ON 

CARRYING  BAGGAGE 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 30th Monday in Ordinary Time is, "On Carrying Baggage."

What are we carrying when we come to church or come to anywhere? What does our baggage weigh?  What does our baggage look like?

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel, here is a woman who is carrying a spirit for 18 years and it’s wearing her down. It drains her strength. She can’t stand tall. It's bending her in half.

Jesus sees her when he's in a synagogue teaching on a sabbath. Jesus calls her and puts his hand on her and heals her. She stands tall and thanks God.

Can we see ourselves as this woman?

What are we carrying? Is there anything we’re carrying that’s wearing us down? Is there anything we need to dump? Is there anything we need to let go of? Is there any stuff we’re carrying 18 days, 18 months, 18 years?

Coming to church is a good time to assess what we’re carrying and to weigh it all. Is there anything we need to dump? Let it go.

GREEN MONSTER

A bunch of years back, I went to Ireland and France with my two sisters and my brother-in-law. Well, my sister Peggy had this large green luggage bad.  It was like a big green golf bag. In it,  she had 10 pairs of shoes, 10 slacks, 10 this and 10 then. It was heavy -- very heavy -- and guess who had to carry it? The men.  Well, we dubbed it “The Green Monster.”

CLAIRE LAMAROUX

A bunch of years ago I heard a talk by a Claire Lamoroux. She said that everyone arrives everywhere with their baggage. Some have 10 or 20 suitcases; some travel much lighter.

I'm asking over and over again in this homilyl, How much are we carrying on our journey through life?

MAN WITH THE BAGGAGE

I once saw on television a Sunday morning rendition of the Sermon on the Mount. When it came to the part about “Enter by the narrow door” they showed a scene where a man is walking down the street with a back pack and a suitcase in each hand and another bag around his waist.

He stops at a door. The doorway was narrow. The door was only slightly open. He couldn’t fit in with all his stuff. He didn't place it on the ground. He shrugged his shoulders, came out of the doorway and continued walking down the street - bags in hand.

Then a small boy ran down the street and  ran right into that house through the narrow doorway.

In the background, you could hear, “Enter by the narrow way.”

CONCLUSION

Coming to church is a good time to see what baggage I'm carrying - and what I need to let go of.