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April  2,  2012

Quote for Today

"Better be kind at home
than burn incense
in a far place."

Chinese Proverb
Picture  "A Path for Gods"  by Ole Jensen - found on line.

HE SEEMED 

SO ELSEWHERE

[This is a Palm Sunday Reflection for 2012.]


I stood on the side - on the edge of the crowd that day - wondering what was going on.

I looked at Jesus’ face - better his eyes - as he came up the road that day. He seemed so elsewhere.

Sitting on a donkey: what was that all about? Crowds waiving palms - praising him: what was that all about? He seemed so elsewhere.

Where was his mind? What was he thinking? What was he wondering about? What were those standing there that day thinking?

I know I’ve been there - at a meal - and I was a hundred miles away. I was chewing lamb, but in my thoughts - I was chewing on something else - planning something else - wanting to be elsewhere.

As the crowd along the road waved palms and shouted, “Hosanna!” I could spot a few of his enemies - tight faced - angry - planning something else.

I watched him all that week - a week that was to be different from all other weeks.

Weeks and months before this week, I heard him say - he had to get to Jerusalem. So I knew he was in Jerusalem long before he got to Jerusalem that day.

I knew he knew - this was to be his destiny - so here he was - but he seemed to be so elsewhere.

Life can often be what we didn’t plan it to be. We know what we want till we get what we want. And then we realize it wasn’t what we wanted.

That Thursday evening, I was close to the end of the table for that supper. I watched his hands. They were tapping the table at times. I watched him eyeing the bread - wincing as he broke it. I saw him tasting the wine slowly - and his face seemed to be sensing - that he knew he was about to be crushed.

I heard him say, “This is my body….” with the bread. “This is my blood ….” with the wine. I heard him say, “This is the beginning of a New Passover, a New Exodus, a New Covenant, a New Life.”

I knew this was his last supper with us. I just knew that when I saw Judas slip out into the night. Something was wrong with Judas. He also could be so elsewhere.

At that meal I listened carefully. Jesus told us about loving one another. After he the shepherd would be slaughtered like the Lamb for the Passover Supper - we would be scattered. What was that all about? He was passing over too many steps that we hadn’t taken yet. After he's gone, he reminded us to remain together like branches on the vine - because separated we’d have no life within us. He told us to produce much fruit and in the meanwhile - to wash feet. He kept on talking about his Father - coming from and going back to him - sending a Spirit to us. None of us are scribes. Yet I wished there was someone who was taking this down.

I saw Jesus’ face tighten as he too went out into the night.

We followed him - bundled up together - in fear and in the dark.

He didn’t ask me to join him in prayer. Once more it was just Peter, James and John. However, I was watching - watching John in particular. It seemed that he was sensing something that Peter wasn’t. James? I am not sure. John always seemed to be taking it all in - seeming to be so elsewhere - at times.

I could hear Jesus’ frustration with Peter - not staying awake - but sleeping - while he Jesus was deep in prayer, deep in worry, deep in scare - deep in fear.

Silence. Night. What’s next?

Then I heard the soldiers coming with torches - burning bright torches - probably to arrest Jesus. I saw Judas’ face in the light. I saw the kiss. Jesus looked right at Judas. Judas turned away. And as they dragged Jesus away, Judas’ face fell. He seemed so elsewhere.

I stayed on the edge. They rushed Jesus to places behind big doors - strong gates - big walls. I couldn’t get inside. But I heard that they were beating and making fun of Jesus inside - with no clue what they were doing.

That Friday I heard the crowd screaming for Barabbas - screaming for crucifixion - and I thought I spotted in the crowd some of those I saw last Sunday who were praising him. I guess people can be like that.

I watched him being forced to carry his own cross on the way to Calvary. I think he caught my eye once - but I looked elsewhere. I didn’t know what to do.

I stayed at the edge of the crowd at Calvary. I saw some of his blood squirt from his hands when they nailed him to the cross - right onto the skin of a small boy who carried the bucket of nails and the hammer to Calvary. That was ironic because some cried, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.”

I heard him cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

God seemed so elsewhere - so it seems - sometimes.

Jesus hung there for what seemed like hours.

Jesus seemed so elsewhere when he died.

I kept saying to myself, “Now what? Now what? Is there a next or do we all go back home - to all the elsewhere’s we’ve been thinking about the past three years - to all these elsewhere’s we all left behind?

      

THE DONKEY

When fishes flew and forests walked,
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood,
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry,
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
Of all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient, crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hours and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

G.K. Chesterton  [1874-1936]

MARRIAGE  101

March  31,  2012

Quote for Today


"To maintain a successful marriage,
according to research 
by psychologist John Gottman, Ph. D.,
husbands and wives must offer each other
at least five acts of love and kindness
to balance each single act of spite or selfishness.
You may walk around carrying negative incidents
like daggers in your heart,
ignoring the thousands of positive things
that happen to you every day."


page 68, "In Praise of Rose Colored Glasses", O Magazine, September 2011

WHISPERS  
OR   STONES?

INTRODUCTION

Which hurt more: whispers or stones?

The title of my homily for this 5^th Friday in Lent is, “Whispers or stones?

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s first reading from Jeremiah 20: 10-13 begins with Jeremiah hearing “the whisperings of many….”

Today’s gospel from John 10:31-42 begins with these words, “The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.”

That’s where the thought for this homily came from.

Then the question: “Which hurt more: whispers or stones?”

CHILDHOOD SAYING

Children were taught to say to those who taunted or bullied them with words as kids, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

But the adults who  taught their kids to say that knew that names hurt both kids and adults - often much worse than sticks and stones.

Kids learn fast that the rule on the bus and the playground is: “Bully rather than be bullied.”

There are 2 kinds of people: those who bully and those who are bullied.

There are many articles and comments on talk radio shows lately about this issue of bullying. The goal is to cut down bullying - even stop it - if possible.

I don’t know about what your childhood was like - but I know that kids don’t know what they are doing - but they can be challenged to learn to know what they are doing. I know I joined the pack to pick on those who were different: those who were overweight, had glasses, pimples, or big ears. If we got past the stage of our mom bringing us to school (we could walk in our day), and some other kid didn’t, we might pick on that kid as a “momma’s boy”.

ADULTS

We know that once a person is accused of something - if it was a false accusation - it’s hard to put mud back into the puddle - it’s hard to remove graffiti from a person’s reputation.

In small print we read from time to time about someone who was accused of sexually abusing a kid - commits suicide - and sometimes the accusation is false.

Jeremiah goes down in history as the man who was in the pits. That’s where his accusers tossed him.

Jesus goes down in history as the man whose whispers against ended him up at Calvary. Jesus goes down in history as the man who died on the cross - with spit on his skin - along with blood and bruises from falling and being beaten. 

CONCLUSION: GOLDEN RULE

I’m still learning - because I still whisper and sometimes spit or spurt out a comment about another - getting a laugh from the others - but a pained look - if I look - on the face of the person I throw a word rock or stone at.

I know if I take the time to pause before I open my mouth - for a whisper or a shout - and ask, “Would I like it, if someone did this to me?” 

I believe the Golden Rule is another saying parents teach kids - along with “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

GLAD,  MAD  OR SAD?

March  30,  2012

Quote for Today

"The repercussions 
of one person 
living in stubborn gladness 
are incalculable."

Martha Beck, O magazine, page 67, September 2011

ABRAHAM

INTRODUCTION

Both readings for today - and Psalm 105 - in between - talk about Abram or Abraham - so let me pull together a few comments about Abram or Abraham - on this 5th Thursday in Lent.

5 OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ABRAHAM

Since this is not an actual pulpit homily - I don’t have to worry about boring a reader with the following observations. If interesting, they might continue; if not interesting, they can simply push that X up in the corner and move on like Abram or Abraham did.

FIRST OBSERVATION: MANY APPEARANCES

In the New American Bible, the name Abraham appears 254 times - mostly in Genesis. Abram appears 63 times. So that’s 317 times.

It’s not as many as Jesus - who has 1049 name appearances or David with 1025 or Moses with 814 name appearances.

Yet Abraham must be noticed - and paid attention to - as one goes through the Scriptures - Jewish and Christian.

SECOND OBSERVATION: MODEL OF FAITH

In both the Jewish and Christian Scriptures - Abraham is seen primarily as an example of faith - moving forward - with trust - and without clarity what will happen next.

In the Jewish scriptures this message appears in the 12th Chapter of Genesis - when Abram’s name is the shortened version of Abraham and he is asked to move to a new land and a new life. The second big faith struggle takes place when Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

The so called, “Letter to the Hebrews” certainly proclaims this motif and message. We find it loud and clear in Chapter 11: 8-19.

THIRD OBSERVATION: COVENANTS AND PROMISES

If one wants to understand the Jewish and Christian religions, one must understand covenants.

We know the meaning of the words, “I promise!”

We know the meaning of, “Let’s make a deal?”

We know the meaning, “Let’s handshake on this.”

We know the meaning of, “I give you my word.”

We know the human sentiment behind the advice, “Get it in writing.”

Human beings make agreements, deals, contracts, covenants with each other. The Bible is filled with them.

The Jews believed that God made a covenant with Abraham - that God spoke to this man - which included the promise of a son - whose seed would fill the world.

FOURTH OBSERVATION: REVELATION

When talking about Abraham - when seeing him as one of the founding pillars and fathers of the Jewish religion, we’re accepting the concept of revelation - that God reveals Himself to some humans - in somewhat mysterious ways.

Artists and story tellers have to be creative on how they present this experience of revelation. Check out the You Tube version at the beginning of this blog piece.

FIFTH OBSERVATION: A LONG TIME AGO

When talking about Abram or Abraham, we’re talking about a long time ago. The story is in the bosom of legend and the ancient history of a people. The story develops in time - to become core religious tradition for a people.

Scholars place him sometime between 2000 and 1500 B.C.

CONCLUSION

I would suggest reading the material in Genesis on Abraham at first and then go to the Abraham material in the Letter to the Hebrews.

I would then suggest reflecting on the human condition of making promises, covenants, and wanting revelations and surety from God that we are moving in the right direction. Amen.