THE HEART OF THE MATTER
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 22 Sunday in Ordinary
Time [B] is, “The Heart of the Matter.”
The human heart is just a pump - but there is something
about the heart -that it shows up in literature and basic human psychology - as the center of a human being.
The heart is the heart of the matter.
We know this. We know this every Valentine’s Day - and
every feast of the Sacred Heart.
How many sons and daughters - call up their mom and dad -
and say they are dropping out of school or a marriage - and in that
conversation they say, “My heart isn’t in
it anymore.”
That’s a whammer every time.
And sometimes we know what state there in - long before
they get out a map - long before they know where they are in life or in their
marriage.
Sometimes we put our hand over our heart when we are
pledging our allegiance. Sometimes we put our hand on our heart when we scared
or nervous - and life is in a tight squeeze and we’re in a tight situation or
place.
When it comes to the heart, we know when we’re in an “Uh
oh!” situation. Things don’t look good. We also know when we’re in an “Oh
yeah!” situation. That’s when we think
we just met our heart’s desire.”
JESUS KNEW THIS
Jesus knew this. In
today’s gospel Jesus quotes Isaiah -
when challenging the Pharisees and some scribes. He says, that God says, “This
people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do
they worship me ….”
We know this. We know when the preacher in the pulpit, the
singer with the song - microphone in hand - has their heart somewhere else.
The distance from the lips to the heart can be 12 inches
or 1,200 miles away.
We know it when the other person is somewhere else.
The eyes are a dead giveaway - and sometimes yawns.
A NO NO
Years ago I was with a group of co-workers from a retreat
house in New Jersey at a Broadway matinee. It was a re-run of the musical - No No Nanette. The only seats we could
get were off to the side - up in balconies of sort. We could only see the front
of the stage - but looking down - we could see right into the orchestra pit. All
through the musical, I’m sitting there watching a violinist. On top of his
music - on the music stand - he had the New
York Daily News and he was reading it all through his playing. I’m sure he did
that music 100 times at least.
I don’t remember anything about that musical - its plot
or its songs - but I membered that violinist.
I got a life lesson that day. I have a choice to put my
heart into my music or read the Daily News. I hope every time I’m tempted to
stop listening to another - to stop being with another - I’ll scream, “No, No
Andrew No”.
I’ve said Mass as priest since June 20, 1965. I’ve been
going to Mass probably every day since 1947 or so - we went to daily Mass at
OLPH grammar school in Brooklyn - at 7:30 AM - Monday to Friday. It was a Requiem Mass - a
Mass for the dead. The priest wore black vestments. And I was an altar boy - so
I was at many more masses - after a while - they can be all the same.
So I’ve been to a lot of Masses - so yes, I drift - but
I’m still trying not to be like that violinist.
I did play the trombone once - for about 2 weeks. Then I
quit. My heart wasn’t really in it in the first place or the second place. When
I started and when I gave it up…. Now if
I was practicing for 2 years and my parents put a lot of money into music
lessons, and I was dropping out, now that might be a different story.
That’s the heart of the matter.
The secret of life is to find our heart’s desire and then
to put our heart into that pursuit and play - and to enjoy the music.
That’s the heart of the matter.
INSIDE THE HUMAN HEART
Okay - sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in the
other’s heart - till we read about them
in the paper.
Jesus in today’s gospel gives us a balcony view of the
human heart. He calls together the crowd
and says, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from
the outside can defile that person, but the things that come out from within
are what defile.”
The scribes and the Pharisees were off on externals;
Jesus was off on the internal - the human heart.
Then he gives the heart of the matter, “From within
people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance,
folly, All these evils come from within
and they defile.”
This is heart of Jesus’ message right there.
We know this - but we’re tricky - we human beings -
because we can avoid the truth - the truth that can set us free.
Instead of looking within - we go after others - blame
others - pick on others - gossip about others - in order to not face ourselves.
Do that enough and we might kill the human heart - and
stop enjoying playing the violin or the trombone.
SPEAKING OF DEATH AND FUNERALS
This week we had the death of Aretha Franklin and John
McCain - and others.
On TV we had the blessing of being able to watch and to
listen to people go up to the microphone and camera and give their take on another human being -
getting to the heart of the matter.
Yesterday, I
watched the funeral service for John McCain. The main speakers - his daughter,
Joe Lieberman, George W. Bush, Barack Obama - looked down into his heart and
tried to get to the heart of what mattered to him.
They said things like: He was honest. He had zest. He had
a sense of humor. He loved to tell jokes - some jokes over and over again. He was optimistic. He was independent - a
maverick. He was imperfect and he knew it. He was a fighter. He forgave and
asked for forgiveness.
George W. Bush told a story about him that took place
right here in Annapolis - over at the Naval Academy. Here it is word for word:
“One friend from his Naval Academy days recalled
how John – while a lowly plebe – reacted to seeing an upperclassman verbally
abuse a steward. Against all tradition, he told the jerk to pick on someone his
own size. It was a familiar refrain during his six decades of service.”
When we die, all those we
left behind will speak of our heart. They will sing of the familiar refrains of
our life - for all the decades of the
mysteries of our rosary - our life.
CONCLUSION
The title of my homily was, “The Heart of the Matter.”
I’m assuming we’ll all take the time to go heart to heart
with Christ, with ourselves, and with those key to our lives - as we grow in
grace and wisdom and strength, Amen.
Drop into church or the Eucharistic chapel down below
here at St. Mary’s and ask Christ about yours and other’s heart.
Drop into your cemeteries in your heart or on West Street
or the Naval Academy and ask John McCain or others, “What was in your heart?
What really mattered?
