August 24, 2018
Thought for today:
"No matter what political reasons are given for war, the
underlying reason is always economic."
A. J. P. Taylor [1906- 1990]
Friday, August 24, 2018
Thursday, August 23, 2018
August 23, 2018
THE FACE
OF A TREE
Are trees self-conscious
when people pause to stare
at their bark - their skin -
their face - to touch and check
out their texture - especially
when it’s rough and
tough -
as if it had acne or pimples
or other teen age skin
problems
years and years ago, but the
scars and rough skin remain?
Or does wind and weather,
rain and cold and snow,
become their greater worry -
or lovers carving their initials
into the heart of this tree -
this tree of the cross - knowing
these two will be broken
or broken up by next spring -
and there will be more stories -
many more carvings to come?
© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
August 22, 2018
CHURCH STEEPLES
Do steeples and crosses,
do churches and cemeteries,
still stir up in us a God, “Hmm”,
a God advertisement - that
God is above us and around
us and underneath us?
Or has all that ended and now
it’s up to babies fingers, oceans,
mountains, the morning shower,
or autumn leaves
to get us to
pause and hear God’s, “I am here” -
hovering like a fly in your midst?
© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
HOW HARD IT IS
TO LOSE AND TO LET GO
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 20th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “How Hard It Is to
Lose and to Let Go.”
Today’s two readings have various messages. If you read them ahead of time, what message
- what question - hits you from today’s
two readings?
The one that grabbed me is what Ezekiel said, “You might
think you’re a god - small “g” god - but
you’re not God.”
Ezekiel continues, “You might have great wisdom and great
riches, gold and silver, but you are still not God.”
The gospel has a follow up from yesterday’s gospel in the story about the young man wants to follow Jesus. Jesus
says, “Keep the commandments”. He says, “I do that - but I want more.” So Jesus tells him to let go of everything -
“sell it all - and give the money to the poor - and then come follow me.”
He can’t do that -
so he walks away sad.
Jesus then says to his disciples, how hard it is to enter
the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus goes further, “Amen I say to you, it is easier for
a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter
the Kingdom of God.”
I’m sure you’ve heard us preachers tell what different
scripture scholars think the eye of the needle. I’ve heard it could be a gate
in Jerusalem or part of a boat a big rope goes through. Others say it’s just
what Jesus said, “A camel can’t go through the eye of a needle.” In India we
might say, “It’s like an elephant trying to get into the back seat of one of
those smart cars.”
TITLE OF MY HOMILY ONCE MORE.
Once more the title of my homily is, “How Hard It Is to
Lose and to Let Go.”
Part of being a human being is that we lose things. Life
has great finds and great gifts, but it also has moments of loss.
Yesterday we heard about Ezekiel losing his wife. She died and that is a horrible feeling.
We are not God. We lose people; God doesn’t. God gets all
people.
We lose people by: death - divorce - being dropped - people moving to Florida.
We lose homes. Houses burn. How tough is that? Houses
that have pictures - mementos - gifts -
a dad’s chair - a table that his come down through the generations - all gone
in a fire.
On our high school retreats Ginny has an exercise. I’ve
done it 37 times. I vary it every time. Your house is on fire. You can grab 3
things - not counting pets or persons - what would you rescue?
So we are not God. We lose things. We age. We lose our
youth. We lose our health.
Watches keep ticking - even if we lose our watch.
THE CROSS
This reality of the possibility of loss is life - it’s
part of the classroom - called life.
We are not God, so hopefully the cross - not being able
to control life, not being able to control God, not being able to control our
future, hopefully brings us to God - brings us to the realization I am not God
- therefore I need God and others.
Surprise - God one ups us. He becomes one of us and he
discovers he can’t control the horrors - the sins people do to each other.
Surprise - God let go of controlling us - in giving us
freedom and free will.
Surprise -Just as the young man in yesterday’s gospel had
the freedom of walking away - well God gave us that ability - and in that very
reality - lies the beauty of life.
Love is not love - if it’s a have to love - if it’s not a
freely given love - if it’s not a love that can be cancelled.
Love is a choice. It’s a bummer if it isn’t.
Love is wonderful, beautiful, powerful, when we realize
it’s a gift given to us - when it could be ignored or not given. Amen.
Can I get you a piece of pie or a dish of ice cream - vanilla, peach or butter almond?
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