SEASONS

Quote for Today  October 29,  2011

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show."

Andrew Wyeth, in Richard Meryman, The Art of Andrew Wyeth, 1973

Painting on top: "A Bridge, Race Gate," by Andrew Wyeth [1917-2009]. It's a view of the upper gates of the millrace at Wyeth's property in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The painting was stolen in 2000 - but found.

SINNERS 

IN THE PULPIT

October  28,  2011

Quote for Today

"Only the sinner has a right to preach."

Christopher Morley [1890-1957], Tolerance, p. 863

WANTING  CREDIT

October  27,  2011

Quote for Today

"The food is cooked in a pot and the plate gets the honor."

Yiddish Proverb


Questions:

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how important is it to you who gets the credit for a job done?

Have you ever been furious - when you did most of  the work - and someone else - the boss - or another person gets all the credit?

Can you say the following when you are not recognized: "There are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who get the credit"?

Have you ever done nothing in a work situation and you got all the credit?  What did you do next?

TWICE HAVE I STOOD A BEGGAR 

BEFORE THE DOOR OF GOD

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 30th Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “Twice have I stood a beggar / Before the door of God.”

That’s a line in Poem # 49 by Emily Dickinson. The poem is dated c. - circa - around 1858. I like to give titles to my homilies - as well as my poems. I find it rather interesting that Emily Dickinson simply numbered her poems - or somebody numbered her poems #1 to #1775 in her collected poems - after various gatherings of her poems were put together. [1]

We know her sister Lavinia - going through her sister’s stuff - after Emily died - found a small box containing about 900 poems “tied together with twine”.

That line from Poem # 49 stops me - with a question: “When have I stood a beggar before the door of God.”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel triggered the memory of that line by Emily Dickinson.

In today’s Gospel, Luke 13: 22-30, Jesus talks about going to Jerusalem. Which gate did he enter? On Palm Sunday he certainly didn’t take the narrow gate - which the gospel talks about. Then Jesus jumps to the image of a door - the locked door. And some people get in and some people are shut out. Some people get stuck outside and grind their teeth in anger, fear and regret and some get into the banquet.

Less than a week from now on All Saints Day people will be singing and praying, “When the Saints come marching in I want to be in their number - when the Saints come marching in.”

What will happen when we die? Will we stand before the Pearly Gates and cry for entrance? Will that door be narrow? We don’t know. We are dying to find out - but not yet. Yet, it seems to me that wondering sits there as a stone statue of a question outside that door all our lives - especially in times of near misses - accidents - and as we get older.

Emily in Poem # 49 seems to be talking about 2 deaths - 2 people buried in the sod. Not everyone agrees with that interpretation.  She begins, “I never lost as much but twice, And that was in the sod.” And then comes the line I entitled this homily with: “Twice have I stood a beggar / Before the door of God.”

Death is a tough slamming of a door. I miss conversations I had with my brother. I regret conversations I didn’t have with my dad - and my mom. My last two family deaths were closed coffins: my mom and my brother. If you saw their skulls, you’d know why. Messy. But I did see the closing of the door of the casket in a few other family deaths. Tough moment. Tough stuff.

And we all know about having the door slammed in our face: losing a job, divorce, people moving, being misunderstood and the other refused to hear our heart.

So we understand Emily Dickinson’s poem - and the little I dabbled in her life - she understood the meaning of being misunderstood. She knew the meaning of being a beggar at the door of God or another.

The second verse of Poem #49 is obviously religious. It’s a no-brainer in that she uses capital letters for God - calling God a Burglar - a Banker - and a Father. Let me recite it. It’s also very short like the first and other verse:

               Angels - twice descending
               Reimbursed my store -
               Burglar! Banker - Father!
               I am poor once more.

CONCLUSION

The title of my short homily is a line from a poem by Emily Dickinson: “Twice have I stood a beggar / Before the door of God.”

I’m presenting it as an image of prayer - to stand at the door of God and beg - to stand at the door of God - and groan - as prayer is described in today’s first reading from Romans 8: 26-30.

Let me close with this prayer adapted from Emily Dickinson's poem and pray this to God:

               I am poor once more, Lord.
               I am poor once more, Lord.
              Open up your door when I knock.
              Peak out your window
              and see me standing there,
              this poor beggar - and
             open up your door,
             when I bang on it,
             otherwise I’m going to keep on knocking
             till you open up your door for me. Amen


NOTES

[1] The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, Little, Brown And Company, Boston, Toronto

A TEACHER 

NAMED EXPERIENCE

October  26,  2011

Quote for Today

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

Wernon Sanders Law, "How to Be a Winner," This Week, August 14, 1960

IN THE MIDDLE

OF THE MIX

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 30th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “In The Middle of The Mix!”

There are reflective words and images, poetry and prayer, in the middle of the mix of today’s readings.

TODAY’S FIRST READING FROM ROMANS

The first reading - Romans 8: 18-25 - talks about suffering and groaning and the labor pains of life - and in the middle of the mix of sufferings and struggles - there is revelation - and hope - and the first fruits of the Spirit.

Suffering and struggle reveal that we humans hope. Those with nasal and chest congestion and colds and coughs - hope for relief and healing. I know I do. Those who come to church to pray for children and those with cancer and crushing family stuff - hopefully find the Spirit of God in the middle of the mix of it all - as we beg God for better for us and for all. People in church are like people on a train platform looking down the tracks - looking at our watches from time to time - waiting for signals that our train is coming.

Paul here in Romans 8 talks about the earth creaking - and shaking. We had another earthquake in Turkey the other day - so too our bellies and belly aches - and brain and our head aches.

I’m not making this up to be poetic. Listen to Paul again.

          We know that all creation
           is groaning in labor pains even until now;
           and not only that, but we ourselves,
           who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
           we also groan within ourselves
           as we wait for adoption,
           the redemption of our bodies.
           For in hope we were saved.
           Now hope that sees for itself is not hope.
           For who hopes for what one sees?
           But if we hope for what we do not see,
           we wait with endurance. [Romans 8:22-25]

TODAY’S GOSPEL FROM LUKE

Today’s gospel from Luke13: 18-21 continues with two images - male and female images.

The farmer plants mustard seeds in the ground - with the hope, with the image, with the knowing that in time the mustard bush will sprout. Green in brown earth is one of nature’s flag - waving to us a hope. Then the farmer sees that plant grow and rise from the earth - and reach out for the sky. Can you see the smile on the farmer’s face as he sees the birds of the air nesting, singing and enjoying the mustard.

The woman makes bread. She mixes the dough and the yeast. She’s done it a thousand time. The bread is in the oven. She knows how life works - how long it takes to bake bread and make babies in her oven.

We humans know how long life takes. It varies of course. There are life’s horrors and surprises - tragedies and accidents. Yet at least we hope for 70 to 90 - as long as we don’t have too many things creaking and leaking and our brains can still do crossword puzzles, Sudoku’s and we can yell out the answers while watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in our own home - and we have a smile on our face when we know the answer ahead of those on the program.

CONCLUSION

In the middle and the mix of the Mass we pray for these things.

In the middle and mix of this life - we pray, we’re grateful, we groan and gripe, we laugh, because like the mustard seed we’ll be planted in the ground knowing that’s not all there is - just like the mass of flour and dough and yeast know the heat of the oven is just part of the process. There’s bread on the rise; there will be bread on the table each morning.

HOPE

Quote for Today - October 25,  2011


"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul."

Emily Dickinson [1830-1886], Poems, Pt. I, No. 32