May 2, 2018
Thought for today:
“Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate
prejudices - just recognize them."
prejudices - just recognize them."
Edward R. Murrow [1908-1965]
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
J AND J
CARPENTER AND SON
GOSPEL Matthew 13:54-58 New International Version (NIV)
54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in
their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this
wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.55 “Isn’t
this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t
his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t
all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And
they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A
prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack
of faith.
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “J & J: Carpenter and
Son.”
We find in the New Testament scriptures the words, “Jesus
of Nazareth” 17 times.
From archaeological digs and burial sites in Nazareth from way back in Jesus’ time, it’s estimated that there were 200 to 400
people in that town. But that’s a guesstimate. Yet the town or village was
large enough to have a synagogue.
CARPENTERS
We have only a few references to Jesus as a carpenter.
The key text for my comments this morning is Matthew
13:54-55: “He came to his hometown and
began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and
said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this
the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother
called Mary? Are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”
Or Mark 6: 3: “Is this not the carpenter, the son of
Mary…?
Last night I looked up different sources to see what they
would say about carpenters in the time of Jesus.
They would build tables and stools - window and door
frames - homes and roofs - plows and yokes.
They would have hammers and saws, chisels and nails. I
don’t know about glue and drills.
We find references in the gospels to some of these items:
plows and yokes, building your house on rock not sand, strong doors and
windows.
Did Jesus ever get a tiny piece of wood in his eye and
Joseph said, “Good thing it wasn’t a log?”
Did they have a sign above their shop: “J & J:
Carpenter and Son.”
MORE ABOUT JOSEPH
We don’t know how old Joseph was when he died and was
Jesus there at the time.
We don’t know how old Joseph was compared to Mary.
We don’t know how much Jesus learned from the wisdom of
Joseph.
The Catholic teaching is the virginity of Mary - which is
strange to some people. My thought is that when it comes to Jesus, it’s tricky
because he is both human and divine. It took a couple of centuries and various
heresies to come up with words and formulas for all this. Scripture scholars
say that in Jesus’ time people called close cousins and clans people brother and
sister. I’d assume that teachers and
theologians had to come up with Jesus being an only child - because what would these other brothers and
sisters be - since Jesus is both human and divine.
OUR OWN DADS
On this feast of Joseph, May 1st, the theme is
Joseph the Worker. It’s often stated that this feast was to counter the
Communist theme of May 1st: Workers of the World Unite.
Or let’s honor the worker and work today.
This feast I would like to honor my dad and I ask you to
do the same.
An American question is: What do you do for a
living? In other words, what’s your job
title.
Jesus and Joseph were carpenters. Notice in the scriptures there is more
interest in fishing - more referrals about catching fish than working with wood.
The Lake of Galilee was only 12 miles from Nazareth.
What did your dad do for a living?
My dad was very
quiet. He worked here in America for the National Biscuit Company - as a
lifter - a common worker. I remember hearing more from him about fellow workers
than about lifting bags of flour or sugar.
And in these last 10 years I have learned from my sister
Mary, mainly, some things I never knew about him.
He was handy with wood - building our back fence. He
built a near wooden chair - which my sister has on her front porch. The wood
was gathered from the waters down by the narrows - that stretch of water
between Brooklyn and Staten Island and New Jersey. The wood he went after was
mostly from wooden pallets he found down in the water.
What did I learn from my
dad? What did you learn from your dad? How are we like our dad? What did Jesus learn from Joseph?
I learned hard work. I
learned to read books - something I often saw my dad doing - including poetry.
I saw and learned the value of walking and going to the park - to be with
family and to watch each other enjoy and appreciate the great outdoors.
What did you learn from
your Joseph? What did you learn from your dad?
May 1, 2018
UNKNOWN GUESSES
UNKNOWN GUESSES
Oh yeah, we make all kinds of guesses -
unknown guesses - because often we have
little awareness - that’s what we are doing.
We judge, we guess, we figure out the
motives - the why another is doing what
she or he is doing - but it’s only a guess.
Wait! Often it’s really what we would be
doing in this very situation - and yet we
pin it - like the tail of a donkey - on the other.
The Talmud is right - when it says - “Teach
thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know.’” I don’t
even know that’s what I’m doing every day.
© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
10,000
STEPS TO GOD
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 5th Monday after Easter is, “10,000 Steps To God.”
A lifetime question and wondering is this: “Is everyone
really down deep a searcher for God?”
Is Augustine right when he said, “You have created us for Yourself, Oh God, and our heart is
restless until it rests in You.”
We don’t
know if that is true - we can’t research everyone - but it was certainly true for Saint
Augustine. Check out his Confessions. We all have to read that at
least once every decade of our life.
We discover
it was also true for Paul and Barnabas whom we hear about in today’s first
reading. The people of Lystra and Derbe wanted them to be the gods, Hermes and Zeus - but they told the people,
‘We’re human beings. Don’t turn to idols. Turn to the living God who made
heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.”
It was
certainly true for John if we read his gospel slowly and prayerfully - in these
readings from him after Easter.
10,000
STEPS
I remember
when I gave courses in Spirituality. I
had to look up and study and then present the thoughts of many spiritual
writers. I would show how often people
drew up or listed steps for holiness and to reach God. There would be 3 steps, 4 steps. 7 steps, 8 steps, 10 steps
to God. Around the year 600, a monk
named John came up with 30 steps - that one needs to climb to get to God. They ended
up nicknaming him John the Climber - or John Climacus.
In AA and
other 12 Step programs, there are 12 steps.
What I got
out of these steps is that the search for God takes time - a day at a time, a
step at a time.
We’ve all
heard the Chinese saying: “ A journey of 1000 miles begins with that first
step.
The title of
my homily is, 10,000 Steps to God.
It’s my
learning from Spiritual Writers, and listening to people, life in pursuit of
God takes steps. Sometimes it’s a step forwards. Sometimes it’s a step
backwards. Sometimes it’s a step sideways.
Sometimes it’s a standing still and feeling stuck.
One day we
think we found God. We feel we met God. Then at other times we feel we’re in a
fog, we’re in a dark night - and God is nowhere to be found. In those moments prayer
is boring. Prayer is 10,000 distractions.
Sometimes
it’s all God. A person makes a retreat….
A person goes to the beach …. A person goes to the Grand Canyon …. A person is
in our Eucharistic chapel…. A person is taking a walk - and they are whammed in
our head by a God experience.
Then again
and a year later they have stopped taking the steps to find God.
The apostles
walked the steps of Palestine with Jesus and most took off when the going got
tough. The gospel talks about locked doors - and how Jesus - the Risen Lord -
came through the walls and proclaimed Peace to these disciples.
I picked 10,000 steps because
it’s like the El Camino in Spain - starting in France and walking and walking
till a person gets to Santiago de
And people making that
pilgrimage tell listeners - the experience is loaded with highs and lows and
lows and highs - and lots of so so’s.
Life is like the rosary. It’s
about mysteries - sorrowful, joyful,
glorious and light bearing mysteries.
APOPHATIC
AND KATAPHATIC APPROACHES TO GOD
As you know
there are two major approaches to God: the apophatic and the kataphatic
approaches. I might as well use those words. They can be found in spiritual
reading books - so I’ll give it a shot to use them and explain them.
Both are from Greek words
to describe 2 major approaches to God.
We can get to know God
from images and ideas about God - that’s the kataphatic way. Kata is the Greek
prefix for with - like con in Latin. Kata with phatic - you can hear the word
emphasis in the word kataphatic. God is Father, Mother, Shepherd, Mountain, Ocean,
Door. The kataphatic way to God is an approach using images and pictures.
Then there is the
apophatic way to approaching God. APO is the Greek prefix for away from. It’s the stripping away of all images - many
of which are in scriptures. For example
today’s gospel is all about the Spirit of God as an Advocate. Wonderful. I need
a lawyer. I need a God. I need God. But
that’s an image and the image of God as an advocate is nice - but it’s not
enough. So those who tend to be apophatic won’t use such an image.
Then again Jesus comes.
The word became flesh. And Jesus shows us and tells us: the one who sees me,
sees the Father.
So images help - and they
can also have limitations. God can’t be an idol, an image, an icon.
So with the apophatic way
we have the quieting, emptying approach
to God. God is nothing we can
imagine. God is God.
With this approach we just
be. We stop walking. We just lay there
in the dark night - especially when we can’t sleep - but we be with God - o we
have our dark corners to pray. Or we come here to church and sit behind a pole in a dark afternoon church and
God is.
CLOSING STORY
The title of my homily is
10,000 steps to God.
It could be 10,000 stories
to God.
Let me close with an experience
of God that is still with me.
It was 12 AM and I’m in a
dark chapel - all by myself. I’m praying
in the dark - in a back off to the side part of the chapel. I’m saying some prayers - but mostly being
quiet.
Suddenly, the center door
in the back of the chapel opens.
Whoever it is, is quiet
and doesn’t turn any lights on.
They go up to the front
and into the sanctuary.
I’m being very quiet - no
bench creaking.
I can see shadows now -
because of the red sanctuary light - next to the tabernacle. The person sits down on the floor and leans
into the altar and faces the tabernacle.
Snap. Snap. The person
opens up a guitar case and I can hear a guitar being taken out of a case.
The person strums their
guitar and then the person starts singing a love song to Jesus in the dark.
Wow! I’m in someone’s
sacred place. I would sneak out if I could. I couldn’t, so I just sat there in
my spot in the back corner.
It was a woman.
She finished her song -
became quiet - for about 5 minutes - put their guitar back in its case and then
got up and walked out.
I stayed there till about
1 PM - just having witnessed another human being being in touch with her God.
Amen.
Monday, April 30, 2018
April 30, 2018
© Andy Costello, Reflections
2018
DROP, DROP, DROP
The rain in Spain - in fact, the rain
anywhere and everywhere falls on
welcoming fields and sidewalks,
roads and walkways - irrigating
and cleaning - bringing us grapes
and wheat, apples and oranges,
making our planet for sure to be
home for all - so why do we complain
about rain in Spain and anywhere?
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