SOMETIMES, IT DOESN’T
MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE
WHAT I THINK!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”

That’s the thought that hit me as I read today’s readings – and then came a secondary thought: it’s rather pessimistic to say that. Sorry.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings are scary readings. At least – as I read them – I felt a scare in them. Would my scary feelings make a difference to anyone else? What was your take – when you heard them – or are you somewhere else on a hot and humid Sunday moving towards the end of August – back to school – end of vacations – etc.? Did the question of End of the World – or End Times hit you as you heard these readings for today?

The first reading from Isaiah 66 – has a vision we often hear about in the scriptures. It’s the vision of End Times: what it’s going to be like when it’s all over – and God comes to Jerusalem – to his holy mountain – to gather with all his people from all times.

The question that hit me is from the old spiritual hymn, “When the saints come marching in … will I be in their number?”

Isaiah pictures the locals there – as well as people coming in carts and chariots, on horses and mules and camels – from all over the known world at the time. Some commentators conject that Tarshish might be in Spain – because they think the word has to do with mining – and there is some archeological evidence of that name with mining in Spain from that time. How about the names of these other places in today’s first reading? Imagine saying when asked, “Where are you from?”, “I’m from Put, Lud, Mosoch, Tubal or Javan?” How about the comment that people will be invited to God’s holy mountain – even though they never heard of God’s fame – or seen his glory? What are God’s criteria for making it? Or are there criteria for being saved?

Question: will I be in their number? Will I make it?

Other texts have other visions of other places for End Times – but most visions have a gathering – in some place.

Question: will I be in their number?

That’s scary.

And what hits me is this: it’s not my decision. It’s God’s decision.

The title of my homily is, “Sometimes It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”

The second reading from Hebrews says that God disciplines us – as a parent disciplines a child.

Sometimes I wonder if God does that – or does life do that to us? We age. We droop and get weak knees as the writer of Hebrews puts it.

That theme of God being active in what happens in our life is certainly in scriptures – because people certainly picture God helping some people more than he seems to help other people – and that God seems to send more suffering to some people than he does to others. I have trouble with that way of thinking. I’m off on fairness.

However, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”

And other people say, “Who said life is fair?”

How does God think? How does God work? How does God do? What is God like?

The title of my homily is, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think.”

But it’s today’s gospel that really scares me.

After I die, I don’t want to hear the words Jesus uses in today’s gospel, “I do not know where you are from.”

And hearing that we might say what those in today's gospel say, “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.”

And the Lord will say to us, “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”

I hope I won’t hear that.

I do good stuff – and I do evil stuff. I help and I hurt. I compliment others and I gossip about others. What about all I don’t do – my sins of omission. Uh oh!

The title of my homily is, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think.”

LIFE EXPERIENCES

How does life work?

Not everyone makes the team – or gets a part in the play.

Not everyone gets into the college of their choice.

Not everyone gets the job – and some people lose their job.

Not everyone gets their electricity back after a storm as fast as we do here on Duke of Gloucester Street compared to other areas of the county.

Not everyone has the math gene – or the drawing gene – or the ability to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" – or the ability to play the piano or a guitar.

Not everyone makes the threescore number of years of life – and ten more if we’re lucky – that’s 70 – as Psalm 90:10 puts it.

Sometimes it rains on our parade or our picnic or our wedding day.

Sometimes it doesn’t make any difference what I think – or what I say – or what my opinion is.

Sometimes life’s a bummer. Sometimes it’s a blast.

Sometimes our kids mess up – their marriages go sour – or they drink away their lives.

And sometimes everything is wonderful – life is a bowl of delicious grapes and there are no pits.

WHO WILL BE SAVED?

Today’s gospel has the very scary dialogue. “Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few people be saved?’”

I don’t know your take on that – but that’s also a scary question.

Here in Luke we hear Jesus say, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate!”

Then he talks about locked doors – and people knocking on the door yelling, “Lord, open the door for us.”

And the Lord replies, “I don’t know where you are from.”

Then Luke – who is off on forgiveness and mercy – and kindness – has Jesus saying, “Depart from me, all you evildoers!”

Then comes the wailing and grinding of teeth message – a message that I never liked.

“Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”

And Luke ends today’s gospel text saying that the evildoers will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God – along with people from the east and the west, the north and the south – and they are all at this big banquet – this big table in the kingdom of God.

I want to be in their number!

I want to be seated at that table.

I want to make it.

IS THERE A KEY?

So I guess a key question is: Is there a key?

Banging on the door might not work – but Jesus says to do that in another gospel text. [Cf. Luke 11:5-11; Matthew 7:7]
But is there a key to that door – God’s door?

Going through today’s readings there are two keys: don’t be an evil doer and enter by the narrow gate.

Going through other scripture readings we have the great text in Matthew – do good to everyone. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned, etc. etc. etc. and if we do that we’ll hear Jesus say, “Welcome to the banquet!” [Cf. Matthew 25: 31-46] We have all the great texts that tell us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. [Cf. Luke 10: 25-37; Matthew 22:34-40]

St. Alphonsus, who founded our order, the Redemptorists, had periods in his life of big time scrupulosity and worry, said the key is prayer.

He said, “Pray and you’ll be saved; don’t pray and you’ll be lost.”

The more I have thought about that basic message the more it makes sense to me.

It leaves everything up to God – but it also gives me something to do along with loving God and neighbor. I can pray. I can tell God, I can yell to God, “Help!”

We can also try to sneak in the backdoor – with some help from Mary – Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Isn’t that why so many churches are named after Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We all want every advantage we can get.

CONCLUSION: MONKEY IN THE WELL

I don’t know how to end this – because we’re dealing here with heavy duty stuff. I’m also not sure if you wanted to put any of this on your plate this morning to chew upon and digest – and some of this stuff has more gristle in it than easy to chew meat.

So let me close with the story of the monkey in the well – a story that has always helped me on this question of salvation.

A tiny monkey fell down a dry well and started screaming for his or her mother. The mother hears the screaming and comes to the edge of the well and looks down and sees her kid.

She reaches down and can’t reach her kid – so she starts grunting – with signals for the little one to reach up and grab her arm.

The little one does and is saved.

So we need God to save us – but we have to do our part. We have to reach up our tiny hand and grasp the powerful hands of Our God.

It’s like the saying, “Pray for potatoes – but pick up a shovel.”

Do something!

So it does make a difference – however big, however small, on how I think and especially how I act with all this. Amen.

EVER HAVE A DOUBT?

Quote of the Day - August 22, 2010


"Materialists and madmen never have doubts."


Gilbert K. Chesterton [1874-1936], Orthodoxy

ON  BEING  RELIGIOUS 

Quote for the Day - August 21,  2010


"Some people make a cloak out of the smallest piece of religion."


Anonymous

TITLES AND TASSELS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 20th Saturday in Ordinary Time is, “Titles and Tassels.”

With today’s gospel reading we move into a very tough chapter of the gospel of Matthew – Chapter 23 - when Jesus challenges the Pharisees and the scribes big time – especially because of their externalism.

They were off titles and tassels. They were off on self worship – rather than being in on God.

Being a priest now for 45 years, I’ve learned the awful truth of what Jesus learned in his 20’s or earlier – people can get trapped in the iddy biddy game – and be in the game for the title and the tassels, the uniform, the vestments and the collar – the outside of the chalice (1) – the words – the externals.

Prayer is not the words, the number of prayers, the babble – as Jesus called rambling on and on prayer – but the connection, the communion, the being with Our Father – the listening – the quiet in one’s inner room – or those escapes to the mountains and gardens and our hidden places of prayer.

As the Psalm puts it: “Be still and know that I am your God.” (2)
As James puts it in his Letter, “Nobody must imagine that he is religious while he still goes on deceiving himself and not keeping control over his tongue; anyone who does this has the wrong idea of religion. Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.” (3)

TODAY’S READINGS

Ezekiel in today’s first reading – 43:1-7ab, is saying the temple is the place to be overwhelmed with God – God’s presence – God’s glory. The scribes and the Pharisees saw the temple as the place to be seen – to be noticed.

In today’s psalm – Psalm 85, we have the essence of religion – the Lord.

Religion as the Psalmist sings is about kindness and truth meeting inside me – about having justice and peace kissing. Now that’s a balanced spiritual outlook – and life.

In today’s gospel – Matthew 23:1-12 – Jesus is saying that it’s about serving one another – rather than wanting others to see us as the center of attraction.

Jesus stresses humility. The Pharisees and the scribes were dressed and drenched in pride.

The title of my homily is, “Titles and Tassels.”

JESUS KEEPS US HUMBLE

Jesus kills us humble – that is if we don’t crucify him this time by silence and keeping him inside a closed Bible or a locked tabernacle.

The first time around people went after Jesus and pushed him with a cross to Calvary. The second time people simply ignore him.

We’re here to adore him in the Trinity.

So today Jesus is saying, “Don’t be in this for titles or tassels.”

Just as the old saying, “The habit doesn’t make the monk,” so too the title doesn’t make the doctor or the lawyer, rabbi or priest. The title just helps us to find out where their office is.

The doctor, the lawyer, the rabbi is as good as the doctor or the lawyer or rabbi or priest is.

HUMILITY

Today’s gospel ends with the message of humility. We read,

The greatest among you must be your servant.Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

CONCLUSION

In case my homily was all title and words with tassels, let me close with an old story I heard somewhere along the line.

A bishop came to Rome from his diocese and his country to do some business at some Vatican Office.

He gets there and the line is immensely long. He gets on line and goes crazy. He hasn’t had to wait on line for years.

Finally frustrated he walks around a bunch of people and goes to the front of the line where there is a guy in a suit sitting at a desk – who signals to people to come forward. He says, “Look I’m a bishop and I’m here to do some business. Can you let me get ahead of all these people.”
The guy at the desk says, “No. But relax bishop, I’m an archbishop.”



NOTES


(1) Luke 11:39


(2) Psalm 46:1-10


(3) James 1: 26-27

THE  LIBRARY 

IN  THE  WOODS

Quote for the Day - August 20, 2010

"You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters."

St. Bernard [1091-1153]

GROWING  OLD  

GRACEFULLY 

Quote for the Day - August 19, 2010


"There is no such thing as old age; there is only sorrow."


Edith Wharton [1862-1937] A Backward Glance [1934], A First Word

ME OR YOU?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 20th Wednesday in Ordinary time is, “Me or You?”

Every day provides several opportunities where the choice is, “Me or You?”

Am I self centered or other centered?

Coming out of the parking lot or a parking place, coming out of church or a room or a building, the choice is often there: me or you?

TODAY’S READINGS

In today’s first reading, Ezekiel 34: 1-11, he goes after the leaders of Israel who are not in it for others – but for self.

Ezekiel message is clear: priests, shepherds, leaders, parents, all – are called to serve others not self.

In today’s psalm – Psalm 23 – we hear that the Lord is a Good Shepherd – in contrast to how Ezekiel describes so many shepherds in Israel – who are only in it for self.

Jesus reflected on this theme – because he refers to it rather clearly and rather often as well.

In today’s gospel, Matthew 20:1-16, the owner of the vineyard is concerned about people who don’t have work so as to earn their daily bread. Then when he’s quite generous with his money to those who just worked an hour or a few hours – the others are angry at his goodness and generosity to everyone.

There is a message and a challenge here for all of us: thinking of others – being concerned about others – putting others ahead of ourselves.

How many times have we heard the saying, “A person wrapped up in themselves makes a very small package.”

THE WALKING INTO A CONVERSATION SITUATION

One of life’s regular scenes is, “The Walking Into A Conversation Situation.”

We’re sitting there with a few people and someone is right in the middle of telling a story and someone walks into the room or into the scene.

There are two kinds of people: those who walk into a situation calmly and quietly and stand or sit down and catch what folks are talking about and there are those who immediately take over and turn the conversation in on themselves – or on what they want to talk about.

We just got back from a boat trip on the Danube. Three of us are on the top deck and it’s within the first hour of our trip. We found nice chairs to sit on and the scenery is spectacular. One of the three of us starts to tell a story and the other two of us are listening.

Suddenly this guy comes up the stairs onto the top deck and heads right for us and jumps into our tiny circle and starts talking – and taking over – and he tells us how he was a cab driver in New York City and how this is his first cruise. Finally he takes a breath and the other person in our tiny circle comes back to the story she is telling. This guy then immediately interrupts her and starts telling another story.

I say to myself, “Uh oh, this is going to be a very small boat.”

Obviously, life doesn’t have scripts that are handed out – that we have to follow. Obviously, life on stage is mostly improvisation.

However, there are niceties – and the Golden Rule – and courtesies – and the wisdom of checking out the scene.

There are two kinds of people at a buffet table. Those who take a plate and start putting food on it immediately and those who walk around the buffet table and see everything that is on it. Then they get a plate and put on their plate what they want.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Me or You?”

I like the gospel text – the words of John the Baptist, “I must decrease. He must increase.”

I like and don’t like Jesus’ words about the grain of wheat must die and dissolve – otherwise it’s just a seed of wheat – but if it dies – it can become delicious bread.

The message is: want to be a delicious person? Zip your lips. Open your ears. Put others first. If you want to make relationships last, put the other in the relationship first.