LISTENING TO

A WASHING MACHINE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11th Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Listening to a Washing Machine.”

I vaguely remembered and then looked up on line a comedy skit by Bob Newhart - where this family would put their father’s toupee into one of those front end washing machines - the one with the window. Then the members of the family would sit there and laugh as they watched it swish around in the water. Thought: was this the family of the person who invented the TV?

The title of my homily is, “Listening to a Washing Machine.”

I have never pulled up a chair and sat there and listened to a washing machine or a dish washer - but I’ve heard them after loading them or checking to see if they were finished.

The sounds vary. The sounds shift. The sounds are of tumble and switch.

The title of my homily is, “Listening to a Washing Machine.”

That’s the strange thought that hit me when I read today’s readings - especially today’s first reading from 2^nd Corinthians.

ST. PAUL’S LIFE

As you know St. Paul dominates the New Testament.

We have his letters and we have a lot about him in The Acts of the Apostles.

He was the educated one. As far as we know the others weren’t as educated. Some were fishermen - knowing the waters of Galilee - sometimes knowing when and where to fish - and how to mend nets.

In today’s first reading from 2^nd Corinthians  11: 18, 21-30 - we hear Paul arguing with some group - and he was in the habit of arguing.  And he pulls out all the stops. In today's reading he’s like a parent  - when a kid tells how hard a time he’s going through. Well St. Paul says,  “You think you have it rough? I was in prison a bunch of times. I was beaten and almost killed.  Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods,  once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked.” And he goes on and on like that.

That’s where I began hearing the sounds - like that of a washing machine - churning and shifting, swishing water and swirling clothes in the deep!

Then the machine finally stops. We open it up and everything is clean. The spaghetti sauce and melted cheese are off the plates and silverware or shirt or skirt or table cloth.

In today’s gospel  - Matthew 6: 19-23 - Jesus tells us more about life. In the long run the stuff that is not important has rotted and decayed. Time steals or another robs what can be taken. We wrinkle and wither, sag and leak - in time.

What remains is our heart. What’s in our heart?  

That’s what Jesus wants us to look at. It’s what remains - not what is lost. Better: we need to look at what we treasure. We better make sure we have what’s important and what’s right.

Jesus then switches from the heart to the eye.

Basic. Basic. Basic. That’s Jesus.

When we get our heart right, we can look each other in the eye.

When we can look each other in the eye, we can see that our heart is right.

I know that when I procrastinate and put things off, I want to hide - lest I see someone who is expecting me to finish something I promised I’d get to - or get done.

CONCLUSION

In the meanwhile, it’s important that we not only observe life, but that we learn from life.

Once more, the title of my homily is, “Listening to a Washing Machine.” 

Obviously, we're never going to sit there and listen to a washing machine. But if we did,  we could follow its stops and starts. We could follow its cycles.

In the meanwhile, what we could do, is this. We could sit there and look at the cycles of your life. We could make our list - like St. Paul did in today’s first reading. We could see when our heart was right - when our eye was right - when we were living in the light - as well as those times we were chasing after what doesn’t last - when we were living in the dark.

It’s then we could ask Jesus for a thorough washing - a rebaptism - a recleansing - and then a restarting - again and again and again. 

POLITICS DEFINED

Quote for Today - June 21, 2013

"The art of obtaining money from the rich and votes from the poor on the pretext of  protecting each from the other."

Oscar Ameringer - from page 4 of Golden Treasury of the Familiar, ed.ited by Ralph L. Woods,  1983

Question: What do they say of preachers? Smile!

SERMONS

Quote for Today - June 20, 2013

"A sermon is not an argument - 
 a sermon is a piece of bread."

Anonymous

KNOWING THE BASICS 

Quote for Today  - June 19, 2013

"It's not the most intellectual job in the world, but I do have to know the letters."

Vanna White

A NEW TAKE ON 
MATTHEW 5: 43-48 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11^th Tuesday in Ordinary time is, “A New Take on Matthew 5: 43-48.

As you know we’re going through the Sermon on the Mountain once more this year around this time. The first reading switches every other year, but the Gospels are the same.

In this section of the Sermon,  Jesus deals with how we deal with those folks we don’t like - those folks we get angry or agita with - those folks we feel we want to get even with - or what have you.

TODAY

Yesterday Jesus urged no retaliation - like the old law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  Rather he urges that we go to the other extreme and stop the wars and the in fighting - by turning the other cheek - going the extra mile. End the law suits. Today Jesus tells us to love our enemies - and those people we hate.

The obvious reason is because that’s how we can change things. That’s how we stop family and neighbor fights - by swallowing that venom inside our mouths - inside our cheeks.

Then last night - as I read today’s gospel -  I got a new take on Mathew 5: 43-48.

It’s not profound - but it hit me in a way I hadn’t thought about before - and this is over the 48^th time I’ve gone through this reading at least.

What hit me was that Jesus ends today’s gospel by talking about how God the Father is. God is perfect. Here Jesus is asking us to love our enemies and the one’s we hate to be with or those who hate us. What about God loving his enemies and those who hate him?

What about all those people who die - and most of their lives they ignored God, were indifferent to him, cursed God, didn’t want to know God - or lived a life of me, me, me, and then they die and God welcomes them with great love and shocks them with his love and his embrace.

Now that’s a different take on a basic religious attitude and thought.

Now one can get texts like Matthew 25 when we end up at the end in heaven or hell as a sheep or a goat depending on whether we helped our brother and our sister or Luke 16 when poor Lazarus ends up in bosom of Abraham and the rich man lands in the bosom of fire.

There are those texts. There is also evidence at times that God might be different than what we expect. There is evidence that some of those who have been good - who kept all the rules - are going to be furious when they spot this forgiving God.  Hey not fair. Some are going to be like the older brother of the prodigal son. Some are like those who worked all day long in the vineyard  - and they only get as much as those who jumped into the vineyard the last hour. Not fair. Not fair. Not fair. Some are going to be like the Good Thief stealing heaven at the last hour - and others aren’t going to like it.

But the Father - as Jesus puts it is perfect - so maybe that’s a glimpse of what perfection is - and Jesus wants us to have that  love and embrace for all - even the ones we consider God and life’s enemies.

CONCLUSION

Now this is my new wondering. Obviously, I need to pray and think more about it.  

Last night as I read this gospel story - that’s what hit me. What hits you?  I would think some of us are we here because we feel, we rather not take chances. We rather go through life and end up life with the spirit of love. Then our children and others will catch it in us - and want to know where we got this spirit and they might want some.  I don’t know, but it’s worth pondering and praying over.

Of course A is better than B - but maybe we need to learn both and deal with both. Amen.

FORGIVING  FRIENDS 

Quote for Today - June 18, 2013

"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."

Anonymous

Question: Is this our experience?

TURNING 

THE OTHER CHEEK

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily  for this 11^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Turning The Other Cheek.”

We know this message from the Sermon on the Mount very well.

It  - along with many of the messages of Jesus from the Sermon the Mount - are part of our lives.

Evidently - even if people don’t accept Jesus as God - they accept his messages about how to do life.

ANGER - REVENGE - BEING HURT

Today’s short gospel - Matthew 5: 38-42 - deals with anger, wanting to strike back - revenge - retaliation - being hurt - and going in the opposite direction - the direction of peace and bridge building.

How many times have we wanted to get back at someone who has hurt us - someone whom we think has done us wrong?

How many times have we stood on a long line and someone sneaks in ahead of us and we want to scream - but we swallow our spit or venom?

How many times have we been on Route 50 and someone takes the exit ramp road and then at the last, last, last, second - shoots back into the right lane of Route 50 heading for the Bay Bridge. If we play by the rules we want to beep and yell “Hey. Not fair. I hope you get a ticket!”

How many times have we been talking to someone - maybe even listening to them - and they start looking elsewhere - even waving to someone else - totally ignoring us - and we feel “Anger! What am I chopped liver!”

How many times have we been trying to sleep and someone is cutting their grass at 6 AM on a Saturday morning - or playing loud rock music at midnight on a Tuesday evening?

I WONDER

I wonder what triggered Jesus to think about all this. I wonder what did Jesus see. Did he see someone who was slapped in the face? Did he then see escalation - and in the end someone has a broken nose or face or arm - a scene that started with a wrong word or slur - or comment about someone’s family.

I wonder if Jesus saw someone turn the other cheek - go the extra mile - give someone their overcoat - when the other was going to sue them over their suit.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

Certainly Jesus practiced what he preached.

He was nitpicked to death - long before he was put to death on the cross.

Certainly he went the extra mile when someone interrupted him because they had a sick daughter, son or servant.

THE WAY OF NON-VIOLENCE

If you saw the movie, Gandhi, you saw how he a Hindu, practiced Jesus’ way of non-violence - how he was beaten, thrown off a train, but non-violence eventually turned the minds of those who wanted status quo apartheid - in both South Africa and India.

I didn’t protest the war in Vietnam, but I think the protesters, did at some point help to end that war - sooner than it would have ended.

Most of us hope the silent protest against abortion - will put an end to abortion.

Most of us also have opportunities every day - to go the extra mile - turn the other cheek - not try to get back when dissed, dismissed or denigrated by another.

CONCLUSION: TWO OBSERVATIONS

1) Sometimes we realize the genius of Jesus - the plan of Jesus  in all this. We stop screaming - and our temper tantrums - in the car when we are filled with road rage - and we realize our spouse and our kids in the car are more relaxed as well. We didn’t say the wrong thing back at someone who has wronged us - and that night we say to God. “Thanks for keeping me calm when I became furious when so and so did that and that this morning.”

2) Sometimes we realize we were wrong - after the fact - and it's a good thing we didn’t attack back - because it's only then we realize we were wrong. The example I use for myself happened New Jersey.  It was a Saturday afternoon. I was on my way to preach a parish mission in a small parish there. I couldn’t find the church. I pulled into a gas station - got out - and asked an attendant - if he know where St. Such and Such Church was.  He told me to go back the road I had just taken - 6 lights - make a left - then make the next left - and go 5 lights and you’ll find the church. I did it. There it was. But as I got out of the car I could see in the distance - to my left - over the trees - the gas station I was just at asking for directions. I got angry and wanted to get back in the car - drive to the gas station and say to the guy. “Why didn’t you send me to the next light, make a right, go to the next light and make another right? Good thing I didn’t because that evening I went out for a short walk and surprise - there was a canal at the end of the street - and one couldn’t have driven over that water - without a bridge.