AUTOBIOGRAPHY:UNCONSCIOUS 95 %
OF THE TIME
OPENING IMAGE
A few years back, Charles Grodin, actor, director, and now talk show host, took some time out to write an autobiography about his journey through show business. The title of his book was: “It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here.”
The title of the book comes from an experience he had in England while making a movie. A particular scene takes place in a castle. While the movie cameras were being set up, he and Candice Bergen were just sitting there talking in a room off the main hall. An Englishwoman, perhaps a duchess, obviously someone who was part of the castle, appeared and said, “Did someone ask you to wait in here?” Sort of surprised, they both answered, “No.” Then the woman said, “Well, it would be so nice if you weren’t here.”
HOMILETIC REFLECTIONS
Well, we are here! And hopefully it’s so nice that we are here. However, sometimes people wish we weren’t here. And, thank God, sometimes people are very happy that we are here.
As the old saying goes, “Some people cause happiness wherever they go; some people cause happiness whenever they go.”
Jesus is that sort of person. Some people wish that he would go away. Some people wish that he would stay. Some people see him as a problem, a cross, a person who takes away the fun and joy of life. And some people see him as the way, the truth and the life.
As Peter put it in today’s first reading: some people disowned Jesus. They chose a murderer instead. Then they killed Jesus, “the Author of life.”
Each of us is an author -- the author of our life. Eventually everyone begins to reflect on their life. Most people without knowing it are slowly putting together their autobiography -- knitting themselves together by means of afterthoughts -- talking to themselves -- figuring themselves out when they take time out to sit there in a room off to the side in their castle, their upper room, their mind.
However it’s a slow process. In the meanwhile, it seems that most of us go through life unconscious 95 % of the time.
Or as Peter put it in today’s first reading: we act out of ignorance. Or as John put it in today’s second reading: we lie, we sin. Or as Luke puts it in today’s gospel: it takes time for us to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread -- in the breaking of the scriptures -- in the breaking of his body -- in the breaking of our life.
Suffering can tell us secrets. Suffering can make us conscious. Seeing life from up on a cross can help us see so much more.
Sin can also do the same. Sin can wake us up. Sin can also help us to see -- to become more conscious -- to bring us to fulfillment -- but only in the shadow of the cross -- but only in the light of Jesus.
Sin and suffering -- great themes -- great teachers -- if only we are willing to see them as such in the story of our life.
In today’s first reading, after telling us that we act out of ignorance, Peter brings in the themes of suffering and sin, “God has brought to fulfillment by this means what he announced long ago through all the prophets: that his Messiah would suffer. Therefore, reform your lives! Turn to God, that your sins may be wiped away!”
When we look at the story of our life, when we see the times when we gave up because of suffering or sin, we see how we too are like the disciples in today’s gospel, the second part of the Emmaus story. We too had taken the road home -- moving away from Jesus -- thinking Jesus was all over.
Then when we look at the story of our life, our autobiography, more reflectively, we can also see the times when we were like the disciples in today’s gospel when they came back from Emmaus. We can see the times when we came back to church to celebrate with others because we have seen that Jesus is all over our life -- on every page of our scriptures, our autobiography.
We come from our home each Sunday to this church, this upper room, because in this upper room we want to recognize Jesus in all the breaking moments of our life.
It is here that we can look back on last week and last year, in fact, the whole of our life, and see how many times Jesus has walked into our upper room and said what he says in today’s gospel, “Peace!” “Peace to you!”
It is here in this church that are bodies were brought for baptism; it here in this church that our bodies are brought when we die -- because we and our families believe in the Risen Christ.
It here in this upper room, this church, when we are honest, that we can also see and say that there were many times, many days, when we have been too busy, too busy to be conscious of Jesus walking the road of life with us.
We are unconscious 95 % of the time.
In so many words, haven’t we said to Jesus -- maybe in body language, “It would be so nice if you weren’t here.”
However, Jesus is here. We can’t lock him out of our upper rooms. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ keeps coming again and again and again.
“Peace to you!”
Jesus is peace. Jesus is here. Jesus is here as his life unfolds in our life. As we heard in today’s gospel, Jesus shows us his hands and his feet. Jesus asks us to touch him. Jesus eats with us. Jesus opens our minds to the understanding of the scriptures -- his story, our story, other’s story.
Jesus is here. Jesus is here as our life unfolds -- as we discover -- usually through suffering -- sometimes sin -- the untold parts of our life.
Isn’t that a key message in today’s gospel? Listen to Jesus again from today’s gospel, “Then he opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures.”
We are unconscious 95% of the time.
Too many times we journey through life without knowing, without seeing, without being aware of the meaning of our life, neither reading his autobiography, our autobiography, or other’s autobiography.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
One of the great sections of every library is “Biographies” and “Autobiographies”.
People who have taken the time to sort out their life or another’s life and wrote it down can help us take the time to sort out our life.
Read biographies and autobiographies.
For example, let’s move to the end of this homily by looking at another moment from Charles Grodin’s autobiography. He tells about his childhood days growing up in Pittsburgh. In the afternoon after grammar school he’d go to a large synagogue to attend Hebrew school. He writes, “One day when I was about eight I explored the building. I was down on the bottom floor opening every closed door -- a broom closet, an empty classroom. Suddenly I opened a door, and there was a room with a small stage. On the stage was a piano player and a short, stocky, pretty woman singing ‘The Man I Love.’”
The moment was one of those moments in a person’s life that open up doors to more life. He wrote, “I had never seen a live performer before. I was awestruck. The whole idea that someone on a stage was singing a song somehow took my breath away. It was as though I had entered into a fairy tale. Opening that door, opened a door in my mind about performing.”
However, because it was such a surprise, “so exotic” a scene, and perhaps because he was still so young, he says that he closed the door quickly and forgot about it.
We are unconscious 95% of the time.
But the door had been opened.
It was nice that he was there.
That scene eventually became his scene. He went on stage. He sang. He acted. He was in the movies.
When we enter through the doors of a church or a synagogue, when we enter into prayer into the upper rooms of our minds, when we read the scriptures, when we read other people’s autobiographies, when we put together our autobiography, we become conscious of our life. We can see our story. We can read our autobiography. We can get in touch with Jesus the Author of life, the One we love.
When that happens, we’ll become as today’s Gospel ends, “witnesses of this.”
When this happens we’ll say to Jesus, “It’s so nice that you are here.”
A few years back, Charles Grodin, actor, director, and now talk show host, took some time out to write an autobiography about his journey through show business. The title of his book was: “It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here.”
The title of the book comes from an experience he had in England while making a movie. A particular scene takes place in a castle. While the movie cameras were being set up, he and Candice Bergen were just sitting there talking in a room off the main hall. An Englishwoman, perhaps a duchess, obviously someone who was part of the castle, appeared and said, “Did someone ask you to wait in here?” Sort of surprised, they both answered, “No.” Then the woman said, “Well, it would be so nice if you weren’t here.”
HOMILETIC REFLECTIONS
Well, we are here! And hopefully it’s so nice that we are here. However, sometimes people wish we weren’t here. And, thank God, sometimes people are very happy that we are here.
As the old saying goes, “Some people cause happiness wherever they go; some people cause happiness whenever they go.”
Jesus is that sort of person. Some people wish that he would go away. Some people wish that he would stay. Some people see him as a problem, a cross, a person who takes away the fun and joy of life. And some people see him as the way, the truth and the life.
As Peter put it in today’s first reading: some people disowned Jesus. They chose a murderer instead. Then they killed Jesus, “the Author of life.”
Each of us is an author -- the author of our life. Eventually everyone begins to reflect on their life. Most people without knowing it are slowly putting together their autobiography -- knitting themselves together by means of afterthoughts -- talking to themselves -- figuring themselves out when they take time out to sit there in a room off to the side in their castle, their upper room, their mind.
However it’s a slow process. In the meanwhile, it seems that most of us go through life unconscious 95 % of the time.
Or as Peter put it in today’s first reading: we act out of ignorance. Or as John put it in today’s second reading: we lie, we sin. Or as Luke puts it in today’s gospel: it takes time for us to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread -- in the breaking of the scriptures -- in the breaking of his body -- in the breaking of our life.
Suffering can tell us secrets. Suffering can make us conscious. Seeing life from up on a cross can help us see so much more.
Sin can also do the same. Sin can wake us up. Sin can also help us to see -- to become more conscious -- to bring us to fulfillment -- but only in the shadow of the cross -- but only in the light of Jesus.
Sin and suffering -- great themes -- great teachers -- if only we are willing to see them as such in the story of our life.
In today’s first reading, after telling us that we act out of ignorance, Peter brings in the themes of suffering and sin, “God has brought to fulfillment by this means what he announced long ago through all the prophets: that his Messiah would suffer. Therefore, reform your lives! Turn to God, that your sins may be wiped away!”
When we look at the story of our life, when we see the times when we gave up because of suffering or sin, we see how we too are like the disciples in today’s gospel, the second part of the Emmaus story. We too had taken the road home -- moving away from Jesus -- thinking Jesus was all over.
Then when we look at the story of our life, our autobiography, more reflectively, we can also see the times when we were like the disciples in today’s gospel when they came back from Emmaus. We can see the times when we came back to church to celebrate with others because we have seen that Jesus is all over our life -- on every page of our scriptures, our autobiography.
We come from our home each Sunday to this church, this upper room, because in this upper room we want to recognize Jesus in all the breaking moments of our life.
It is here that we can look back on last week and last year, in fact, the whole of our life, and see how many times Jesus has walked into our upper room and said what he says in today’s gospel, “Peace!” “Peace to you!”
It is here in this church that are bodies were brought for baptism; it here in this church that our bodies are brought when we die -- because we and our families believe in the Risen Christ.
It here in this upper room, this church, when we are honest, that we can also see and say that there were many times, many days, when we have been too busy, too busy to be conscious of Jesus walking the road of life with us.
We are unconscious 95 % of the time.
In so many words, haven’t we said to Jesus -- maybe in body language, “It would be so nice if you weren’t here.”
However, Jesus is here. We can’t lock him out of our upper rooms. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ keeps coming again and again and again.
“Peace to you!”
Jesus is peace. Jesus is here. Jesus is here as his life unfolds in our life. As we heard in today’s gospel, Jesus shows us his hands and his feet. Jesus asks us to touch him. Jesus eats with us. Jesus opens our minds to the understanding of the scriptures -- his story, our story, other’s story.
Jesus is here. Jesus is here as our life unfolds -- as we discover -- usually through suffering -- sometimes sin -- the untold parts of our life.
Isn’t that a key message in today’s gospel? Listen to Jesus again from today’s gospel, “Then he opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures.”
We are unconscious 95% of the time.
Too many times we journey through life without knowing, without seeing, without being aware of the meaning of our life, neither reading his autobiography, our autobiography, or other’s autobiography.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
One of the great sections of every library is “Biographies” and “Autobiographies”.
People who have taken the time to sort out their life or another’s life and wrote it down can help us take the time to sort out our life.
Read biographies and autobiographies.
For example, let’s move to the end of this homily by looking at another moment from Charles Grodin’s autobiography. He tells about his childhood days growing up in Pittsburgh. In the afternoon after grammar school he’d go to a large synagogue to attend Hebrew school. He writes, “One day when I was about eight I explored the building. I was down on the bottom floor opening every closed door -- a broom closet, an empty classroom. Suddenly I opened a door, and there was a room with a small stage. On the stage was a piano player and a short, stocky, pretty woman singing ‘The Man I Love.’”
The moment was one of those moments in a person’s life that open up doors to more life. He wrote, “I had never seen a live performer before. I was awestruck. The whole idea that someone on a stage was singing a song somehow took my breath away. It was as though I had entered into a fairy tale. Opening that door, opened a door in my mind about performing.”
However, because it was such a surprise, “so exotic” a scene, and perhaps because he was still so young, he says that he closed the door quickly and forgot about it.
We are unconscious 95% of the time.
But the door had been opened.
It was nice that he was there.
That scene eventually became his scene. He went on stage. He sang. He acted. He was in the movies.
When we enter through the doors of a church or a synagogue, when we enter into prayer into the upper rooms of our minds, when we read the scriptures, when we read other people’s autobiographies, when we put together our autobiography, we become conscious of our life. We can see our story. We can read our autobiography. We can get in touch with Jesus the Author of life, the One we love.
When that happens, we’ll become as today’s Gospel ends, “witnesses of this.”
When this happens we’ll say to Jesus, “It’s so nice that you are here.”
[This is a homily I did for the 3 Sunday after Easter, B, which I wrote for a homily service called, "Markings".]
