STOP SIGNS!

In my late-sixties I started to see STOPsigns everywhere – in gardens at roses,
in the face of Everyman and Everywoman,
half way through many an “Our Father…”,
at unique paintings in art museums
and pictures pinned to cork boards
in 1st Grade classrooms, in slow
sips of coffee – in the lick and "Yum! Yum!"

of peanut butter on top of cold butter on rye bread.
Instead of Yield, 65 MPH, entrance and exit signs,
I began seeing STOP signs!
I began hearing, “STOP!” “STOP!” “STOP!”
Better: realities around me stopped me.
Best: I decided not only to STOP,
but to park my soul – get out and
see, listen, taste, touch,
who and what was at today’s table.
And at times I would realize:
God is not just in light speed,
billions of stars and galaxies,
darting birds and focused bees,
God is also about STOP.
God is here. God is silent.
God is present, parked, taking it all in.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2009

QUESTIONS 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is “Questions”.

To be human is to have questions – lots of them – spoken and unspoken – simmering in the pot – or deep in the deep freeze.

To be a child – is to ask many wide eyed and sometimes wild questions.

What are your questions?

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel has Jesus asking two questions – a teaching technique rabbis often used.

First question: “Who do people say that I am?”

Second question: “Who do you say that I am?”

When we’re young we might have answers to the first question. We might know what different people say about Jesus.

When we are at a Kids’ Mass and the priest asks a question, arms go flying up – even before the kid has an answer.

It’s cute and sometimes kids’ surprise us with their answers.

When we are older we need to start answering that second question for ourselves. Christ asks each of us, “Who do you say that I am?” There comes a point in the middle of our life – or at key points in our life – when we need to deal with that question.

We’ve all heard the auditorium and stage phrase: “Get the hook!” It might go back to vaudeville shows when someone was on the stage too long and their jokes were bombing. I’ve also heard it when we priests are in the pulpit and we’re talking too long. “Get the hook!”

Here’s your chance to practice it right now: “Get the hook!” and if I go too long, yell it out, “Get the hook!”

The question mark is a hook. Questions can stop us – get us off the stage of life for a while – so we can deal with heavy duty questions.

Today Jesus is asking, “Who do you say that I am?”

Better put: we need to sit or walk in prayer with Jesus and talk and listen to each other about who we both are.

It’s called prayer. It’s called meditation. It’s called a relationship.

Questions! They can be helpful hooks – or painful hooks.

In today’s gospel after Jesus asks his two questions – he then tells Peter and the disciples who he is and what his plan is – where he is headed.

So yes there are questions and yes there are answers.

Surprise, Peter’s doesn’t like the answer Jesus gives. Peter doesn’t like the plan. Peter doesn’t like the future Jesus is stepping into.

When Peter hears the words, “suffering,” “rejection,” and “killed”, Peter challenges Jesus. Don’t we all? Don’t we all?

Peter’s understanding of what Jesus is like or supposed to be like, isn’t what Jesus tells them he is like – and Peter doesn’t like it.

And Jesus here in Mark 8 gives some key teachings about the meaning of life.

Jesus tells his disciples about the cross.

The sign of the cross often comes before the question mark.

The sign of the cross often brings us questions.

Cancer. Suffering. Greed. Crime. Addiction. Death. Divorce. Disaster. Why? Why? Why?

What are your questions?

How many questions do you ask each day?

Am I aware of my daily questions?

Give us this day our daily questions.

Remember the story of the father who used to ask his kids when he came home from work and they came home from school, “Did you come up with any good questions today?”

POVERTY

Last Wednesday afternoon I walked through the corridor in the rectory here at St. Mary’s. I walked past a lot of people coming for assistance – for help.

And with the way the economy is going – with the increased number of people out of work, I was wondering about the number of people needing help – and how tough it must be getting through these rough economic times.

The poor are here Monday evenings and Wednesday afternoons – and the folks here at St. Mary’s are very generous – making direct donations or putting money in the poor box – as well as those who give their time and expertise in the Saint Vincent de Paul Ministry. It’s tough work. It’s much easier saying Mass and babbling out words here in the pulpit.

I walked by the poor lined up for help. I went out the front door and walked down to CVS to get a birthday card. As I walked down Newman Street, I found myself inwardly saying, “Get moving. Get a job. Get a life.”

Woo! I caught myself! Where was this coming from inside me?

I didn’t realize that I was questioning the poor I just walked by.

I had to pause and say to myself, “I haven’t walked in their shoes.”

I had to say to myself the saying from the Jewish Talmud or Teachings that I find myself saying more and more and more: “Teach thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know.’”

I have never experienced their poverty, even though I have a vow of poverty as a religious.

I said to myself, “No comparison.”

So last Wednesday I experienced my own poverty and lack of compassion and understanding as I walked down Newman Street.

I realized that I was still walking down what Paul would call, “The Oldman” Street.

I need to change, to grow – to become a new man – a new person in Christ. I need conversion.

In his letters Paul tells us he was arrogant, righteous, and wrong about Christians – and Christ – and God – and people – and their motives – and he had to fall on his face – and be blind for a few days – till he found himself of Straight Street in Damascus where he was told to go if he wanted answers – if he wanted to be healed.

Is that the way life works?

We have to walk down a lot of streets – take many roads – trip and fall at times – till we get it straight?

Is that everyone’s story?

Blindness. Insight. Blindness. Insight. Blindness. Insight.

Questions. Questions. Questions.

As I walked, as I thought, I was grateful that so many folks here at Saint Mary’s are helping the poor – helping in the English as a Second Language Program – running an elementary and high school – running religious education programs – visiting the prison – visiting the sick – preparing folks for marriage - doing many things for many people – parenting – serving – doing our best to make this a good community – a good place to live – except for the traffic.

I still felt my poverty – because I had said inwardly, “Get moving. Get a job. Get a life.”

For some: not easy, not easy, not easy.

TODAY’S SECOND READING

The title of my homily is, “Questions.”

Sure enough, I noticed that today’s second reading from James also has questions. It begins with three questions in a row: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?”

Then the second question: “Can that faith save him?”

Then the third question – a right in your face question: “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?”

Woo! The Letter of James can be very tough stuff.

Questions. Questions. Questions.

This religion stuff can be tough stuff.

Jesus is saying that very thing here at the end of today’s gospel: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

Tough questions. Tough answers. Life.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Today’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah begins, “The Lord God opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.”

I have to admit I rebel at times. I am deaf at times. I refuse to listen at times.

Isn’t that why we come to church? Isn’t that why we don’t want to come to church at times? Jesus can be that tough.

CROSSES AND QUESTIONS

Jesus hooks us with the cross. Jesus hooks us with questions.

Suffering brings us to the cross. Suffering brings us questions.

Why God why?

Why me, God, why me?

Even Jesus screamed out the big feeling question we often ask, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

SO

So maybe there are more questions than there are conclusions. Maybe there are more questions than answers.
What’s your take on this question of questions and answers?

We studied the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the process of becoming priests – and his format was the question and answer method. First the great question – and then various answers – and then what he would consider the best answer.

And we heard somewhere along the line that before St. Thomas Aquinas died he said to burn all his writings – saying it’s all straw.

And every time I heard that story – a necessary story I realized many years later – I felt humbled. I found myself asking the hook question hidden in the story, “Then why am I studying all this?”

And I remember two of our teachers using not only the classic text books for dogmatic and moral theology – but also lots of articles and other books – and saying to us, “You have the rest of your life to reflect upon these questions.”

And that lead to the further questions, “Isn’t that dangerous? Wouldn’t that make one a cynic? Why study in the first place? Why have faith in the first place? Are there any answers?”

Of course there are answers – just as the cross is an answer – just as Jesus is an answer – just as Thomas Aquinas gave answers, just as The Baltimore Catechism used the Question and Answer method – just as the Gospels have many questions and many answers.

How do I end this homily entitled, “Questions”?

It seems that much of life is like the ocean – necessary, deep, taking up most of the planet – without which we wouldn’t be here. It seems that God is also like the ocean – necessary, deep, keeping up all of the planets and the universe – without whom we wouldn’t be here.

In my homily last Sunday, I gave some of my life learnings – answers that I have come up with. In my homily this week, I found myself countering, I also have life questions – and my faith and my hope is that eternity with be filled with the great answers.

And I have lots of questions for God. Don’t we all? One is: “God what’s your take on the interesting hats these religious leaders often come up with?” I’m dying to hear God’s take on that one.

CONCLUSION

Not knowing how to conclude at this point, but knowing people have often been helped by standing at the beach looking out at the ocean or at the Bay here in Annapolis, let me conclude with a poem by the Irish poet, John Boyle O’Reilly. It’s entitled, “The Infinite.”

THE INFINITE
The Infinite always is silent:
It is only the Finite speaks.
Our words are the idle wave-caps
On the deep that never breaks.

We may question with wand of science,

Explain, decide and discuss;
But only in meditation
The Mystery speaks to us.

AFTERNOON CHURCH

Empty – except for the tabernacle.
Empty – me feeling empty walking into the semi darkness.
Empty – seats – hundreds of them – empty but filled with a lot of past.

Sat – somewhere in the empty center of the church.
Sat – relaxed – watching the flickering candles up front – peoples' hopes and prayers reaching for God.
Sat – breathed a sigh – closed my eyes – caught myself.

Prayed – for inner peace.
Prayed – for more faith.
Prayed – for family, friends, for this whole wobbly world.

Heard – the sound a creaking bench.
Heard – an ambulance siren screaming down the street.
Heard – the prayers of a hundred plus years in this old church.

Rose – stood up after 15 minutes – better.
Rose – stood up and genuflected to my Lord and my God.
Rose – stood up and walked out – ready for more moments of life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2009

EPHPHATHA

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Ephphatha”.

Scholars say it’s an Aramaic word – the language of Jesus – and it means as today’s gospel translates it, “Be opened!”

What a great message! What a great prayer! What a great blessing!

“Ephphatha!” “Be opened!”

I’m just back from a great vacation to the Baltic Sea with a group from our parish. Besides England where we got on the ship, we visited 6 other countries – and I noticed in the ship’s paper handouts, “Useful Words” for the different countries we were visiting: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Norway. They gave the local language words for: “Yes”, “No”, “Good Day”, “Good-bye”, “Thank you” and “You’re Welcome”.

For example, “Kiitos” is the Finish word for “Thank-you”. “Versegod” is the Norwegian word for, “You’re welcome!”

Well today’s word is the Aramaic word, “Ephphatha” – “Be opened!”

It can be broken down into three syllables – each with three letters: Eph – pha – tha.

Could you all repeat after me, “Eph” EPH, “pha” PHA, “tha” THA.

Let’s all say, ”Ephphatha” – “EPHPHATHA”. Let’s all say, “Be opened.” BE OPENED.

Isn’t that great? We now know another word in a language different than our own.

Eph-pha-tha.

Be opened! Be open. Open up!

LAST MONDAY

There we were on a street in Oslo, Norway, last Monday, trying to find St. Olaf’s Catholic Church. We came to a spot where we could see three churches – each about a street or two away – so we asked this young lady, “Do you speak English?” She answered with a smile, “Everyone in Norway speaks English!”

“Ooops,” I said. “Do you know which of those three churches is the Catholic Church – St. Olaf’s?”

She said, pointing to the one just up the street, “I think it’s that one!”

I forgot to say in Norwegian, “Tak” – meaning, “Thanks!”

It was 5:45 P.M. The church was open. The priest was just finishing benediction – and we noticed there was a Mass in English at 6:00 P.M. We said some prayers and got moving – because we had to walk back to the ship – which had an “All aboard!” for 7:30 P.M.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s gospel from Mark is very interesting. Jesus goes north to go south. He leaves the town of Tyre by way of the lake of Galilee and moves up into the district of the Decapolis – the 10 cities. He was going into new territory.

Some think it is Mark’s way of recognizing the Christian beginnings in that area of Israel. At first they are deaf and dumb to Jesus – but slowly some of them become hearers and followers of the Word: Jesus.

And today’s first reading from Isaiah is chosen because his vision and dream, was that some day – the Lord would open all hearts, all eyes, all ears, all tongues that are mute, and people would accept salvation from our God.

And when that happens – it will be like a desert changing into a land with streams, rivers, pools and springs of life saving water.

And when that happens – as James says in today’s second reading – people will stop putting people down – and start seeing the beauty of every person around us – rich, poor, young, old, fat, skinny, those wearing Givenchy boots or K-Mart flip-flops – or what have you.

MORNING PRAYER: BE OPENED

“Ephphatha!” “Be opened!”

Jesus is saying that to us today.

Jesus is saying that to us everyday.

Be opened today.

You know how some stores have on their front door that swing sign: “Open” on one side and “Closed” on the other side.

When people see our face, the people who know us, what do they read, “Open” or “Closed”?

There’s a morning prayer here for all of us.

Each morning, take a moment. Pause. Put your fingers into your ears or cup your ears like this and pray: “Lord, today, help me to listen to you. Lord, today help me to listen to those I meet. Lord, today, help to hear what those around me are saying.”

Each morning, take a moment. Pause. Touch your tongue and say, “Lord, today, help me to say kind and helpful things to those I meet with this tongue. Lord, today, give me wisdom of words. Lord, today, remind me to use this tongue to compliment those around me.”

We can do the same with our eyes.

“Ephphatha!” “Be opened.”

TWO EARS – ONE MOUTH

We’ve all heard the ancient question: “Why did God give us two ears and one mouth?”

Answer: “To listen – twice as much as we speak.”

I was watching the news the other night and a commentator was mentioning Ted Kennedy’s memoirs that are coming out – and in them he wrote that a former president never listened – and didn’t seem to be able to listen.

I found myself pausing and saying to myself, “Uh oh? I better work on being a better listener.”

I better work on hearing what others are saying and not saying.

We who live with other people – ought to ask that question: “How good am I in listening to those I live and work with?”

“Ephphatha!” “Be opened!”

Besides our ears, besides working at listening, how good are we at communicating our voice – our vision?

We also have a voice.

A few years back I heard someone talking about someone else – and the person observed, “It took this person quite a while, but she finally found her voice.”

I thought about that. I had never really heard the obviousness of it before. Each person has a voice – a vote – comments – ideas about life.

Have you found your voice yet?

Standing up here week after week preaching, I have to shut up and ask myself, “What am I talking about? What am I preaching? Is it my voice? Is it my voice only? Is it Gospel? Is it Good News?

I wonder at times, “Have I shot my wad?”

When we live with others long enough, we get to know all their stories. We know what the other person is off on. And we sort of stop listening to each other. We’ve heard this story too many times! I’ve heard married couples joke about this often. We forget the old adage, “A gentleman never heard the story before.” And we who keep repeating ourselves, unless it’s dementia – maybe we better work on being better listeners to each other’s stories.

I’ve been here at Annapolis going on 7 years now. At some point I’m sure some of you say, “Heard that. Next? Enough of that.”

Yet, I have only used an old sermon once. I had to cover for someone quickly – but I’m sure you’ve figured what the priests here at St. Mary’s are off on by now.

I remember reading the saying, “There are only a few basic concepts, but think of the metaphors.”

I remember reading in Time magazine 40 or some years ago something Eric Heiden, the Olympic Ice skating speed racer, said. He was around 20 years old at the time and someone asked him an opinion about something and he said, “Hey, I’m only 20 years old. What do I know? I haven’t figured out much about anything yet.”

At what point in life do we figure things out?

At what point in life do we find our voice?

At what point in life do we have wisdom?

I don’t like suffering, but I like the wisdom of the saying, “Suffering enters into the human heart to create there places that never existed before.” What have been our hurts and heartaches – deaths and losses – divorces and disasters – and what have we learned from them?

I am not married and don’t have children, so I wonder what would I have learned in the greatest classroom and educational possibility there is: being married and raising children. Those of you who have been married and have had children, what have you learned?

Wisdom comes from opening up our minds and hearts. Wisdom comes from listening – opening up our ears. Wisdom comes from asking questions – using our mouth to ask – to inquire. Wisdom comes from being able to take suggestions. Wisdom comes from good moves and especially from mistakes – if we learn from them.

Open up a blank note book or a blank word document on your computer and write down, “What have been my ten top life learnings.”

I love a message I heard once, “The Talmud says, ‘Teach thy tongue to say, “I do not know.”’”

That taught me that I can say, “I do not know!” And the older I get, the more I’m saying that.

I remember in the late 60’s being at a power breakfast in New York City for rabbis, ministers, priests, teachers, and public officials. It was on Drugs and Youth. Nelson Rockefeller, then Governor of New York was doing a Q and A, a Question and Answer session. Someone asked him a question and he answered bluntly, “Are you crazy? I am not going to answer that question. Next!”

From that moment and that experience, I learned I can calmly say, “I rather not answer that. Next!”

I read once that the secret of life is the ability to say three words: “Yes”, “No” and “Wow!”

At what point in life can we say to ourselves and others, “No!” or “Yes” or “Wow!”? Some people – not just kids – don’t seem to be able to say, “No!”

Some people can’t say, “Yes!”

Some people seem to have forgotten how to say, “Wow!”

It’s very freeing to be able to say to kids or to anyone, “No!” or “Wow!” or “Yes!”

The title of my homily is, “Ephphatha”. Be Opened.

I remember reading in the 1960’s a book by Louis Evely entitled, “That Man Is You.” It was based on the story in the Bible when Nathan told a parable to David and David hearing the parable, the story, gets mad at what the guy in the story had done and says to Nathan, “Who is the man who did that horrible thing?” And David, who had stolen another man’s wife, hears Nathan say, “That man is you!” And David is open to seeing the horrible thing he had done!

I learned from that book: every story in the Bible is told for me to see myself in that story. “That person is I.”

CONCLUSION

Today’s gospel story is that I’m the deaf and dumb person and Jesus can come into my territory and heal me – putting his fingers into my ears, putting his spit on my tongue – putting his forgiveness into my mind and heart saying, “Ephphatha!” “Be opened.”

And the Great Good News is that our parents gave us not only the ticket to life here on earth – but the possibility of eternal life - after this life. I look forward to each new day of life – but I also look forward to eternal life when the Risen Christ says over the dead, “Ephphatha” and the Gates to Eternal Life open for us – and we will meet all those who have gone before us – Norwegians, Danish, Russians, Australians, Africans, Americans, and we’ll all be speaking the same language – the language of love and forgiveness, understanding and joy, laughter and light, memory and eternal hope.

IT’S AN INSIDE JOB

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 22 Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, is, “It’s An Inside Job.”

RELIGION

Religion is an inside job.

Religion, if it’s not deep in the heart of me, then it’s not good religion. If it's not in me, it’s externalism. It’s show. It’s staged. It’s spin. It’s façade. It's an attempt to hide stuff behind the façade that we don’t want others to see.

Religion is an inside job.

The look, the scent, the outside sounds are not the inner me, the inner soul. The skin, the clothes, the titles, are not the person.

Everyone married more than six months knows this more or less. Everyone working close to others knows this in at least a year – more or less.

Marriage and relationships, like religion, are inside jobs.

Religion is a relationship: with God and each other. We can’t hide from the other. We can’t hide from ourselves. We can’t hide from God.

Of course we try – and that’s what today’s readings and message challenge. They want us to go inside – to be honest – to get to the heart of the matter – to say “Hello” to God in our inner room.

True religion is the inner stuff – that leads to great outside random and unrandom acts of kindness – or as James puts it in today’s second reading: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Religion – is an inside job – that flows into wonderful outside showings of caring and daring, grace and gratitude, love and life.

MOTIVE

Motive.

Jesus challenged folks to look at our motives.

Motive is tough detective work.

Religion – true religion – gets us to look at motives and then to move it. Quick! Do something for someone quickly. Make each other’s day.

Unfortunately, we often waste all kinds of energy that could be used for service - on worrying about our past - the what if's - the dumb moves - the hurts - the scenarios that we imagined - but never happened.

Maybe people don't like to enter their inner room - because the whining and the resentments in there are too, too loud. Inner "Unfair!" cries - regrets, resentments, reign.

We need to say, "Enough already!" Stick a fork in them. They’re finished. We blew it back then – but today we can start laughing, loving, pinching ourselves. We’re alive. We’ve made it to this day. So let’s start enjoying our gifts, with the ones we’re with – and the ones who need our love.

GOSPEL

Today’s gospel picks on Pharisaism – Gospel Pharisees and today’s Pharisees – the type of Pharisaism that is hypocritical – the type of Pharisaism that is legalistic – the type of Pharisaism that is loaded with externalism – show.

In today’s gospel the Pharisees go against Jesus because his disciples are not following the so called “Big Tradition” of ritual washings. Jesus goes after them and says, “Nothing that enters one from the outside can defile a person. It’s what comes out from within that defiles a person.”

Jesus is not against washing before meals – cleaning pots and pans – kettles and beds. But he is against rituals that miss the purpose behind them – or rituals that are only done to make oneself look better or feel better than the other person. The spiritual competition game.

Jesus quotes Isaiah in today’s gospel, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Lip service is out. Prayers and service from the heart are in.

Jesus is for heart washing – heart cleansing – heart felt changes in the center of the person – that lead to love and kindness and caring.

Religion is an inside job.

Jesus continues in today’s gospel with a scathing list of sins of the heart: “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness [lacking legal or moral restraints], envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Woooo! Tough stuff today.

Tough message today.

The Word for today should humble us. It should challenge us. It should get us to say, “Wait a minute! Is there a message for me here today?”

And James in today’s second reading says, “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.”

So we start with humility. We start with prayer, saying deep within our heart, “Lord, I can’t do this. It’s too deep and too difficult. Help!”

James then states how the inside job has to flow into the outside world we live in. He says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding ourselves.” As the song goes, “Don’t talk about love. Show me!”

Religion is sheer simplicity – inside conversion – leading to outside love.

That I think is the message from today’s readings. It’s simple. It’s basic. Religion is an inside job – that flows into outside love.

CONCLUSION: A STORY - TETSUGEN

At this point in preparing this homily, I realized I needed a concrete example to help bring this message to heart. After a little research, I think I found a good example in a book by Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight – A Book of Story Meditations. So let me close with that story. It’s from another tradition, but I found out: sometimes something from out there brought in here – will help us in here to get it right out there.

Once upon a time there was a student of Zen Buddhism named Tetsugen. He lived in Japan and realized the sacred writings, the sutras that were in Chinese, were not available in Japanese. The writing was the same – but the languages were different. So he had a dream – a dream to have 7,000 copies of the sutras printed in Japanese.

He traveled the length and breath of Japan collecting funds for the project. Some wealthy people offered him as much as a hundred pieces of gold, but mostly he received small coins from peasants. Tetsugen expressed gratitude to each donor, regardless of the sum of money given.

After ten long years of travel, he finally had collected enough money for the printing. Just then the river Uji overflowed and thousands were left without food and shelter. Tetsugen spent all the money he had collected for his cherished project on these poor people.

Then he began the work of raising funds again. Again it was several years before he got the money he needed.

Then an epidemic spread all over the country, so Tetsugen gave away all he had collected to help the suffering.

Once again he set out on his travels and, twenty years later, his dream of having the scriptures in the Japanese language finally came true.

Today, the printing block that produced this first edition of the sutras is on display at the Obaku Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.

Now comes the moral of the story: The Japanese tell their children that Tetsugen got out three editions of the sutras in all: and the first two are invisible and far superior to the third.

Religion is invisible. It’s an inside job – that hopefully is on display all around the world.

HOW’S YOUR
SECOND ACT?

INTRODUCTION


The title of my homily for this 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, is, “How Is Your Second Act?”

“How Is Your Second Act?”

PRODUCER ARTHUR HOPKINS

When I read today’s gospel I thought of an example that I had read and jotted down somewhere along the line.

Years ago – 1931 to be exact – the theatrical producer Arthur Hopkins [1878-1950] wrote a book entitled, “How’s Your Second Act?” I never read the book, but I love the title. He used to receive dozens of manuscripts for plays. Before he would read any script, he would always ask, "How is your second act?" Playwrights would have a wonderful first act. The question was: does your drama begin to fade and fall apart as the play moves on. You might have a great beginning, but how’s your second act?

He also held that “the final test for producers was the amount of new talent they brought into the theater.”

How’s your second act? Are you bringing new life into our world?

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel has this group of people finally getting a glimpse of whom Jesus is and what he is about.

And they are beginning to realize that Jesus is more than just giving free bread. He’s is much more. He is the Bread of Life - and so much more.

And they respond by saying, “You’re feeding us tough stuff. These are hard sayings.”

And they leave.

And Jesus asks Peter and the other disciples, “Are you going to leave as well?”

And Peter responds, “No. To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Now of course, this is early church stuff. The new Christians are over their initial enthusiasm of baptism and conversion. They are now entering the second act. And the first act is a tough act to follow.

HARD SAYINGS IN THE GOSPEL

There are lots of hard sayings in the gospels:

Go the extra mile.
Turn the other cheek.
Take up your cross and follow me.
The grain of wheat must die, otherwise it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it brings forth abundant life.
This is my body.
This is my blood.

SECOND HALF, FIFTH INNING, ETC.

How’s your second act?

The honeymoon ends. Marriage enters its second year. The football team gets off to a great start, but there is the second quarter and there is the rest of the game. There are the adjustments the other team makes at half time. People get injured. How good is the bench? How good has the conditioning program been? Who will be tired when the going gets tough?

In baseball, the pitcher has to face the same hitters a second time. Can he adjust? How good is his second act? How good is his second time around the league? And there is also the next game and the game after that and the game after that. The baseball season has 160 games plus.

Life has its second acts, its third acts, and its fourth and fifth acts. How’s your second act?

Bernard Basset had an excellent book entitled, “The Noonday Devil.” Each day is like a lifetime. We might get off to a great start, but how do we deal with The Noonday Devil?

JURY ROOM EXAMPLE

I don’t remember where I read the following story – so I don’t know who gets the credit – but it’s a good story. Once upon a time there were twelve men sitting behind closed doors as a jury after a trial. Eleven of the men were working farmers. The twelfth was a retired farmer. The eleven working farmers pushed for a guilty verdict. The retired farmer wanted a “not guilty” verdict.

Problem: the verdict had to be unanimous.

The eleven jurors did everything they could to convince the “Not Guilty” farmer to switch to a guilty verdict. A rain storm was predicted for later on in the day, so they wanted to get in their hay. The retired juror just sat there looking out of the window as dark rain clouds slowly approached. Time ticked on. The eleven Guilty verdict farmers kept looking at their watches and the clouds. There was a loud clap of thunder. The eleven panicked and all eleven changed their votes to not guilty – and after the trial the retired farmer walked down the courthouse steps with a big smile on his face – as he looked at the dark clouds getting closer and closer.

How good are we when it comes to sticking to our convictions?

TODAY’S FIRST READING

In today’s first reading, Joshua calls together the 12 tribes and says that it’s test time. Then he says, “As for me and my house, we are going to follow the Lord.

TODAY’S SECOND READING

Today’s second reading is about marriage. The words about a wife being subordinate to her husband often rankles some people.

I like the wisdom in the saying, “A text out of context is a pretext!”

We have to remember that Paul is writing this letter in the first century. And in the first century, in the Mediterranean Basin, males were the bosses. It was a patriarchic society. Marriages were arranged between families. Individualism was not in. Family was in. Romance was not a priority. Women and men might not have feelings for each other or become friends their whole marriage, but that wasn’t the main aim. It was to continue the family. A husband's place was outside the home; the wife’s place was inside the house. She cooked, made babies, and continued the family. Her friends would be the other women in the village or town or her sisters down the street or on the other side of the village. She would be very close to her children. However, sons came into the father’s ambiance when they came of age. And sons were more important than daughters.

Sound familiar? Some of these ideas are still around – and not just in other parts of the world.

In that context, today’s reading from Ephesians [5:21-32] has some challenging comments for the people of his time. Paul is telling couples to love one another and for the man to cherish his wife. Too often people just look at the “subordination” of wife to husband words. Formerly, the word used was “submission”. Notice in the missalette these “buzz” words can be left out. However, the words are still there in Paul and he is calling for radical thinking both in the family and in the structure of the church.

To do all this in a marriage, as well as in the church, especially in the second act, and in the third act, that’s the tough stuff. These are hard sayings.

To make life work, we must die to ourselves. The ego must go. Eeeee goooooooooo!

CONCLUSIO AND SUMMARY

The title of my homily is, “How Is Your Second Act?”

Where are we in the game of life? Where are we in our marriage?

As the old saying goes, “What’s so remarkable about love at first sight. Love is when people have been looking at each other for years and still love each other.”

Where are we in the trial? Do we have staying power – even when dark clouds are moving in and there is thunder in the distance?

What inning, what quarter, what stage, of life are we in?

How good are we in the long run? How good is our staying power? How good is our growing power? How good is our renewal power?

The first day or week on the job might be great, but how are we in two years, ten, twenty years?

The priest might be great in his first three years, but how is he in thirty-three – forty three – fifty three years?

Today we come to the end of the sixth chapter of John for our Sunday Gospel. We have been listening to this chapter for 5 straight Sundays.

We notice that many of the crowd that started the 6th chapter have dropped out – in the second act – or the 4th inning – or when Jesus’ words became tough – when they heard that the bread of life is not just our daily bread – but is Jesus himself - and we need to eat him - for everyday and for eternal life.

John writes, “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.’”

So here we are – because we have come to believe and are convinced that Jesus is the Holy One of God – and we walk the walk each day with Jesus as our staying power. Amen.