WHAT’S IN YOUR CHALICE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 8th Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “What’s In Your Chalice?”

It’s sort of like the question in the Capital One TV commercials, “What’s in your wallet?”

What’s in your chalice?

Robert Fulghum, the minister and writer, used to ask on retreats he gave to men: “Take out your wallets and put them on the table. What’s inside your wallet tells you a lot about yourself? What’s in your wallet? What does each item tell you about yourself?”
What’s in your chalice?

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel Jesus talks about the chalice – and it triggered various thoughts and wonderings and memories and questions.

Jesus disciples are vying to be # 1. They are missing what he’s trying to teach them about life. He tells them he’s going to Jerusalem where he’s going to confront and face the big test, the big issue, what God the Father wants life to be all about. It’s going to hurt. It’s a baptism. Can you drink that chalice? They say, “Yes we can!” He says, “You will drink it!” Jesus then indicates that life is all about giving – serving – willing to lay down one’s life for others. Not so easy. Not so easy.

Can you drink that chalice?

On the altar right now is a chalice. It’s one of the two chalices used at this Mass.

When you come to communion you have the opportunity to receive the bread and the cup. Either way and both ways, one can receive Christ and be in communion with him and all here at this Mass. Your move. Your choice.

The chalice, the cup, the Holy Grail, is charged with memory, mystery, moment. Your move.

It brings us into the Last Supper, into the garden, to the Cross – and then to the Resurrection and New Life.

It’s not easy to take the chalice. Jesus hesitated in the garden to take the cup and gave a million preachers the opportunity to reflect on one of life’s great mysteries: What’s in the chalice?

PRIEST RETREAT

I’ve given many priests’ retreats. A couple of times as an evening reflection in chapels I placed an empty chalice on the altar. I said to the priests: at the end of the service you’re invited to gradually and slowly and one at a time – with pauses in between to come up to the altar – stand where you stand for Mass – and then look at the chalice and into the chalice. Everyone sees the gold outside. People know our outside, but what’s inside – in the empty spaces no one can see?

Then I asked them to calmly put all of their life so far into that chalice on the altar – all – everything – the whole story – and then add what’s to come – and then pick up that heavy chalice and offer up all to God.

One night after doing this – a few hours after doing this – I heard a knock on my door – and a priest who was on the retreat asked to talk to me – and he poured out his whole life – he poured out all that was in his chalice in front of me – and it was a great moment of grace – and he thanked me for that he saw about life – his life – that evening.

CONCLUSION

What’s in your chalice?

Today after this Mass – if I remember – senior moments are appearing in my chalice more and more – I hope to leave one chalice on the altar and invite all of you – or any of you – to come up and stand at the altar and see what’s in your chalice and then lift it up and offer all to God.

WILLINGNESS 

TO BE CHALLENGED

Quote for Today - March 2, 2011


"It's a rare person who wants to hear what he (or she) doesn't want to hear."

Dick Cavett [1936- ]

EMPTY-HANDED

INTRODUCTIONThe title of my homily for this 8th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Empty-Handed.”

We all know the feeling of being empty-handed. We arrive at the party and everyone has a gift – or some food – or an envelope and a card and we don’t. We emit an inner, “Uh oh. Oh no!” 

We’re empty-handed.

And deeper still we surely said at times in our lives to God and to ourselves, “Oh my God, I feel so empty-handed!”

Empty-handed is a hyphenated word that appears in today’s first reading from Sirach. Sirach says, “Appear not before the Lord empty-handed….” [Sirach 35:4]

A TINY BIT OF RESEARCHSince Sirach is not in the Jewish Bible – and since the Hebrew text for Sirach “had been lost for centuries” – as The New Jerusalem Biblical Commentary puts it, I was wondering what the Hebrew word or words for “empty-handed” might be.

I like to go back to the original – if I can.

We have Greek translations of Sirach; but what about a Hebrew text?

Well, The New Jerusalem Biblical Commentary says that 4 Hebrew manuscripts of Sirach dating to the 10th to the 12th centuries were recovered from the Geniza of the Qaraite Synagogue in Cairo between 1896 -1900. It adds that some further manuscripts and fragments have been discovered after that – including some fragments of Sirach at Qumran. It concludes: “About 68 percent of the Hebrew is now extant.” (1)

Reading that I thought, “Good. Let me see if I can find the Hebrew text for Sirach 35:4 – where the word “empty-handed” appears. We have the Greek – but what is the Hebrew?”

I found out that the Semitic – Hebrew – Aramaic – word spelled in our alphabet would be, “REQAM” or “RAY-KAWM”.

It would connote ideas like, “empty,” “vacant,” “empty-handed”.

With a tiny bit of further research I found out that it’s used in two different contexts in the Jewish Scriptures.

FIRST: DON’T COME TO WORSHIP WITH EMPTY HANDSThe first use is the command: don’t come to worship empty handed.

Tithe. Bring a gift for the Lord – when you come to worship.

That would have fit perfectly for last Sunday’s Archbishop’s Appeal.

Or should we think St. Mary’s Second Collection every Sunday for building and maintenance?

We find this idea not just here in Sirach – but also in Deuteronomy 16:16 – where it says we must not appear before Yahweh empty-handed. Deuteronomy says right there “The bigger the harvest the Lord gives you, the bigger your gift should be.” That’s kind of direct. And we hear that same message at the end of today’s reading from Sirach.

For us who come to worship during the week here is a question: what am I bringing to the Lord today?

The obvious answer can be found in the prayers of our Mass – where we hear that in this liturgy we are entering into Christ who gives himself to the Father. Christ is our gift!

SECOND: DON’T LEAVE EMPTY-HANDED

The second experience that we find in scripture for this word, “empty-handed” or “RAY-KAWM” is found in Exodus 3: 21 – when the Israelites were to leave from being slaves in Egypt – but not to leave empty-handed. So too when someone frees a Hebrew slave or bondsperson – male or female – one doesn’t just release or set this person free – but one gives them something so they can make a fresh start. In Deuteronomy 15:13-14 we read that freed slaves should be given some animals from one’s flock, some grain from one’s threshing floor, and some wine from one’s wine press.

Hopefully, this is a basic common human sentiment!

Don’t we hope that those released from prison leave with skills – and money to get started again. Haven’t we seen moms and dads giving their kids a few extra dollars when going to an event or game? Haven’t we seen grandparents slipping their grandkids some green when they are driving back to college.

We don’t want others to arrive at their destination empty-handed.

CONCLUSION

As I reflected on this theme of “empty-handed” - I said to myself: this is the Mass. We come here and hand ourselves over to the Lord as today’s Gospel tells us. Then we walk out from here at the end of Mass with bread and wine – the Lamb of God on our breath – and in our being - and we hopefully we hand these gifts – especially the gift of Christ to our world, today. Amen.


(1) Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M, “Sirach” page 497, in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 07632, 1990

MARCH

Quote for Today - March 1, 2011


"March is outside the door
Flaming some old desire
As man turns uneasily from his fire."


David McCord [1897-1997] The Crows (1934)

CALM  DOWN

Quote for Today -  February 28, 2011


"Investigate mistakes only when you are calm."

Anonymous

WORRY, WORRY, WORRY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts for this Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time is, “Worry, Worry, Worry.”

Is “Worry” everyone’s secret middle name?

Is worry everyone’s ongoing nemesis? [Nemesis: the Greek goddess that inflicts retribution or vengeance or pay backs for wrongs done.]

In today’s gospel – continuing words from the Sermon on the Mount – Jesus tells us his disciples, “… not to worry.”

Isn’t that the hope and plan of every parent – that their kids are “not to worry” - I'm taking care of you?

Jesus tells us not to worry about food and clothes and tomorrow.

Jesus asks, “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life span?”

Isaiah in today’s first reading tells us not to worry. Trust. “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

So we have powerful words from Isaiah and Jesus today not to worry, worry, worry.

5 QUESTIONS ABOUT WORRY

1) On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the worst, how much of a worrier am I?

2) Scanning the people in my life, can I come up with the name of someone whom I think was biggest worrier I’ve ever met?

3) What do I worry about the most: money, the economy, how I look, how I sound, how I fit in, health, death, war, in-laws, drugs, broken marriages?

4) Jesus said that the birds of the sky don’t sow seeds or reap crops, yet they find food – thanks to our heavenly Father. Have I ever seen a dead bird – and remembered Jesus’ words? Do people who feed the ducks at the dock ever trigger Jesus’ words from today’s gospel?

5) What about trees falling, flowers being crushed, rabbits eating prize plants? What about the people in the Middle East being shot at while protesting in the city square? How does any of these experiences square with Jesus’ words from today’s gospel?

WONDERING, WONDERING, WONDERING

The title of my homily is, “Worry, Worry, Worry.”

I was wondering: does worry age us; does worry give us wrinkles; does worry tighten our nerves and constrict our arteries and this is not good for our health and well being?

I was wondering: what triggered Jesus’ observations in today’s gospel? Did fields of flowers fascinate him? Did Mary and Joseph have flowers outside their home in Nazareth? Did flocks of birds in flight – and in formation – stop him from what he was doing – and give him amazement? What did his face look like in such a moment?

I was wondering: did Jesus saw folks trying to serve two masters – and then did he see how this caused them to become split right down the middle?

I was wondering: did people in Jesus’ time have problems with obesity and the need for more and more clothes? Did Jesus ever overhear Joseph the carpenter listening to Jacob the tailor or cloth merchant talking about the value in fashion changes?

I was wondering what triggered Paul’s thoughts in today’s second reading about the motives of the human heart? Paul says motives are hidden in the dark insides of a person – “so do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes.” Is he sort of saying what Jesus said about not worrying about these sorts of things – worrying about my own motives are tough enough?

CONCLUSION

Today’s gospel and today’s readings challenge us with the issue of worry, worry, worry. I was wondering: what it would be like to try to have a worry free week? Would I laugh more? Would that make me more generous? Would others see a change in my face and my behavior?

This is a non-preached homily - because we had the Archdiocese of Baltimore annual appeal at this Sunday's Masses. I was wondering where I would go with today's readings. This was not a worry, but a wondering.

SEXUAL  MORALITY

Quote for Today  - February 27, 2011

"In all honesty, the Scripture scholar is surprised to find how little direct teaching Jesus gives us on sexual morality.  It is obviously not his main concern: that is reserved for the proclamation of the kingdom of God and the call to forgiveness and reconciliation. This does not mean that sexual morality is unimportant, but that Jesus seems to feel that sexual practice will take care of itself if the primary teachings are deeply received."


Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M., in Soujouners