BURDENS:

10 PROBLEMS and 10 SOLUTIONS

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INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Burdens: 10 Problems and 10 Solutions.”

Let me divide my homily into 2 parts: Part One: “10 Burden Scenarios” and Part 2: “10 Solutions.”

It will be a very simple homily for very difficult problems - and I’ll plan to do this just under 10 minutes.

PART ONE: 10 BURDEN SCENARIOS

What would it be like to be an ox - and a farmer puts a harness and a yoke around our neck every morning and we spend about 10 hours in the sun pulling a big wooden plow trudging through hard, clumpy dirt - earth - day after day after day? Okay this farmer takes off on Sunday.

What would it be like to be 132 pounds overweight - and everyone is making comments about our weight - behind our back and sometimes to and in our face - offering at least 1 diet a day - and they don’t know that we’re making inner comments and complaints to ourselves about our weight every day and offering ourselves at least 2 diets a day?

What would it be like to be a 24 year old young man and we believe we’re gay and our father has ranted and raved about those who are gay all through the years and we know if we came out, he would either snap or disown us or what have you - and the whole family might unravel and come tumbling down?

What would it be like to have a spouse who just simply refuses to sleep with us any more?

What would it be like to be married and we cheated on our spouse and we know if we ever told him or her - it would just devastate the other and we have to carry the shame and the stupidity - the sin - the mistake we made of biting into forbidden fruit 17 years ago and it never happened again - but it happened then?

What would it be like to have a great job and we buy a bigger house for our family and 4 small kids and we lose our job - just like that. We don’t receive a notice or a package. And debt sets in.

What would it be like to be abused - and we finally tell someone and they tell us, “Get over it!”

What would it be like to be in prison for 17 years - and we didn’t do it - and different folks are telling us, “Everyone in prison says they didn’t do it.”

What would it be like to be filled with cancer and the different specialists tell us, “You have about 4 weeks or less to live?”

What would it be like to be in church and all we hear Sunday after Sunday is abortion and we had an abortion 26 years ago and it’s been eating at us all our life - and we were told we were forgiven by God - but we can’t forgive ourselves and we just want to go under the floor of the church or run - every time this issue comes up?

PART 2: 10 SOLUTIONS

1) Become a Realist. Become a Philosopher. Another word would be to be able to say to oneself, “Hello!” To be a realist is to say: Milk goes sour. Bread becomes green. Beer and pop lose their fizz. Most of everything have a shelf life. Then they go in the dump or a museum if they are old enough. So too us. We have a shelf life. We have an expiration date. We get wrinkled and we leak. It’s part of the deal. Of course funerals are tough - especially if the person who died went too soon. As they say, it’s how we live and what we do with the dash between our dates . Of course we can do our part to prolong the gift of life - like exercising, eating smart, getting enough sleep, not smoking and not being dumb. Yet there is always a bottom line. Death and taxes - as they say - will always be around. Movies have “The End” and the music sometimes tells us it’s coming. Sermons have endings, but sometimes you never know when they are coming.

2) Be Sweet! There’s a book I like by Roy Blount Jr. that deals with lots of the problems and burdens of life. It’s title is, “Be Sweet!” something his mother said in many of life’s situations. “Be sweet!”

3) Jot down 10 Bible Texts. Get paper and pen and jot down 10 texts we own -  10 texts that really help us and help others. I was at a wedding a week ago yesterday and this gal had tattooed on her back two lines. I’m standing behind her and I realize they are in Latin, so and I started to translate them. Suddenly she turns and  I said, “I was just trying to read your back." She says, “Oh it’s Romans 12: 2" and I said to her, “Thanks! Interesting."  And she smiled.  My favorite text is Galatians 6: 2 and I don’t and won’t tattoo the words on my back. But I have them on the walls of my everyday mind: “Bear one another’s burdens and in this way you’ll fulfill the law of Christ.” The trick is to make those words flesh each day.

4) Jot Down 10 Sayings. What are your 10 favorite sayings? The ones that help you deal with life. An old priest whom I used to work with, had a whole series of sayings that would pop out when various things happened. What are yours? Two things he often said were, “I don’t think Jesus wanted to make life that difficult.” Another thing he would say, “My father used to always say, ‘I’d give that lady a wide berth.'” Those of you who dock boats know what that means.

5) What Are Your Stories or Parables?  In dealing with life’s problems and life’s situations, I have discovered that people also have stories and examples that help them deal with life’s problems. The trick is to play back a good story that helps you in a sticky problem. What are your top ten stories or examples or parables.

For example, I like to use the "Chinese story of the Horse" in certain situations. I’m sure you’ve heard the Chinese horse story. You just have to memorize it and make it your own. Father John Harrison in his homilies uses stories all the time. He knows they help folks. Let me give just one that helps folks. It has certainly helped me.

The Chinese Horse Story. A farmer had this fantastic horse - and the horse could do everything. He could pull the family cart  to town for shopping. He could pull the plow which he and his 17 year old son used to farm their land. Well one day the horse jumped over the fence and disappeared. The neighbors heard about it and came and said, “Wow, sorry to hear that you lost your prize horse.” And the farmer said to them, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” The next day the prize horse came back with 7 wild horses and the whole town came to the farmer and said, “Wow. You’re a lucky man.” And he said, “We’ll see. We’ll see,” The next day his only son, the 17 year old one, was riding one of the new wild horses, and was thrown to the ground and broke his leg. And the neighbors said to his father, “Wow that’s horrible. What are you going to do now? Your son is going to be laid up for months.” And the father said, “We’ll see.” The next day an army came marching through the area and grabbed every young male and forced them into their army and marched off.” The next day the neighbors - many of whom lost their sons - said to the farmer, “You’re lucky. They didn’t take your son.” And he said, “We’ll see. We'll see.”

What are your 10 top stories?

6) Talk to Someone. Don’t go it alone. But learn the difference between poison and venting. Venting is good, but when it becomes poison, stop the complaining and move on.

7) Walk. Take Good Long Walks. If you remember the Forest Gump movie when he lost Jenny he started to run - and run - and run - till he had run away enough from his problem to get back to life. Walk. Run. Move it.

8) Borrow a donkey! In today’s first reading we have a Bible text from the prophet Zechariah. It says that your king will come to you riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass and he’ll banish the chariot and the horse. He’ll banish the warrior’s bow and proclaim peace to the nations. This text was taken by Jesus - as we know from Palm Sunday. If you want peace, get off your high horse. Borrow a donkey. Become humble - and stop shooting everyone in sight with sharp arrows - and you’ll discover peace in this way - while on  your way.

9) Pray and then do something about the situation, if you can. I have about 25 sayings that say just that. My favorite version is, “Pray for potatoes, but pick up a shovel.”

10) Go to Jesus. He says in today’s gospel for us to do just that:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

This took just 10  minutes. I didn’t want to be a burden to you.


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Painting on top

by Norbert Schwontkowski

SOLVING  PROBLEMS

July  3, 2011

Quote for Today - July 3,  2011

"Let's swap problems since all people know how to solve other people's problems."

Anonymous

TOMMORROW!

Quote for Today - July 2, 2011

"One of the kindest things God ever did was to put a curtain over tomorrow."

Anonymous

HEARTS AND MINDS

INTRODUCTION

On this feast of the Sacred Heart, the title of my homily is, “Hearts and Minds.”

STATUE OF THE SACRED HEART

When Catholics hear the words, “Sacred Heart” - the odds are they picture a statue of the Sacred Heart in a church - a statue of Jesus with his heart outside his body - in the center of his chest - a heart on fire with flames and light as well as a crown of thorns around it.

Amazing. What would a person who never had heard of Christ and Christianity think/ feel if they walked into a church and saw such a statue or picture for the first time?

It’s an image and a devotion that goes way back to the 11th and 12th centuries. At first it was a private devotion. It was a mystical image - but in time it became more and more popular. In the 1600’s, with the so called revelations of a nun named Marguerite Marie Alacoque [1647-1690], this image became more widespread - till a pope, Leo XIII, promulgated it to all the church in 1899.

Pope Benedict XVI recently asked the Jesuits and others to promote devotion to Jesus - imagining him as the Sacred Heart.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? THEORIES AND CONJECTURES

I’ve often wondered what it’s all about?

As a result I have theories and conjectures.

Some people wear their heart on their sleeve; others have a great poker face.

We use the image of heart all the time.

James Earl Jones once said, “One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.”

I discovered somewhere along the line that people love personality tests. One basic test is to discover whether a person is more heart or more mind? Many people have taken the so called Myers-Briggs test or the Jungian Test - which gives you a number - testing you to see if you come more from your mind or your heart. I score higher from the heart. I was never good in logic or algebra or math or the Rubik Cube or following directions in putting together a gadget from the instruction sheet. I never look under the hood of a car.

Here’s a simple test: draw yourself. But draw your heart and your head based on how much one is stronger than the other in your personality. Then ask someone who knows you to draw you in the way they see you - and if they wish - they do the same - and then each of your look at the 4 drawings you come up with.

It’s a matter of degrees.

Classically men are supposed to be mind or head and women are supposed to be all heart. It’s a stereotype. I’ve been beaten by my sister-in-law in chess. I prefer Rummy or Go Fish to Bridge!

RELIGION

When it comes to picturing God, would you picture God all mind or head or all heart?

I have a theory about religion. When religion becomes heavy with Reason and Rationalism - someone is going to come out with religious revelations that are Romantic and Emotional.

Check out the Founding Fathers of the United States. Several of them were Deists. They picture God as head or mind. Check out the image on the back of the dollar bill. There is the pyramid with the all seeing eye of God in the head or top of the Triangle. The Deists picture God as architect - planning and creating this world and then put it on it’s own.

When we study the universe, if we are very mathematical and logical, it might make sense. You can’t land someone on the moon without knowing the Math of our Solar System. And our world is very logical. People are able to Go Figure the logic of fires and storms in the hurricane and tornado and forest fire season.

IMAGE OF DIVINE MERCY

I have a theory that when the image of the Sacred Heart faded from our spirituality along came another nun with a similar image - that of Divine Mercy - and it filled the gap and in time another pope promoted her revelations.

HEAD AND HEART

Obviously we need both - because we have both.

And if we live long enough, we’ll discover that it’s smart to work with, cooperate with and be with others who have the gifts we don’t have - and we have the gifts they don’t have.

It’s called a good marriage; it’s called a good team; it’s called a good meeting.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude with a quote from Marilyn vas Savant - who was a columnist - “Ask Marilyn”. She is said to have been the person who has had the hightest IQ ever recorded: 228. The quote from Marilyn: “If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything, you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart.”

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Painting on top: Sacred Heart by Jose Maria Ibarraran y Ponce - 1896

SISTER  AND  BROTHER

Quote for Today: July  1, 2011

"A small girl described her small brother as 'my next to skin.'"

Anonymous

ARGUING

Quote for Today - June 29, 2011

"An argument is the longest distance between two points of view."

Anonymous

PETER & PAUL:

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this June 29th Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul is, “Peter & Paul: Who Do You Say That I Am?”

In today’s gospel from Matthew 16: 13-19, we have Jesus trying to get his disciples to know who he is. He asks, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

I thought for this homily on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul - to ask the same question of Peter and Paul: “Who do you say Peter and Paul are?”

I would think Paul would be easier to describe than Peter - because there is so much more we know about Paul compared to what we know about Peter. What’s your take on Peter and Paul? How do you see each of them?

EVENTS MORE THAN IDEAS

T.W. Manson in describing Paul gives what I thought was a good insight. He says Paul was not a systematic theologian. He doesn’t give us ideas - or abstractions - or principals. Yet he says Paul is a Great Christian thinker. Then he adds: to understand Paul think events more than ideas - a series of events more than a series of ideas. Paradoxically, that’s an idea - rather than an event.

I thought the same thing can be said even more with Peter.

But what does it mean to say events more than ideas forming a person’s life? Is it the difference between forming and informing - the difference between formation and information?

OUR OWN LIVES

Have we ever looked in the mirror and said, “Who are you?” Has anyone ever said to us, “I can’t figure you out?” Have we ever replied back to them, “At times, I can’t figure myself out either.” Isn’t that how Paul felt - based on his self comments in Romans 7:14-25?

Well, what are the events that shaped my life?

A person is taught catechism - and religious education - but why am I a Catholic? Was it parents or a spouse that gave us good example? What kept us as a Catholic? Was it a certain teacher, the good example of a friend - the family we grow up in - whether our parents went to church or what have you.

I heard of a lady - who is married - has a couple of kids - has gone to Sunday Mass all her life - got her husband by her example to start going to Mass - but has only gone to confession once in her life - her first confession. As a little girl making her first confession, the priest yelled at her for not knowing the act of contrition, so she said, “That’s it for that!” And that was it for that.

We priests say behind other priests back - those who yell at parents for crying babies in church or what have you - that they are going to have to pay for all the people they have driven from the Church. So too a host of faults and foibles by the priests of our church.

I’ve made my mistakes. I’ve had one person walk out on me - that I know of. It was a priest. I was at least 30 years younger than he was. He wanted me to give the same sermon we were giving on weekend retreats to married couples on their retreat - many of whom had come to weekend retreats earlier in the year - and heard our weekend sermons. So I chose to preach on the same readings - but give a homily for a married couple. He didn’t like it - so he walked out.

I learned from that experience a lot more than reading a book or an article on the priesthood or personality. That moment had an impact on me. Let me tell you. Then there are all those people whom I hurt or bothered down through the years. I still go by the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule that an old priest once told me: 1/3 like you, 1/3 don’t like you, 1/3 don’t care. Get over it.

PETER AND PAUL

So Peter and Paul were formed by their experiences of Jesus Christ.

Paul was trying to exterminate and put an end to those who followed Jesus - and in that persecution he discovered Jesus Christ - who changed his life - and then he had crawl on the ground, before he could rise. He had to see his blindness, before he could see. He had to experience darkness, before he could see the light.

He learned humility. He “moved from a self-centered to a Christ-centered life”. Christ was his strength as we heard in today’s second reading.

Peter can be pictured as the fisherman chosen by Christ - that day at the beach. Christ must have seen something in him - that could call others to follow Christ. And right away the gospels give us the hint about Peter’s personality. Big mouth. Foot in mouth. Foot out of mouth. Foot following Christ.

CONCLUSION

What’s your take on Peter and Paul? Do 1/3 of you like Peter? Do 1/3 of you like Paul? Do 1/3 of you say, “I never thought about the question?”

Notice how I worded that last 1/3. I didn’t say, “You don’t care!” Nope I put it the way I put it, because I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth. I wouldn’t want 1/3 of you to walk out.

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NOTES:

Painting on top: Saints Peter and Paul by El Greco - Domenikos Theotokopoulos [c,1541-1614]. As far as I could figure out, this is one of 3 paintings of Peter and Paul by El Greco. That's Peter with the key in his hand and Paul pointing to his writings. Another painting has Paul with a sword.


 (1) T. W. Manson, On Paul and John, Alec Allenson, Inc. pages 11-14.