates this non-killing

and they have to have
a lot more flies flying around than here?”
Then further thoughts:
“How many people have I swatted
with my interruptions
and never let them finish their comment?
How many people have I hurt
and they are still feeling it
a lot more than 3 days later?"

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2008

I AM A VINEYARD

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is “I Am A Vineyard.”

A theme from today’s first reading and today’s gospel is, “We Are A Vineyard” and God’s call is that we produce good grapes – not sour grapes or wild grapes.

Describing people as a vineyard is an allegory – an old allegory – that appears from time to time in the Bible.

The Psalm Response between the first two readings says it loud and clear: “The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel.”

The author of Psalm 80 says what the first reading and the gospel are saying, “God sees us as a vineyard – and we are God’s vineyard.”

Are we producing good fruit?

The title of my homily is, “I Am A Vineyard” instead of “We Are A Vineyard” – which the readings would suggest.

In general, moving from the “we” to the “I” – from the whole group to the individual, is not something that the Bible does. It’s something we do since the Enlightenment. We see a greater stress on the “I” in modern psychology and spirituality.

A funny side comment: the Creed at Mass was changed to “We believe” from “Credo” – “I believe”. Now it’s going to move back to the “I believe” in the near future.

GOD VISITING US

If God said to us – and this is a theme we’ll be hearing with several readings at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, “Make an account of your stewardship!” what would we say? What would we show? If God came to check out our vineyard, what would it look like? He even allows us to get moving at the last hour. [Check the vineyard theme in the last two Sunday gospels.]

QUESTIONAIRE – PERSONALITY TEST

If a therapist or a counselor, a psychologist or psychiatrist, asked us to draw ourselves as something other than a person, most of us would not draw ourselves as a vineyard.

What would you draw yourself as?

How about the old song by Simon and Garfunkle us older folks might remember, “I Am a Rock." [1965-66] Would I draw or describe myself as a rock or an island?

How about the more recent song, "The Bug", by Mary Chapin Carpenter. “Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. Sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger, sometimes you're the ball.”

Would we draw ourselves as a glass half empty or half full or would we draw ourselves as a mug overflowing because our life is filled with blessings and we want to share a sip with everyone?

Family test: when the electricity goes out – and we have paper, magic markers, candles or flashlights, have everyone draw themselves as something other than a person.

Animals would be interesting – better: if I was a dog, what kind of dog would I be.

Birds: if I was a bird, what kind of bird would I be?

Family members could also draw the others and then tell the others why they picked what they picked.

Warning: like the porcupine be very careful.

I AM A VINEYARD

If I was a vineyard, what would I look like?

Well tended vines? Beautiful looking grapes? Nice neat rows? Small? Large?

Now if God walked through our vineyard, would God say or sing the same song that the Prophet Isaiah sings in today’s first reading?

A friend of mine created a vineyard on a fertile hillside – spaded it, cleared it of stones, planted the choicest of vines, built a watchtower to protect the property, got great wood to build a good wine press, and ugh, the grapes are horrible.

Wouldn’t the person who did all that work be disappointed big time? Maybe in anger they would destroy everything and let it become a place for grazing.

Jesus in the gospel sings the same song.

God keeps asking us to produce good fruit. If we don’t care, if each time he sends someone to challenge us, we reject them; if he sends his son, and we crucify him, wouldn’t God just destroy us?

Jesus tells this tough parable again for us today – to challenge us – to give us one more chance. God is a God who dreams, who hopes, not a God who wants to destroy.

I am called to be a vineyard? How am I doing? What does the inside of my life look like – inside the walls?

Don’t we all love to see cool, delicious, grapes? How can we walk by a dish or bowl of delicious grapes? Don’t we reach out and take a couple? Don’t they taste “Uuuummmm! Delicious!”?

I don’t drink wine – except at Mass – and I don’t like wine, so at Mass I just take a tiny sip. This allows me to be one of those folks who like to kid folks who like wine.

We’re at the restaurant – let’s make it an expensive restaurant – and the waiter asks the person next to us, “Would you like a taste of the wine you just inquired about?” The person says, “Yes!” A few moments later the waiter comes back with a brand new bottle. He opens it up at the table. He takes a clean glass and pours a tiny bit in. He hands it to the person at our table. He or she tastes it. Sometimes they even sniff it. I don’t know if one is supposed to do that, but I never know which fork to use at big meals. The person says, “Wonderful!” The waiter fills the glass. Next, when the waiter leaves, all of us non wine drinkers, bust that person – about being so “snooty” and “refined”. Or is this ritual busting done only by us fat cat priests?

I am a vineyard.I am called to be good fruit – delicious grapes.

I am called to be good wine – the best of wine – and served first.

Am I?

CONVERSION – CHALLENGE – CHANGE - CALL

The scriptures challenge us, call us, to conversion and change – growth and development.

Don’t we all love stories about someone taking an old or run down house or boat or yard, and restoring it?

I remember my first assignment as a priest on the Lower East Side of Manhattan – New York City. There was an empty lot on this other block I used go down from time to time. It was an ugly space where a building had been. It was all weeds, dirt, bed springs, tires, broken shopping carts, a few rusting washing machines and dryers, and lots of garbage, garbage, garbage, junk, junk, junk.

It was an eye sore.

A group from the block decided to clean it out on Saturdays. It took time, but they did it. They planted tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, flowers, a few benches, a few trees, and surprise, it became a place of peace and meditation – a garden in the middle of an inner city block.

When a human being decides to move from a disaster area to a garden of delights – peace flows – joy grows.

Today’s readings challenge us to be the vineyard God wants us to be. If we hear that call - then we need to work, sweat, dig, hoe, spade, prune. We also need rain and to be watered.

Surprise – we can change. I can change. I can be the person God is calling me to be – the vineyard that brings delight to others.

CONCLUSION

I am not sure just how to end this homily, so let me close this way.

I gave a short talk and then had a discussion this morning over in Marian Hall entitled: “How Different, Different People Can Be: Father Michael Mueller and Father Francis X. Seelos, Redemptorists.”

I contrasted these two Redemptorists who were stationed here at Annapolis. Both are both long dead. I wouldn’t dare use those I live with as examples.

The statue of Father Francis Xavier Seelos – or Blessed Seelos – is out there on a bench in our garden. Sit with him from time to time. He was a wonderful person. He is "delicious grapes". Today, October 5th, is his feast day.

Father Michael Mueller – I think it was pronounced “Miller” by some. There is a marble plaque in his honor in the vestibule of our church. After Mass check it out – along with the Blessed Seelos bench.

Mueller was the man who built this church. Construction began in April of 1858. He was pastor here between 1857 to 1862.

Seelos was a saint who was also pastor here for a short time – 1862-1863. Like Mueller, besides being pastor, he was also in charge of the students who studied here.

Mueller didn’t like Seelos. He thought he was too easy. He wrote letters to get him removed from being in charge of our students. Mueller was a complainer. He got him dismissed.

Mueller preferred the military model for a seminary; Seelos didn’t.

Seelos had long lines for confession – wherever he was stationed. I don’t know if Mueller did. I know that I would never go to confession to Mueller. He was rather rigid – rather strict – rather morose. Father Michael Curley entitled his life of Father Seelos “Cheerful Ascetic” – for he was known for his joy, laughter and love of jokes. Father Mueller is described by Curley for having a “lugubrious mood” (p. 222), having "a picayune mind worried by trifles" that saw "sinister motives in Seelos" (p. 216), “too set in his ways, too rigid in his ideas, too melancholy in personality and ignorant of the American character.” (p. 156).

Surprise! Mueller became famous as a writer. His books are still selling. He’s still a hero of some rather rigid Catholics. Type his name into the Google search box - and be in for surprises. For example I found his book on the web site of the followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefevre who broke off from the Catholic Church . Some of his group are now back to the Church. It seems to me that Pope Benedict has bent over backwards to bring them back – promising more Masses in Latin, etc. I’m also reading that some can irking some folks in the Vatican, because they won’t be satisfied till they get their way.

A person with a sense of humor would add, “Don’t we all? Don’t we all?"

However, I don’t want to get into this controversy. [Blogs can go that way - with lots of letters.] If I learned anything from reading Blessed Francis X. Seelos life, it's this: keep working in the vineyard while others keep writing their letters of complaint.

I’ve drifted a bit here and I used that word, “Conclusion” above – so I’m sure you’re saying, “Conclude!”

So my closing question: Are people born pessimists or optimists, tasty grapes or sour grapes – happy or sad – rigid or relaxed? Am I who I am by nature or nurture? Is the core me, the forever me?

Or can I change? Is Father Mueller laughing in heaven – when it seems he didn’t laugh enough on earth?

I have to believe as a Redemptorist that the Gospel message is change. Yes we have traits we’re born or stuck with, but with God’s help, we can also dig, hoe, spade, remove rocks, sweat – and become a great vineyard that produces great grapes and wine – not sour grapes or undesired wine.

_________________________________________________________________

Pictures on top: F.X. Seelos is the oval picture - as well as the statue on the bench. Mueller is the rectangular picture. The plaque and the grave stone are self explanatory. The two pictures of grapes were recently taken in France by Ellen Griffin.

Michael Curley, The Cheerful Ascetic, The Redemptorists Seelos Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2002

Michael Curley The Provincial Story, Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province, Copyright, 2003

Robert L. Worden, Saint Mary's Church in Annapolis, Maryland, A Sesquicentennial History, 1853-2003, Saint Mary's Parish, Annapolis, Maryland