SMILE!
YOU'RE JUST LIKE ME!
Quote for Today September 4, 2011
"Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this, that you are dreadfully like other people."
James Russell Lowel [1819-1891]
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
STICKY! STICKY!
OPENING: STATING THE PROBLEM
Today’s readings for this 23 Sunday in Ordinary Time A challenge us with one of life’s stickiest problems: to warn or not to warn; to correct or not to correct; to blow the whistle or not to blow the whistle?
Who wants to rock the boat? Who wants to upset the apple cart? Who wants to be called nosey or a busybody? Who of us wants to be seen as a snitch? Didn’t Jesus say, “Let the one without sin cast the first stone”?
A mom is shopping with two close friends at a mall a good two hours away from where they live. It’s lunch time, so one of the ladies says, “I know a good restaurant just down the road from here.”
The restaurant is crowded – but the three get seated in a back corner. “Uh, oh!” Over the top of her menu, the mom sees her married daughter in a booth on the other side of the restaurant with a man other than her husband. And they are being “lovey dovey”. The daughter doesn’t spot her mother. And thank goodness, the other two ladies don’t spot the mother spotting her daughter and the man she’s with.
So the mother tries to keep cool and not let the other ladies know what she’s noticing. Her daughter is not facing her. The mother sees them stand up to leave. They are holding hands on the way out. Arms and shoulders are touching. She mutters to herself another inner, “Uh, oh!” They go outside – out of view for a moment – but surprise, she sees both of them through the restaurant window in the parking lot giving each other a kiss goodbye. Both get into their separate cars. Yes, it’s her daughters maroon Camry.
Obviously, the mom didn’t enjoy the lunch with her friends. The other two ladies didn’t seem to notice. She was wondering, “What do I do now? What about the 3 grandkids? Is the marriage finished? Keep cool! Keep calm. Do I tell my daughter or someone who might do something, if something could be done?” Obviously, she didn’t taste the chef salad she ordered – nor the pie a la mode she had for dessert out of nervousness. What to do?
A husband, a boss, a priest, a wife, a son, a daughter, a parent, is drinking too much. What to do?
A college basketball referee is gambling. He doesn’t know it, but another referee, whom he is going to do a game with, is around a corner on the other side of the locker room. Thinking he is alone he makes a phone call to place some bets before the game. The other referee overhears him. During the game he keeps wondering about some key calls the other ref makes. Is he or isn’t he? What to do?
An accountant in a big company begins to spot some “funny” numbers. Are we begin “Enroned”? Are we? But she has one kid in college and two kids in a private high school and her husband is out of work the last four months and so she really needs this job. What to do?
HOMILETIC REFLECTIONS
Today’s readings deal with this basic issue of speaking up – of warning others – of blowing the whistle – of correcting others.
In today’s first reading, Ezekiel is appointed watchman for the house of Israel. He is called upon to watch the people and when wicked, to warn them. This is the prophet’s calling; this is the prophet’s job.
Still stronger, Ezekiel says, if the watchman sees a danger and doesn’t sound a warning, he or she is responsible for all the disasters and damage that result.
As one glides through the Old Testament, this image of the watchman on the walls of the city is common. Like a rooster he cries out when “Morning has broken!” But his main job was to walk the walls or stand in a watchtower and spot possible enemies. The watchman was the eyes and ears of a city.
And obviously, prophets being poets, would use this image of watchman for their call to warn the people of sins that could destroy them.
Prophets and preachers are called to yell out “the Word of the Lord”. They are called to speak “the Mind of God”. They are to tell people “the Will of God”. This is an awesome responsibility. At times it can be awfully dangerous. It can land a prophet in jail or in a pit or on a cross.
Is warning others everyone’s call? Is it the call of the every Christian?
Today’s gospel touches on this touchy situation as well: the call to correct a brother or sister who sins against us.
But let’s be honest, who of us wants to correct others? Who wants to be told, “Mind your own business?” Who wants to be called “a mud slinger”? Who wants to run the risk of having mud thrown back in one’s face? People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones or mud.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Today’s readings give us the issue, the motive and a method for warning, confronting or blowing the whistle on another person.
Ezekiel tells us when to do it. Paul tells us why to do it. Jesus tells us how to do it.
Ezekiel tells us to warn people when they are in deadly danger. It’s very simple: we scream when it’s a matter of life and death.
It can also be very complicated. We hesitate when we are not sure whether it’s a matter of life and death.
If we see a kid out in the street and a car is heading right at her, we scream or run out to save the kid or try to stop the car. When we see kids playing with matches, we grab the matches. But what about letting kids learn the hard way? Sometimes it might be the best way. We’ve all seen cute scenes in old movies when a father lets a little kid take a sip of his beer and the kid goes, “Uooh, uooh, ugly taste!”
Kids need to be challenged, corrected, but they also need to grow, to be allowed to make mistakes, to figure things out. They also need to be encouraged, affirmed, and given a chance to show their stuff in the classroom, on the playing field, and at home. Smart parents, teachers and coaches know that some kids respond better to a pat on the back, while others respond better to “a yell in the face.”
But what about adults? Obviously, here is where this issue becomes very tricky. Timing is everything. If an adult is abusing a child and we are sure about it, obviously the time to act is now! If the problem is adults with adults, we have to ask the basic question: is this problem deadly or very dangerous to them or others? If the answer is yes, then we need to act. We need to speak up. We also need to be prudent. We need to weigh the consequences. Is my speaking up going to make the situation better or worse? Is this person going to make me pay for my comments the rest of my life?
We know all this. We’ve been in these situations at various times in our life. Sometimes we act and sometimes we step back. Sometimes we’re a chicken and we walk away and sometimes we’re a rooster and we give the other a wake up call.
Obviously, the real tricky stuff is the gray areas. That’s when we do a lot of inner talking and worrying about the sticky situations of life.
The Talmud says, “Teach thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know.’”
Often we don’t know the whole story. We haven’t walked in another’s “moccasins” or “sins” for one mile.
The New Testament talks much more about forgiving than correcting others. While reading the Gospels, isn’t it amazing how much Jesus puts up with the idiosyncrasies of others – especially his disciples?
So there are moments to be quiet and there are moments to speak up. And if the moments of speaking up are too much and too often, hopefully someone will speak up to us about our tendency to be always correcting others. It’s a warning signal if we find ourselves always wanting to correct others at work or in our regular circles. Maybe we voted ourselves into the position of the town crier – but there wasn’t an election – and we only got one vote for the job – our own.
People who are overweight mention they often get diets, suggestions, comments from their thinner friends. “Enough already!” People who are overweight vent to their closest friends, “I don’t need to hear people tell me everyday that I am overweight. Don’t they know fat people are beating on themselves every day? Don’t they know we don’t need others to beat on us as well. One is enough!”
All this is tricky, so we need to look at our motives – the why question. Motives are keys. Checking our motives can help us untie some of the knots in sticky situations. Why should the mother who saw her daughter in the restaurant in an apparent “wrong” relationship need to do something? Why should the referee who overheard his fellow referee making bets over the phone need to blow the whistle in some way? Why should family members or friends or co-workers of an alcoholic scream or try to intervene?
The motive always has to be one’s love for the other person. In today’s second reading Paul tells us love is the debt that binds us together. That’s what we owe each other. When we do that we fulfill the law. Paul stresses that the Golden Rule, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is underneath the commandments not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to covet, “and whatever other commandment there may be.”
The why question is crucial. If our motive for “correcting” another is to “get” another, then we need to stop right there and not go any further. Case closed. We don’t have to go to the “how” question, because the “why” question shows that our motive is flawed. We might be avoiding the logs in our own eye by seeing spots in our brother or sister’s eyes.
But, if our motive is love, and what’s going on with this other person is killing them and others, we need to move to the how question.
We need to reflect upon Jesus’ method of correcting others as found in today’s gospel.
We’ve all heard Jesus’ method of fraternal correction since we were kids. First go to the person one to one. If that doesn’t work, go to him or her a second time with two or three witnesses. If that doesn’t work, go to the church community with the problem. If that doesn’t work, then exclude him or her from the community.
Sounds good on paper, but it’s very difficult in practice. It’s much easier to talk to people in our minds or behind their back, but face to face is the place most of us want to avoid.
Sometimes speaking to another works; sometimes it doesn’t. Well planned “professional” intervention into the life of someone who is really messed up with drugs, or alcohol or gambling, has helped people. Sometimes it takes many such interventions. Sometimes it’s a disaster.
It’s never easy. And we all know the human tendency is to take the easy way out. We saw this in the rash of newspaper stories this year about sexual abuse by the clergy. We wish away problems. We sweep them under the rug – only to have them trip us up as we walk into the future.
This is painful stuff. This is tough love stuff. This is sticky, sticky stuff.
Today’s gospel wisely closes with words of Jesus about prayer. If all else fails, pray. If all else fails, gather with two or three trusted friends and pray for the person who is messing up their life. Maybe in prayer we’ll see that our motives are flawed or we definitely do have deep love for the other. Maybe we’ll see another solution, because we got deeper into the Golden Rule, and considered how we would like to be challenged or corrected if we were messing up our life this way. Maybe then we can go out with these friends to a nice restaurant, have a good meal together and really enjoy the taste of pie a la mode.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is a published homily I did for Markings in 2002.
Friday, September 2, 2011
BREAD AND WINE
INTRODUCTION
The title of homily for this 22 Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Bread and Wine.”
Today’s gospel talks about a wedding banquet - food glorious food - while talking about just the opposite - fasting - not taking food. Then at the end of our short gospel reading for today we hear about wine. [Cf. Luke 5:33-39.]
Most Christians know about fasting - not from religious practice - as much as part of the process for certain medical tests. We all know about wedding banquets. How many weddings does a person attend in a lifetime? Do women like going to weddings more than men? Is it an obligation? Is it a want to? “Stop complaining, honey, it’s your brother’s daughter. Okay, I know, they live way out there in Des Moines. That’s going to be an expensive trip and things are tight. But we're going, right?”
Some questions: What is Luke trying to get his community of listeners to reflect upon in today’s gospel? Is it people who are off on the fasting as a way of trying to look better than others? Is it the question of people wanting to change other people? They still haven’t figured out the number one issue in life is the issue of people wanting to change other people into their image and likeness. Is it people who don’t see life as a banquet - and they want to drag people down to their sadness?
More questions: How does God see life? Is it a wedding or a funeral? What’s this stuff about the old and the new which we hear about in today’s gospel? I know the difference between a baby’s skin compared to the skin on the inside of the right or left arm just above the elbow of a 78 year old person - poolside. There's a difference between new cloth and old cloth - as mentioned in today’s gospel. There is a difference at weddings between the dress on a 22 year old gal with great big heels and her grandmother in a gray blue dress with big unglossy pearls around her neck that were her grandmother's.
After reflecting upon these images and issues, I wasn't sure what to preach on, so I decided in this homily to say something about bread and wine.
Wait a minute! I can understand talking about wine, it's in today's gospel, but where did you get the bread from?
You’re right.
The mention of wine triggered for me its connection with bread.
Hence the title of my homily is: “Bread and Wine”.
We know about both. They are as basic as a kitchen or dining room table and a chair. And the image of a kitchen or dining room table triggers eating.
And there are always at every meal two things: eating and drinking.
I was going to say “You'll find bread and wine at every meal”. That’s true for Italy and various other cultures. However, most of the time one doesn’t find bread at Chinese Restaurants - and not everyone drinks wine. For their drink, they might prefer beer or pop or milk or water.
So I’m being generic here. At every meal there are food and drink.
Then there are also words. Words are an important ingredient at every meal - that is, unless we eat alone. Yet, even then we talk to ourselves - or some people grab for some words from a newspaper or magazine or book or they have the TV or radio on.
THE MASS
I preambled all of the above to get to the Mass. I see the Mass as bread and wine and words - and people.
What’s your take on the Mass?
Do you think meal? If you do, then you understand a regular inner question I often ask myself: Why don’t people get the Mass?
The Mass is basic meal.
That’s my main stress about the Mass.
People get meals, so by pushing that I assume they can get the Mass?
TWO MEALS
The Mass is based on 2 meals.
The first meal was the last meal that the Jews had before they escaped from Egypt to head for the Promised Land. When the call, the warning came, the bread didn’t have time to rise. So they celebrated that escape with a memory meal - forever afterwards - and with unleavened bread. They also had wine. And the Passover Meal ever after had bread and wine - unleavened bread and various cups of wine. In time, because they pulled the whole exit, exodus, escape off, it became an annual Thanksgiving Meal. It was celebrated every year at the time of a full moon. It was springtime - resurrection time - new budding life time. Thank you, God, thank you.
The second meal was that same Passover Meal. However, this was a specific one. It was the one Jesus celebrated the night before he died. It was his Last Supper. During that meal he said some powerful things - and gave us this Thanksgiving Meal - we've been celebrating ever since. It was in the spring - with full moon - with unleavened bread and wine - several cups of wine. It also had the paschal lamb that was slain for the meal - along with the bitter herbs, etc. to remind everyone that life is not just the sweet, but also the bitter.
We get the story.
We know how meals work.
So we know the Mass.
Read my book. I have a whole book on the Mass - which I wrote a few years ago. It has all this in it and a lot more. But none of you read it, because the 3 different publishers I sent it to, sent it back with a rejection notice. I know rejection slips. Every writer does.
I’ll put this homily on my blog and maybe some publisher will read it -and give me a call. Actually I’m looking for an e-publisher or an e-publisher agent - because I have 8 books - that could be e-books right now.
Back to bread and wine - back to the Mass - after that advertisement.
OLD AND NEW - FRESH AND STALE
It also struck me last night that today’s gospel talks about old wine and old skins - new wine and new skins - old cloth and old patches - new cloth and new patches. It makes the point not to switch - otherwise things aren’t going to work.
Those images of skins and cloth - packaging and clothing - are also as basic as bread and wine.
It also hit me that bread doesn't age as well as wine. Wine as today's gospel points out can get better with age. Bread on the other hand can become stale - but it seems less because it's unleavened. This is the bread that is given out in communion. We believe it's Jesus the Lord . Then we put what is left over into the breadbox - the tabernacle. The practice with wine - The Precious Blood - differers. We don't store it after Mass.
Question: could we switch to leavened bread - to make it taste more like bread - so that people would make the connection of the altar table with the dining room table?
Answer: it’s not out of the question - but in the Western Church - the tradition has been unleavened bread.
It’s not out of the question because the Orthodox Churches and Uniate Eastern Churches, one receives leavened bread.
THE UPCOMING CHANGES IN THE MASS
We had a staff meeting yesterday concerning the upcoming changes in the Mass that start next Advent.
One of the reasons I’m talking a bit about the Mass today is because of that meeting yesterday. All of us said we’d be talking a big more about the Mass till next Advent.
Use of leavened bread is not one of the changes.
Question: if you could make 5 changes in the Mass, what would your five changes be?
Questions: if you’ve been a Catholic since 1965, you’ve seen changes in the Mass in your lifetime? Do you remember what you thought and felt back then when we switched over to English and the priest faced the people, etc. What are 5 things you liked about when that happened? What have you got used to that you like?
Question: what are the changes that are about to happen this Advent?
Sit down with bread and wine - and chat with each other about your take on what the Mass means to you.
Being here today - it’s not a Sunday - you’re telling yourself and everyone else that this getting together - to share bread and wine and words - is important to you.
CONCLUSION
I’m sure someone will suggest one change in the Mass would be no sermons or shorter ones. This sermon would be an argument for that position - because it feels like a patch job to me. Enough with the excuses.
In the meanwhile, the Mass is still basic meal - bread, wine, words, and people receiving and chewing, digesting and sipping and drinking up the Lord.
In the meanwhile the Mass is still the Passover Meal - what is there in my life that I have to pass over and where do I have to exit from and exodus to?
In the meanwhile, as we heard in today’s first reading, Jesus holds all things together. Thank God.
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Painting on top: Detail of the Last Supper by the Dutch Artist, Joos van Cleve [1485-1540] - Louve, Paris
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
PSALM 52
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 22 Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “Psalm 52”.
That’s the Psalm that is used today between the First reading and today’s Gospel. I only heard of one priest in my whole life, Father Pat McGarrity, who preached on the Psalms. I heard that he preached on the Psalm in between the readings for a whole year in his parish up in Pennsylvania. Interesting.
In the past three years I’ve been preaching more on the First Reading during the week - just to be challenged - and to learn more and be enriched more. The Psalms are sitting there waiting. I’ve given about 10 retreats on the Psalms - and I’ve often had the thought, “Why not offer a program here in the parish on the psalms - say for an hour - like Deacon Norcio gave on Saint Paul?” Time, laziness, lots of other jobs and the question: would people show up?
The title of my homily for today is, “Psalm 52.”
And today we’re only getting 2 verses of the Psalm - the last two verses 10 and 11, so the whole first section of the Psalm is not heard. That often happens in the liturgy. They simply want to use something from the Psalms as an interlude - especially a musical interlude. The early tradition was the Psalm was sung and the crowd sang the response - as we do here in most Sunday Masses.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Let me take a moment to give the whole context of the Psalm. So I would like to say a few words about the Psalm and then recite the whole Psalm.
The two verses we heard, the last two verses, are very positive.
The whole Psalm up to verse 10 is quite nasty and negative.
The Psalm gives us a choice. Do I rely on God or do I rely on myself and use my tongue to get at and deal with other people that annoy me or I don’t care for?
The Psalm uses David as a central character. People are attacking him with words - making fun of him with choice comments. How does he respond?
He responds that he relies on God - and as a result he’s like an olive tree that is flourishing in God’s temple. He responds by saying that he is praising God - because God helps those who trust in him.
That’s the Psalm in a nutshell. So we have a choice to rely on God or on ourselves alone and our tongue - to fight, to cut, to stab back.
TWO TRANSLATIONS
Let me give two translations of Psalm 52. The first is the published and close to the Hebrew translation. I better add that I tweaked it a bit - based on various translations of it - so as to make it as clear as possible. I have a theory that the Psalms got their prestige because of the tune and sound - like our popular music - more than their words - so if they are not sung - I want to help them a bit with the best translation. The second will be my translation - more free flowing - because I like to do that as a hobby from time to time. I think I’ve done about 17 of the 150 Psalms so far.
PSALM 52
Why do you boast of evil, O hero?
God’s kindness is all day long,
so why does your tongue devise disasters?
Your tongue is like a well- sharpened razor,
ready for deceit.
You love evil better than good,
a lie more than telling the truth.
You love all destructive words
from your tongue of deceit.
God surely will smash you forever,
sweep you up and pull you out of your tent,
root your children from the land of the living.
And the righteous will see this and be in dread
and laugh over you and say,
“Look at the man who does not make
God his stronghold,
who trusts in his great wealth,
who should be strong, but he’s a disaster!
I, for my part, I am like a verdant olive tree
in the house of our God.
I trust in God’s kindness forevermore.
I shall praise You forever,
for You have acted and I have hoped in Your name,
for you have been so good to your faithful ones.
PSALM 52
Why are you so full of yourself,
you who think yourself so perfect.
Think of your tongue. It’s a sword
and your mouth is its scabbard.
You pull it out - sharpen it -
making it razor sharp
and then you slice people up
with your razor sharp words.
Your tongue is all lies.
No truth comes out of your mouth.
But don’t look now, you’re going
to lose all those around you -
especially your own children
and those of your own house.
People will be scared of you,
but they will also be laughing at you
behind your back.
So you have a choice - to trust in yourself,
in what you think are riches and valuable
or you can trust in the mercy and goodness of God -
and if you do, you’ll flourish
like an olive tree in God’s temple.
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