PUTTING ONE’S 

TWO CENTS IN

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 34 Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Putting One’s Two Cents In.”

We’ve all heard that saying down through the years. And we probably know it comes from today’s gospel when the widow puts her two coins into the treasury box. [Cf. Luke 21:1-4]

So for a homily today I thought I’d think about that principle: that of putting one’s two cents in.

THREE POSSIBILITIES: BLURT, WAIT, KEEP QUIET

For starters I would assume that we have 3 possibilities when it comes to putting our two cents in.  We can just blurt it out or we can wait for the right moment or we can say nothing.

I would also assume that it all depends on the situation and whom we’re with or whom we’re talking to and who we are.

Some people see everything as a correction and they don’t like corrections.

Some people are grateful for our advice - our two cents.

Some people say, “Thank you - but never do anything about what we’re pointing out.”

Sometimes the person who is putting their two cents in is nosey and into control - and is a busy body - and can’t deal with differences of opinion.

Sometimes it’s too late: “Okay she has that outrageous tattoo - and it would be crazy to bring this up now. So why  bring it up - if it’s going to cause upset or uproar or unlimited pay backs?”

PRUDENCE

I would assume that prudence is called for. Caution is called for. Experience is called for.  If the matter is very serious, it might be smart to bounce things off someone else first.

If it’s for the other’s benefit and not ours, and we think we need to put our two cents in, the next 3 issues are:

·        the  where,

·        the when,

·        and the how.

We’ve already determined the why. It’s for the other’s benefit not necessarily mine.

The where is the right situation. Depending on circumstances, one to one, and where others can’t hear what we’re saying to the other is often the best  scenario.

Next comes when. Timing as they say is everything. Sometimes we have to know another person’s moods.

How we say our two cents is key as well. There is a difference between honey and vinegar. We know the old saying, “One catches more flies with a spoonful of honey than a barrel of vinegar.

EXAMPLES AND EXPERIENCE

We learn from our experiences. When thinking about putting our two cents in - hopefully we’ve learned from experience, whom we’re dealing with.

For example, I was once sitting at lunch with 5 priests. It was not here. One guy has some mustard or mayonnaise on his face and I gesture with my hand to him - sort of sneaky - to wipe his face with his napkin. It didn’t work. He got upset and yelled at me.

With that kicked in a principle from Father Al Rush, an old Redemptorist at the time, whom I used to work with. He used to say about certain people, “I’d give that lady a wide  berth.”

I was a meeting where Governor Nelson Rockefeller was speaking and someone asked him a question and he said, “Are you crazy? I’m not going to answer that question. Next?”

CONCLUSION

From time to time, we need not only to give to the poor - but there are times when we might be able to improve a situation by putting our two cents in. Ching, ching.

Sometimes a word about another being the wrong person to date is the best advice to give a son or granddaughter. Sometimes we have to keep our two cents in our pocket.

This is my two cents today about what hit me from today’s gospel. 

ON BEING A SINNER

Quote for Today - November 26, 2012

"Better to be a sinner than to be a hypocrite."

Danish Proverb

Painting on top: Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, c. 1691-1699, Hermitage, St. Petersburg

THE TRUTH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “The Truth!”

“Truth" is a key word in today’s gospel from John for this feast of Christ the King.  So a sermon on truth.

My presentation will be smorgasbord. I’ll put on the table various things about truth. If one thought grabs you - chew on it - digest it - and see how it fits into your life. Obviously - some of these thoughts are already part of your life as well.

A FOUNDATION STONE

For starters, truth is necessary for life together. We trust that the labels on the meat and the jars and the fish are telling the truth - as to the date - the ingredients - and what you see is what you get.

Husbands and wives - as well as children - make comments to each other  - where they are and what they are doing. If that breaks down - if words are twisted - if lies are told - then marriage and family can fall apart.

Life is built on truth and on trust - in business, in family, in society. The person walks to the front of the courtroom - puts her or his hand on the Bible and says, “I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

How good is our word - on the day of marriage - and all through a marriage - and a life together?

We’ve seen lies in the highest places - slippery words - perjury - on a regular basis - and when it hits the papers - and the TV news - when it becomes story - we realize down deep we are weakened as well. It also tells us that we expect the truth - other wise it wouldn’t be news.

So for starters, the truth is a foundation stone of society, family, life.

For starters, the truth is expected - and when the opposite is served us, we don’t like its taste.

GETS US ANGRY

I noticed in thinking about the truth - and in reading up on truth - for this homily, people at times say that the truth can get us angry or mad or sad.

I’m sure we all have heard the saying, “The truth will set us free, but first it will hurt.”

A Salada Tea Bag had on the tag, “The truth doesn’t hurt unless it ought to.”

The truth hurts when we have to face the music - or reality - or each other - and the music is off key. Sometimes we have to say, “I didn’t prepare.” or “I did it.” or “I’m broke.” or “I lied.” or “I’m stuck.” and/or  “I need help!”

Sometimes we haven’t budgeted our time or our money or our life well.

Sometimes those we hurt or lied to or left hanging or kept waiting get angry at us.

Communication calls for talking to each other - talking turkey - talking the  truth  to one another. So sometimes an angry conversation is necessary.

Arnold Glasow put it this way: “The truth will ouch.”

We need to say to each other up front, “Honesty is the best policy.” We need to say things like, “For the sake of transparency I’m not sure we’re going to make ends meet. I’m over my head. We’re spending too much money or time doing stupid things. Let’s be honest, we can’t fake this any longer.” This can be in big things as well as simple things, like the ability to say, “I think we’re lost.”  That can refer to while driving a car together - or while letting a marriage drift.

LYING TO OURSELVES

Sometimes the person we lie to the most is ourselves. I read a long time ago a tiny comment by some poet that said a lot. It might have been Ted Hughes. It went something like this, “Oh the lies I’ve told my energies.”  In other words, “I was lazy!” or “I was hiding!” or “I was being dishonest.”  Some people can hide out on their jobs for years.

We need to get angry at ourselves - feel the hurt we cause ourselves or others - and then get moving with the life talents and gifts we have to make life sweeter for each other. That’s the struggle. That’s the difficult part and it doesn’t get easy - if we’ve gotten into bad habits.

This flows into the issue of lying.

The best comment about not lying is that it calls for too much memory to lie - unless one is a very good liar. Eventually the truth happens.

In my first assignment as a priest, I was at Most Holy Redeemer Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, On Wednesday evenings, I used to work BINGO with a lady named Tessie. She once said to me: “Andrew! Wherever there is money, there is trouble.”  She worked in the money collection department for The New York Daily Mirror . Money - cash - coins and bills - came across all the desks in her division. She said on a regular basis a group of suits would come in - go up to a person at a desk - tap the person on their shoulder - whisper in their ear - and they would empty out their desk - never to be seen again.

The truth is often blurred - murdered - forgotten -  when it comes to money, sex, food, booze, drugs, use of time - living life in the state of sloppiness.

That’s why it’s good to look in the mirror daily - to look into our own eyes - and tell the truth to ourselves.

I am a diabetic. I don’t cheat on desserts - but I do with carbs. Bummer. But I’ve noticed diabetics talk to each other - and we notice each other cheating. Bummer. Liar. Liar. Liar.

ENOUGH ON THAT - SOMETHING ON JESUS AS THE TRUTH

That message on truth is relatively clear. We get that.

It’s the challenge to be honest, to be transparent, to tell the truth to ourselves and to each other - day by day.

Let me move onto some thoughts about Jesus as the Truth. To be perfectly honest this last part about Jesus Christ as Truth - is difficult to grab and grasp - to pronounce and proclaim.

Jesus in the Gospel of John says that he is the way, the truth and the life.

In this homily I’m concentrating on truth.

Let me put where I now want to go this way: I’m noticing people - including family members - who are drifting away from the Catholic faith.  I sense we’re going to be dealing with this issue more and more big time in the next few years. Translation: with a steeper decline than the present average decline. 

Lately, I have been hearing the words, “The New Evangelization!” I’ve been hearing that word “evangelization” for the past 35 years - starting with Pope Paul VI’s December 8^th, 1975 encyclical, Evangelii Nuntiandi - the call of all Catholics to spread the Gospel to all. I never thought the word “evangelization” was a grabber.

The grabber is: Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is: Jesus Christ.

The Godspell - or Good News is: Jesus Christ.

I want to scream out that Catholics are Christians and we base our life on the truth that Jesus is the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for all the seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer, fall. Jesus is the reason for all the seasons of life: childhood, school years, teenage years, dating years, marriage or single years, middle age, retirement, what have you years.

Jesus - being in communion with him this Sunday - this moment - is the reason why we are here right now - in this church. We’re here to  be a we in communion with Jesus Christ.

Today we’re celebrating the feast of Christ the King.

I think the words “Christ as King” has a lot more grab than the word, “evangelization”.

Whatever words are used - I want the name of Jesus as our proclamation - as our scream - as our shout-out.

Jesus is our truth. Jesus is the one we follow. Jesus is the Shepherd, King, Rock, center, Foundation, reason, season, connection.

I love Martin Buber’s words, “I-Thou”.  They have energy. He said that we have a basic choice in life to treat each other in “I-It” or “I-Thou” relationships.

As I read the gospels, I see Jesus seeing and experiencing each person as a “Thou” and never as an “It”.

Jesus came to bring us into an “I-Thou” experience with God and with each other.

The call is to have a personal experience - a one to one relationship with Jesus  - an  I-Thou relationship with Jesus - who then brings us into communion with all people - as persons - not as a bunch of “its” or an impersonal crowd.

That's the truth I want to preach about.

So I don’t know how to put all this together - but I’ll keep working on it.

CATHOLICISM IS ABOUT JESUS - NOT THE POPE

Let me go this way: I once heard a priest talk about what happened to him when he went to Rome for further studies. It hit him when Catholics came to Rome they came to see the Pope. “Fine,” he thought. But in time it dawned on him that Catholics can sometimes put the pope in the center of their faith - then make him the center of their faith -  and Jesus Christ is put in the back seat or back burner or back stage or background.

The pope he realized is an office - and it’s his office, his job to do what John the Baptist did, point people to Jesus.

In the history of the Church there have been great popes and not so great popes, saints and sinner popes.

Whatever he is like, he is still the pope. He is still the chosen leader.

Now, let me try to make a point here. Popes and bishops, priests and police, mayors and presidents, are all in offices and jobs - with titles. Hopefully, they serve us. But we’re not here to serve them - or center on them. Of course, if they come to town, we'll be there to wave to them - as part of the crowd. 

However, we are not following the person in these positions. We're following Jesus Christ. 

All of us have positions. We’re working together in the positions and offices we’re in: mom, dad, mechanic, doctor, lawyer, accountant, priest, waiter, waitress - with the hopes and expectations of the job or role we’re in.

Christ is called today: King of Kings - but preachers will stress he’s the king on the donkey who comes to town to challenge and change the town - whether it’s Annapolis or Rome - to serve one another - to love one another - to reach out to each other. He is a king who washed feet and reached out to the unwashed and unnoticed.

Christ is called: the Suffering Servant - coming out of that rich term in the Jewish Scriptures. The Pope is called the servant of the servants of God.

When all of us serve, great.

Jesus did that, great. We follow him. We go about doing what he did: being on the level with each other.

When we follow Jesus, expect the cross - expect rejection - not for the sake of rejection - but because people know more is expected of them - and we shoot down those expectations - by shooting down the messenger.

Of course we make mistakes. We lie at times. We’re lazy at times. We don’t face or tell the truth at times. We fail at times. We are not God. Even the neatest person in the world has that bottom drawer with the junk and the mess. It might be in the bedroom or it might be in our soul. What I love about Jesus is that he knows us - and loves us the sinner and dines with us - eats with us - has communion with us.

CONCLUSION

Jesus comes into our life like he comes into Pilate’s life in today’s gospel - Jesus the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end - as we heard in today’s second reading - and asks us about the truth of our life. If it’s great good. If it’s a mess or has messy closets - great. He’s here for us. Amen.

LIES

Quote for Today - November 25, 2012

"Sin has many tools,  but a lie is the handle which fits them all."

Oliver Wendell Holmes [1841-1935], The Autocrat at the Breakfast Table, 1858

PENNIES IN THE POOR BOX

This is the third variation of this video that I have seen. 

Each variation has the same impact - even when you know the ending.

To watch, just hit the http line right below this line!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Hzgzim5m7oU&vq=medium

THE TOP FIVE

MESSAGES OF CHRISTIANITY!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 33 Saturday in Ordinary Time is, “The Top Five Messages of Christianity!”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Last night as I read today’s gospel [Luke 20:27-40] what hit me was this: The Resurrection is a key Christian teaching.

Based on today’s gospel, different people in Judaism didn’t believe in life after death. We heard the opening words in today’s gospel from Luke, “Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection….”

Luke sets the stage with the Sadducees coming to Jesus to challenge him about the resurrection. Then they hit him with a funny - but they were deadly serious - example or imaginary story about the woman who had married 7 brothers and all died without giving her children. “If there is a resurrection, who will be her husband in the afterlife, if there is one?” That was one of their ways of challenging Jesus on his message that there is Resurrection.

As I began to think about that I realized and remembered the difficulty at the time of a funeral in coming up with Jewish Scriptures that talk about resurrection after death. There are texts - as we hear in today’s gospel - that were used by those who taught there was life after death. Do I say based on the fewness of those texts, the resurrection was not a central teaching in Judaism? On the other hand it’s easy to prove that the Resurrection is central to Christianity - based on the number of times this theme appears in the New Testament.

Next I wondered if the Resurrection was the # 1 Christian teaching. It’s certainly central, but is it the # 1 teaching - as Paul might be indicating in 1 Corinthians 15 - when he basically says if Christ did not rise from the dead, the whole enterprise is a house of cards - that falls.

A NUMBERS’ TEST

However, as I thought about that, I concluded for the time being, I couldn’t say for sure that the Resurrection is our #1 teaching. Could I say it is one of the top 10 Christian teachings or beliefs? Then I asked: could I say it is one of the top 5? How about one of the top 3?

Next I concluded that would be a practical question for a Saturday morning homily.

I would frame the question this way. If someone came up to us and said, “You’re a Christian. What would you say are the top 5 beliefs in Christianity?”

THAT WOULD  BE CHALLENGING

The first step would be to make a tentative list and then pick out the top five. It’s call the “Brainstorming Step.”

So that’s the homework I gave myself last night. I suggest you try it.

For starters I would write down:

·        the Trinity,

·        Forgiveness,

·        the Resurrection,

·        Jesus is Lord,

·        the Eucharist, Salvation,

·        Love one another.

Then it hit me that using the number 5 would be a smart step. By making it 5, I would be forced to think. I would be forced to talk to others about this. I would be forced to understand better the five I picked and those I didn’t. It also hit me to wonder if anyone else did listed the key Christian teachings or beliefs.

MY TOP FIVE

My top 5 are:

·        The Trinity,

·        The Scriptures,

·        The Eucharist,

·        Forgiveness and

·        Caring for One Another.

Surprise! At first I had the Resurrection - but that bumped out - one of my other beliefs.

It would  be six on my list. That’s on first thought. I have to keep on  reflecting on this question. I have to wonder: “How would our everyday life be if we didn’t know and didn’t believe in life after death?”  I have to wonder about that. Perhaps - as I reflect upon the repercussions of not believing in the resurrection - I’d put that up in the top 3.

Time and reflection with tell.

In the meanwhile I pray the old prayer that was dropped from the Mass: “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”

AT THE OCEAN

Quote for Today, November 24, 2012


"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be."

Rachel Carson, Foreword, Under the Sea-Wind, 1941