ANGER

INTRODUCTION

The title and topic for my homily is just one word: “Anger.”

So a few words about anger on this 6^th Wednesday in Ordinary Time.

FIRST READING: JAMES

James in today’s first reading says to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God.

James is very practical – and talks about issues we’re all aware of.

He says a lot in today’s first reading -  but I stopped at anger – as a topic to think and pray about for today.

ANGER

Anger is a strong feeling  of annoyance – irritation – displeasure.

James tells us to be slow to speak, to scream, to yell.

A better use of time is to ask: “What’s the trigger?”

If it’s us who is angry – we might be able to name the trigger.

If it’s another who is angry, we might not know what triggered another’s anger.

I’ve lived in community for over 50 years – so I know some of the things that get me angry or frustrated: noisy people – especially when I’m trying to sleep, people who are too early for things – and as a result they expect me to be early as well.

For example, at the last place I was stationed, we had confessions on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 and then Mass at 4:30. Well, two guys would get there at 3 PM. When it was my turn I’d get there at 3:35 or 3:40 – that’s 5 or 10 minutes early – but if myself or the other guy -  2 were scheduled every Saturday  - were close to 3:45 we’d get the complaints or the watch tappers when we came in. That got me angry.

Anger managers teach people to take the time to appraise – to figure out - why certain things get us angry.  Appraisal is the key world.

My appraisal why I didn’t like these guys who went out for confessions too early was: I don’t want to look late or lazy.

What do you get angry about?

Everyone has their buttons.

Is it “pasta again” or cold food  or every time I want to tell a story, I get cut off by so and so.   Is it control issues?  Is it a fairness issue?

All the specialists about anger say anger can be good – when injustice is taking place – or someone is hurting someone else.

All the specialists about anger say there is always the “It all depends” situation when it comes to anger. People get more angry when driving in traffic – and they are behind schedule and they got to be somewhere and traffic is extra heavy – compared to if there is no rush.

Aristotle wrote,  “Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.”

TODAY’S GOSPEL FROM MARK

As we all know Jesus got angry when he saw all the buying  and selling going on in the temple.

We’re in Mark 8 today – when Jesus heals a blind man. Remember in Chapter 3 of Mark, Jesus gets angry with the Pharisees and the Herodians who attack him for healing a man with a bad hand on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees should have come to Jesus to have him heal their blindness – like this blind man in today’s gospel  - so they could see Jesus and people in a new way – not spending life being picky, picky, picky people.

Once upon a time, there was this lady in a parish where I was saying Mass. She turned me in the bishop for breaking the bread near the consecration -when the priest says the words of Jesus, “he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying …” I would do that at times – most of the time unconsciously – but now I don’t do it – lest it get someone angry.

CONCLUSION: 

An old priest I knew from somewhere else would say about pesty ladies, “I’d give that lady a wide berth” – as in docking a boat.

February  19,  2020

EYEWITNESS

I was taught by a photographer, 

“If you want to take good pictures 

get out there an hour after sunrise 

or an hour before sunset.” 

I was taught by Jesus to pray, 

“Today  Lord, I want to see who 

and what I was looking at 

yesterday,  but I didn’t see them.” 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

February  19,  2020

Thought  for  Today

“The best way to make  dreams  come true is to wake up.”

Mae C. Jemison

February 18, 2020

EPILOGUE

No, not yet …. 

I have more to say. 

I see you have your car keys in hand. 

I see your hands are grasping the 

arm rests of your chair 
as if to leave. 

I can see your feet are starting to move. 

No, not yet ….

I have  a lot more to say.

I’m still in my second act.

Hold off with the eulogy

and the epilogue.

Sorry you’re not going to see

“The End” of this movie yet.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

February  18, 2020

Thought   for  Today

“It’s important for us to also understand that the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ simply refers to  the  notion that there’s a specific vulnerability for African Americans that needs to be addressed. It’s not meant to suggest that other lives don’t matter. It’s to suggest that other folks aren’t experiencing this particular vulnerability.” 

Barack Obama

A TEXT OUT  OF  CONTEXT  IS  A  PRETEXT

INTRODUCTION

There is an old saying to keep in mind when reading and understanding the Bible. It  goes like this, "A text out of context is a pretext." 

The classic example of this is:  “The Bible says,  ‘There is no God.’”

It says that. It is a text in the first verse of Psalm 14. 

But if someone says only that part of the text, it’s pulling the text out of context.

The whole text goes like this:  “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

PRETEXT

In my title -  I’d say we all know the meaning of “text”.  We know the meaning of “context”.  It’s the word  “pretext” that could be fuzzy – yet we use the word at times – as in the sentence,  “This is a pretext. It’s fake news.”

In Webster’s Dictionary – the word pretext has only one meaning: “to cloak the real meaning or intention of a text or a situation.”

People do this to us at times.

They say things that we said, but we say, “Wait a minute. I might have said that, but you’re taking me out of context.”

People hear what they want to hear. People cherry pick – to further their agenda.

Since twitter and texting have to  be short – things said with texts or twitter can be both cherry picked and picked apart – especially because there is not that much context.

TV

If we listen to the TV coverage of people running for office we hear people going after another candidate for something she or he said.  It might be from last week or last year or 8 years ago.  If they have changed their position they will be screaming in some form or other, “A text out of context is a pretext.”

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Now why am I bringing up this topic?

Well, here is where I have another saying, “If we’re going to read the first reading at Mass, please say something about it once and a while.”

We’ve been having these readings from Samuel and Kings at Mass for a while now – and that’s when I remembered the principle that is the title of my homily: “A text out of context is a pretext.”

As I listen to them – being at daily Mass every day – I keep in mind a question: “When did what is being described here happen and when was this text written?”

For  example, what is being described in this  first reading for this 5th Saturday in Ordinary Time is from 1 Kings 12: 26-32; 13: 33-34. It takes place in the 900’s – but the final copy which we have - was written or finalized 400 years later – perhaps before - as well as during the Exile [597-540].

This stuff has been written and rewritten over and over again. And why rewrite – if not to get your message and your agenda across.  We’re not getting our kind of history in the Bible, but the way history was told way, way back when.

So, we’re not getting exact history. But we’re getting how the author of Kings saw what happened to his country and to his religion – way after the events took place.

Today’s first reading tells us that looking back we Israelites messed everything up when we started to worship false gods.  We messed up when our country divided itself up - north and south.  Jeroboam split off from the south and started the Northern Kingdom as its first king. 

  

Meanwhile Rehoboam was king of Judah – the South – with Jerusalem as the key city.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

I understand the New Testament with the same principle and understandings.

The authors of the gospels – for example – use what Jesus said and did around 30 to 33 – but they especially write about what Christian communities were dealing with between 60 to 100 – all more or less.  

For example, whenever we hear about Samaritans – especially in Luke, we’re dealing with how the church were dealing with all these foreigners who are showing up in our communities.  

For example, on Thursday we heard about Jesus struggling with a Greek woman of Syro-Phoenician background.  I was taught by scripture commentators who would say, “That might be in there for Christians dealing with Greeks of various backgrounds becoming Christian. If Jesus struggled with them, come on, be nice to the strangers in our midst.”

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “A text out of context is a pretext.”

Next time you’re confused or concerned or in conflict with something someone said, say, “”I’m trying to get what you’re getting at, so please give me some more context? Thank you.”

 February 17, 2020

CLING 

Static cling is invisible, 

yet it's there. 

Say something nasty 

about Joe and it clings.  

So too  - certain  words.  

They pick up lots of cling.  

So too the day on the calendar 
a spouse or a parent or a child dies.  

As I said, “Cling is invisible,   

but check it out."   

E.E. Cummings told us to be  

a little more careful about love.*  

I’d say: “Be careful about what  

we say about each other.”  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

* Be of love a little more careful

than of anything."