RED WHEEL BARROW

Quote for Today - October 25, 2012


"so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside
the white
chickens"

William Carlos Williams [1883-1963]

P.S. Life is filled with many, "it all depends" - many if's and's and but's. What are yours? Have you ever sat down and made your list - like choosing this school over that school and that meant I met .... Or if I had taken that road home or took that job or walked into that store at that particular time and on that specific date ....

Picture on top: Samuel Webster

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 29 Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “What Do You See?”

Yesterday I went to the MVA - the Motor Vehicle Administration - off Truman Parkway to get a new driver’s license. Mine is about to expire. It was a long wait. While waiting I was seeing all that I could see - how the operation worked. After running out of seeing, I began wondering what the tough part was. There wasn’t any. I forgot if I had to answer those 10 or so questions about signs and stopping distances and school buses. Nope. But there was the eye test. I looked into machine and the lady asked me 4 times, “What do you see?” I read all the letters correctly on the bottom line and I spotted the lights along the side. Piece of cake.

The title of my homily is, “What Do You See?”

TODAY’S FIRST READING

In today’s first reading from Ephesians 3: 2-12, Paul tells us what he sees. He writes,  “When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”  Paul tells us he was next to receive that revelation.

What is Paul’s insight? Answer: there are many. It all depends on what letter you’re reading - and what section of Paul one is going through at the time.

In 1 Corinthians 12: 4-30 Paul tells us that we all have different gifts and we are called to work together - just like the different parts of the human body have to work together member with member. So too the Body of Christ.

In Romans 7: 14-25 Paul talks about the very human dilemma: we tell ourselves we’re going to do one thing and then we do the opposite. Then he asks who is going to solve this human dilemma. Who is going to help our contradictory self? Answer: Jesus Christ.

Well today he tells us that he experienced, “the inscrutable riches of Christ.”  

I understand the word “riches.” I didn’t get what the word “inscrutable” meant. So I checked out the Greek and I checked out other translations - and what I got was this:  having an experience of Christ is filled with riches - and then what adjective to use. It’s indescribable. It’s can’t be explained. We also say words like, “mysterious” -  “complex” - “hard to get at”.

The title of my homily is, “What Do You See?”

When you see Christ what is the one rich thing about him that grabs you. What insight has Paul given you?

What insight about life, what insight about Christ, what insight about people have you received from Paul?

Today Paul says the gift - the insight he got - the insight that was revealed to him is that committing myself to Christ, entering into Christ, I enter into God’s plan - God’s purpose - and I’m one with God. That should make me feel very rich - inscrutably rich.

If someone asks me, “What’s your plan?” I can answer: “I have a plan! It’s Christ.”

CONCLUSION QUESTION

Take a few moments at this mass - take a few moments today - and ask yourself: what difference does Christ make in m life? What gift does he bring me? What insight does he give me? How am I inscrutably richer because of him?

OOOOOOO

Painting on Top: San Pablo (c.1630) by Jose de Ribera [1591-1652] in Museo de Arte Ponce - Ponce Puerto Rico.

Painting in middle of the painting: San Pablo - also by Jose de Ribera

SELF OR OTHERS?

Quote for Today - October 24, 2012

"The love of our neighbor is the only door out of the dungeon of self."

George MacDonald [1824-1905]

WALLS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 29^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Walls”.

Walls are a favorite theme and image of poets and song writers - down through the years. We can say that because security, safety, containing, protecting are basic human needs - down through history. Doors, fences, locks, castles, forts, city walls, the Great Wall of China, the Iron Curtain - made mostly with guns, barbed wire, soldiers, and check points, the Berlin Wall - are all walls. So too gated communities and I noticed just the other day a chain link fence around the big garbage container towards the back of the Royal Farms small convenience store in Eastport just down from the bridge. And St. Mary’s has that back fence - which is usually left open - and the long brick wall just outside down to the end of Duke of Gloucester Street. Then there are those invisible walls we put up between ourselves and others.

I’ve been writing a book on “Walls” for a good twenty five years now. Some day the barriers of time and laziness will fall down and I’ll finish it  - unless the great wall of death gets in the way.

WALLS: TODAY’S FIRST READING - EPHESIANS 2:12-22

Walls: here is the image  loud and clear in today’s first reading.

Paul describes Christ as the one who breaks down the walls that separates us from God and ourselves. Walls go up when we are our worst self enemy - when we are living a life of wall keeping and law keeping - and we’re not free in Christ. This is the great message of Paul - as well as the great ongoing fight between Jesus and the Pharisees and the Scribes.

The date for the Letter to the Ephesians - AD 80 to 100 - is later than the other Pauline Letters. It’s closer to the time of the date for St. John’s Gospel - around AD 100 - so I wonder if Paul is reflecting on the Gospel texts where and when The Risen Lord Jesus came into the Upper Room - through the walls. That  gospel text says, “Though the doors were locked” Jesus came into their midst and said, “Peace!” [Cf. John 20:19-29]

Thanks to cell phones we can reach people who are locked in and who are locking us out and we can say, “Peace!” or if they see the call is from us - and won’t answer - we can at least leave a message of Peace - unless it would make things worse. By faith we can also try to break through barriers by praying and praying and praying for that person. I’ve been praying for “Peace” with a family member who split from us - a good 20 plus years now.

“Peace!”

QUESTION: WHAT ARE THE WALLS IN  OUR LIFE

Of course some walls are good - necessary - for privacy and peace as well.

Robert Frost said it succinctly in his poem: Mending Wall. He begins his poem with the words, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” Down into the poem he talks about his neighbor and their meeting each other from time to time to mend that wall. The neighbor says, “Good fences make good neighbors.”  Yet Frost wonders if that is really true because he has apples and his neighbor has pine trees.

You might remember the song by Peter, Paul and Mary called, Some Walls. The lyrics were written by Mary Ann Kennedy,  Pamela Rose, and Randy Sharp.

Some walls are made of stone
Sometimes we build our own
Some walls stand for years
And some wash away with tears

Some walls
Some walls

The song goes on to say the obvious, “Some walls must fall.”

That’s the dilemma. Which ones? And how difficult it is to breach a wall.

TODAY’S GOSPEL - LUKE 12: 35-38

So the one wall that we need to at least leave the door open through is the one for the Lord Jesus to enter into.  And sometimes he comes right through into our walls and our lives with challenge and a call for conversion and change.

That’s the message loud and clear in today’s Gospel. Those servants who wait for the Lord - the Lord will come - and knock on our door and bring peace.  Not only will he bring peace, he will sit us down and serve us.

It hit me last night as I was putting this homily together that’s exactly what Jesus does at Mass. He serves himself to us at this meal - this Mass - this Eucharist.

The call to us is to do likewise - obviously.

CONCLUSION

Paul tells us in today’s first reading that the call is to be peacemakers - to build up the household of God - so we are no longer strangers or sojourners - but we’re  the house, the temple of God - which has the Apostles and prophets as our foundation and Jesus as our capstone.  Translation: all are welcome. Translation: once everyone is in the house - once all of us are the temple - then all the curtains in that temple are ripped and all the walls have disappeared - and we’re one.

THE WALLS OF YOUTH

Quote for Today - October 23,  2012

"Helen could not contradict them, for, once at all events, she had felt the same, and had seen the reliable walls of youth collapse.  Panic and emptiness! The goblins were right."

E.M. Foster [1879-1970], Howards End (1910), Chapter 5.

Questions:

Looking back to when you were a youth, what were your reliable walls?

What were your goblins? [A goblin, according to the dictionary, is an ugly or grotesque sprite [ghost or soul or elfish person] that is mischievous and sometimes evil and malicious.]

Have you come up with any new reliable walls?

A STRANGE FANTASY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 29^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “A Strange Fantasy.”

Ever since I was a teenager I had this strange fantasy of what would it be like if I could jump up in the air and stay there. “Wouldn’t that be great?” I thought?

I could be playing basketball and drive towards the basket and then jump up in the air and when everyone defending me came down I would simply be still up in the air and drop the basketball into the hoop and net with ease.

On defense I could jump up in the air and when the ball was heading towards the rim I would just swat it away - avoiding goal tending of course.

And I wasn’t even 6 foot yet. And when I did play a lot of basketball I was very poor as a jumper.

DEATH

Without knowing it, that fantasy has helped me with the question of death. I understand the following very, very clearly, but I might not be able to convey my thoughts today that clearly.  Yet, let me try.

Just as I cannot not jump up in the air and stay there - so too when I die - whatever happens is totally out of my control.

So if I rise from the dead after I die, that’s a gift from God - the God who gave me life with a lot of help from my parents. I had no choice in being alive in this life - starting as a seed, an egg, a womb and a mom and a dad. So too after this life, if there is life after death, and my hope is that that there will be and my faith says there will be - it will be totally gift - because it will be out of my hands.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings - trigger these thoughts for me once more.

Today’s Gospel from Luke 1: 13-21 talks about death. Jesus says that a man was going to die that night - but it was totally off his radar screen. All he could think of was building bigger and bigger barns.

In today’s first reading from Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul says, “It’s all gift.”

In today’s first reading from Ephesians Paul says “God, who is rich in mercy, because the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ.”

In our text there are brackets that add: “by grace you have been saved.”  I fool around with that word “grace” all the time.  Today I’m hearing “gift - gift - gift - all is gift”.

So when I die - if there is another life - eternal life with God - it will be “gift, gift, gift,” because of Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures like to picture Jesus going up in the air at his ascension - and moving out of our - earthly space. There it is that jumping up into the air fantasy and staying there. Impossible - but possible because of Jesus Christ. That’s what Paul is saying.

CONCLUSION: HERE AND HEREAFTER

In preaching I like to stress the here more than the hereafter - because the here  I know - the hereafter I don’t. It’s all fantasy. It’s all imagination.

Yet it’s good to be reminded about the hereafter - especially as we heard in today’s powerful parable in today’s gospel - that you can’t take it with you - and you never know - where the hereafter for us will start.

Just as our start was out of our control, so too our ending is out of our control. Of course we can exercise, get checkups, eat right, and work at staying alive, but we know down deep, it’s still out of our control.

We can fantasy it’s in our control, but just like my fantasy of jumping into the air and staying there is just that - a fantasy. Unlike the birds of the air we can’t fly. We always have to come back down to earth - every time we jump - every time we get in a plane - every time we come down the stairs.

So the opening line of today’s gospel with a tiny revision is a great prayer. “Lord, tell my brother Jesus to share the inheritance of resurrection with me.”

THE  TREE  OF  LIFE

Quote for Today - October 22, 2012

"Let us pray to God
to root out of our hearts
everything of our own planting
and put in there,
with God's own hand,
the tree of life
bearing all manner of fruits."

Francois de Salignac de La Mothe Fenelon [1651-1715]

P.S. If you want to read about a very interesting another, check out "Fenelon" in Google. He was a teacher, an Archbishop, an influence, on the history of France. He was involved in Quietism a bit - but was able to back off when challenged. What grabbed me was his international outlook - trying to teach a future king and others - about human rights being a concern not just for family, not just for country, but for the whole human race. He urged all to have a sentiment for humanity - not just for self and one's own little circles.