A HOMILY ON “DIGS”

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Digs!”

The question I want to ask is, “Do we do digs?”

FIRST READING

Today’s first reading from the first chapter of the First Book of Samuel triggered this question.

A man with the interesting name of Elkanah had two wives: Peninnah and Hannah.

Peninnah had sons and daughters by him; Hannah was childless.

The story teller is a good story teller – because he implies as well as makes it very clear that Elkanan favored Hannah over Peninnah.

Was being upset at not being the favorite the reason why Peninnah made digs at Hannah? The text uses the word “rival”.

The story teller makes it clear that Elkanan understands the situation – especially when Hannah refuses to eat – but just weeps. And you can hear him say to Hannah, the question that ends today’s first reading, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat? Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

Great story!

It can trigger lots of stuff – the stuff of story telling.

What does it trigger in you?

DIGS

Well it triggered in me the question of digs.

Would anyone with lots of kids dig those who don’t have kids?

Would those who wear a size 4 dress dig those who wear a size 16 dress?

Would those who went to college dig those who have a G.E.D.?

Do tall people make digs at short people?

Do males do this to females?

Do so called, “Liberals” make digs at so called, “Conservatives” and vice versa?

What about skin color?

What about nationality?

What about size of house, car, salary?

What about accomplishments of kids?

What is the difference between digs and healthy pride and wanting to share good news?

UNSPOKEN DIGS

Then there are all of the above – but kept within – the so called sin of “Judging others”.

A few questions: Do our inner digs about others slip out on our face or the tone of our words or what have you – and we don’t even know it? Does unconscious speak to unconscious loud and as real as if we were aware of it? Is communication 90% unconscious?

If any of that is true, uh oh? Maybe this is some of what Jesus had reflected upon when he gives us this inner stuff in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew: inner murder, inner adultery, inner hell, inner logs, inner fasting, inner prayer, inner thorns and thistles, figs and fruit, one's inner house being built on rock or sand.

SELF DIGS

Then I began to think about self digs, self attacks, self stabbings - doing all this stuff to ourselves.

Do we keep on digging into our inadequacies?

I'm assuming this is background stuff on the issues of inner comparisons and envy – the things that can eat us up.

CONCLUSION

Today’s gospel can wake us up – and shake us up.

It’s time to hear the call of Jesus and stop tossing our nets to catch stuff that doesn’t give life – and follow Jesus and fill our nets with the stuff that gives life.

This is a first draft homily for the First Monday in Ordinary Time, January 11, 2010. The readings are 1 Samuel 1:1-8 and Mark 1: 14-20. A couple of people asked me if I was going to put this on my blog. I haven't been putting weekday homilies on this - but when asked, I sometimes do.

TALKING  BEHIND  YOUR  BACK

Quote of the Day  January  11, 2010

“What people say behind your back is your standing in the community in which you live.”

Edgar Watson Howe [1874-1942], Sinner Sermons, 1926

COMFORT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Comfort.”

It’s the first word in today’s opening reading from Isaiah.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.”

Question: should I preach on the theme of comfort?

Shouldn’t I be preaching on the cross?

Yet, I thought, but there will be time enough for that – many a time for that – Lent and Good Friday – and funerals – those 2 or 3 funerals we attend each year – and more as we get older – and even then, especially then, the theme of comfort would be very helpful.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.”

MOTIVATION

I have always been interested in the question of motivation. What’s behind what we do? Why? Why? Why?

Fear? Lust? Power? Prestige? Vanity? Money? Ego? Hunger? Love? Anger? Frustration? To send a message?

Seeing that word “comfort” jump off the page in the first reading, I began wondering, how strong a motive is comfort?

COMFORT QUESTIONNAIRE – 11 QUESTIONS

Here are 11 questions. Answer "Yes" or "No".


1) When you just finished dinner at someone’s house and the dinner was horrible and they say "How was everything?", are you comfortable saying, “Everything was fine!”?

2) When you have just talked about someone behind their back and you see their best friend is there and they go off to the side and take out their cell phone, are you comfortable?

3) When you lie, are you comfortable?

4) When you’re in a borrowed car, do you adjust the driver’s seat for your comfort or do you leave it as is – thinking about the owner of the car who lent it to you – and you know you won’t be able to get it back to the way that person likes it for himself or herself?

5) When you’re in a car with 4 people and you’re in the passenger seat next to the driver and there is someone in the seat behind you, do you move your seat up, so as to make sure the person behind you has enough leg room?

6) When you have a guest staying overnight in your house, do you make sure they have an extra blanket on a cold night?

7) When you’re in church and the rows are long, do you move into the middle, so as to let folks into the benches without climbing over you?

8) When someone wants the outside seat and you have to climb over them, do you assume their motivation is claustrophobia or diarrhea or urinary problems – and they might need to move to the bathroom on the double?

9) When you’re parking your car on the street and you know the folks next door are up there in age and like the spot right in front of their house, and you could take it, because someone is in your usual spot, but you park down the street, so as to make it convenient for your neighbors?

10) When you’re all alone with yourself, are you comfortable with yourself or is anger or anxiety or inadequacy or guilt your middle name?

11) Are you comfortable with "Yes" "No" questionnaires, that don't provide an "All Depends" or "Undecided" or "Sometimes" possibility?

SECOND ISAIAH

Today’s first reading is the beginning of what they call, "Deutero-Isaiah" or "Second Isaiah" – Chapters 40 to 55. It’s also called “The Book of Comfort.”

It wasn’t till the 18th Century that scholars began to say that all 66 chapters of Isaiah were not from the same author. Some had thought that centuries before – like Ibn Ezra who lived around 1167 – but in the 18th century, scholars were saying the first part of Isaiah was from 150 years earlier and this section of Isaiah was written to speak to those in the Babylonian Exile. (1)

There was a call to give comfort to the people in slavery and to give them the hope of a New Exodus.

Obviously, hopefully, every human being wants to give comfort to those in horrible situations - those in Darfur or those in Somalia or those out of work – or those whose house burnt down.

Hopefully our heart feels anguish for the homeless on these cold nights.

Hopefully our heart feels the pain of the family that is ripped apart by a death – a tragedy – a crime – a rape – a horror.

When I walk down the corridor at St. Mary’s Rectory on Duke of Gloucester Street on Monday evening or Wednesday afternoon, I feel for all the poor that the people of St. Mary’s are helping – especially those who volunteer their time and love ministering in our St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Comfort. Give comfort to my people.

BAPTISM OF JESUS

Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus.

Looking at the readings, one key message for this feast is that it is celebrating the moment Jesus starts his public ministry.

He goes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist – and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove – we’ve seen that image in church art – and vestments – comes down from the heavens and lands on Jesus. Then a voice also comes from the heavens and says, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

I’ve often wondered if the reference to the dove is a reference to the story of Noah who sends out the dove from the ark on the flooded earth – and the dove comes back empty beaked – and Noah sends it out again after 7 days and this time it comes back bearing an olive branch – and Noah knew there was land somewhere – and he waited another 7 days and he sent it out again – and this time it did not return – and Noah knew the horror was over.

Is the message of the landing of the dove on Jesus the message that with Jesus the horror is over?

Is the message of the voice from heaven that Jesus is the Beloved Son and when we realize that’s how he treated every person he met – as a beloved son or daughter, brother or sister, when we do that, we will be doing our part to bring peace in this world and an end to horror stories.

CONCLUSION

And how do we bring peace – bring comfort to our world?

One way is to do what Jesus did – wash feet, listen to people, heal and feed people – or as Second Isaiah put it: Comfort. Give comfort to my people.

That’s our call – that’s our baptismal call.

Obviously we couldn’t do it, if and when we were baptized as a baby, but the day hopefully comes or has come, when we begin our second baptism – our call from God like the call of this Isaiah in today’s first reading or Jesus in the gospel to bring comfort to his people.

(1) The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy, "Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah," p. 329. This section was written by Carrol Styhlmueller, C.P.

THE LEGEND
OF THE DOVE

Jesus grew up hearing The Legend of the Dove.

Every Jewish kid grew up hearing The Legend of the Dove.

At the birth of every new baby boy, the Rabbi or others – especially grandparents – who always say the nicest things about new born babies – would lift up the baby boy and say, “Maybe this one will be the Messiah. Maybe this one will be the one, the dove lands on.”

Did anyone ever lift up a girl?

That’s The Legend of the Dove. One day a dove is going to land on someone and that someone will be the Messiah.

The landing of the dove on someone’s shoulder will be the sign.

And because the people longed for the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer, the Christ, which means the Anointed One, whenever people saw a dove they would stop to watch where it would land. Every time there was disappointment because every time a dove never landed on anyone’s shoulder.

Yet people watched and hoped – all through the years – to see if a dove would land on someone’s shoulder.

They would hope and pray for a Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Savior, especially during times of war – or enslavement – or drought or horror.

The Legend started way, way, way back in Jewish History – way, way back – as far back as the time of Noah.

The Legend started this way: the whole world was flooded in this big, big flood and the only people who survived were Noah and his family.

Ooops, okay there were also two of each animal – male and female – giraffes – hippos – orangutans – skunks – etc. etc. and etc.

Well, as an obvious result, that ship was noisy and smelly. There was honking and hooting all day and all night long.

What’s more, Noah and his family were sick and tired of rain – rain – and more rain – water, water, water everywhere – and the smell of animals, lots of animals, everywhere on the big boat called the Ark.

Finally the rain stopped and Noah and his family – the lions and the monkeys – the giraffes and the elephants – looked out each day – hoping to see land – land – somewhere.

Slowly the waters went down – slowly mountain tops appeared.

With that Noah sent out two ravens – who flew around – and then they disappeared.

Then Noah released a dove. Remember there were only two doves. It flew around – but having nowhere to really land, it came back.

Noah waited another 7 days and he sent the dove out again and it brought back in its beak, an olive branch.

There was hope in the air.

Noah waited another 7 days and he sent off the dove again and it never returned.

No one knew where it landed – but out of that story grew the story or the Legend of the Dove – that the dove would come back and land on the shoulder of some person – some time – the right time – and that person would be the Messiah or the Savior.

Jesus – like every Jewish kid – grew up hearing the Legend of the Dove.

Mary – knowing who Jesus was – watched and watched. Joseph – knowing who Jesus was – also watched and watched – wondering when would be the day when Jesus would leave home and start his work as our Savior.

In the meanwhile, Jesus went about his Father’s business – working in the carpenter shop with Joseph – going to the synagogue on the Sabbath – learning new stuff every Sabbath – learning new stuff every day – growing in wisdom and age and grace before God and others.

Jesus would learn about wood – about how to build a door – and how to build a house on rock and not on sand.

Jesus learned about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and one was lost and the shepherd didn’t say, “No big deal. I still have 99 sheep.” Nope he went out into the hills and the wilderness till he found his lost sheep. And Jesus stood there that day and saw this shepherd coming home with the lost sheep on his shoulders and the greatest smile on his face.

Jesus learned about people – that some people would give the shirt off their back or go the extra mile for a friend – and others wouldn’t. And he saw some people getting hurt and some would forgive the person who hurt them and some didn’t – and he would notice that those who forgave seemed much happier than those who didn’t.

When Jesus went to the synagogue – he noticed that different people had different reactions: some didn’t listen; some made great promises – but they didn’t last; some were too busy, they had too many irons in the fire; and some listened and learned and grew. While watching a farmer farming – planting seed – he realized it’s the same story as what was happening in the synagogue. The farmer throwing seed on the ground was like the rabbi sowing words into the air. Some seed landed on the path and it didn’t grow. Some seed landed in shallow soil and it didn’t really grow. Some seed landed on good soil, but too many things were already growing there. The seed didn’t have a chance; and some seed landed on good soil and produced good fruit, 30, 60 and 100fold.

Then one day Jesus heard about John the Baptist – his cousin – and he left home to go down to the Jordan River to see what John was all about.

And after listening to John preach he asked John to baptize him.

And as John was baptizing Jesus, the heavens opened and down came the Holy Spirit as a dove and landed on Jesus’ shoulder.

Then a voice from the heavens could be heard to say, “You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased.”

And someone in the crowd said, “It’s the Legend of the Dove. It just landed on that man!”

This is a first draft story I made up last night for this morning's Children's Mass. The feast is the Baptism of Jesus. January 10, 2010. The gospel reading was Luke 3:15-16, 21-22. After the little kids' Mass I asked out loud if the story made any sense and this little kids yelled out, "No!" Everyone laughed. That's the last time I'll ask that question.

NERVOUS

IN THE PRESENCE 

OF EXCELLENCE

Quote of the Day: January 10, 2010

“The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.”

Shana Alexander [1925-2005], The Feminist Eye: Neglected Kids – The Bright Ones, 1970

YOU'RE   BEAUTIFUL

Quote of the Day: January 9,  2010

“I’m tired of all this business about beauty being only skin-deep. That’s deep enough. What do you want – an adorable pancreas.”

Jean Kerr [1922-2003], Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, in The Snake Has All the Lines.

A TEACHER CALLED ILLNESS

Quote of the Day: January 8,  2010

"Illness tells us what we are."






Italian Proverb