MELONS AND BEANS
Quote for Today - May 2, 2013
"If you plant melons, you will reap melons; if you sow beans, you will reap beans."
Chinese Proverb
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
DIFFERENT KINDS
OF PEACE
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 5th Tuesday of Easter is, “Different Kinds of Peace.”
I don’t know about you - but these after Easter readings can
get quite repetitive or broken "recordish".
We hear Jesus telling us over and over and over again to
love one another and how he’s trying to do his
Father’s will and commandment to love.
And I’m sure you noticed the first reader having to sail
through the waters of some tricky words
in the Acts of the Apostles. This
morning we heard about Paul and Barnabas going to Derbe, Iconium, Lystra, Pamphilia, Pisidia, Perga,
Attalia and Antioch .
All aboard! [Cf. Acts 14: 19-28]
So like you I listen to the readings over and over again for
something to hit or to challenge me.
In today’s gospel the word “peace” showed up. Like the word
“love” it too is often found in these after Easter readings. Today, I heard
Jesus saying to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” [Cf. John 14:27]
Then there was a
tiny twist. Jesus talks about peace and adds the nuance, ”Not as the world
gives do I give it to you.”
I said to myself, “Explore that!” I asked: “Do different
people have different takes on what the word ‘peace’ entails?” I wondered if I
had a clear take on what Jesus means by peace - giving or creating or working
towards peace.
Time was ticking, so I decided that attempts at answering those
questions could be enough for a short Tuesday morning homily.
With that as a long introduction, once more the title of my
homily is: “Different Kinds of Peace.”
HEBREW MEANING OF
PEACE
In the Jewish scriptures - “Shalom” was a greeting on
the street and on the road - which one made to one’s neighbor. It meant health,
no debts, family members are not fighting each other. It meant rain and good
crops. It meant no foreign armies or wild beasts were lurking on one’s property
or in the neighborhood. It meant one’s family is feeling God’s blessings - and
everyone is keeping the covenant with God - that is, being right with God and
neighbor. It’s a prayer: “Please God -
may that peace be flowing like a river into your family and your land.”
In the New Testament “Shalom”
meant all those same things. Then as Christ’s words made more and more impact and sense - as Christian thought developed - “Shalom” also meant union with Christ and seeing oneself as a member
of the whole Body of Christ in community. As Christian theology developed more,
it was seen as the plan and the hope and
the vision of Christ for his kingdom to come - on earth as it is in heaven - as
we pray in the Our Father. In time the Greek ideal of peace - meaning good
order and harmony - also came into the message and greeting of “Peace”.
TYPES OF PEACE - DIFFERENT FROM JESUS’ TYPE OF PEACE
My original question stayed there: what type of peace would be
different from the type of peace Jesus envisioned?
Is there anyone who thinks they will feel peace if they had
tons of money and tons of success?
Is there anyone who thinks they will be at peace if we have
bigger and better guns and bombs and greater gigantic walls protecting us - so no trouble can come in?
Does anyone think we’ll have peace without making sure
everyone gets a place at the table -
gets a voice and a vote - gets a piece of the action - and a piece of the pie? So
does anyone think we’ll have peace without having to be concerned with our brothers and sisters -
especially those in need.
CONCLUSION
After all that, I realized I still don’t get exactly what
kind of peace Jesus is pronouncing and promoting - but I hope I’m a bit closer
each day.
I know that it's stopping the rock throwing - verbal and stone - and use those rocks to build steps and bridges to each other.[1]
I get that peacemaking is work. It’s crucifixion at times. It’s
dying to self. Yet, it remains illusive - so I suppose that’s why we keep on
wishing one another “Shalom” - “Peace” - when we meet and greet each other -
and then we try to see what we can do to be peacemakers - to be instruments of
the Lord’s peace this day. Amen!
OOOOOOO
Notes:
[1] Cf. Today's first reading where they stone Paul to death to shut him up - Acts 14:19
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
7 C’S:
MAKE ONE OF THEM
COMPARISONS
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 5 Sunday of Easter C is, “7
C’s: Make One of Them Comparisons.”
Have you ever noticed that words beginning with “C” often
appear when talking about spirituality and religion?
For example: “Conversion, Change, Challenge, Care, Concerns,
Community, Choice, Christ, Communion, Contrast, Comparisons.”
The title of my homily is, “7 C’s: Make One of Them
Comparisons.”
TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s readings offer great contrast, great change and
great comparisons.
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we have the closing message that the door of
faith is now opened to the Gentiles. Tremendous new life lay on the other side
of that door.
When the Apostles and followers of Christ were communicating
with the Jews - there was conflict and controversy. When the door opened to the
outside world - to the Gentiles - things changed. We’re hearing now in the Acts of the Apostles - this post gospel
writing - about what happened next - we see the door open to the whole world.
The Gospel moves out of Jerusalem , out of Israel and into the whole
Mediterranean world and beyond - and eventually to us.
The door has opened.
Today’s second reading from the Book of Revelation offers with great imagination and energy - a
contrast between the old and the new.
Being a product of the 1960’s I hear Bob Dylan’s song, “The Times They Are A Changin” in this
second reading.
The last sentence in this reading we heard today has, “The
One who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.” The first
sentence has, “Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.”
Sandwiched in between those two sentences we have the great
image of a wedding, a new marriage, between heaven and earth - God with us. We
have the great contrast between the old city, the old Jerusalem , and the New Jerusalem - and the
heavens opening up.
Here comes new life…. Here comes the Bride …. Sin and death
are gone…. divorced from us…. The Great
Divorce that Adam and Eve caused - their Original Sin that got us thrown out of
paradise - is ended. The New is here. That’s the Good News that Christ
proclaimed.
Powerful language - powerful images - powerful possibilities
- powerful contrasts and comparisons.
And today’s gospel begins with a scene from the Last Supper.
Judas leaves the room and then everything changes in comparison. Now the Son of Man can be glorified. There is
a world of difference between a room filled with Judas and a room without
Judas.
COMPARISONS
The title of my homily is, “7 C’s: Make One of Them
Comparisons.”
Think about the power of comparisons!
Think about the power comparisons play in our thinking
processes.
Think about the power of comparisons - how they can overwhelm us - wham us - push us - manipulate us - mess our minds up - to do things we might not want to do.
We have all heard the saying, “Comparisons are odious.”
We’ve all heard the saying, “Comparisons can crush!”
We have all heard the saying that comparisons can lead to
happiness as well as to feeling miserable.
Sometimes we secretly rejoice when the rich and the famous -
the other - fails and falls - we feel better about ourselves in comparison.
It’s the stuff that sells and populates
and peoples People Magazine.
Comparisons can also get us to rush to do something new - to try to be different - sometimes to be stupid or overspend - because we want to shut up inner comparisons and complaints we’ve been talking to ourselves about ever since we were kids.
Think about our life.
Are we comparing ourselves to someone else?
Are we comparing our bodies, our flab, out love handles, our
house, our cars, our jobs, our vacations, our salary, our wrinkles, our age,
with others?
I’m saying here to listen to our inner voices: comparisons
have tremendous power. Do we want to give it that much power in area A, B, and
C?
Parents want their kids to be different than they are.
Kids want their parents to be like so and so’s parents.
Parents compare themselves to other parents.
Adults compare the care and energy and effort and cost they
have to put out for aging parents or siblings or children - sometimes comparing
all they are doing compared to what their brothers and sisters are doing - or
compare themselves to other people - often without crossing their threshold and
knowing what they are going through.
I like that image of the door in today’s second reading.
Write the word “comparison” in ball point pen on your hand -
and think about all this, this week,
Use contrast - use comparison - and construct the rooms - the
mindsets we’re living in - and then construct - imagine - a changed room - a
rearranged life - and then make choices to change. Ask Christ to come into our
rooms, into our homes, into our mind set and here him say to us, “Peace.” Then
work with him towards change and conversion - one step at a time - not wanting
another to change - but to change ourselves and then see how the rest of the
room - the rest of our lives change - step by step - a day at a time - because
we have changed.
I like that image at the beginning of today’s gospel. Things
change when Judas leaves the room.
I like to ask from the pulpit: “What happens when I walk
into a room? What happens when I walk out the door? Do people say, ‘Phew.
Finally. Now we can relax.’”
I remember hearing how hurt a priest felt when he walked
down the aisle and heard, “Oh no not him again!” We’re lucky is this parish -
you can avoid us - if you want.
Comparisons are powerful….
Let’s use that image to go deeper.
Think of the Judas we are to ourselves - in our upper room -
this complaining self - this stealing self - screaming inwardly all the time
how things are going - wanting my picture to be the picture of how life works.
See ourselves selling ourselves out for 30 pieces of silver or whatever. See ourselves
crucifying the Christ within us.
Give that Judas his or her walking papers and start living
the Gospel life.
Contrast, compare, ourselves in those two modes.
Chose life. Choose
Christ.
Comparisons can crush - but see that comparisons can also get
us to rush - slowly - to new life - to have new order in our life.
CONCLUSION
It’s Spring …. It’s Earth Month …. Last Monday was Earth Day
…. the call is to clean up our environment.
We’ve been told to talk about the environment from the
pulpit. I gave a whole sermon on that last week….
Let me throw in a few comments in my ending…..
It’s easy to complain about the other person’s garden - yard
- house. It’s easy to complain about the other person’s habits.
I’m pushing for looking and working on self….
I hate it when I see people dump on Annapolis - but I found out I can’t do much
about it. But I can pick up stuff people dump on St. Mary’s Parking lot or Newman Street
across from the front of our church - leading down to Compromise Street . I can make that
compromise in my mind and do what I can do.
I can challenge those who make fun of those concerned about
our earth - by saying, “I’m a tree hugger. I like trees - spring, summer, fall
and winter. I like clean water. I am
glad that smokers are not blowing smoke in my face - and people who don’t smoke
I think get 10 more years of life than those who don’t.
The title of my homily is, “7 C’s: Make One of Them
Comparisons.”
Compare yourself to the self you are called to be. Then open
that door and work with Jesus and say, “Behold I make all things new!”
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