ROCKS  AND  RELICS,

REMAINS AND REMINDERS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 14^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Rocks and Relics - Remains and Reminders.”

Today’s two readings trigger thoughts about rocks and relics - and those two words triggered thoughts of two other “R” words: remains and reminders.

STONES: THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT STONES - OR ROCKS

There’s something about stones that gets us to hold onto them.

Here’s Jacob going to a shrine - near Haran. The world, the Middle East, is filled with shrines.  They are sacred places. They are stairways to heaven.

I grew up hearing that in Brooklyn there is either a bar or a church on every corner. That’s an exaggeration. Bars yes. Churches no.

In today’s Bible story from Genesis 28: 10 to 22a, Jacob does something everyone does: he picked up a specific stone - because he was in a special place. It was a shrine. It was that stone he laid his head on for the night. With his head on that rock he had his famous stairway or ladder dream. In that dream he meets God, the God of Abraham and Isaac. He is told that this land will be your land - and you’ll have many descendants here.

Question: check your house, your shelves, your keepsakes, your boxes,  for rocks from places you’ve visited.

Here are two rocks. 

This one is from Galway, Ireland from where my mom and dad are from.  Ireland has lots and lots of rocks. They could make a fortune by selling them. Rocks last. They are not plastic or cloth or paper. 

And here’s another rock. It’s from the Sea of Galilea - which I picked up and pocketed in January of 2000 - and I wrote where it is from with a thin pointed pen.

When we visit a place that impresses us - impacts us - we like to hold onto the place - with something from the place, a souvenir, a rock, a relic, a matchbook…. Isn’t that why people take pictures, zillions and zillions of pictures - besides sending the picture with an e-mail or Facebook to others - to share their sacred - their special - place and experience with family and friends. Cheaper than postcards - but postcards are nice as well.

In today’s first reading Jacob takes the stone he slept on - poured some oil on it - and set it up as a memorial stone. He called the place, “Bethel.”

Beth - is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet - meaning house - and that’s its shape b - is like a single family house. Capital B is like a two story house.  We know the word “Beth” from the place listed as where Jesus was born: Bethlehem.  “Lehem” is the word for bread - or more: food. So Bethlehem is the House of Bread - House of Food - home. Home is where we eat and sleep and rest.

So Bethel - means “house of El”  Once more Beth means.  “El” is the word for God.  That’s the Semitic and then Arabic and Middle East name for God. El, Al, Allah, as found in the names Rachel, Nathaniel, Michael, Daniel, Noel, Angel.

So that’s a few words about rocks and sacred places - so rocks can be sacred and special.

Let me jump now to  today’s gospel and deal with the second word in my homily title. I used the word “relic.”

Well this lady in today’s gospel is suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years. She reaches out to touch the tassel of Jesus’ cloak.  She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be healed.”

What ever happened to Jesus’ cloak?

How many did he have - if had more than one.  He stressed having very little. What ever happened to his robe - the one gambled for at Calvary.

Is the Shroud of Turin Jesus’ burial cloth?

If it is, how much is it worth?

If you go into historical museums, you find clothes from famous people.

Marilyn Monroe’s dress which she wore when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President - to John F. Kennedy in May of 1962 - sold for $1.25 million at a Christie’s auction in 1999 and for $4.8 million on November 19, 2016.

Would we touch it - if we could touch it - with a sense of awe?

How about the woman’s thought as she touched Jesus’ garment and she was cured?  

I have two jackets that my brother wore - and my sister in law gave them to me after my brother died. When I wear either of them in  my nieces sight - they are amazing reminders of my brother. And we looked somewhat alike - the poor fellow.

People who have lost a spouse or a parent or a child - keep - keepsakes for the sake of the person who is gone.

CONCLUSION

Enough already.  I just wanted to skip these thoughts - like a kid skipping stones on a lake.

Remember the temptation Jesus had in the desert - in beginning of his ministry -  to change rocks into bread to feed the hungry. And Jesus says “No!”  And at the end he takes bread and tells us to take and eat - this is my body, this is my blood - do this in memory of me.

And wonderfully the bread dissolves - becomes us - as we digest Jesus - and we become forever in Christ.

Not as rocks - but as fleshy, sentimental, tear stained human beings.

July 10, 2017

COMMUNICATION  SKILLS: 

PICK  ONE  FOR  TODAY 

Let’s talk clarity ….

Let’s talk charity ….

Let’s talk transparency ….

Let’s talk calmly ….

Let’s talk questions to each other ….

Let’s talk listening as a follow up ….

Let’s talk honesty ….

Let’s talk appreciation ….

Let’s talk looking eye to eye ….

Let’s take a walk ….

Let’s have the courage to ….

Let’s talk with respect ….
Let’s talk with forgiveness ….

Let’s talk more than once ….

Let’s remember the good times ….

Let’s let go of the bad times ….

Let’s allow for mistakes ….

Let’s pick up trends ….
Let's not forget the compliments ....

Let’s name the expectations ….

Let's use adjectives before the word expectations, "fair," "unfair," "unknown," "non-balanced", "first time I heard that one ...."
Let's say, "How about a time-out to ...?"
Let's ask, "Is this for always or just for now?"

Let’s name regressions and progress ….

Let’s learn to be able to say, “Not fair….”

Let’s learn to say, “Wait a minute ….”

Let’s be able to say, “It all depends …."

Let’s ask, “Is this what you’re saying ….”

Let’s make the time and take the time to ….
Let's say, "By the way we're different ...."
Let's say, "By the way, I've changed ...."
Let's be nice ....

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

CHRIST  ON  A  BICYCLE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 14 Sunday in Ordinary Time [A] is, “Christ on a Bicycle.”

I read today’s readings a few times - and wondered what was being said - where the readings were going - and where they would take me.

The first reading mentions a future king coming - wondering - what he would be like - and Zachariah pictures him not arriving with arrows, weapons, not with a fleet of well-armed chariots - but he would be coming on an ass - a donkey. Surprise! The unexpected. Great optics. [Cf. Zechariah 9: 9-10.]

Comment: Jesus tried that trip into town on a donkey and look where that took  him - 5 days later - to a cross on a hill called, “Calvary”?

And the second reading talks about the choice of living by the spirit or living by the flesh. Which one, which way of doing life, is more me? [Cf. Romans  8: 9, 11-13.]

And the gospel talks about the hidden wisdom of God, It seems we only get - or grasp - that wisdom -  when we get small. So the message is: come to that God - especially when we feel overburdened - when we feel like a field animal - pulling a heavyweight plow. Our God is not like that. Our God sent his Son to tell us what God the Father is like.  Our God is meek and humble of heart. Our God gives us rest. Our God is not a heavy burden. That’s how Jesus - God’s Son - reveals him. [Cf. Matthew 11: 25-30.]

So let me try to say all that in this homily.

So the title of my homily is, “Christ on a Bicycle.”

CHRIST ON A BICYCLE

Jesus - up there in heaven - sees God our Father - just lounging there - in an aluminum legged lounge chair - no throne - just resting  - just looking out at all creation. And surprise - nobody else is there at that moment. God  is all alone. The 144,000 and the millions and billions more must be down some gold paved street  - at some big wedding banquet. [Cf. Revelation 14:3.]

So God the Son, Jesus,  goes outside and sits down on the ground - on this great green meadow - and starts talking to God his Father.

“Father, I’ve been thinking, Let me go back to earth and try it again.”

Pause.

Silence.

God, Our Father, can do that big time, when we come to Him with our plans.

Then God the Father says, “You know what happened the last time?”

“Yeah,” says Jesus.

Pause.

“But, this time, it’s going to be different.  This time I want to try it on a bicycle. I often wondered what they are  like.”

“Okay,” says God the Father. “But do me a favor. Take 40 days before you go back to earth. Picture all the possible scenario’s you’ll find yourself in. Then if you decide to try it again - this time on a bicycle - don’t come crying to me when it doesn’t work. Don’t scream out again, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ - when they don’t understand what they are doing.”

“Good,” said Jesus. “Thank you!”

“By the way,” God the Father asked, as Jesus was leaving to take his 40 day retreat, “Where are you thinking of going this time?”

And Jesus said, “I was thinking of going to a mid to small sized place in Maryland - called Annapolis.”

“Think about it,” said God the Father, “but what about Minneapolis or Indianapolis, Moscow or Nairobi, Ashtabula or Arnold, or Paris for that matter?”

“Okay,” says Jesus. “I'll  think about different scenarios and where to go and I’ll get back to you in 40 days.”

40 DAYS LATER

It's 40 days later and Jesus spots his Father - out there on his favorite aluminum legged - lawn lounge chair. 

“Father,” says the Son, “I'm going. I decided to go to Annapolis."

BACK IN HEAVEN - THE NEXT DAY

The next day - after Jesus left - he's back home to his Father.

"That was quick," the Father said.

The Son said, "Well, it didn't work out quite like I expected."

“I began by riding my bike down this red brick bumpy street - Main Street. People started yelling out, ‘Hey!’ - I can’t use all the words they used - but they told me,  ‘You’re going down the wrong way on one way street. Get off that stupid looking bicycle - and start looking where you are. Don’t you know bicycles are dangerous in town?’”

“'Uh, oh!'  I said. So  I stopped and walked my bike down to a place they called, ‘Ego Alley.’  I thought that would be the perfect place to start."

“I sat there on a red brick small wall.” 

“Everything was red brick in this place. I didn’t get that.” 

"A couple of people stopped to see who I was. So I began by saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit - because if you are poor in spirit, you’ll find yourself living in the kingdom of heaven.’”

“At that I heard someone behind the people I was talking to say, ‘Who’s that over there?’

“I heard someone reply, ‘I don’t know. He looks like some religious nut - with a bicycle and a back pack.’”

"I continued, 'Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.'”

"At that I heard someone say, 'There’s some statues over there. Let’s get our picture taken with that guy and kids in bronze.'”

“A few more people came along and said, ‘Hey stranger. What are you doing here? What are you trying to say?’"

"So I said to them,  'Let me tell you a story. A man had two sons.'”

"And someone said, 'Heard that one before.'”

“Okay, how about this one? ‘A rich man had a poor man living just outside his front door. Inside his house he had the finest food in the world. And the poor man outside had nothing to eat but scraps of pizza - and the ducks in the water at the dock here had more to eat that this poor man.’”

"And someone said, 'Heard that one too - but in a different variation - good try - good-bye.'”

Jesus continued telling his Father what happened. He said, "I just sat there, crying, dying for someone to come along and at least ask me what God my Father was like. But nobody asked."

Then Jesus added, "But someone did ask me, 'Hey stranger with the bike, do you know where Storm Brother’s Ice Cream is? I heard it’s the best ice cream in town.'”

"Time ticked on."

"So I just sat there quietly - crying - dying - hungry and thirsty."

Then Jesus told his Father. "I sat there for about 3 hours.  People came up to me from time to time and asked me who I was - where I was from - and what I was doing in Annapolis?"

“So I told them. I’m Jesus. I’m from God Our Father.”

"Most smiled and walked on - when they heard that."

"Near the end of my 3 hours there, I began to say to folks, 'See that steeple up there. That’s a church - St. Mary’s Church, Annapolis, Maryland. Walk up there and see if they are doing a better job than me - down here - trying to explain who God Our Father is and what God is all about."

"Then," Jesus said to his Father,  "I got on my bike and headed up Main Street. Someone - near the light outside Chick and Ruth’s restaurant tried to beat the light and I was in his way. He just  hit and killed me - plowing right over me. I guess he just didn't like bicycle riders - but I forgave him before I died."

Pause.

Silence.

And Jesus then said to his Father.

“You're right. It won’t work.”

“What won’t work?”

“Doing what I did the first time. It didn’t work then either. Yet what I started is still going on and working down there - here and there - all around the world ….”

"And besides that," Jesus smiled and said to his Father,  “People wearing a tiny, broken, damaged,  a person on a  bicycle piece of jewelry around their neck, in memory of my visit and my death won’t work. A cross is certainly better.”

At that God the Father smiled.

And Jesus continued, “The cross has so many more possibilities: I want my life to go this way and it always goes another way - that’s the cross -  as I just discovered  again - on a red brick wall and a red brick street in a place called, Annapolis, Maryland.” 

July 9, 2017

THE CHAIR

If I opened a door

and God was sitting in a chair

in this room, what would happen next?

Words, silence, nervousness?

Could a room

contain God? 

Could I?

Words, silence, nervousness?

If God opened my door

and I was sitting in this room praying, 
crying, what would happen next?

Words, silence, the embrace?

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

July 8, 2017

DNA PRAYER

Lord,

teach us

to see the big picture,
the big ikon, 

to work together

to make each other greater,
as we climb the ladder of 
life together.

May our DNA - our roots -

where we come from -

fill us not with a proud pride -

but with a humble pride -
that we’re all on this same
great ladder to God - together - connected to this same great 
DNA ladder of life. Amen.

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

Top image: this is an ikon
of the 12th century "Ladder of
Divine Ascent." It can be found
in St. Catherine's Monastery, 
on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.
The monks are climbing 
the ladder towards Christ 
at the top. Notice John Climacus
also near the top. 

The image below that is of DNA.

ONE  MORE  WAY 

TO  READ  THE  BIBLE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 13th Friday in Ordinary Time is, “One More Way To Read the Bible.”

Every once and a while someone tells me they started the Bible on page 1 and then they add, “I didn’t get too far.” They say, they got lost when they ran into begets and begats, talking snakes, and lots of laws and lots of this and lots of that’s. They become confused and too many texts are head scratchers.

Then I meet people who started on page 1 and read all the way through to the last page. I remember a couple from Carlisle PA - who started at the beginning - went to the end 2 times - then the 3^rd time around they started from the last book and went to the first book.  Revelation to Genesis.

In the meanwhile, certainly in the last 60 years or so,  more and more Catholics read the Bible more and more.

I still see rosaries in caskets in the hands of people who have died.  I’ve yet to notice a Bible in someone’s hands in a casket. On top of the casket - I’ve seen many a Bible, yes - along with or just a cross at other times.

KORAN

I like to tell people that a Rabbi at a wedding asked if I had ever read the Koran.  

I said, “No!” 

And he said, “You better.” 

So I bought one and read it all the way through - from page 1 to the end - and bits and pieces at other times.

In English of course - and I didn’t get it. And I heard that it’s much clearer and more of an “I get it” if one can read it in Arabic.

ONE MORE WAY TO READ THE BIBLE.

The title of my homily is, “One More Way To Read the Bible.”

Instead of reading it like a regular book, read it piecemeal.

So my first comment would be is this:  the Bible is a library and very few people would go into a library and go to the first book just inside the door and then read every book in the library in that order.

So take a book - start with a book - a scroll like The Letter of James.

Or read something short like the First Letter of John or the Book of Ruth.

Read one scroll or one book at a time.

TODAY’S READINGS

Or play Bible Bingo. Just open a page and put your finger on some words and see what that says to you.

Or read the Bible like you would read Readers Digest.

Take today’s readings.

Take this section of Genesis starting with Genesis 23: 1-4.

It has some tiny neat little observations.

The first would be Abraham coming up with a piece of land to bury his wife, Sarah. Every family has to plan where they are going to bury their dead - or scatter or keep the ashes.

One commentary mentions that the place Abraham picks for Sarah is the author's way of saying, “We have a right to this land - because Abraham bought of piece of land here - in the land which the Lord promised us.”

One commentary says the person or persons who put together our first reading for today, butchers the text - because it skips form Genesis 23:1-4 to 19, then 24: 1-8, then it concludes with 63-67. In doing this, it leaves out some key ingredients.  Take your Bible and read the whole of Genesis, chapters 23 and 23. Do this and you'll get all the ingredients to the story. 

The Bible doesn’t have the story in other Jewish legends that Abraham married again - this time Hagar - the woman Sarah made him dump - once she got pregnant and had Isaac. Hagar was the woman he was also with who had his son, Ishmael.

Notice the ages of these characters in the Bible. Sarah died at 127 - which is a slight exaggeration. Relax the Bible is loaded with them. Abraham was 175 when he died. [Cf. Genesis 25:7-7.]

There’s a message there with these old ages for Biblical Characters.

We might have heard an old person described as being as old as Methuselah who is listed in Genesis 5:27 - as having lived till he was 969 years old.

Another interesting tidbit is to notice how Rebbecca covers herself a bit when she spots Isaac - who has lost his mommy - and now needs a new mommy. At times I hear losing one's mother is a motive for some marriages.

Great stuff…..

Notice in today’s gospel - how Matthew is telling any rigoristic Christians in his day that Jesus came to call sinners - and I dare say as priest, some people still don’t get that message.

Listen again to Jesus: "People who are in good health do not need a doctor; sick people do."

We’re sinners. This is also a key theme of Pope Francis.

I spotted a poster that said, “I am a sinner who is probably going to sin again.”

Another poster said, “Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you.”

Listen to Matthew again and here his whole message from Jesus in context:  "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

CONCLUSION.

So how to read the bible. Another way is to  pick and choose. Cherry pick the Bible. Be a Cafeteria Catholic when you read the Bible. Browse the Bible.

July 7, 2017

INVITATIONS

Most invitations don’t come in the mail  -

e-mail or paper. RSVP.  A waitress

fills our half empty or half filled - glass

of water -  and we had that chance to

say, “Thank you” - but we missed the

opportunity - just as we did at the door

when someone held it open for us

coming into the restaurant. “Sorry!”

A child in a passing car waves to us

and we catch their eye which invites us

to smile and we wave back and our

face loosens up and we drop a hurt

we’ve been holding on to for weeks.

So too a candy dish just sitting there

at the front desk and we say, “Can I?”

and we hear, “That’s what they are

here for!” So we say, “Thank you.

Nice touch.” We’re back to driving

along and God whispers in our left ear

“How are you doing?” but our right ear

is listening to Bruce Springsteen and we

don’t hear the call to be filled  with grace

and bring Christ to our world this very day.

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017