ON THE WATER
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 6th Monday after Easter is, “On The Water.”
I would like to trigger good thoughts about the water -
which makes up over 70% of our earth.
TODAY’S FIRST READING
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles 16: 11-15 touch on two experiences Paul had from
being on the water or at the water.
The first takes place in the Aegean Sea - which goes from the Mediterranean Sea up to the Marmara Sea and then into the Black Sea.
The second takes place at a river in Philippi. I looked up on several maps and found the
name of the river - the Krenides River. It’s also named the Gangas or the
Gangetes river. But I also found the
names of other rivers in and around Philippi: the Strymon and Nestus Rivers -
so I’m not sure just what river in Philippi is in place here. I’ll keep these
in my notes and keep figuring out what’s what and where’s where.
I’ve been to the Mediterranean Sea and to Istanbul and to
Athens - so maybe I was on the Aegean Sea. All I know is I saw a lot of water.
WATER EXPERIENCES
In this homily I simply want to address water
experiences. We’ve all had our water experiences. What are yours?
The river in Philippi was a place of prayer.
Here in Annapolis, we’re blessed with being near the
water.
Nearby, we have the South River and the Severn River. I
remember being at a blessing service for a bench or two on a point at
the end of Quiet Water’s Park - in memory of a man who was killed in a big
machine accident here in Maryland. I also remember being part of a funeral service
on the Severn River for a young lady who died from an overdose. Her father was
part of the band that sang, “Down by the Riverside.”
In other words, rivers as we heard in today’s first
reading, can be sacred places.
We have the Chesapeake and then on the other side of
Eastern Maryland the ocean.
Are they holy places for you?
I have on my wall a picture of the rocky shore line in
Galway Ireland where my mom is from. She’d said, “I could step out our back
door and put my big toe in Galway Bay.”
It was a great moment of life for me when we visited that
place and seeing the flag stone where her house was - and stepping on it - and
then lean over and put my hand into the water and then bless myself with that
holy water - made famous in the song, “Did you ever go across the sea to
Ireland and maybe at the closing of your day -
Galway Bay…..”
Where do you come from - what was the nearest source of
water?
Water makes up over 70% of this planet. Without it - no
us.
Every Sunday as a kid we would go down to the Narrows -
the water between Staten Island and New Jersey and Brooklyn NY - the water that
leads to NY Harbor - out into the Atlantic.
For 14 years of my life I lived on the Hudson River
between Poughkeepsie and Kingston NY.
For my second stint there, 8 years, every morning around 6:30 I’d walk
down to that river, put my hand in it, and bless myself with that Holy Water -
unless there was too much snow on that river road.
Blessings…. Blessings…. Blessings….
Water …. Water …. Everywhere ….
How about you?
I lived on a Lake in Wisconsin for 1 year - Lac La Belle
in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
I’ve never heard anyone say they wanted to be on all the
Great Lakes or on all the Finger Lakes.
We have a place on Lake Canandaigua NY. I know some folks want to say
they were in every major league ball park. How about lakes?
I know people who did some of the Mississippi - and a few
the Amazon - and more - the Danube.
What have been your River or lake or Ocean experiences.
CONCLUSION
Today I just want to trigger those experiences and ask: “Do you see all water as Holy Water, all water
as living water, all water as a blessing, all water to make sure we’re taking
good care of it?
Without being political, which I have got yelled at
because of comments from the pulpit, that weren’t meant to be political, I want
to push for taking good care of our waters and our earth. - Pope Francis has
his whole encyclical Laudato Si - On Care
for our Common Home. That’s the
earth and that’s the waters.
As you know there are those who want to deregulate
protection for our air, water, and earth. Protecting the earth costs money.
If you haven’t seen air - water - and earth that has been
messed up, take another look. When you do, do all you can do for our home.
When we were kids, when we took the subway to Coney
Island, in Brooklyn, we used to go by a place called, “Perfume Bay” - because
it had such a horrible smell. Finally, it’s in the process of being cleaned up!
