WOO! WOW!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 25 Saturday in Ordinary Time is, “Woo! Wow!”

That’s what I found myself muttering last night after I read today’s first reading from the book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth. [Cf. Ecclesiastes 11:9 to 12:8]

It’s a fascinating reading and I found myself going to the several biblical commentaries that I use for reference. Listen to the introduction to this book from The Anchor Bible, “Ecclesiastes is the strangest book in the Bible, or at any rate the book whose presence in the sacred canons of Judaism and of Christianity is most inexplicable.” (1)

The Collegeville Bible Commentary in its introduction to this book puts it this way: "The Book of Ecclesiastes is the most damnable book in the Bible and yet the most satisfying for those who have learned to live comfortably with doubt. That it is damnable seems clear; it has been denounced many times as cynical and provides great comfort for those who are willing to face life honestly is also a fact." (2)

In other words, “Why is this book in the Bible - a book that says God can’t be known by reason?”

In other words, “Woo! Wow! Why in the world did they put this book in the Bible? And the commentaries give evidence that this question was asked – because it’s so different from all the other books in the Jewish Bible. (3)

The only answer I could come up with is that it answers a need for some people – those who have doubts, those who are reflective, those who are skeptical, and those who are pessimistic.

After all, there are dark days. Sometimes God seems to have disappeared. And things do break down – including our bodies.

TO YOUNG PEOPLE

In today’s reading – from near the end of his book – we notice that he’s talking to young men.

I suggest you read the whole book – or at least today’s first reading – slowly and quietly and off to the side. Picture his images.

He’s telling the young to enjoy your youth – it’s not going to last.

He tells them to notice the sun – it goes down. Notice the rain and the clouds. Things are not always bright sunshine. Notice the old man who is bent over. Notice the mill. There’s not much happening there. The grinders are idle. Look in the windows and see how little is happening inside.The door is shut. The birds are silent. One day you’ll fear heights. People die. Notice the mourners walking in the street. He says that “the caper berry is without effect.” I looked up what that reference to the caper berry – losing it’s effect – meant. Surprise it was the Viagra of the day. (4) He continues. The silver cord that holds up an ornamental light is broken. The water pitcher at the well is shattered. The rope for the pulley at the well breaks and falls into the well. You can hear it going “Caplunk!”

Woo! Wow!

He’s telling the young men of his day that time is ticking. Death will turn us into dust and our life breath will return to God.

Woo! Wow!

Haven’t any of us over 70 had streams of thoughts like this when we’re watching young people playing sports and we’re in the stands or the sidelines? Or we’re at a red light on Main Street or at the bottom of Main Street and we see a dozen young people pass in front of our car – bouncing and laughing?

Woo! Wow!

It’s a universal thought – when old – to notice the young moving in ways we can longer move. Jesus tells his disciples in today’s gospel the day is going to come when I’m going to be handed over to others. However, they don’t pay attention to what he’s saying. I assume they are in the thrill of the moment – young men following and walking with and bouncing with this famous preacher Jesus and they don’t want to look at the future – just be in the immediate.

CONCLUSION

Today’s first reading is geared for young men. Let me close with a poem by John Crowe Ransom [1888-1974] called “Blue Girls” – which could be found in this same book called, “Ecclesiastes” - because it has a similar tone or flavor . It’s one of my favorite poems – especially because I can picture it – and it has a “Woo! Wow!” to it.

BLUE GIRLS

Twirling your blue skirts, traveling the sward (5)
Under the towers of your seminary, (6)
Go listen to your teachers old and contrary
Without believing a word.

Tie the white filets then about your lustrous hair
And think on more of what will come to pass
Than bluebirds that go walking on the grass
And chattering on the air.

Practice your beauty, blue girls before it fail;
And I will cry with loud lips and publish
Beauty which all our power shall never establish,
It is so frail.

For I could tell you a story which is true:

I know a lady with a terrible tongue,
Blear eyes fallen from blue,
All her perfections tarnished – and yet it is not long
Since she was lovelier than any of you.


(1) Proverbs Ecclesiastes, The Anchor Bible, translated with an introduction and notes by R. B. Y. Scott, page 191.

(2) Proverbs Ecclesiastes, The Anchor Bible, translated with an introduction and notes by R. B. Y. Scott, pages 191-208.

(3) The Collegeville Bible Commentary, The Book of Ecclesiastes, p. 64 in # 24, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther – Commentary by James A. Fischer, C.M. Confer also The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, under Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) by Addison G. Wright, S.S. pp. 489-491

(4) Proverbs Ecclesiastes, The Anchor Bible, translated with an introduction and notes by R. B. Y. Scott, note 5, page. 255.

(5) "sward" - a grassy patch

(6) "seminary" - their school

THE ABUSE

OF 

POWER

Quote for the Day - September 24, 2010


"The love of power is oppressive in every sphere, but in the religious most of all."

Romano Guardini, The Church and the Catholic, 1953

THE KNOWN 

TO THE UNKNOWN

Quote for the Day - September 23, 2010

"Love of men leads to the love of God."


Hindustani Proverb


Found this quote ... then wondered if the original language supports men and women in the translation into English. I would translate it this way: "Love of those around us leads to the love of God who surrounds us." Or do I say, "... to the love of God which surrounds us"?

CEMETERY

Quote for the Day - September 22, 2010


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb."


Robert Browning (1812-1889)

LOVE IN SPITE OF ….

Love in spite of….
That’s love.
It takes a long time
and a lot of inner conversations –
especially after a hurt or
a misunderstanding
or a broken expectation – to get this.
The scene, situation or classroom
for this learning is usually
marriage or family – or
any big relationship.
We first have to be stopped,
stuck, struck, to see, to hear,

to twist and turn different “What if’s”
and of course, this is not love yet.
Love is a choice, a decision,
an “Oh no!” and then, “Oh, okay!
I know!” within self, within God,
unless we’re a practicing or
non-practicing atheist.
That can make it different or more difficult,
but once we make that decision to love
in spite of what happened
or is happening with mom, dad,
spouse, son, daughter, another,
then … then something new can erupt.
Get that and you can come
off the cross and out of the tomb

and rise to a new morning – a joyful life.
Don’t get it – you’re still
somewhere, sometime, on some Friday,

or some other day of the week - but not

yet celebrating an Easter Sunday morning,

catching fish and breakfast with Jesus. Amen. (1)

(1) Cf. John 21

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2010

This is the 1000 item on this blog -

thanks to the idea of a "Quote for the Day."

Praise God! In the future, I'll try

to have more Reflections -

if you're following all this. Amen.

THEIR MESSAGE
GOES OUT TO ALL THE EARTH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for today’s feast of St. Matthew is today’s Psalm Response: “Their Message Goes Out To All The Earth.”

Today, September 21, being the feast day of St. Matthew, we can certainly say that of Matthew, “His message – his Good News – His Gospel about Jesus – went out to all the earth.”

He certainly heard the call and helped build up the Body of Christ as today’s first reading puts it.

Today, like many days, in Catholic churches around the world, people will hear the words, “A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.”

LITURGY CHANGES

Those of you who are as old as me know that before the liturgical changes of Vatican II, folks in church didn’t get all the Bible – even if they came to Mass on weekdays besides Sundays.

We had the same Sunday gospels every year. Matthew appeared on 21 Sundays, Luke 18, John 12 and Mark only 3 Sundays. Now we have a three year cycle. There are some repetitions – but there is obvious more focus on in Ordinary Time with one synoptic gospel - the one featured that year – Matthew, Mark or Luke. We’re now in Cycle C – the year of Luke and next year, Year A, we’ll be back to Matthew.


Vatican II told the church to open up the treasures of the scriptures to the faithful – and that has certainly been done. No one can say the Catholic Church is holding back on the scriptures from the people of the Church. # 51 of the Document on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, December 4, 1963 says, “The treasures of the bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's word. In this way a more representative portion of the holy scriptures will be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years.”


That has certainly happened. I’ve met many Catholics who have worn out Bibles – a Bible that sits next to their easy chair – or travels with them. Every year parishes have the opportunity to provide classes, workshops, pamphlets on the gospel writer of that year.

MATTHEW

Every 3 years, when it’s Matthew’s year, we hear that his audience was Jewish much more than the Mark or Luke. So there is the regular refrain and argument all through Matthew, “You have heard …. You have learned …. It is written …. It has been said….” He appeals to the Old Testament more than the others.

Specialists tell us that Matthew’s gospel is well organized and well planned – compared to the loose organization found in Mark. Scholars point out that Matthew has 7 sections. I like today’s gospel. It pictures Mathew sitting there in a tax collector booth – like a toll booth along the highway – with his ledgers – and money collection methods. He’s organized. He’s ready for making and taking in money – that is, till Jesus comes along and reorganizes his life with one call. I like today’s gospel because when we hear, “This man eats with tax collectors and sinners....” I can see Matthew pointing to himself. Me!

It should be noted that the Early Church as well as the Church up till Vatican II, preferred Matthew over Mark.

Scholars like to point out that there probably was an Aramaic Gospel of Matthew before the Greek Gospel of Matthew that we now have. I was taught that this earlier Mathew probably simply consisted of a list of Jesus’ sayings and teachings. Then Matthew Greek organized it into what we have today.


Of course this is conjecture. It helps people who are teaching courses on Matthew. The amazing surprise would be if they found an Aramaic Matthew in some cave or monastery in the middle east at some future date. This is not a far fetched possibility. The famous German scripture scholar Constantine von Tischendorf [1815-1874] figured if there was any hidden scripture texts, they would be in a place like St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Desert. Surprise, in 1859, that’s where he found the famous document called, “Codex Sinaticus” – which provided the earliest copy of the Septuagint Old Testament and New Testament to date. It helped him and other scholars figure out the best Greek text New Testament – which had variant texts in copies in hand.

CONCLUSION

If you have time today, go through the gospel of Matthew and pick out your favorite text, parable, story or scene. For example: the parable of the sheep and goats or the call of Matthew as pictured in today’s gospel or the Sermon on the Mount or the Visit of the Magi. Or if you’re busy, make it your practice to keep to pray and meditate on the gospel of the year. This Advent we’ll be back to Matthew after finishing a year on Luke.







Sculpture on top - part of an unfinished statue of Matthew by Michaelangelo [1475-1564]

VOCATION  TEST

Quote for the Day - September 21,  2010


"The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves."


Logan Pearsall Smith [1865-1946], Afterthoughts (1931), "Life and Human Nature".

Questions:

What is a vocation?

Do you have one?

What do you find "drudgish"?