BETRAYAL

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Tuesday in Holy Week  is, “Betrayal!”

I have a collection of quotes by various people – stating what they think is the greatest sin. The sins include sins of commission and omission – ranging from laziness to lying to pride to self-centeredness – to denial that there is such a thing as sin in the first place – to denial that other people can be different than us.

Question: “Well then, what do I think is the greatest sin?”

Answer: “It all depends!”

Question: Is the greatest sin – being slippery – being cute – being evasive?

Answer: “It all depends!”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel and the gospels this week certainly make the case for betrayal as the greatest sin. Notice the little short sentence in the English version of today’s gospel. When Jesus hands Judas the morsel of food – Judas takes it. Then the gospel simply says, “And it was night.” The lights went out in Judas mind, heart and soul – and he goes out and sells Jesus out. Yet, the gospel gives hints that Judas had second thoughts when he tossed back the 30 pieces of silver.

And Judas kills himself.

At times suicide was listed as the greatest sin – because it was seen as despair – completely giving up the hope in a God who could save us. Then there are horror stories about people wanting a funeral in church for a loved one who committed suicide – and they were refused a funeral Mass and a Christian burial.

And I’m sure some would see that the refusal was the greatest sin. If ever a family needed support, it could be that moment. As priest I’ve experienced how difficult a funeral is for the family of someone who took their own life.

The gospels could make a great case that abusing children would be the greatest sin – especially based on Jesus’ words that it would be better that a person have a millstone tied around their neck and then they be thrown into the sea – than lead a little one astray.

And the Pharisees are constantly being challenged by Jesus for being filled with inner death – inner judgment about everyone else but themselves – that they have it right and everyone else has it wrong – especially Jesus.

BETRAYAL

Betrayal would certainly be in the running for the greatest sin.

Having sat with a lot of couples preparing for marriage, betrayal, breaking trust, an affair, is usually mentioned as the deal breaker – because the covenant is broken – trust is broken – it’s all over. It’s night. The lights have gone out in the marriage – and they are saying this even before they start.

Dante puts betrayal in the 9th, the bottom, the worst circle of Hell – and in the center of that circle near Judas is Lucifer or Satan – who betrayed God. And there they are frozen, stuck in ice, biting into and then chewing each other’s heads. Messy stuff.

DE PROFUNDIS

Holy Week certainly deals with these big issues.

I’ve always loved it that the Redemptorist motto is taken from Psalm 130 – the De Profundis Psalm, the “Out of the Depths I cry to you, O God,” Psalm. And in that psalm are the words and the Redemptorist motto, “In Him, there is fullness of redemption.”

"Copiosa apud eum redemptio" in Latin.

With Christ there is copious redemptio - fullness of redemption - unending forgivness.

Even if one hits the bottom of the bottom – the deepest pits, and they feel like they are in the 9th circle of hell – totally frozen – there is always hope. Even if one feels like they are in total night, there is a dawn.

That’s what Psalm 130 proclaims – so we Redemptorists hope that you being part of our Redemptorist charism, vision, message and mission, will always trust that God will never give up on you – that God will forgive any and every sin – especially if you feel you’ve committed the greatest sin.

Tough stuff to think about on a Tuesday morning.

I would also assume that’s why the painting of the Good Shepherd is up here in our sanctuary.

So this Good Friday see Jesus on the Cross as our Redeemer.

So this Good Friday hear loud and clear Jesus’ words from the cross, “Father forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing?”

CONCLUSION

I would assume that’s why Father Daniel Francis last week – preaching a Redemptorist Mission here in our parish - told on one of those night talks the story about Jesus getting up from the banquet table of heaven and going to the window hoping to see Judas coming up the road - coming  home.

Daniel has it better than Dante who has Judas almost up to his neck – stuck in ice – in the very bottom of hell.

SIN:  THE FORMULA

Quote for Today - April 19,  2011

"The basic formula of all sin is, frustrated or neglected love."


Franz Werfel

Do you agree with Franz Werfel's comment?

TIME TO SPRING

Did you take the time today

to see – to smell – to touch

the flowers all around you?

Did you take the time today

to look into the eyes of those

around you and say, “Hi in there!”

Did you take the time today

to say a prayer of thanks to God

for one more glorious day of life?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2011

Tulips on top - just outside

the Adortion chapel

here at St. Mary's Annapolis,

April 18,  2011

JESU,

JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Monday in Holy Week is, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

BLOG QUOTES

I put a quote for every day on my blog. I have a lot of quote books and look for a quote that is challenging, timely, interesting, and intriguing.

The quote I chose for today is from something Roger Fry said, “Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian.”

It’s a quote found in a something written by Virginia Woolf on Roger Fry [1940 – Chapter 11].

I find it to be an interesting and intriguing quote. It triggered some questions: Do I try to find out more about who Roger Fry or Virginia Woolf were? I heard of them – but I don’t know enough about them. Or do I find some Bach and listen to him – in hopes of hearing why Roger Fry said what he said? “Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian”?

Next, I recalled the wedding I had on Saturday. For the seating of the mothers the music was, “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” by Bach.

I’m not good at music – but I know that piece when I hear it.

So I typed into Google, “Bach Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

The Internet is great. There were all kinds of YouTube pieces by Bach - including, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

I listened to 3 or 4 of them. Sure enough, I got a glimpse into what Roger Fry was saying, “Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian.”

I wondered when this happened. Was Roger Fry at a concert? Where was it or what was it when he heard Bach and made that statement?

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Then I began to prepare for this homily. I read the readings and the word “perfume” in today’s gospel hit me. I read the gospel again and Judas’ words hit me,

“’Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?’ He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.” [Cf. John 12:1-11]

I then wondered how much does perfume cost. I’m not good at perfume – just as I’m not good at music.

Surprise! I noticed that there is a bottle of perfume entitled, Clive Christian’s Imperial Majesty. They make 5 bottles of it a year. A 16.9 ounce bottle of this perfume costs $215,000 dollars. It has an 18 carat gold collar and it has on the bottle a 5 carat diamond.

Why wouldn’t a man give a gift card to his wife or girlfriend, especially if the man was a Christian, “In lieu of giving you a $215,000 bottle of Clive Christian’s Imperial Majesty perfume, I made out a check for $215,000 to your favorite charity, St. Mary’s Saint Vincent de Paul Society, for the poor or Annapolis?”

Then I noticed that there were cheaper perfumes. I also noticed that Number 8 in price is listed at $800. It's a one ounce bottle of perfume – entitled, “Joy!”

There's that "joy" word again.

Question: Did Jesus go, “OOOOh nice” when he got a whiff of the expensive perfume Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with?

We know Judas knew his perfumes because he estimates the price of the perfume Mary used to be 300 days’ wages.

John says that Judas’ motive was not the poor but his pocket.

CONCLUSION

The clock was ticking and I had to get out here to St. John Neumann’s for this Mass, so I had to come up with a conclusion for this homily.

So what’s the bottom line?

Is it that perfume is good? Jesus accepted Mary anointing his feet.

Is it that concern for the poor is better? Judas was voicing that - in a backdoor sort of way.

Or is  it that Jesus is best – and he is Joy – the greatest Joy one can experience – as Bach and Mary – the sister of Martha and Lazarus - as well as Roger Fry,  knew?

BACH

Quote for the Day - April 18. 2011

"Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian."

Roger Fry (1866-1934) in Virginia Woolf Roger Fry (1940), Chapter 11.


1748 Haussman painting on top of Bach [1685-1750].

Short Question: When was the last time you listened to a piece by Bach?


Try YouTube Celtic Woman, Jesu Joy of Man's Desire or YouTube Dinu Lipatti plays J.S. Bach - Cantata BWV 147 (1950)

PALMS UP

INTRODUCTION



The title of my reflection for this Palm Sunday is, “Palms Up.”



MEANING OF THE PHRASE: “PALMS UP!”



I looked up the meaning of the phrase, “Palms up” and found that it has many meanings from surrender to I’m here, from acceptance to helplessness, apology to cluelessness, innocence to there you have it, and on and on and on.



Today Palm Sunday I thought of the human hand – palms up and open – as in a way of waving a hello or a greeting. The people in the crowd wanted to wave and celebrate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem – and so they grabbed what was right there, palm branches – and waved them to celebrate Jesus’ presence.



We have palm branches at hand today, but when we don’t have flags or signs or palm branches, we wave with our open hand – palms up and out. We do this when we see a friend or when we see a famous person going by. “Look there’s the president or pope or Miss Maryland!”



MEANING OF PALM SUNDAY



What does Palm Sunday mean to us? It’s the beginning of Holy Week – the culmination of Lent – the arrival of the 3 big Christian High Holy Days: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.



These days have so much meaning – that we need a week, a lifetime, the hours of the services this week to ponder the fringe – the edge – and then gradually move into the middle of their meaning.



For this Palm Sunday, for this homily or reflection, what struck me was that Jesus went through what we all go through. We have our own personal Holy Weeks and Horror Weeks. Jesus went through the whole mess for the mass of us.



On Palm Sunday he’s honored, celebrated, waved to, cheered on – but by Friday they are screaming for his blood: “Crucify him. Crucify him.” Their hands have moved from open waves to tight fists.



Then next Sunday we celebrate hope – recovery – renewal – resurrection – the upswing of Jesus into glory. In theology it’s called “The Kenotic Curve.” Kenotic – K E N O T I C – from the Greek verb “kenoo” K E N O O or the adjective “kenos” K E N O S – meaning emptying, absence, the hollowness of everything.



TODAY’S SECOND READING



We find all this in today’s second reading – Philippians 2: 6-11 – which is called “The Great Kenotic Text”. We used to hear in theology all the time: “Know Philippians 2: 5b-11!



We get the message. God is God. Christ Jesus – who is also mysteriously God – lets go of equality with God – empties himself – become human – empties himself even more – takes on the form of a slave – humbles himself even more and becomes obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.



That’s the first half of The Kenotic Curve – the Downhill Slide.



Then Paul says, "Because Jesus did this – God exalts him – bestowing on him – a name which is above every name. It’s Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord – that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth – so that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.



The best scholarship to date puts this text – these words of Paul to the people of the Greek city of Philippi – is between the years 54 to 57. It was written from the city of Ephesus – in modern day Turkey.



It’s before our gospels.



Notice how primitive it is. The early church is trying to put into words how this Jesus of Nazareth is both human and divine. The Early Church is trying to put into words how God is Trinity – and it would struggle with this for a few centuries – till we went through heresies and councils and came up with our creeds.



We are the beneficiaries of these struggles and articulations.



IN THE MEANWHILE



In the meanwhile we get it. We get these texts. We understand the Kenotic Curve. We see it every time we go to visit a loved one in the hospital. There it is: the monitor. We hope it’s going up and down for our loved one – otherwise they’re dead. They flat lined.



We know the ups and downs of life. We know days of glory and days of horror. We know days of fullness and days of emptiness.



The Kenotic Curve tells us that God knows us – because the Son of God became one of us – and went through what we go through. It’s usually the bottom of the curve – the pits – the dark valley at the bottom – when we recognize our need for God. That’s when we pray. That’s why Psalm 23 is so popular – especially at funerals. Though I walk in the dark valley you are with me.



All is darkness and they remain that way till our Bad Fridays move to our Easter Sundays – till we realize resurrection. Then we change the words from "Bad Friday" to "Good Friday".



We see the Kenotic curve every day and every year.



Sometimes we hit a home run; sometimes we strike out. Nobody has hit over 400 since Ted Williams did it in 1941. Red Sox fans will tell you he came within 5 hits of doing it again at the age of 39 in 1957 – when he hit 388.



Sometimes we’re at a beautiful wedding – 150 people – and there is music and dancing, cake and celebration – but then we’re all alone when we get the phone call, “Mom, we’re getting a divorce.”



We celebrate our kid’s baptism, graduations, dance recitals, but it’s lonely when we have to see the police or the principal when our kid messes up.



Sometimes we’re in a brand new car and people stop for a second to admire it – and sometimes we leave the new car sticker on the back side window on the left – just to let folks know, “This is a new car!” and sometimes the car has become a clunker and it won’t start and it’s costing us money on repairs and we don’t have the money to buy a new one.



We know the ups and downs of life. In the marriage vows we even say it, “for better for worse, richer or poor, sickness and health.”



Life is curvy – not that many straight lines – might as well get used to it – and Jesus walked that crooked line from Nazareth to Jerusalem – and he arrived there today – and he’ll be killed next Friday. It’s as bottom line as that.



CONCLUSION – UPTURN - RESURRECTION



But we are a people of hope and people who belief in upturns – and so we’ll also be back next week for Easter Sunday – Alleluia. Alleluia.



So our prayer doesn’t end with, “Christ has died.” We continue and say, “Christ has risen. Christ will come again" - and "again and again and again.”

DREAM  THERAPY

April 17, 2011

Quote for the Day

"All the things one has forgotten scream for help in dreams."



Elias Canetti [1905-1994], Die Provinz der Menschen (The Human Province, 1973), page 269


Drawing on top from Punch magazine.