IRISH WEATHER REPORT

 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of St. Patrick  is, “Irish Weather Report.”

My uncle Pat, Patrick Connolly, one of my mom’s brothers, loved to give the Irish Weather Report. I heard him tell it with a great Irish smile – a mile wide – a dozen times: “Irish weather report: Rain - Heavy at Times."

That was it.

Get enough rain – you’ll get enough green.  Get enough rain – you get enough pub time – or indoor time – time to make up stories – and time to make them better with each telling

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel – Luke 6: 36-38 - has a great story – a great image – on how to do life. I picture Jesus telling this story – with a great smile – because it’s a key to understanding our God, our Father, in Jesus.

How to do life? Jesus tells us to do it with generosity – do it with abandon – do it givingly – do it without being cheep  – do it without measuring out our love in tea spoons. Give and forgive with scoopfulls – heavy forgiveness  and heavy giving at times.

Jesus must have spotted a very generous merchant in the marketplace. Was there a wheat and flour stand or store right next to the carpenter shop in Nazareth?  We don’t know.

But we do know that Jesus talked about a grain merchant in the marketplace. You’d buy a measure of wheat from him. He’d put the wheat in your cloak like this [Gesture Using Vestments]. Then the merchant would shake it – till it settled in tight. Then he’d put some more in and then shake it again. After that he'd fill it up with more wheat. Then he'd pat it down and then pack it again and again and again till the person walked around with an extra load of wheat in his cloak and an extra big smile on his face.

That is vintage Jesus. Go the extra mile. Give the shirt off your back and your undershirt as well. Mine is green today. Anybody want it.  Pay the workers whom you hired the last hour the same as those who worked all day. Forgive your son – even though he messed up all the inheritance you gave him just a few months ago. Reach out to your older son who doesn’t like that kind of generosity and forgiveness – but wants punishment and yelling and judging.

Invite all into the banquet – worthy and unworthy.

Forgive till it hurts. Give till you run out of wallets and wheat.

IS THIS AN IRISH ATTITUDE?

Is this an Irish Attitude?

Hopefully, but hopefully it’s an everybody’s attitude.

It’s called being a Christian.

I’ll have to read the 1995 book,  How The Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill again – to see if he has this nuance of heavy generosity in it - as a key characteristic that helps a culture be a saving culture.

I know there are jokes about Irish keeping grudges – jokes about Irish Alzheimer's - you forget everything but the grudges. So I don’t know – but I kissed the Blarney Stone – so why not dream that Irish are all very generous and very forgiving.

RAIN, HEAVY AT TIMES

If you want rain, vacation in Ireland – and enjoy the rain, heavy at times. See the green grass grow greener.

I lucked out on my first trip to Ireland – to have a window seat in our airplane – to look down that morning on Ireland as we arrived at sunrise and be able to see why Ireland is called “Green!”

I was wondering if a person’s personality is shaped by one’s everyday sights – and everyday geography and surroundings.

I was wondering if a person would grow up differently, if they grew up in a house near the Salton Sea in California – where it’s desert and dry – and hot and even hotter a good bit of the year – compared to growing up in a rain forest – or in Costa Rica or Panama – or Seattle or Ireland - places that get a good bit of rain.

I was wondering if  we can  say that a child growing up in a house of cards – with funny people – that they would have a sweeter disposition  - than someone growing up in a house of grouches. I have fond memories of enjoying my mom’s three brothers who would visit us from time to time as kids: Patsy, Johnny and Cole.

I hear that I have a good smile – and I grew up hearing and seeing that my dad had a great smile. If I got that from him, thank you dad. I assume I got his funny walk – with feet pointing out from him – as well as his love of reading – seeing him reading all the time when we were kids – including poetry – as well as taking us on long walks every possible Sunday.

I keep hearing that kids seeing their parents and brothers and sisters reading books – tend to become book readers themselves.

CONCLUSION

So I hope – that good stuff begets good stuff – and heavy at times.

So my thought for today – is generosity. May your weather report be – plenty of giving – plenty of forgiving – heavy at times.

May your weather report be - laughing, smiling, enjoying, heavy at times.

May your weather report also be - story telling, making the stories better – especially if you got to kiss the Blarney Stone – heavy at times.

However, may our weather report stop being: "Snow - heavy at times."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Painting on Top: Deborah O'Keeffe