I have seen the sun break through to illuminate a small field for a while, and gone my way and forgotten it. But that was the pearl of great price, the one field that had treasure in it. I realise now that I must give all that I have to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after an imagined past. It is the turning aside like Moses to the miracle of the lit bush, to a brightness that seemed as transitory as your youth once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
Today is the feast of St. James – St. James the Great. He
and his brother John, also great, were among the first 4 people called by Jesus
to follow him.
At times he gets mixed up with James the Less – also one
of the 12 apostles. Then there are the author of the Letter of James – a New
Testament document – as well as James the Bishop of Jerusalem. These also we’re
not sure, who’s who.
HAVING SOMEONE
NAMED AFTER US
From what I read this morning in preparing this homily –
we can leave those questions to further research and speculation.
However thinking about names can lead to a simple thought
for today: Live a good life – so that people will name a baby after you.
I think that’s a noble theme….
When I do a baptism for one or two babies – I ask couples why they
chose the name they chose for their baby.
Sometimes they say it’s because there was this wonderful
aunt or uncle – or grandparent.
Sometimes – it still happens – people are following a family tradition – Jr’s –
or a parent’s name or a variation of it – or they add that middle name.
A childhood buddy named his adopted son after me –
because he was born the day I was ordained a priest.
Recently the answer to my question about why parents
chose a certain name was that the mom was naming her daughter after the
nickname of a little girl who had cancer and was also filled with great
courage. As nanny she said to herself, “If ever I have a baby girl, I’ll name her Lula after that courageous
little girl.”
SAINTS’ NAMES
The old tradition of naming a baby after a saint has
certainly lessened – but because of that tradition – a lot of men have been
named after James.
The stories of priests refusing to baptize a baby the
name the parents came up with – because it wasn’t a saints’ name – certainly
has stopped for the most part – but I still hear horror stories from the past.
Parents have the right to name their child the name they
choose for their child. I do hear some horror stories about those choices.
CHOOSING A NAME:
4 SUGGESTIONS
If anyone is interested, having just said what I said, here are 4 thoughts
about names for a baby.
First, choose a name that sounds sweet or neat or what
have you – especially when combined with the kid’s last name. Sound is
important! Someone said, “Go out on the back porch or front steps and scream: “_____
it’s time for supper.” If the name
doesn’t sound or seem right in a scream, think differently.
If it’s a boy, think of teenage boys making fun of a
kid’s name. Lessen those possibilities – with the choice of the kids’ name.
Thirdly, don’t give a kid a name where people are going
to be asking the person for the rest of their lives, “How do you spell that.”
Or “How do you pronounce that?”
Fourth and last: pick a name that has a story –
background – a reason –something to be proud of. For example, I’ve heard people
say that the name they chose is the name
of a doctor or a nurse – who helped tremendously – or a buddy who died in the
war or what have you. Give the kid a story that can be told through the years.
Isn’t that one of the reasons why saint’s names came about. I’m proud that I
was named Andrew because I was born on the feast of St. Andrew Avellino – and then
the church dropped his name off the calendar. Then my father gave me my middle
name, “Jackson” because when he was brought up in Ireland, he had heard the
vocation plug: the seventh president of the United States might have been a Catholic
– if there wasn’t such a shortage of priests. Now that’s a story. Martin Luther was born the
same day I was – but he was name Martin – because that’s whose feast day it was
the next day when he was baptized. Now
that’s a story as well.
CONCLUSION
How about James or Jamie?
In today’s gospel we find out that James was a servant –
but he was also someone who aspired to greatness. No wonder there have been so
many people named “James”.
Why not live a live a life of great service for others? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Painting on top: St. James the Greater, El Greco
My full name is Rachel Youngeun Rostad. This can be kind of confusing to people. So my birth name was Youngeun. I used to think my birth mom gave it to me. But she didn’t. It was a necessity given to me by the hospital, the foster home, really just a barcode.
Then my parents adopted me and renamed me Rachel, and turned my birth name into my middle name. Rachel Youngeun Rostad.
Most names mean admirable traits like “strong,” “kind,” “beautiful.” When you name your daughter, it’s a prayer for everything you want her to be.
Starting when I was seven, I spent every summer at a Korean culture camp. There, my name was my Korean name, Youngeun. Now, I am trained to answer to both “Rachel” and “Youngeun.” Kind of like knowing how to use both forks and chopsticks.
I’ve never had a nickname.
According to Google, there are two other Rachel Rostad's. One is a fashion designer in LA. Apparently the other is a Goodhue County Dairy Princess. I’m not sure exactly what this means but there’s a picture of her with a gold medal and a cow. Both of these Rachel Rostads have blonde hair.
When you find, say, an injured baby bird in your backyard, and you wanna to nurse it to health, they tell you not to name it. If you name something, it becomes a someone. It makes it harder to give it up.
When my parents renamed me Rachel, it was a prayer for everything they wanted me to be: American.
Sometimes I’m glad my first name is as apple pie and baseball as Rachel. But also kinda not.
How your ancestors had a different name stepping off of Ellis Island than when they stepped on.
The pros and cons of taking your husband’s last name as your own.
The pros and cons of accepting a diagnosis.
Some say written language is only a bad translation of spoken.
You cannot read a speech and see the speaker.
You cannot read sheet music and hear the song.
When the very first word was written down, something must have been lost.
When my parents renamed me “Rachel,” something must have been lost.
Two years ago, I started the search for my birth mom. She still hasn’t answered my letter. The adoption agency tells me she lived in Seoul. This is the closest to knowing her name I will get.
Let’s imagine I knew her name. If I found her Facebook profile, would this count as a reunion?
Let’s imagine she found my name in a newspaper. Would she picture “Rachel Rostad” as a girl with blonde hair?
The name Youngeun is a barcode. The name Rachel is a Made in America sticker slapped onto a Korean flag.
I have never had a nickname.
Either that, or I’ve only ever had nicknames.
Sometimes I wonder what my birth mom would have named me if I hadn’t been a wild animal she’d would eventually have to release.
She still hasn’t answered my letter. I’m not waiting for a reply. When you name your daughter, it’s a prayer for everything you want her to be. It makes sense, then, that she named me nothing.
The title of my homily for this feast of St. Mary
Magdalene is, “Whom Are You Looking For?”
That’s a question in today’s gospel from John 20: 1-2, 11-18 - where Jesus says to a woman –
whose name is Mary Magdalene, “Whom are you looking for?”
THE LITERATURE
ON MARY MAGDALENE
The literature and history on Mary Magdalene is
fascinating.
Dan Brown in The Da
Vinci Code – Nikos Kazantzakis in The
Last Temptation of Christ – and others make her the lover of Jesus – or maybe
even his wife.
In the middle ages
houses for prostitutes were called Magdalen Houses.
In recent times there have been movies and books about
the Magdalen Sisters – who cared for young women – especially those who had
babies outside of marriage.
Scripture scholars state that there is no evidence to
picture Mary Magdalene in novels and works of art as she has been pictured down
through the years.
Scripture scholars also point out there is no evidence
that Mary Magdalen was the woman who was a sinner in Luke 7. She’s the gal who
bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Perhaps it’s because Mary in today’s gospel is also
weeping. Perhaps too it’s because the woman in Luke 7 anointed Jesus’ feet with
an alabaster flask of anointment. This was something people did when someone
died. And here in today’s gospel Mary is there at Jesus’ burial place.
In Luke 8 we hear for the first time about Mary Magdalene
– with the comment “from whom seven demons had gone out.”
From what I read that is the key text. Then writers like St. Ephraim jumped on the idea –
and the connection that Jesus came to be with, eat with, associate with,
sinners.
I’ve noticed that the last few popes before Francis have
rehabilitated her – giving her better press than earlier popes – especially
like Pope Gregory the First who in 591 connected her with the sinful woman in
the city of Nain in Luke 7.
The title of my homily is, “Whom Are You Looking For?”
I would think preachers and writers are looking for sinners
in the scriptures – because they know they are sinners themselves – as well as
the people in front of them – sinners who are rescued and redeemed and restored
and re-edited by Jesus.
Mary Magdalene seems to fit that description well.
I assume that’s what made St. Peter and St. Paul and St.
Augustine so very popular – because we are all sinners.
I assume that is why the Our Father and the Hail Mary are
so popular. We pray: “forgive us our trespasses” and “pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death, Amen.”
LOOKING AT MARY
MAGDALENE
Yes we are sinners, but I think Mary Magdalene should
also be looked at for two other reasons.
Mary Magdalene is also called the “Apostle of the
Apostles.”
Translation: she brings people to Christ.
Today’s gospel begins with Mary Magdalen - on the first
day of the week - going to the tomb early that morning, “while it was still
dark” and finds the stone rolled back.
She then runs to Peter and the other apostle and tells them that the tomb is
empty. Today’s gospel, because it’s the feast of St. Mary Magdalene – who is
being featured – leaves out verses 3-10. That’s
the scene we hear at Easter about Peter and the Beloved Disciple running
to the tomb. Peter doesn’t get it yet – but the Beloved Disciple does. “He saw
and believed.”
They leave. It’s then we have the great story about Mary Magdalene being the first to experience the Risen Christ. She’s the one who is
asked the question, “Whom are you looking for?”
Notice there is no mention that Jesus first appeared to
Mary his Mother. It’s to Mary Magdalene.
Preachers have said, “Of course, he first went to his
mother.”
We don’t know that, but we do know this scene here with
Mary Magdalene is loaded with possibilities for deepening our life with Christ.
CONCLUSION
I see Mary Magdalene modeling two things. They can be
described in the old catechetical model called: “Discover and Share.”
First step: Discover…. I think a key
message is that Mary Magdalene models for all of us to become searchers for
Jesus. The title of my homily for today is, “Whom Are You Looking For?” So here we are early in the morning – like
Mary Magdalene - at this morning Mass each day – looking for Jesus
Second step: Share. The second step is to share. This is
the call to be the apostle – to bring, to share Christ with others. Have you
noticed folks after Mass coming up here to the tabernacle to get the Eucharist to bring Christ to
homes. That’s a model for all of us – to bring Christ to homes, to work, to
the places and people we meet today – mostly by example and kindness.
Mary Magdalene is called, “The Apostle to the
Apostles.”
Featuring the first apostle – to be a woman – is not to
be P.C. Correct. This this title was given Mary Magdalene for centuries in Eastern
Rite Churches – many of which are nowhere near the Roman Rite of the Church – when
it comes to how women are treated and recognized. In my opinion – we’ve moved a
bit for the better in the Western Church - but we’ve got a long way to go – as we move into
the future.
