WORDS: 

SWORDS  INTO  PLOWSHARES, 

SPEARS  INTO  PRUNING  HOOKS 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Monday in the First Week of Advent is, “Words: Swords Into Plowshares, Spears Into Pruning Hooks.”

Today’s first reading from Isaiah 2:1-5 talks about hammering swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. These words – Isaiah 2:4 – appear on a wall across the street from United Nations headquarters in New York City – but also in our hearts and minds.

How many people down through the centuries – when seeing tanks and canons – roll by in parades -  had the thought, “What a waste of money!”

How many then said, “Why couldn’t we use all this money to feed and educate and house the poor – to rebuild the highways and the bridges – to fill up the potholes – to improve our nursing homes and hospitals?

A FANTASY

During the cold war, I had a fantasy – that the United States – had built 100,000 missals – and secretly put the money that would pay for its insides – nuclear explosives and technology – inside the missiles. Then the United States announced to the world  – especially to the Soviet Union – that we had these powerful missiles in place – in missile silos – all around the world. Then when the Soviet Union goes broke trying to match our weapons – we announce to the world that for the sake of peace - we’re dismantling our weapons – but in reality taking the money out of these empty missile  shells.

WORDS

Wonderful thought… this melting down our weapons – and using the money elsewhere.

But it remains a thought.

Wars and rumors of war will always be us.

When we think those thoughts – it’s always about others – and people out there. After all – most of us are not makers of swords and spear.

But if we apply that thought  to words – to our tongues  - then we can put it into practice every day of our lives.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

If you give that saying lots of thought – we’d have to say, “Words can hurt us – and hurt us big time – and hurt us for a long time.

Which are more powerful a weapon: swords – or swords without the “W” – which is “words”?

I would dare say that people have words from a mother or a father, a spouse or a teacher, from way back – that still hurt us.

People remember a word said to us 27 years ago – a cutting comment – that is still stuck in us. We say things like, “It was like being stabbed in the back by another.”

WORD REVERSAL

People also realize the positive power of words – words that build us up – words that also last for years.

CONCLUSION

So words can be a blessing and a curse.

Words can be a wall or a bridge.

Words can be a welcoming word or a word that shuts us out.

Words can be a compliment – an affirmation – a plow – a pruning hook – that helps us grow – and grow till we become a harvest of rich and juicy fruits – to become strawberry jam –to butter and then juicify the bread of another. Amen.

COIN  COLLECTION 

Poem for Monday, December l, 2014

THE COLLECTION

Even two years later, she still gets correspondence

addressed to him. Correspondence. This like that.

Mostly about his hobby. Coin collector brochures.

Announcements of collector swap meets. His pastime.

A way to spend an afternoon back when an afternoon

needed spending. Before all the silence flooded the house.

He had old currency. Nickels worth ten dollars.

And heavy, the bags. Musical, too.

She needs to sort through them all.

That's what she should do, realize its value.

But what she is thinking of is spending it,

buying gum and soft drinks, maybe a chocolate bar.

Just get face value for mint-condition rarities.

Get them back into circulation. Circulation. The afterlife

where someone else could get them as change

and be joyful at the luck of finding his life's pleasure.

© Michael Chitwood

From Living Wages,

Tupelo, Press, 2014

North Adams, MA

DE PROFUNDIS:

PSALM 130

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “De Profundis: Psalm 130.”

Today – this First Sunday of Advent – Year B – the year we look at the Gospel of Mark mainly – the themes of watching and waiting - jumped off the page for me.

As I reflected on that – in hopes of coming up with a helpful homily for today – Psalm 130 - also jumped out at me.

It’s not today’s psalm – but as I read today’s three readings and today’s psalm – number 80 -  Psalm 130 arrived at my door - in my mind.

Various surveys of what people want from a homily - list spirituality as # 1 - and mention of money # 1 billion 687 thousand – and 36.

Reading a psalm – just one psalm - say at night – as a family – or with one’s spouse – or with oneself – certainly can help.

There are 150 Psalms in the Bible. It's a song book. Nor every psalm will grab you - buy if you bite into them bit by bit - some will become famous to you.

We priests and religious read the Divine Office each day – and they feature 3 Psalms for each prayer session: Morning, Evening, mid-day prayer, Night and Matins – some prayers for during the night or early morning.

In priest and nun’s retreats,  I often say, “If you’re rushing your prayers – don’t say them all – just say one psalm slowly and peacefully. Take your time. Chew your food. Savor the taste."  

I’d say the same of the rosary. Instead of a mindless babble of words  - say a decade of the rosary slowly or just one Hail Mary – savoring it.

I learned that mainly from Thich Nhat Hnan [pronounced "TIK NYAT HAWN"]. He's the 88 year old Buddhist Monk from Vietham. He's the Buddist monk with the great smile. 

Right now he’s in a hospital in Bordeaux, France in a coma – suffering from a severe brain hemorrhage.

When talking about mindfulness he would say,  “When eating potato chips – don’t swallow the whole bag in one big gulp. Instead savor one potato chip at a time.”

PSALM 130

Let me read the psalm first:

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
²     Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy.

³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
⁶ I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.
⁸ He himself will redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

IN HEBREW

The Hebrew transliteration of Psalm 130 is as follows:

     Shir hamaalot mima'amakim keraticha adonai /

     Adonai shimah vekoli tiyena oznecha kashuvot lekol            tachanunai /

     Im avonot tishmor ya adonai mi yaamod /

     Ki imcha haslicha lemaan tivare /

     kiviti adonai kivta nafshi velidvaro hochalti /

     Nafshi ladonai mishomrim laboker shomrim laboker /

     Yachel yisrael el adonai ki im adonai hachesed veharbeh      imo fedut /

     Vehu yifdeh et yisrael mikol avonotav.

TRANSLATIONS

I have about 10 different translations of the Bible into English.

When I get interested in a psalm or any text in the Bible, I like to read various translations – and fool around at times with the Hebrew or the Greek – the 2 languages the Old and New Testament are written in.

We had 4 years of Greek – but only 1 year of Hebrew – and to this day – K don’t know how I passed that course in Hebrew.

To me this is one way to savor a text – to taste it – to pray with it.

THE SCREAMS – THE PLEAS – IN PSALM 130

The person screaming Psalm 130 is in the pits.

He feels like he’s lost at sea. He feels like he’s in the pits. He feels like he’s been buried alive. He’s down. He’s depressed.

Ever feel that way.

Ever see the movie Kill Bill 2 – when Beatrix Kiddo is buried alive. She’s been put in a wooden casket. The box is sealed with nails. The banging of the hammer is tough for starters. Then the box is pushed down into a hole – a deep grave in a cemetery – and all becomes dark. The screen becomes dark. Totally dark. After what feels like 2 minutes of that – finally Quentin Tarantino switches to an earlier part of Beatrice’s life – where she learns how to punch her way – fist her way – with bloody, bloody knuckles through wood – and she pushes and climbs through the dirt to the top – to air – to salvation.

It’s the same scene in Shawshank Redemption when Andy Dufresne escapes from prison by going through this long, long pipe – sewer pipe – and you know what’s in and what smells in a sewer pipe – till he finally makes it to the other side – redemption – from Shawshank Prison. He belly flops into clear water on the others side. It’s a baptism. It’s freedom.

Psalm 130 screams all this out – when the song writer screams out to God – for rescue – for redemption – to be saved.

Like a watchman who waits for dawn…. Like anyone who is in the depths of despair – God is on the other end of the dark – God is the one on the other side of the casket and death – God is the one with stedfast love – who will redeem us.

BY THE WAY

By the way when we say the Apostles Creed – we say – he descended into hell.

That means Christ went down into the earth when he was buried that Good Friday  - and if you’ve been to Greek Churches – they often picture that moment much better than the Western Christian Churches – when Christ went into the depths, into Sheol, into where all those who have died were waiting, sometimes translated “Hell” – waiting for redeemption, salvation, freedom, heaven.

ADVENT

Advent means the vent – the pipeline – the arrival of salvation.

For us it’s Christmas once again – and once again – we go through the cycle, the wheel rolling us forwards to another year.

In Matthew and Luke – redemption and salvation starts with the baby.

A child will lead us to salvation – to the peacable Kingdom – as we see in those Peaceable Kingdom paintings by Benamin Hicks.

In Mark – redemption and salvation starts with the adult Christ – arriving at at doorstep – proclaiming, “The Kingdom of God has arrived. Repent and believe in the Good News.”

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “De Profundis – Psalm 130.”

Psalm 130 has the great advent theme of watching and waiting and hoping for redemption.

Redemptorists serve here in this parish and our motto and our theme comes from Psalm 130: “Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio” – with him there is plentiful redemption.

Slowly taste, savor those words, as you pray them – and cry them – this Advent, this Christmas – this new church year. Amen.

STRIVING FOR 

PEACE OF MIND

Poem for Today - Sunday November 20, 2014

IN THE DEPTHS OF SOLITUDE

pondering my true goal
trying 2 find peace of mind
and still preserve my soul
constantly yearning 2 be accepted
and from all receive respect
never comprising but sometimes risky
and that is my only regret
a young heart with an old soul
how can there be peace
how can i be in the depths of solitude
when there r 2 inside of me
this duo within me causes
the perfect oppurtunity
2 learn and live twice as fast
as those who accept simplicity 

© Tupac Shakkur

A SENSE OF WONDER

Poem for Today - Saturday - November 29, 2014

GRANDFATHER

Grandfather took us out

Long after dark

And set his telescope up on the lawn

And showed us how to look through the lens.

We saw the mountains of the moon!

We saw the rings around Saturn!

We saw the stars in the Milky Way –

Too many to count!

“See,” Grandfather said.
“what wonders God has made!”

And then he hugged each of us

And said, “And you are wondrous too!”

© Madeleine L’Engle

THE BREAD 

THAT SATISFIES 

OUR HUNGER 

Poem for Friday -  November 28, 2014

PLENTY

Having shared our bread,

we know that we are

no longer hungry. It is enough

that you see me for myself.
That I see you for yourself.

That we bless what we see

And do not borrow, do not use

one another. This is now we know

we are no longer hungry … that

The world is full of terror, full of beauty

and yet we are not afraid to find solace here

To be bread for each other. To love.

© Gunilla Norris

THANKSGIVING

Poem for Thursday - Thanksgiving Day - November 27, 2014

FAMILY

Not enough hours in the day, we often say
we watch as the business of life allows time slip away.

Before we know days turn to months and months into years,
Time is mapped with laughter and cheers,
the long road sometimes landmarked with sadness and tears.

Elders pass and children grow,
has it been that long we ask, where does the time go?

Not every chance to gather is taken.
"We'll see them next time" we say and hope we're not mistaken.

A chance like now comes once in a lifetime it seems,
when the bright light of family is nurtured and beams,
there will be laughter and time to reminisce
we will all be proud this is a chance we did not miss.

© Ryan Guerrero

Written for the

Guerrero Miramontes

family reunion

July 4-5, 2008

in Scottsbluff,

Nebraska

Painting on top:
Carmen Lomas Garza
Tamalada
(Making Tamales)
Collection of Leonila Ramiriz,
Don Ramons Restaurant,
San Francisco,
California\in
Imaging the Word,
page 175