CHANGING  THE  PAST

Quote for Today - August 18,  2011

"Even God cannot change the past."

Agatjpm [c. 447 -  401 B.C.]

IF YOU WERE A TREE,

WHAT KIND OF A TREE

WOULD YOU BE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 20th Wednesday of Ordinary Time is, “If You Were A Tree, What Kind Of A Tree Would You Be?”

I have always found self tests something that really gets people’s attention. I translate that to mean: people want to grow in self knowledge - and people want to know how they are coming across.

In today’s gospel [Matthew 20:1-16], Jesus provides a great self test in the Parable of the Vineyard. Am I like the owner? Am I like those who don’t like the owner’s generosity? Am I an early or am I a late starter? Am I like those Christians who are great Christians all their lives - but they don’t like it when Jesus says, “You can steal heaven at the last moment.” That’s what he said from the cross to the Good Thief and that’s one of the things he’s saying in this parable. [Cf. Luke 23:43]

The parables of Jesus are great self tests. All you have to do is read a parable and ask yourself: “Which character in the story am I?”

And there are lots of “If’y” Self Tests. If you were an animal, what kind of an animal would you be? If you were a dog, what kind of a dog would you be? If you were a car, what kind of a car would you be? If you were music, what kind of music would you be?

A ton more of attention arises if others in a group are asked to describe everyone in the group as an animal, a dog, music, a car, the weather, or what have you.

I would be a monkey high in a tree - with a boom box - playing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

If you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Today’s first reading from Judges 9: 6-15 triggers this reflection on self tests.

Jotham doesn’t like Abimelech who was made king by the citizens of Shechem. So he makes the top of Mount Gerizim his pulpit or platform or podium and tells the parable of the trees. There is evidence from Aesop and many others in the Middle East from way back that speakers often used in their speeches the differences in trees - trees being jealous and envious of each other - trees having strengths and weaknesses - comparing trees to people: kings, politicians, leaders, etc.

In the parable in today’s first reading Jotham tells the values and the pluses of the olive tree and the fig tree - as well as grape vines -and each in turn is asked to be king and all say, “No!” Each says, “I don’t want to spend my time waving to other trees. I want to spend my time producing oil or fruit or wine.” So they ask the buckthorn to reign over them. The buckthorn tree says, “If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith, come and take refuge in my shade.” The message is, “Expect to be stuck and stung and cut and bleeding if you take me on. I come with thorns.” Jotham is telling the folks, “You have taken Abimelech as king. You fools. Don’t expect benefits. Expect cuts! expect to be scratched.”

To me it proves the scriptures, if one takes the time to sit in its shade, are saying, “So what else is new? Isn’t life the same old same old?”

Here we are in August of 2011 and politicians are going around waving their hands - running for election or re-election - and the next national elections are  not till November 2012.

Obviously, we want public servants - popes and presidents - priests and principals - teachers and doctors - to give us fruit - from their work - not hand waving - that they are working in the vineyard and not standing around doing nothing. If you were the pope or the president, what kind of a tree would you be?

APPLE TREE OR CHRISTMAS TREE?

One of my favorite sermon examples is the “Apple Tree or Christmas Tree” sermon.

A priest asked the congregation: Are you an apple tree or a Christmas tree? Then he said, “The Christmas tree just stands there, looks pretty and people lay gifts at its feet. The apple tree gives blossoms with a delicious scent in the spring, gives shade and rest in the summer and gives apples in the fall.”

CONCLUSION

Here in this church of St. John Neumann we are under the tree of the cross. Jesus does not wave to us. His hands are nailed. For starters, the call is to sit under this tree and eat of its fruits. Chew on Jesus’ last words. Console Mary. Say, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” Hear Jesus say about the tree of the cross, “Greater love than this, no one has, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” “If you want to follow me, pick up your cross every day.”

BE PRO LIFE! 

DON'T ABORT YOURSELF! 

SEE THE 

GRANDEUR 

OF EACH OTHER!

Quote for Today - August 17, 2011

"If there is a sin against life, it lies perhaps less in despairing of it than in hoping for another and evading the implacable grandeur of the one we have."

Albert Camus [1913-1960]

Tap tap [twice] with a left click
 to see the picture on top
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cinemascopic perspective.

THE LORD BE WITH YOU.

AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT.

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 20th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “The Lord Be With You. And With Your Spirit.”

This coming November 27th, the First Sunday of Advent, one of the possible opening prayers at Mass is, “The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.” It will replace, “The Lord be with you. And also with you.”

We’ll discover together if this change and the other changes in our Mass will switch smoothly.

I don’t remember what it was like back in the 1960’s and 70’s when other changes took place.

We’ll see.

A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE

It’s interesting that today’s first reading has “The Lord is with you.”

That’s a one word, one verb, difference from “The Lord be with you.”

The old Latin was “Dominus vobiscum.” It has no verb. I assume it’s understood. So I assume it can be translated “be” or “is”.

And the altar boy and the parish responded, “Et cum spiritu tuo.”

So the change will mirror the Latin in this second phrase, the response, “Et cum spiritu tuo.” “And with your spirit.”

So someone just gave a teaching - an explanation - of one of the upcoming changes in the Liturgy of Mass. I’m sure some of us, the bulletin, Catholic papers and magazines, will be mentioning more and more tiny bits of info as we move towards next Advent.

I’m assuming we’ll learn by doing. People will have missalette in hand and priest will have missal in hand - till the changes become second nature.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Let me take a moment to point out something about today’s first reading: Judges 6: 11-14 - the call to Gideon. It has the announcement: “The Lord is with you.”

When you heard today’s first reading, did it ring any association bells? This is something that the scriptures are often trying to do: trigger thoughts, memories, as well as other scripture stories and texts.

It rang loud and clear something I heard back in 1962 - when we studied today’s first reading for the first time. The professor had us read today’s first reading and then read the gospel of Luke 1:26-38. That's the annunciation scene. He asked, “Any comments!” We said, “Both are very similar.” He added, “Both are annunciation accounts.”

There are various, “Dominus vobiscum” scenes in the Bible. It’s a greeting. So it’s not just a “Hello”. It’s bringting the Lord be into the greeting. We still do this. When someone sneezes, many still say, “God bless you.” When someone is going in for an operation or they are taking a trip, some say, “May the Lord be with you!” or “I’ll keep you in my prayers.” Or “Please God you’ll have a safe trip!”

Lithuanian blessings, Irish blessings - Polish blessings - Italian blessings - are loaded with the “God” or “Lord” word. Praise God.

Then there is today’s annunciation scene  from the book of Judges. Just as in Mary’s annunciation scene, after the opening greeting comes questions, some fears, some wonderings, and then comes the blessed assurance. “The Lord will be with you.”

So we begin Mass and end Mass with the “Dominus Vobiscum”. It’s a Latin Blessing - but before that a Hebrew Blessing - underneath that, a human blessing - a prayer and a hope that we all realize we’re not here alone - and we won’t leave or go it alone today.

CONCLUSION

“The Lord be with you.”

I said that to see what you would answer.

After November 27 it will be a mix of “And also with you” and also “And with your spirit.”

Hopefully this sermon and these future changes will be much ado about something.

STOP YELLING! 

PREACH US 

GOOD NEWS!

Quote for Today - August 16, 2011

"A popular preacher once said of his pulpit efforts, 'I always roar when I have nothing to say.'"

Anonymous

ASSUMPTION

Babies are born with beautiful baby skin.
Little kids light up and run when they
spot a playground - every time.


Teenagers flirt and dance and yank
each other’s hair and back packs -
and love to laugh and give high 5’s.


Twenty to thirty nine year olders think the
whole wide world is theirs.


Forty to sixty year olders come down
to earth - their knees and backs and
schedules telling them: “There are limits.”


Sixty to seventy year olders start to stop
to look a lot deeper into the things one cannot
see or prove: God?; Meaning?; Is there
an answer to our “Why’s?” and our Cries?;
“Is this all there is?” or worded another way
as the big question: “Is there resurrection after this?”


Seventy to ninety year olders - if they
make it that far - go to more wakes
and funerals and doctors and find
themselves more and more sitting in the stands
of off to the side - some with rich smiles,
some with sad snarls or scars - or because
of hurts that never healed. Assumptions!


These are all assumptions. More or less….
Isn’t this the way it is for everyone?
Faith and hope are assumptions as well as
words - in the first half of life. In the second half
they are decisions. Walls? Doors? Christ!


Sometimes we find Jesus at the seashore
after a night of catching nothing. Sometimes
he’s just standing there and like a little kid
spotting a playground we can run to him.


And then there is Mary - Perpetual Help -
the One who is always on the edge of the wedding
or standing in the crowd or along the way
or under the cross - the Sorrowful Mother.


In life she, like Jesus, was aware of neighbor,
those who ran out of wine or bread.
Life: sometimes it's fullness, sometimes it's emptiness,
and sometimes it's in between ….


In death, Jesus and Mary are pictured for us
on walls of churches as well as in art museums,
two who became more and more aware of the Father
as they came home to His embrace.
At least that’s our assumption.
At least that’s the assumption called “faith”.


And so to sum some of this up: First things first….
We go from baby skin to wrinkles,
from dash and flash to sitting and pondering.


It seems we have to become aware of all
the other things first - before we become aware
of the great assumption: Resurrection - the
stepping not into the grave but into the
Eternal Dance - the full Wedding Feast -
dancing with each other - with Jesus and Mary
with Eternal Bread, Eternal Wine on our Holy Breath.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2011

ASSUMPTION OF MARY 

Quote for Today - Feast of the Assumption - August 15, 2011


"In very deed,
Washed with new fire to their irradiant birth,
Reintegrated are the heavens and earth;
From sky to sod,
The world's unfolded blossom smells of God."

Francis Thompson [1859-1907], An Ode after Easter.

Painting on Top: Assumption of Mary