INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 23 Sunday in Ordinary Time is, “I Am Some Body.”
Have you ever answered the question, “Who are you?” by simply saying, “I am somebody!” – like to one of those unsolicited phone call people who call just around supper time? Have you ever asked that person, “Can I ask you a question. ‘Who are you?’”
And if that happened, would they answer, “Oh I’m just somebody!” or “I am really nobody.”
TODAY’S READINGS
I read today’s readings – said my usual prayer, “Come Holy Spirit! Based on these readings, what do people need this weekend? Come Holy Spirit! Based on these readings, what do I need to hear? Come Holy Spirit! What challenges me with these words? Come Holy Spirit!”
I must say that the readings for this Sunday have well over a half dozen themes and possible topics: discipleship, carrying one’s cross, poor planning, stuff or possessions – that might be possessing or stuffing me, family dynamics. That’s 5 and that’s just the gospel.
I found myself coming back a few times to the first reading. It had a strange and very complex sentence that kept intriguing me.
Here’s the sentence: “For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.”
I wish some translator would put that into manageable English. Here would be my loose translation: The older we get, aging becomes more and more a burden to our soul; the older we get, this tent, this shelter, this skin I’m in, weighs me down because my mind has many concerns.”
Two words grabbed me: “burdens” and "concerns.”
THIS BODY OF MINE
I was going to entitle this homily, “Burdens and Concerns”.
Then because burdens and concerns impact our bodies, I found myself changing the title of my homily from “Burdens and Concerns” to “I Am Some Body.”
Now that can be articulated and understood in a couple of ways:
· “I am somebody! - as opposed to being just a nobody.
· “I am some BODY!” – as in someone in great shape and looks! A hunk!
· “I am some body” – 4 words – one of these 6 billion bodies moving around on this planet each day.
This morning I’m reflecting on the human body – this heart and lungs and brain and skeleton and hands and legs and feet – covered by skin that I call, “My body!”
How’s your body? How’s your skin? How’s your heart? How’s your lungs? How’s your brain? How’s your memory? How are your knees?
As priest I’ve had the experience of baptizing or anointing a body at the hospital. I’ve held or baptized a tiny baby who was dying – a baby the size of my hand – and I have stood there at the bedside of a body that was dying – sometimes large with body problems relative to their size – sometimes someone with a frail – almost skeleton type body.
There are billions of bodies on this earth. Have you ever been sitting there quietly at the beach or church or airport – and you thought something like, “Who are these bodies? What’s their story? Who are these people? What’s going on in their brains?
We see bodies. We meet bodies. Bodies are driving all those cars that get backed up every weekend as they try to get off Route 50 at the Parole Exit. I’m always happy that I get off at the next exit: 24.
Each of us owns and is operating one of these bodies. Tall, short, young, old, quick, slow, sleek, slumped, wide, thin, different, non-descript. Our bodies are us – our container – our history – our mystery – our gift from our parents. Scars, operations, now more and more tattoos. I am some body. This is me folks. What you see – is who I am.
So this morning I’m thinking and talking about bodies because of the writer or writers of this book called, “Wisdom” which we heard from this morning. It talks about bodies not lasting. We’re corruptible. We have an expiration date – a shelf life. The author adds that our bodies have their burdens and our minds get weighed down with its many concerns.
Scholars think this text from Wisdom comes from sometime around the year 100 B.C. – give or take 50 years either way. It’s not found in the Palestinian Jewish Holy Scriptures. It's in the Jewish Holy Scriptures from Alexandria, Egypt, the Septuagint, where a large Jewish community existed. Because of that scholars assume that the contents of this book show impact from Greek sources in Alexandria.
Greek thinkers thought differently than Jewish thinkers.
Speaking very broadly and generically – and hesitatingly, this is not my specialty, Greek thinkers and philosophers thought about the body–soul connection differently than Jewish thought about the body. On the other hand, Jewish – Hebrew – Semitic thought was more wholistic and more integrated. Greek thought at times could separate the body and soul – and that outlook has impacted some Christian writers. Some Greek and Christian and Western spiritual writers think of humans as all mind and soul – neglecting the body – and end up with an unbalanced attitude towards eating and sexuality and exercise, etc.
What’s your understanding of your body, soul, mind, spirit, you, yourself, the person in your seat? Do you have a healthy and balanced attitude towards your body? How do you see yourself? Do see yourself as “I am some body” or “I’m just a nobody?”
We have in our bodies – and in our minds – a vast library of memories, learnings, thoughts and experiences. So what’s your history, your story? Where have you been? What have your learned? What’s in your library? What’s in your brain? What are your thoughts? What are your memories? How has geography, where you’ve been, where you’ve lived, effected who you are? How has your family life impacted who you are: parents, siblings, family members, how you spent your summers, your Saturdays, your Sundays? How has sports, exercise, schooling, teachers, coaches, the arts impacted your posture – how you stand, how you understand, how your body, your face, your smile, your lack of smile, your determination or lack of determination is? How has your life sculpted your body?
Someone asked me last week out of the blue, “Is there some rule how long a sermon should be?” I sort of asked where that was coming from – and the guy said, “Well, most of these sermons start off okay and then go ‘Woooomp!’ The air sort of goes out of me – and I think everyone around me."
I said to him that I try to go 10 minutes – but if you’re thinking thoughts like that, we preachers blew it. I would hope you don’t notice time – but the thought or theme of the homily.
In this homily I’m hoping you’re reflecting on your body – but I’m aware that here at St. Mary’s these benches are not that form fitting for part of one’s anatomy.
3 QUICK QUESTIONS
Let me close with 3 quick questions about the body – I did have 5 – with the hope 1 question triggers something helpful for your body.
1) HOW’S THE BODY?
Somewhere way back in my life, I took some courses on Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Counseling?
One of the teachers was Father Benedict Groeschel. You can still see him on Mother Angelica. He was a fascinating character – funny – wise. I never forgot one of his most important questions in spiritual direction. Ask the person sitting there, “How’s your body?”
Translation. How’s your health? Are you getting enough exercise? Are you walking? It’s been horribly hot this summer, but once cooler weather comes in – before the winter comes in – walk, walk, walk. We have access to walk in the Naval Academy – a wonderful place to walk. Walk. Those near Quiet Water’s Park have that as another place to walk. Then there are neighborhoods and where have you.
Translation: before talking about the Spiritual Life, let's talk about everyday living.
Am I getting enough sleep? When was the last time I saw a doctor?
Do I floss? I saw the dentist I go to the other day at a funeral. I asked him if he flosses. I always wanted to ask a dentist that question.
Do I eat right? Am I couch potato?
Thinking about spirituality, we better thing about all that stuff.
I am some body!
2) WHAT’S YOUR BAGGAGE?
I once made a retreat or a workshop and the speaker began this way. "Everyone here arrived with bags – but everyone has a different amount of bags. And in those bags are all kinds of stuff. Have you ever been at the air port and you had just one or two bags – one you checked in – and another one you’re carrying on – and in comes someone with a whole big cart of bags."
She then concluded, “When you leave this workshop I hope all have you less baggage than when you arrived here. Every thing we’re carrying weighs us down.”
Obviously the hope of church is to come here and let go of baggage that is wearing you down.
3) WHAT’S YOUR HISTORY?
What’s your story? What's your history like? What were your parents like?
Today’s gospel talks about hating your parents and brothers and sisters. It seems scholars try to say, “It’s not hate – as in hating. It’s priorities. It's putting God first. As a follower of Christ, it's putting Christ the Son first who leads us to Our Father.
Everyone has to become one's own person - letting go of father and mother - growing up and becoming the person God is calling us to be.
Every parent has let go of their kids. That's good parenting. Kids got to get on with their life
It helps to know who our parents really are - so I advocate writing one’s autobiography – as well as reading autobiographies and biographies. It's a great way of knowing and figuring out our parents and our family history. They gave us their body and blood - as in Eucharist - and we say "Thanks!"
Have I learned to accept my body, my age, my genes as well as all that has been so far?
Enough already. After all, how much can a body take?
