OPTIMIST - PESSIMIST
September 3, 2011
Quote for Today
"An optimist may see a light where there is none, buy why must the pessimist always run to blow it out."
Michel de Saint-Pierre
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
BREAD AND WINE
INTRODUCTION
The title of homily for this 22 Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Bread and Wine.”
Today’s gospel talks about a wedding banquet - food glorious food - while talking about just the opposite - fasting - not taking food. Then at the end of our short gospel reading for today we hear about wine. [Cf. Luke 5:33-39.]
Most Christians know about fasting - not from religious practice - as much as part of the process for certain medical tests. We all know about wedding banquets. How many weddings does a person attend in a lifetime? Do women like going to weddings more than men? Is it an obligation? Is it a want to? “Stop complaining, honey, it’s your brother’s daughter. Okay, I know, they live way out there in Des Moines. That’s going to be an expensive trip and things are tight. But we're going, right?”
Some questions: What is Luke trying to get his community of listeners to reflect upon in today’s gospel? Is it people who are off on the fasting as a way of trying to look better than others? Is it the question of people wanting to change other people? They still haven’t figured out the number one issue in life is the issue of people wanting to change other people into their image and likeness. Is it people who don’t see life as a banquet - and they want to drag people down to their sadness?
More questions: How does God see life? Is it a wedding or a funeral? What’s this stuff about the old and the new which we hear about in today’s gospel? I know the difference between a baby’s skin compared to the skin on the inside of the right or left arm just above the elbow of a 78 year old person - poolside. There's a difference between new cloth and old cloth - as mentioned in today’s gospel. There is a difference at weddings between the dress on a 22 year old gal with great big heels and her grandmother in a gray blue dress with big unglossy pearls around her neck that were her grandmother's.
After reflecting upon these images and issues, I wasn't sure what to preach on, so I decided in this homily to say something about bread and wine.
Wait a minute! I can understand talking about wine, it's in today's gospel, but where did you get the bread from?
You’re right.
The mention of wine triggered for me its connection with bread.
Hence the title of my homily is: “Bread and Wine”.
We know about both. They are as basic as a kitchen or dining room table and a chair. And the image of a kitchen or dining room table triggers eating.
And there are always at every meal two things: eating and drinking.
I was going to say “You'll find bread and wine at every meal”. That’s true for Italy and various other cultures. However, most of the time one doesn’t find bread at Chinese Restaurants - and not everyone drinks wine. For their drink, they might prefer beer or pop or milk or water.
So I’m being generic here. At every meal there are food and drink.
Then there are also words. Words are an important ingredient at every meal - that is, unless we eat alone. Yet, even then we talk to ourselves - or some people grab for some words from a newspaper or magazine or book or they have the TV or radio on.
THE MASS
I preambled all of the above to get to the Mass. I see the Mass as bread and wine and words - and people.
What’s your take on the Mass?
Do you think meal? If you do, then you understand a regular inner question I often ask myself: Why don’t people get the Mass?
The Mass is basic meal.
That’s my main stress about the Mass.
People get meals, so by pushing that I assume they can get the Mass?
TWO MEALS
The Mass is based on 2 meals.
The first meal was the last meal that the Jews had before they escaped from Egypt to head for the Promised Land. When the call, the warning came, the bread didn’t have time to rise. So they celebrated that escape with a memory meal - forever afterwards - and with unleavened bread. They also had wine. And the Passover Meal ever after had bread and wine - unleavened bread and various cups of wine. In time, because they pulled the whole exit, exodus, escape off, it became an annual Thanksgiving Meal. It was celebrated every year at the time of a full moon. It was springtime - resurrection time - new budding life time. Thank you, God, thank you.
The second meal was that same Passover Meal. However, this was a specific one. It was the one Jesus celebrated the night before he died. It was his Last Supper. During that meal he said some powerful things - and gave us this Thanksgiving Meal - we've been celebrating ever since. It was in the spring - with full moon - with unleavened bread and wine - several cups of wine. It also had the paschal lamb that was slain for the meal - along with the bitter herbs, etc. to remind everyone that life is not just the sweet, but also the bitter.
We get the story.
We know how meals work.
So we know the Mass.
Read my book. I have a whole book on the Mass - which I wrote a few years ago. It has all this in it and a lot more. But none of you read it, because the 3 different publishers I sent it to, sent it back with a rejection notice. I know rejection slips. Every writer does.
I’ll put this homily on my blog and maybe some publisher will read it -and give me a call. Actually I’m looking for an e-publisher or an e-publisher agent - because I have 8 books - that could be e-books right now.
Back to bread and wine - back to the Mass - after that advertisement.
OLD AND NEW - FRESH AND STALE
It also struck me last night that today’s gospel talks about old wine and old skins - new wine and new skins - old cloth and old patches - new cloth and new patches. It makes the point not to switch - otherwise things aren’t going to work.
Those images of skins and cloth - packaging and clothing - are also as basic as bread and wine.
It also hit me that bread doesn't age as well as wine. Wine as today's gospel points out can get better with age. Bread on the other hand can become stale - but it seems less because it's unleavened. This is the bread that is given out in communion. We believe it's Jesus the Lord . Then we put what is left over into the breadbox - the tabernacle. The practice with wine - The Precious Blood - differers. We don't store it after Mass.
Question: could we switch to leavened bread - to make it taste more like bread - so that people would make the connection of the altar table with the dining room table?
Answer: it’s not out of the question - but in the Western Church - the tradition has been unleavened bread.
It’s not out of the question because the Orthodox Churches and Uniate Eastern Churches, one receives leavened bread.
THE UPCOMING CHANGES IN THE MASS
We had a staff meeting yesterday concerning the upcoming changes in the Mass that start next Advent.
One of the reasons I’m talking a bit about the Mass today is because of that meeting yesterday. All of us said we’d be talking a big more about the Mass till next Advent.
Use of leavened bread is not one of the changes.
Question: if you could make 5 changes in the Mass, what would your five changes be?
Questions: if you’ve been a Catholic since 1965, you’ve seen changes in the Mass in your lifetime? Do you remember what you thought and felt back then when we switched over to English and the priest faced the people, etc. What are 5 things you liked about when that happened? What have you got used to that you like?
Question: what are the changes that are about to happen this Advent?
Sit down with bread and wine - and chat with each other about your take on what the Mass means to you.
Being here today - it’s not a Sunday - you’re telling yourself and everyone else that this getting together - to share bread and wine and words - is important to you.
CONCLUSION
I’m sure someone will suggest one change in the Mass would be no sermons or shorter ones. This sermon would be an argument for that position - because it feels like a patch job to me. Enough with the excuses.
In the meanwhile, the Mass is still basic meal - bread, wine, words, and people receiving and chewing, digesting and sipping and drinking up the Lord.
In the meanwhile the Mass is still the Passover Meal - what is there in my life that I have to pass over and where do I have to exit from and exodus to?
In the meanwhile, as we heard in today’s first reading, Jesus holds all things together. Thank God.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Painting on top: Detail of the Last Supper by the Dutch Artist, Joos van Cleve [1485-1540] - Louve, Paris
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
PSALM 52
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 22 Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “Psalm 52”.
That’s the Psalm that is used today between the First reading and today’s Gospel. I only heard of one priest in my whole life, Father Pat McGarrity, who preached on the Psalms. I heard that he preached on the Psalm in between the readings for a whole year in his parish up in Pennsylvania. Interesting.
In the past three years I’ve been preaching more on the First Reading during the week - just to be challenged - and to learn more and be enriched more. The Psalms are sitting there waiting. I’ve given about 10 retreats on the Psalms - and I’ve often had the thought, “Why not offer a program here in the parish on the psalms - say for an hour - like Deacon Norcio gave on Saint Paul?” Time, laziness, lots of other jobs and the question: would people show up?
The title of my homily for today is, “Psalm 52.”
And today we’re only getting 2 verses of the Psalm - the last two verses 10 and 11, so the whole first section of the Psalm is not heard. That often happens in the liturgy. They simply want to use something from the Psalms as an interlude - especially a musical interlude. The early tradition was the Psalm was sung and the crowd sang the response - as we do here in most Sunday Masses.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Let me take a moment to give the whole context of the Psalm. So I would like to say a few words about the Psalm and then recite the whole Psalm.
The two verses we heard, the last two verses, are very positive.
The whole Psalm up to verse 10 is quite nasty and negative.
The Psalm gives us a choice. Do I rely on God or do I rely on myself and use my tongue to get at and deal with other people that annoy me or I don’t care for?
The Psalm uses David as a central character. People are attacking him with words - making fun of him with choice comments. How does he respond?
He responds that he relies on God - and as a result he’s like an olive tree that is flourishing in God’s temple. He responds by saying that he is praising God - because God helps those who trust in him.
That’s the Psalm in a nutshell. So we have a choice to rely on God or on ourselves alone and our tongue - to fight, to cut, to stab back.
TWO TRANSLATIONS
Let me give two translations of Psalm 52. The first is the published and close to the Hebrew translation. I better add that I tweaked it a bit - based on various translations of it - so as to make it as clear as possible. I have a theory that the Psalms got their prestige because of the tune and sound - like our popular music - more than their words - so if they are not sung - I want to help them a bit with the best translation. The second will be my translation - more free flowing - because I like to do that as a hobby from time to time. I think I’ve done about 17 of the 150 Psalms so far.
PSALM 52
Why do you boast of evil, O hero?
God’s kindness is all day long,
so why does your tongue devise disasters?
Your tongue is like a well- sharpened razor,
ready for deceit.
You love evil better than good,
a lie more than telling the truth.
You love all destructive words
from your tongue of deceit.
God surely will smash you forever,
sweep you up and pull you out of your tent,
root your children from the land of the living.
And the righteous will see this and be in dread
and laugh over you and say,
“Look at the man who does not make
God his stronghold,
who trusts in his great wealth,
who should be strong, but he’s a disaster!
I, for my part, I am like a verdant olive tree
in the house of our God.
I trust in God’s kindness forevermore.
I shall praise You forever,
for You have acted and I have hoped in Your name,
for you have been so good to your faithful ones.
PSALM 52
Why are you so full of yourself,
you who think yourself so perfect.
Think of your tongue. It’s a sword
and your mouth is its scabbard.
You pull it out - sharpen it -
making it razor sharp
and then you slice people up
with your razor sharp words.
Your tongue is all lies.
No truth comes out of your mouth.
But don’t look now, you’re going
to lose all those around you -
especially your own children
and those of your own house.
People will be scared of you,
but they will also be laughing at you
behind your back.
So you have a choice - to trust in yourself,
in what you think are riches and valuable
or you can trust in the mercy and goodness of God -
and if you do, you’ll flourish
like an olive tree in God’s temple.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
WAKE UP!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 22 Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Wake Up!”
In spirituality and in psychology, in prayer and mediation, in various religions, a theme that pops up from time to time is, “Awakening!”
As Catholics we hear about it every year in Advent.
And here it is this morning in today’s first reading. Paul is telling the folks at Thessalonica - as he’ll tell the folks in Rome, “It’s time to wake up.” [1]
Wake up!
QUESTION
What have been the wake up calls in my life?
Was it a teacher or a coach that burst our balloon or ego bubble, who said, “Wake up or you’re going to fail!” or “Unless you show some improvement, you’re going to be sitting on the bench every game!”
Or was it not making the team - or being dumped by someone you fell in love with? Or was it a cancer scare or a death or a loss of a job?
What have been the wake up calls in my life?
Wake up!
BUDDHA
The Buddha found the light - the inner eye opener - the answer - the secret - in the middle way - while sitting under the Bodhi tree. And his life was different from then on - in and out. He had had it all. He gave away it all. He discovered light in the center of the seesaw. He saw riches and he saw poverty. He saw being young and he saw being old and losing it all slowly. He woke up. He saw and he could see through everything - that desire is what kills us. I want my way or it’s the high way - and that’s not the way it works. Remove desire and you remove unhappiness. Aha! Now I see! [2]
TREES
The Christian could sit under the tree of the cross - the Seeing Tree - and discover enlightenment. He or she could say just what the centurion said there on Calvary - the same thing the man with unclean spirits saw and said in today’s gospel. “I know who you are: the Holy One of God.”
The Christian could sit under the tree of the cross - the Seeing Tree - and discover that it doesn’t end the way I thought it was going to end. It took the disciples a bunch of days and a bunch of experiences and a lot of letting go after Good Friday to discover that - to see that.
The Christian could sit under the tree of the cross - the Seeing Tree - and discover that unless I learn to forgive - I’m not going to be okay. Can I see and then say what Jesus saw and said from the cross, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” If I can see that, I am seeing the power of resurrection that is possible in forgiveness - because forgiveness calls for the humble crumble of ego.
Sitting under the tree of the cross - the Seeing Tree - gets us to the roots of reality - and Christ the Risen One - can get us to rise and follow him - and continue to be Christ and his Presence in our world.
Sitting on these hard wooden benches - in this church - wood from cut down a long time ago - sitting under the tree of the cross - the Seeing Tree - we can see a lot - we can have big wake up calls.
A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE FOR TODAY: MAKE A LIST
Make a list of one’s 10 top wake up calls in one’s life so far.
The secret is to list 20, 40, 50 of them - enlightening moments - and then pick one’s top 10 and then rank them in order of impact. This takes work - and prayer - and time - but it’s well worth it.
And share your list with loved ones and hear theirs if possible.
Paul - under his earlier name Saul - had his big wake up call - his awakening moment on the road to Damascus. [3]
Augustine, whose feast was August 28, but we missed it because it was this past Sunday, had his wake up call in a garden in Milan. [4]
CONCLUSION
It’s my experience - if I do that kind of an exercise - making my list and then listing the 10 top wake up calls or wake up moments, then I’ll start to have more. That’s the way it works. Life can be an eye opening experience. We can wake up every morning - and no longer be a sleep walker.
I know I can preach asleep. I know people sleep during sermons. I know I can be like Rip Van Winkle and be asleep for years and years and years. [5]
As Paul said in today’s first reading, “All of you are children of light and of the day. We belong neither to darkness nor to night; therefore let us not be asleep like the rest, but awake and sober.”
Wake up.
I believe this is one of ten top things Jesus does: he calls people to wake up.
Wake up.
NOTES
[1] I Thessalonians 5: 1-6, 10-16 [Today's First Reading] Check also: Romans 13: 11-14; Ephesians 5: 1-20
[2] Buddhist Scriptures, edited by Edward Conze, Penguin Books, 1959; Lama Surya Das, Awakening The Buddhist Heart, Broadway Books, New, York, 2000, especially Chapter 2, “Awakening to a Deeper Love - A Buddha’s Love” Check The Documents of Vatican II, "Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions," [1965] # 2. Check also The Catechism of the Catholic Faith [1994], #842 and 843. I was hoping that this particular catechism would give more recognition on the gifts and insights of non-Christian religions to our world. Compare that Churchwide Catechism to The Dutch Catechism [1967], pages 28 to 30; 271; 284-285. Cf. Zen Catholicism by Dom Aelred Graham, Harcourt, Brace and World, 1963. Looking at the dates of the Vatican II document as well as The Dutch Catechism and Zen Catholicism, I am dating myself. Those were the years when my theological viewpoints were being shaped. Confer also the book by John Allen Jr. Cardinal Ratzinger, The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith, Continuum, New York, London, [2000], pages 253-255.
[3] Acts of the Apostles 9: 3-19; 22: 1-21
[4] St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 8, Chapter 12.
[5] Washington Irving, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon - has Irving's version of this often told folktale about someone who sleeps through significant changes in one's surroundings - some for many years. He published his story in 1819.
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