3 STORIES:

A NEW TRANSLATION

OF MATTHEW 5: 38-42

 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “3 Stories: A New Translation of Matthew 5:38-42.”

 

That’s today’s gospel.

 

I hesitate to do this - because in the last place I was stationed – St. Mary’s Church, Annapolis, Maryland – whenever I did this – if it was the 10:30 Sunday morning Mass – a guy named Tom – an usher at that Mass – would come up to me at the end of that Mass and say, “Father, your sermon was 12 minute and 37 seconds.” Or  “It was 11 minutes and 16 seconds.” Then he would add, “I didn’t get your message and my wife didn’t either.”

 

Still - I like to read the scriptures and then try to put what’s said there into stories.

FIRST STORY: 3 CATS

 

Once upon a time there was a lady who had three cats. Their names were: Wonderful, Ugly and Tubby.

 

Wonderful was wonderful.  That’s why she got that name. She loved to cuddle. She was friendly. She was nice. She was wonderful.

 

Ugly was ugly. He would make ugly sounds – ugly “Me-ows!”  He would scratch the legs of the furniture. You wouldn’t want to be stationed with him.

 

And Tubby was just that: tubby. He would rarely move – just sat there – checking out the room – wondering – when there would be snacks, meals and treats.

 

The lady - who had these three cats once called the Animal Shelter where she got these cats and asked if it were possible if she could talk to the former owners of these 3 cats.

 

They gave her 3 names – the 3 former owners of these 3 cats.

 

She found out Wonderful was always wonderful; Tubby was always lazy. “We called him ‘Fat Cat’; and Ugly was always mean and scratchy. “That’s why we gave him that name and got rid of him.  Sorry.”

 

SECOND STORY: AN ANDREW JACKSON

 

Thirty three kids were lined up for a bus ride to an amusement park. It was summer and it was a beautiful day.

 

The kids were screaming happy.

 

The bus driver – a pro from 23 years of driving – was sitting there in her bus driver seat. Her kids were grown up – and living in another state – so

she loved driving kids to the rides at Ride-A-Matic – Amusement Park.

 

With these kids, she was a mom and a grandma again.

 

She saw the moms and dads and grandparents – outside the bus - hugging and kissing their kids “Good-bye.”

 

She saw one mom – fist closed and tight – shaking hands with her kid – and then hugging her kid.

 

She realized the mom just gave her kid a fiver.

 

She turned the bus off – kept the keys in her hand – and said to two teachers – chaperones, “I’ll be right back.”

 

She went outside and over to the mother who gave the fiver to her kid.

 

She asked her,  “Did you just give your kid a five dollar bill?”

 

Pause.

 

Then the bus driver said, “Would you mind if I asked, ‘Why?’”

 

The mom hesitated.

 

Then she said, “Well - when I was a kid – we were poor – really poor – and I always said, “When I become a mom I’m going to make sure my kids always had some extra  money to share with their friends – so I always give them some money when they go on a trip.”

 

The bus driver hugged her and said, “Beautiful!”

 

Then she added, “I was poor too and I always envied kids who got a dollar or a 5 dollar bill from their parents.”

 

Then the mom said to the bus driver - with a smile – “Times have change, honey. I didn’t give my kid a 5. I gave him a 20 – an Andrew Jackson.”

THIRD STORY: AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH

 

In a small Dutch town - there is a painting – in the only art museum in town. It goes back to the early 1700’s.

 

It’s title is:  “Matthew 5:38-42.”

 

People upon seeing it are stopped in their tracks.

 

They get the painting. They get the message. And it changes and challenges people for the rest of their lives.

 

It’s a painting – but it’s also a story.

 

In the center of the painting is a white washed building.

 

A wide path runs up the center of the picture going towards the house. Then it divides into a path to the right and a path to the left.

 

On the right side there is a sign above the double door there. It says in Dutch: “Eyes!”  It has people going into the building with their heads down – and their back to the viewer – and then people coming out of the other side of that double door with a bandage over one of their eyes.

 

On the left side there are people marching to the double doors over there. It has a sign in Dutch saying “Tooth.” Like the Eye side -  people are coming out – the other double door there - with white bandages and blood on them – over  their mouths.

 

On the road before the house there are people who seem to be screaming   -  fists shaking – at those going up to the house. People get up close to the painting and notice these people are all missing an eye or a tooth.

 

People in that town have said, “The painting has worked ever since the early 1700’s.  People have stopped poking out people’s eyes and punching people in the mouth. That painting has opened up a lot of minds.”

 

And just in case people don’t get that the painting is based on the words of Jesus’ in Matthew 5: 38-42 – the road sign that gives the mileage to next few towns – has the mileage listed – and then a plus one.