FORGIVENESS! 

SOUNDS GOOD ON PAPER! 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 17 Saturday in Ordinary Time  is, “Forgiveness! Sounds Good on Paper!”

Today’s first reading from Leviticus  25: 1, 8-17 sounds good on paper.

The book of Leviticus announces a Jubilee. Every 50 years the horn - the trumpet - shall sound, shall resound, shall echo and re-echo through the land of Israel. It’s a time of Jubilee  - a Day of Atonement - when everyone can get their land back - for a different price or a cheaper price than assumed - so too the cost of food - so too the cost of everything.

Slaves are to be freed. Debts are to be forgiven.

QUESTION

Does everyone need a time of forgiveness - when the slates are cleaned - when sins are erased - when hurts are loaded on barges and shipped out to the deepest part of the ocean and dumped - with rocks tied to them - so they will sink to the bottom of the ocean?

A JUBILEE YEAR FOR CATHOLICS

From time to time in the Catholic Church there have been Jubilee years. You might remember that the year 2000 - was called a Year of Jubilee - when doors in Rome were opened  - that had been sealed.

Jubilee years and jubilee celebrations were pretty much forgotten in the Catholic Church till Pope Boniface VIII called for the year 1300 to be a year of Jubilee. Indulgences were given. Forgiveness was stressed. Pilgrimages to Rome were called for.

They pretty much were called for at different times after that - sometimes every 50 years, sometimes 25 years. Pope Urban VI called for one every 33 years to make it like the length of Christ’s life.

What would it be like if the Catholic Church announced forgiveness of all sins - without having to go to confession - just get to Mass - and thank God for the forgiveness? Years back when churches announced “General Absolution” - churches were filled - till that was squelched.

I remember reading an “Uh oh!”  suggestion for the Jubilee Year of 2000: what would it be like if all those divorced - didn’t have to go through an annulment practice - just from this day on - you’re forgiven?

What would it be like to get a spiritual “Get out of Jail” free card?

Speaking of jails, because of costs and no money, I understand California is going to simply release lots of prisoners - soon.

SOUNDS GOOD ON PAPER

All this might sound good on paper for some, but the devil is in the details - and the implications.

Next - any of us  who have made serious mistakes - and have been forgiven - know how hard it is to actually be forgiven - in the reality of the heart?

As I was reading up on the Jubilee year - as mentioned in today’s reading from Leviticus, I noticed that different scholars have said that there is no evidence that this really ever happened - especially regarding land.

What would it be like to have someone knocking  on our door and saying, “We’re moving back - like right now.”

What would be like if farmers and merchants had to deal with giving the land a break - no planting and pruning for this year? It’s a jubilee year. Sounds good on paper?

CONCLUSION: THEN THERE’S REALITY

All of us know the reality of making a mistake - saying, “I’m sorry!” - hearing “You’re forgiven” and then a year or twenty years later the other brings back a past mistake - in a argument or discussion or conversation.

All of us know the reality of making a mistake and we’re the one who can’t forgive ourselves - like our whole lifetime.

Looking at today’s gospel - Matthew 14: 1-12, what would it be like to have been Herodias and her daughter - and Herod in today’s gospel who have John the Baptist killed - beheaded - and have his blood on their hands for the rest of their lives?

We go through life with our scars and our reminders of our mistakes. At some point we have to learn to let the blood of Christ heal us.

Forgiveness sounds good from the pulpit. Forgiveness sounds good on paper. 

FORGIVING  FRIENDS 

Quote for Today - August 3,  2013

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

Anonymous

Comment: Try that on for size. Does that fit?

ME, MYSELF AND I

Quote for Today - August 2, 2013


"It is said the average person speaks eleven million words yearly - one-half of these are I, my, and mine."

Anonymous

PARADISE! 

FOR GOD, 

IT'S THE HUMAN HEART 

Quote for Today  - August 1st, 2013

"The human heart is, 

so to speak,

the paradise of God."

St. Alphonsus de Liguori [1696-1787]

Hit Full Screen to see whole dance floor.

PRAYER FOR 

GENEROSITY

Quote for Today - July 31, 2013

"Teach us, good Lord,
to serve You as You deserve:
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not mind the wounds;
To toil and not seek for rest;
To labor and not ask for reward
Except that of knowing
that we do Your will."

St. Ignatius of Loyola [1401-1556], Prayer for Generosity [1548]

Painting on top: Ignatius of Loyola - Anonymous - 16th century.

Feast day: Today, July 31st. 

SOUNDS FAMILIAR

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 17^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Sounds Familiar.”

All of us who come to Mass a lot - all of us who have heard scripture passages over and over again - from time to time - we start to hear sounds in the Bible texts that remind us of other texts.

If that happens, that's a good sound....

It’s like music. We’re hearing a song, but we say about part of a piece of music, “I heard this somewhere before.”

When that happens with the readings at Mass, we’re getting into them; they are becoming us; we’re connecting with the Bible in the tabernacle of our head.

The words are becoming flesh - and then especially when we put them into practice in our life.

AND WE’RE ONLY HEARING THE SCRIPTURES IN ENGLISH

We are hearing the scriptures in English - in different translations.

I have been hearing ever since I started taking courses on the Bible in the seminary  - and then in reading books and articles on the Bible as well as workshops after that -  that there are many, many interconnections and cross references in the original languages - word plays - what have you -  with other texts in the Bible.

Moreover, I’m sure you have heard that the chapter and the verse numbers - in the Bible - were not in the original texts. They were added much later on - from the 1200 to 1500’s A.D.   So when we want to refer one Bible text with another Bible text  we use numbers for the chapters and the verses. Sometimes the original texts make references to other texts by using a word or an image or a phrase that people upon hearing the it will connect it with a similar word or words in another text. It’s not plagiarism.

So it’s not by accident that the Gospel of John begins with the words, “In the beginning” - which is telling Jewish Christians - this is a new beginning - a new Genesis - because Genesis begins with the same words: “In the beginning.”

I always heard that there is a lot more of this going on in the Bible that those of us who can't read the Bible in it's original languages would know. Ooops. I’m assuming that none of us here speak Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek - so we miss these word plays in the original  texts connecting one text with another text.

TODAY’S FIRST READING FROM EXODUS 33

Today’s first reading from Exodus 33 talks about Moses, tents, and going apart.

Today’s first reading talks about Moses in the desert 40 days and 40 nights - fasting.

I’m sure that triggers for us a connection of Moses with Christ - who did those very things - except for the tent. Jesus was the tent - sometimes translated in English by the word “tabernacle. Jesus is also the temple after it replaced the tent in Jewish life and worship - and we Christians are familiar with the veil in the temple when it was ripped in two at Jesus’ death and his presence went into the great tent and temple of the world. [Cf. Matthew 25:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45.]

The early church was saying to Jewish Christians that Christ was the New Moses and he was fulfilling Judaism.

Notice in today’s first reading that Moses liked to go apart - by himself - to hiding places - to the Holy of Holies in tent form - so  I hope it triggered the many times Jesus in the gospels is going apart to be with his father - our Father, our God.

And we can do the reverse: we can take a New Testament text - especially from the gospels - or the Letter to the Hebrews - and we can see all the references in those New Testament texts to Old Testament texts.

Let me also add that to grasp the scriptures, we need to know allegory - as well. For example, today’s gospel is an allegory. All these references to seed and earth - bring us right into the minds and earth of Israel and its people.

CONCLUSION

Together with all these word connectings,  these familiar sounds, we can go deeper and deeper into spiritual understandings of our scriptures.  

The title of my homily was: “Sounds Familiar.”

How many times have Christians gone to a Jewish Temple or Synagogue and looked up and saw a tabernacle. 

We pause and think: "That looks familiar."

Then they saw a rabbi or someone open up the tabernacle door and out came the Sacred Scriptures. 

Then we said inwardly, “Oh my God we believe the same thing - but we believe the Word became flesh and lives among us."

Then we conclude: "Wow! When it comes to religion so much looks familiar and so much sounds familiar. Amen.

GOSSIP

Quote for Today - July 30, 2013

"Gossip should be spelled gassip, as it is flammable, combustible, and should be capped."

Anonymous


Footnote: Another New Word: "Guessip"

In the April 28, 2013 issue of The New York Times Sunday Magazine I spotted the following:

"That Should Be A Word

by Lizzie Skurnick

GUESSIP

(GEH-sip), n.

1. Particularly amorphous rumor conjecture. 'Troy grew so impatient with the guessip that he installed himself at the hair salon until he knew who was stepping out on whom.' See also: fauxment (to dramatize with each telling)." page 19, One Page, The Magazine.