A  RIVER  RUNS  
THROUGH  IT

INTRODUCTION

The title of  my homily for this 4^th Friday in Ordinary Time is, “A River Runs Through It.”

There is no mention of a river in today’s two readings - but last night - for some reason  - after reading today’s readings - I thought of rivers and their presence in our lives.

Next time you’re in a plane - try to get a window seat - and keep  your eye on the landscape you’re flying over.

On a clear day, you should see a few rivers.

If you’re on the ground and you have time, take the time to stop, to pause, to look at any river you just happen to see - any river you happen to be at - or at any river you meet.

If there is a bench there - that’s why it’s there - to  sit and watch a river go by you.

It can be a neat experience. It can be a learning experience.

There are a lot of rivers running through the landscape of our lives.

RIVER’S WITHIN

Metaphors come from realities.

We also have rivers within us - in our imaginations - in our understandings and in our efforts to figure life out.

So be poetic enough to check out the rivers inside our being - inside our mind, inside our memory, inside our imagination.

Pause. Pray.  Look. From time to time, check out  rivers within..

Inside and out - within and without.

I lived on the Hudson River in New York for 14 years of my life. I’d go down most mornings around 6 AM when everything was still quiet. I’d  watch what was on the river at that moment.  It’s also when I started the practice of dipping my hand into the water of any river I was at and make the sign of the cross.

Holy water fonts are everywhere.

I lived  on the Patapsco River here in Maryland - near Ellicott City - for  1 year  - 3 months. It wasn’t a scenic spot - because right nearby was a box factory that dumped chemicals into the water. Yet that river is still one of the memories in my life. I realize we have around here the South River, the Severn River and the Maggoty River.

So I’ve see lots of rivers from the sky, from bridges, and up close.

The title of my homily is, “A River Runs Through It.”

I can see a beautiful river like the Hudson or an ugly river like the Patapsco as they  flow through my memory.  

I’ve also done a lot of traveling - and the rivers I knew here in the United States - get me to spot them around the globe.

The Jordan River in Israel was a disappointment. The Lake of Galilee wasn’t - but it doesn’t send enough water into the Jordan.

I saw the Shannon River in Ireland as well as the Foyle River in Derry and the Liffey River in Dublin.  All three were beautiful - especially the Foyle River in Derry - Northern Ireland.

I’ve see the Danube, the Seine, and the Neva Rivers.

What rivers have you seen?

BOOK AND MOVIE

Back in 1992 a movie came out, “A River Runs Through It.”

It’s mainly about 2 brothers  - and their father a stern Presbyterian Minister - and the story of their lives.

It was a book first and made into a movie and was nominated for a few Academy Awards.  It won one for cinematography.

I saw that movie and I’m sure that’s why that title popped up last night - and I used to entitle my homily.

LET ME SWITCH FOR A MOMENT TO BUDDHISM

The Buddhists recommend sitting and meditating at rivers.

They would add just  closing your eyes and take in the rivers inside you. See your life gliding along and gliding  by.

Look at what’s on other’s boats - as they glide by.

See what memories flow down or up your rivers.

The short novel, A River Runs Through It, begins with this sentence:  "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing" and its last sentence was, "I am haunted by waters" ….

See your baptism at the river Jordan and on and on.

CONCLUSION

Thinking back  - where I really got this thought from is today’s gospel,

Herodias harbors a grudge against John the Baptist.  When her daughter dances and Herodias promises her anything, she asks her mother, “What should I ask?”  It’s then her mother asks for the head of John death.

Give the lady what she wants.

So she has him killed - and as the old saying goes, stuff on docks or harbors rot - they are meant to be made to be sent down the river.

The grudge she held in her stomach,  rotted in her gut. Watch your grudges and angers against others. Put them on a barge or a boats.  Then send them down the river and  wave to them till they go out of sight.