DEUTERONOMY 30: 15-20 

CHOOSING  LIFE  OR DEATH  

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Thursday after Ash Wednesday is, “Deuteronomy 30: 15-20: Choosing Life or Death.”

I’ve never been a Biblical Name and Number Dropper - but Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 is a good text to know and easy to remember.

Moses lines up all the people and says, “Take a good look what is right in front of you. This stuff over here will give you death and doom and destruction. This stuff over here will bring you life and blessing. Obviously, choose what gives life - not the stuff that can kill you.”

GEORGE WALD

I once spotted a discarded audio tape with a talk by a Harvard biology professor: George Wald.

George was born in Brooklyn - from Jewish parents - who came to America from Europe way back in the early 1900’s. 

He was in the first graduating class from Brooklyn Tech - a high school most kids from Brooklyn know was one great school. He went to NYU, Columbia, and various other schools in both the United States and Europe.

In other words he got a great education. For starters, that's one great way to choose life.

In the audio tape  talk he said his favorite text in the Bible was today’s first reading about how God sets before us both life and death. Therefore choose life.

George Wald did great work and research on the human eye - specifically the retina - and stressed the importance of vitamins.

I looked his biography and life stuff on Google and found out he certainly was for life - not destruction.

INNER EYE

He was off on inner seeing as well.

He thought we in the United States spend too much money, time and effort on how to kill better and better. He was early on against the Vietnam War and each battle the United States got interested in after that.

Many of us grew up seeing these battles going on in politics, newspapers, TV, etc. etc. etc. all through the 1900’s - the last century.

One of the benefits of being 76 years old is the ability to say what we think.

It took me a while to form my attitudes about what George Wald and so many so called “Lefties” and “Liberals” are saying.

I know people are pretty much stuck in their ways of thinking and seeing - about all this -  and politicians work to get their votes on these issues.

TODAY'S GOSPEL

Now to choose life isn't easy. Hello. It calls for sacrifice - dying to self. That's exactly what today's gospel is saying: that very message from Jesus. [Confer Luke 9: 22-25]

I would assume that's the key reason why we don't choose life - but death. It's laziness - the avoidance of tough love - it's the avoidance of hard work - not wanting to die to self - that is at the heart of why folks choose death.

CONCLUSION: BE SMART AND LIFE GIVING TODAY

The title of my homily is, “Deuteronomy 30: 15-20: Choosing Life or Death.”

I want to urge looking at this topic and theme not just when considering abortions - but at the whole run of life - building walls to block our immigrants, carpet bomb Muslims, etc. etc. etc.

In the pulpit, I try to avoid using the pulpit as a bully pulpit.

It’s my experience that people don’t hear anything else once the speaker or the preacher says the buzz words.

So I rather avoid the political stage and try to understand what Jesus was saying when he said, “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.”

I rather reflect upon everyday decisions we all have to choose life or death.

By this I would mean eating right, walking, talking right - avoiding killer comments, gossip and all that.

I would rather look at this day - all that’s going to be right in front of me and decide: “Today I want to choose life. Today I want to be kind. Today I want to compliment people.”

For me being a Diabetic - second type - I simply have avoid  cookies and pie today - and walk and exercise. Amen.

February 11, 2016

DAILY PRAYER  FOR  LENT 

          

Lord, guide me

through these 40 days of Lent.

Protect me and direct me:

be a cloud above me this day

and a pillar of fire above me this night.

Remind me to take some moments today to go

with you into the mountains of prayer,

where I might see you transfigured before me.

Enter into my temple this day; walk around;

remind me when I’m too busy buying and selling;

and cleanse me of my idols.

Lord, help me this day to be like you:

a grain of wheat willing to die

so that others might live.

© Andy Costello,
Markings Prayers, March 1994

EXPECT  CRUMBLE

 The title of my homily is, “Expect Crumble.”

It’s an obvious thought that hits me probably every Ash Wednesday - so I’m sure I have other homilies on this theme.

Expect crumble.

The other theme that hits me from the Ash Wednesday readings is visiting the inner room that Jesus talks about in today’s gospel.

There’s something in us - that resists external religion - show - posturing - ceremony.

Today’s readings certainly hit that - and then we get on our face - in our face - on our forehead - the external sign of ashes today. I always think this is funny.  Ash Wednesday: we’re told to wash our face - no externals - no showing off - and then we get ashes. Funny! We see all these people walking around town or the Mall or in Giant today with ashes on.

There’s a Lenten Mass when Jesus talks about the Pharisees in fine linen and purple - and the priest in fine white cloth and purple reads that. Funny.

So Jesus knows the inner - inside - real religion stuff - and the phony possibility side shows - that happen with religion and priests and people.

I also think those who drop out of coming to this big inner room - called a church -  this place - this house - of prayer - I think they can have a decent list of reasons - for not coming here. I hear them saying - including various members of my own family, “I’m spiritual. I’m just not into this religion stuff.”

I suspect they also don’t enter the small inner room that Jesus talks about in today’s gospel - inside every person. Come Sunday morning. No, I don’t think most of these people who state they are spiritual and not religious - I don’t think they are not taking a nice walk through the Naval Academy - edge - along the water - or in Quiet Water’s Park - being in deep communion with God - or sitting on a back porch - sitting inside their inner room.

Okay Jesus also goes after that kind of judging others as well.  So…

So enough of that….

So let me give a quick thing on crumble - the everything turns to ashes - theme. It’s something we all need to spend time within with.

A rabbi on one of the debates a week ago or so quoted to candidate Hilary Clinton an old rabbinic question. Maybe you heard the question. He said there is an old saying we have two pieces of paper in our pockets. In one pocket a  piece of paper says, “The universe was created for you.” And in another pocket is another piece of paper that says, “Everything turns to ashes.”  Then he asked her, “When you look at your life, what’s your take on that?”

Ego vs. humility…..

I don’t think she answered it, but she did refer to it later on. I suspect she was saying to herself, “What the heck was that all about?”

On the one hand we have to think that God made us - and gave us this whole big wide wonderful world as a gift.

I think of parents waiting for that first child - I’m the fourth - I think of parents waiting for that first child - and they are going to give that kid the world.

I hope every kid gets that blessing - that they were waited for - celebrated - loved - adored - tickled and love.

I hope every kid gets a great spot on the couch - in their daddy’s arms - in their grandmother’s hugs - and all that. Praise God - along with a great education.

But we also have to learn about crumble. 

Expect crumble.

Expect humble.

Expect cancer and accidents and things going wrong.

The bicycle wheel goes flat and daddy can’t fix it. We get cuts on our arms and knees and cuts from the play or a team.

Grandpa dies.

Dogs die.

The cookie crumbles.

Parents sometimes divorce.

Sometimes people are selfish or dumb or they don’t realize impact of behavior on others.

Life. It’s wonderful - but sometimes like Forest Gump - you know what happens - It Happens. It hits the fan at times.  Jenny messes up and takes drugs and dumps Forest. Lieutenant Dan loses his legs.

Hurt happens.

Crumble happens.

Lent is a good time to come to church - as well as go into one’s inner room and ponder all these heavy messages.

There’s more than two pieces of paper.

Grab some of the literature out in the lobby and take some good walks for the next 40 days.

And like Forest Gump, run, or walk till you figure out stuff about life  - life being like a box of chocolates and stuff your mom used to say - and her mom and her mom and her dad - and on and on and on.

February 10, 2016

ASH WEDNESDAY

 PRAYER

A smudge of ashes,

a sign of the cross,

a sign of hope,

a new beginning,

a phoenix from the ashes. 

Lenten resolutions, Lenten

resurrection.

The Christian paradox:

dying to live,

dying to self,

rising for others,  

becoming empty to become filled. 

Lord Jesus, denied, betrayed,

burnt, seared and crucified,

walk with me, talk with me,

be with me on this way of the cross

to Calvary, to Resurrection,

always rising from our ashes.

© Andy Costello
Markings Prayers,
March 1995

February 9,  2016

TESTING 1 2 3

Best  word?

Best sentence?

Best moment?

Thanks.

Thank you.

Being born.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

HOW  TOUCHING 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 5^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “How Touching.”

The last sentence in today’s gospel - in English - has this long sentence, “Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the market place and begged him that they might touch the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.” [Mark 6:56]

I began reflecting on that idea of touching  - being touched - for a homily idea - for today.

WHO TOUCHED YOU?

A good life question could be, “Who touched us?”  “Who influenced our lives?”  “Who has healed us?”

It could have been a great high school teacher who saw us bullied - and they asked to see us after school one day - and asked about our feelings, our hurt, our pain - and we told them and we were healed.

It could have been an aunt or an uncle who was there for us when we didn’t feel our parents weren’t there for us.

It could have been a counselor, a friend, a neighbor, who helped us because we didn’t know how to do something.

It might have been at work - our first job - and someone took us under their wing - and they taught us how to fly.

Who touched you?  That’s a good life time question.

MOVIES, PLAYS, STORIES, SONGS, POEMS, PRAYERS

For some it might be a movie, a play, a story, a song, a poem or a prayer.

I’ll never forget a moment in an Arthur Miller play, The Price, when one brother says to the other brother something like this, “You want the God-Almighty hand shake and you’re not going to get it.” I was moved enough to say, “I’ll never do that.”

I saw a grandmother with a grandson once and she snook a folded $20 dollar bill into his hand as he was going out the door to an outing. I said to her, “That was nice.”

She said, “Oh yeah, I remember being with kids on a bus ride to an amusement park when we were kids and I had no money. We were poor - dirt poor - and I sat on benches and walked around all day and didn’t get on any rides and I wouldn’t want any kid to feel what I felt that day.”

How touching.

ARK OF THE COVENANT

Talk about touching - how about the Art of the Covenant - which is central to  today’s First Reading - 1 Kings 8: 1-7, 9-13.

The Ark of the Covenant - was the sacred box of the covenant - that held the 10 commandments. It was made of wood - 4 foot long, 2 ½ inches high and 2 ½   inches high. It was gold plated. It held the 10 Commandments.

It was a sign of God’s presence,

Just seeing it was a powerful experience for many in Israel when it was paraded around town and into battle or what have you. If someone touched it they could be paralyzed or killed. Yet it was stolen - and used in battle because it was supposed to have power.

Sacred objects send out signals of awe!

If you’re my age you’ve seen the change in touching religious objects - chalices, hosts, communion, crumbs…. You’ve seen people going up to the tabernacle and taking out the ciborium and bringing Christ to the sick and the home bound.

How many Eucharistic Ministers have had life changing thoughts and prayers and feelings in bringing Jesus to someone who is sick?

The tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, up here in our sanctuary is mighty important,  but Jesus is in there as food - food for us - food for the sick - food for the journey.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “How Touching.”

My message is to reflect upon  the touching moments, the healing moments, the significant moments of our lives. Amen.

February 8, 2016

DEPRESSION

Sometimes - some mornings - some people

feel like they are stuck in a bed of dark

brown mud. Debts, doubts, dumb mistakes,

have slid down on top of them. Mud slides.

It does just that - down on top of us - on

and on - day after day after day - of cold rain -

and the roots that held our life from slipping -

have been pulled away with the mud - till all

that is left is bare rock and ripped roads.

Ever feel this way? Ever been dropped?

Ever been dumped? Ever been fired?

Ever been walked out on? Ever been

hurt - really hurt and you didn’t see it

coming?  Sounds so dramatic. It can be.

All that mud - all the heavy of that brown

sludge blanket - on top of us - weighing

us down. We feel we can’t move or want

to move and nobody understands. Our

bedroom door is closed. In fact, it’s locked.

We’re crying. We’re dying. What to do?

Get up. Get out of bed. Stretch. Shake.

Take a good shower - a long, long shower.

Get as much of that mud off your back.

Get dressed. Get some food into the system.

Pray a scream prayer. Get to work. Talk

to someone. Better: quick do something

sweet for someone who feels depressed. It's
a long, long time - till tonight - another night.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016