HOW  DOES  GOD  WORK?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is for this 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C, is, “How Does God Work?”

I’m thinking that might be one of life’s biggest questions. What you think?

Is that question underneath people’s shock or surprise when something happens and they blurt out, “Oh my God!” or “Jesus Christ!”

What’s the rest of the sentence - what’s the rest of our thinking and feeling when something horrible or amazing happens?

Are we thinking, “God, where are you?” or “God,  how could you allow this to happen?” or “God, did you do this?” or “God, what are doing?” or “How do you operate?” or “What’s going on here?”

And I better say up front - that in the long run - after finishing this homily, that I don’t answer the question. 

Sorry…. Yet if the following gets us to get more and more in touch with the question - better if it gets us in touch with God, prayer and praying, I’ll be happy.

Is that a cop out or a CYA?

WHEN WE ASK THE QUESTION

It’s my experience that we ask the question, “How does God work?” for starters, when things go wrong. There is a tsunami or cancer or a crash or people go weird - or our kids mess up or a marriage falls apart.

God! Where are you? Why God, why? Why? Why? Whine. Whine. Whine.

Next, we might ask the question when we’re on vacation and we’re at the beach - and at the ocean’s edge and we’re all alone - like at 6 in the morning - the sun is rising - it seems - up out of the ocean - and the waves keep coming in - one after the other - and we’re thinking - this has been going on over and over and over and over again, and again, and again for millions of years. And we think, “Why God, why? What’s this all about?”

Or we’re on vacation and we’re camping and it’s dark out, really dark, the city lights are far, far away, and we look up at the sky - it’s all stars - and we reconnect with our previous moments like this - and we think to God, “What is this all about? How far do you go out and out and out? Is there an end to the stars and the galaxies and the nebulae?

We ask the question, “God, how do you work?” - when we realize that we are powerless over so much - especially ourselves.  Then there are the others. We really don’t know what others are thinking and doing. God help me! Help. Help. Help.  I don’t get it. I don’t know what it’s all about at times.

THE BOOK OF JOB

It’s not our first reading, but the Book of Job tackles this question big time - at least that’s what I’ve been told many times.

It’s 42 chapters long - written perhaps between the 5^th and 3^rd century before Christ - and it deals  - as in a play - with the problem of suffering and the reality that we all question God down deep.

The playwright wants the audience to hear the questions that people ask God all the time - and the playwright wants people to hear God questioning each member of the audience in return.

In Job 14:14 he asks the big question, “If someone dies, shall they live again.”

He asks this I assume for himself - because he lost most of his family.

The play begins with a conversation between God and Satan.  God brags about how great his servant Job is. Satan says, “You have put a wall around him - and nothing bad hits him. Take away that wall and watch what happens.”

So God says, “Let’s find out.”

Job’s family and fortunes - sons and daughters - farm and cattle - donkeys and oxen -  all are destroyed.

Chapter One ends with the significant statement, “In all this misfortune Job committed no sin or offered any insult to God.”

Then the play gets very interesting  - with lots of dramatic speeches.

I think the Book of Job gets us into inner conversations we all have. I think that’s why the book survived and made it into the Jewish Bible.

We ask these questions back stage in our soul - in hospitals, when dealing with aging of ourselves or parents - and at many a  funeral.

In chapter 30 Job  says to God that he sees his life trickling away. Grief grips and grabs him. Sickness saps his bones in the night. He can’t sleep. He says he cries to God and God won’t answer him. He says he hoped for happiness and it didn’t come. His stomach won’t slow down.

In chapter 38 God says, “Now it is my turn to ask questions and yours to inform me.”

What would that be like?

God asks: Where were you when I set up the world’s foundations?  Where were you when I set up the boundaries of the sea - to go this far and no further.  Can you go out as far as the stars?

Job concludes that he knows God is all-powerful - but he also knows that he doesn’t know - and what he knows only by hearsay.

And he simply decides to leave it all in God’s hands - because he certainly can’t solve it all.

EACH OF US

For starters, each of us has to deal with the question that is the title of this homily: “How Does God Work?”

I know that I can’t give answers to that question - but I think I need to know it’s a question that hooks me all my life.

I love it that a question mark is formed like a fish hook.

I know now that my first answer is, “I don’t know how God is?”

It’s humbling to take that position. Job did. I will try - but at times I find it hard to do just that.

PRAYER AS AN ANSWER

Since a main theme of today’s readings is prayer, let’s briefly look at prayer as an answer to the question: “How Does God Work.”

Besides saying, “I don’t know”, here are three things that can happen as a result of prayer.

One: Prayer Can Change Our Understanding of God. 

Today’s first reading from Genesis 18: 20-32 has the idea that God zaps people.

Whenever something goes wrong, some people think God zapped them.

Sometimes bad things happen to people because they drive dumb or smoke or don’t exercise or what have you - and they blame God.

Sometimes good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. There are books around with those titles.

As to God zapping people, as today’s first reading puts it, that is the understanding of some people. It’s not mine. I know it’s in the scriptures - like today’s first reading - but there are enough passages that says the opposite. I see the Bible as giving us many sights and insights of how people see.

Some then think that when there is a fire, or a crash or when things go wrong, they see God as a zapper.

I’m assuming that Sodom and Gomorrah were burnt down. I assume that people said it was because people there were bad.  I heard people say that when we had our September 11.  I heard others say, “No. New York and  Washington weren’t any worse than any other place on the planet - more or less.”

I assume that evil happens when people choose evil.

When it comes to natural disasters, I assume that they happen and will continue to happen and it’s good to find out where the earthquake faults are and where not to build a house or what have you.

Then again, there are the humbling moments when I have to say, “I don’t know.” It’s out of my control.”

My second message would be: Prayer Can Help Change Our Attitudes.

People often pray for changes out there - that the weather be different - that a family member will stop dating a loser or what have you.

I would like to stress seeing prayer changing inner stuff - for starters our attitudes.

I think the Serenity Prayer has helped a lot of people. It has helped me.

“God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.”

Taking time to read - especially the scriptures - taking time to pray - taking time to go to church, synagogue, mosque or temple, taking time to sit in quiet rooms or back porches or to take walks in the woods or being quiet while driving, can bring us to some answers about God and life.

Today’s first reading probes the question: do good people - would 10 good people save the planet.

The message from this famous story of Abraham haggling God down from 50 to 10 has humor to it. Evidently, since Sodom and Gormorrah are destroyed, they didn't have 10 decent folks within.

But if we see it as inner attitude material, we have experienced how 1, 5, 10, or 50 good people in a neighborhood, work place, parish, can make a difference.

Of course - good karma, people being instruments of peace, unagitated people - bring peace to the rooms they enter.

I hope that’s been your experience.  Take my dad for instance. Mr. Calm. Mr. Peace. Mr. Easy.

If your shoe laces keep breaking - this is mainly for guys - buy stronger ones or be more gentle when you tie your shoes or wear loafers.

My third message would be: Prayer Can Lead to Action.

I love the saying, “Pray for potatoes - but pick up a shovel” has helped me a lot.

We heard Luke’s version of the Our Father today. Pray for Daily Bread but get a job and share your bread.

Pray for forgiveness - but accept forgiveness and forgive others and watch how you make the jump to accepting God’s forgiveness of your life so far.

So I learn from prayer that Christ can push me to the ability to accept forgiveness for my sins as well as to forgive those who hurt me - because I don’t know others motives - as Jesus said on the cross, “People do what they do without knowing why they do it” at times.

I know that prayer is all about asking, seeking and knocking on God’s door and God will give me answers - and sometimes the answer is no.

I like the song, “Thank God for unanswered prayers” and I thank God for answered prayers.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “How Does God Work?”

I basically answered, “I don’t know, but I’ll keep on asking that question, seeking answers to it, and I believe God does open up that door at times and gives me hints.” 

July 23, 2016

OLD  NEWSPAPERS 

The neat - the newspaper police - you have
to toss out yesterday's papers by 7 A.M. the

next morning ….  But "Shh!" - they don’t get

them all - no matter how hard they try.
There's a Saturday, November 23, 1963 copy
of the New York Daily News in the bottom
drawer of my work bench in the basement.
And there's a razor sliced obit sitting in my
Bible - facing Psalm 23. And they don't know
it, but pages  B5-6-11-12 line the bottom
of a musty steamer trunk in our attic -
dated September 14, 1926. For the sake
of transparency - I am a hoarder and
a saver of newspapers. I hate to toss out

any newspaper - so I love it when I find

in the places and spaces of the newspaper

police - any old anything from any old

newspaper. And except for the names, the
old news is always new news for me to read.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

July 22, 2016

PICK THREE 

[Self Test number 23]

What do you want to be?

Circle three.

Healthy

Connected

Interesting

Whole

Holy

Smart

Loving

Giving

Savvy

Well-read

Observant

Wise

Present

Neat

Rich

Well-dressed

Clean

Young

Thin

Experienced

Worker

Powerful

Boss

God

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

Note: This is Self Test # 23 on this blog. Can you find the other 22 on my blog?

MARY  MAGDALENE:

PI - POLITICALLY INCORRECT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this July 22^nd Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene is, “Mary Magdalene: Pi - Politically Incorrect.”

If I have it correct, when it comes to mentioning stories, incidents and interactions of Jesus with women, the gospel is revolutionary.

EQUAL RIGHTS

In the last 100 years or so,  things have improved for women in the world. We see this in wages, being allowed to vote, getting elected to political offices, etc. etc. etc. The so called “glass ceiling” takes hits with rocks from time to time.

There is still a long way to go in the middle east - and various other places in the world. Many are still often treated as second class citizens. It’s an attitude that is passed down from generation to generation.

I was visiting a woman from the parish up in Shepherd Pratt recently. The accommodations for visitors were not visitor friendly. I was in a smallish room with other visitors.  Right next to us was a Jewish family.  I assumed that because the patient’s father was  wearing a yamaka.  I found out he was a rabbi. They were - sort of - right next to us. Two or three times we connected in some comments.  When the clock hit 8 PM, we had to leave. I was saying good bye to the lady I visited - plus some the others.  I shook  the hand of the rabbi - saying, “Safe travels home.” I then reached my hand out to  his wife and he pushed my hand away big time. I said, “Ooops, I’m sorry.”

I was clueless to that point.

I should have been quicker - because of past experiences - with people from cultures I was not privy to. I had also read the book, The Bookseller of Kabul. That  was an eye opener for me about daily life amongst Muslim men and women in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. I assumed it was a lot tougher for women in rural areas.

WIDENING THE CIRCLE

I also remember a moment when I was with a group of men and women in a private house in Hazleton, Pa. around 1980. The men were all captains of our retreat house groups.  Lunch was served and I was completely surprised that there were only men around the table. Without thinking, I asked, “But where are the women?” And some guy said, “They are in the kitchen.” Then he added,  “They like it that way.”

So women’s roles and situations vary - all over the world - and expectations vary.

PEOPLE DIFFERENT FROM US

As Robert Frost puts it: we build walls - walling people in and walling people out.

There’s something in us that doesn’t like a wall - and there is something in us that gets us to try to be in a better situation than others.

We the United States don’t have the caste system that one still finds in India - but we need to step back and look at walls and ceilings.

Take the example of gay people.

We have seen dramatic changes in this country in the last 5 years or so on how people treat gay and lesbian people. Commentators were surprised with the events last night at the Republican National Convention along these lines. There are changes - at least in language.

MARY MAGDALENE

In fact seeing how people reacted to gay people in the past, we can get an inkling into what people felt when Jesus interacted with women.

Men did not talk to women in public. There were different sections for the men in the synagogue. 

I don’t know if we catch this when we read the scriptures - because we sit together - at least in the body of the church.

So there was Mary Magdalene and other women hobnobbing with Jesus.

I think the position of Mary in Catholic Church and in the scriptures is a big loud comment for all of us to hear.

We know the story of Jesus saving a woman from being stoned to death.

We know the story of the woman who came into a house and cried onto Jesus feet and dried her tears on his feet with her hair. Then she  anointed his feet with oil.

And Mary Magdalene was a prostitute in one tradition. And as we heard in today’s gospel, she goes to the tomb that early Easter Morning and is key to announcing that Jesus rose from the dead. Then after Peter and John leave, Mary meets Jesus. At first she thinks he’s gardener. Then realizing he’s Jesus, she  ends up holding and hugging Jesus.

There is heavy significance in this story - and still more to be discovered.

CONCLUSION

I think this reality should be stressed when people go bananas when hearing some of St. Paul’s comments about women’s place in the community in some of his letters.

In the meanwhile,  we should look at whom we exclude - whom we try to wall in and wall out.

Let me close with Edwin Markham’s famous 4 line poem. It’s called, “Outwitted.”

OUTWITTED

He drew a circled that shut me out

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in.” 

Notes: 

Mary Magdalene painting on top by Pietro Perugino - c. 1500.

July 21, 2016

TABLE  TALK

Sometimes it's not the right time to
talk: the food, the crowd, the noise,
the whole table gets in the way. 

Sometimes it's not the right time to
listen: the conversation becomes like a plate of sea food - too, too complicated. 

Sometimes it's the right time to just
enjoy: not to wonder whether so and
so is a clam, a lobster or a hot potato.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

July 20, 2016

ACCEPTING  JESUS 
AS MY  SAVIOR

Every time I come to Mass,

I’m accepting You, Jesus, as my Savior.

Every time we say the “Glory to God

in the highest prayer” at Mass,

I’m accepting You, Jesus,  as my Savior.

Every time I read or hear the gospels

and I say “Glory to You, O Lord”

at the beginning of Your Gospel and

“Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ”

at the end of the listening,
I’m accepting You, Jesus, as my Savior.

Every time I’m praying the Creed,

Apostles’ or Nicene,

I’m accepting You,  Jesus as my Savior.

Every time I receive Communion,

Your Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,

I’m accepting You, Jesus, as my Savior.

Every time I walk with You
in Your the Stations of the Cross, 
I’m accepting You, Jesus,  as my Savior.

Every time I visit You Jesus Christ

in the Blessed Sacrament

I’m accepting You, Jesus as my Savior.

Every time I visit the sick and feed the

hungry and help the poor and the hurting

in Your Body of Christ,

I’m accepting You, Jesus, as my Savior.

Every time I begin or end anything

by making the sign of the Cross,

I’m accepting You, Jesus as my Savior.

Every time I’m reciting this litany,

I’m accepting  You,  Jesus as my Savior.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016
Painting on top:
Doubting Thomas by Caravagio

SHEPHERD’S  STINK

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 16^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Shepherd’s Stink.”

As soon as I heard the first word from today’s first reading, “Shepherd”,  I immediately thought about Pope Francis’ comment to priests - bishops - cardinals, 1,600 of them - at the Holy Thursday service in Rome in  2013.

He looked up from his prepared script and ad-libbed the following comment, “Be shepherds and live with the smell of the sheep.”

We usually don’t remember sermons - or stuff that popes say - but we priests heard that call from our pope. I’ve heard different priests joke about it.

VISITING THE SHEEP

I remember - I celebrate - I have always been grateful  - for the first sentence my first pastor said to me the day I arrived at my first assignment:  Most Holy Redeemer - 173 East 3^rd Street, New York City - February 1^st, 1967.  “Andrew,” he said, pointing to the floor of the rectory, “this is not the parish.” And then pointing out the window he said, “It’s out there.”

I had joined the Redemptorists to go to Brazil - but got the Lower East Side of Manhattan instead. Bummer. But I soon discovered the reality of life in the sweat and the stink of life in the inner city.

It was right at the moment of the Hippie Revolution - Flower Children Time - in both the East Village - New York City and Haight Ashbury, San Francisco.

I found myself in many a tenement apartment with many mattresses on the floors - lots of flies on half eaten food on all the tables and floors - and in my hand a piece of paper from a phone call from a parent in the Kansas or Nebraska or Ohio - looking for their runaway kid. The places stunk.

On East 4th Street - The Rat - was published. It was an underground newspaper - featuring all things hippie, drugs, radical and revolutionary. I remembered it had instructions and maps on how to disrupt and protest at the Democratic Convention in Chicago.  I remember seeing posters and meeting Louis Abolafia - who was running for president on "The I Got Nothing To Hide Party."  His posters had him standing there naked holding a derby in a key place. I remember the nuns in our school asking me to go into The Rat and asking them to take that poster down from their front window - because of the kids going up the street.

Who said, "May you live in exciting times."

I found myself down in the high rise apartments near Avenue D and the East River - visiting parishioners. If they lived on the upper floors I had to go up in urine smelling elevators.

I’m sure the places were nothing like the 20 or so barrios with their villas of misery that Bergoglio - now Pope Francis - visited when he was Cardinal of Buenos Aires in Argentina.  Yet maybe - some places were close to that.

It was an eye opener - as well as a wonderful exciting time in my life.

HORSES

When I was in the Major Seminary - I had a volunteer job for 6 years - of taking care of our horses for one week every month. Right next to the 4 horse stalls was a barn for about 20 cows. It was a chance for me - a city boy to learn the difference between the smells of horses versus cows.  Their poop was very different as well.

They weren’t sheep, but I understood what the pope is asking of the priests of our church.

Get out of the rectory - or as Pope Francis puts it - get out of the sacristy.

GUILT

When I read what Bergoglio - now Pope Francis the First - said about getting with the poor - I feel guilty. Rarely have I gotten into any houses on Clay Street - or any hidden poor places of Annapolis. I read that Pope Francis likes to slip out of the Vatican in the evening and visit the poor of Rome.

I know that there are times I hide out - I’m tired or lazy - but I hear the pope’s call to get on my horse and get out there and find the lost sheep  - and get stinky in the process.

I know that there are folks who think their life stinks and they need to sit and thrash that out with a priest or anyone. I do that - but I still feel guilt when it comes to time with the poor.

I even feel guilty in living in this beautiful place on the water- wondering how we too might downsize our reality like the Pope did when it comes to his housing in the Vatican.

Last night they had a goodly bunch of poor folks in the rectory corridor asking for help with their lives and the Saint Vincent de Paul folks are there to listen to them and to help them. I was waiting there for a couple at 7 PM who were coming in for marriage preparation stuff - and this little girl was going back and forth - with a good load in her pampers - and I realized her mother has a much tougher time that me - and here I am with a sleek young couple and here are the St. Vincent de Paul folks being with people whose lives are stinky in all sorts of ways. Bummer.

Francis is calling our church to get closer to each other and to the people.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, "Shepherd’s Stink".

The first word in the first reading from Micah is Shepherd - God’s call to shepherd his people Israel. [Cf. Micah 7:14-15, 18-20]

And today’s gospel from Matthew tells us that we are all mother and father and brother and sister to each other. Amen. [Cf. Matthew12: 46-50]