July 27, 2016

HINGE

The three were talking and talking -

the kind of talking after the fourth glass

of wine or beer - late into the evening -

commenting about politics, religion,

the craziness of so and so - but,

“You gotta ….” And she, the fourth of

the group at the dining room table -

thinking, "The dinner food is still sitting 

there. It should be fridged." But she better

not get up and start moving the plates. 

She better stay with the three - but

they didn’t really see her - so she was

looking at the bright bronze of the hinge

holding the dining room door to the dining 

room frame. And she said to herself in 

her inner conversation, “That’s me. Yes, 

that’s me. I’m a hinge between my kids 

and Jack and I’m a hinge between Jill

and her family and mom and my sisters 

and I’m a hidden hinge holding these doors 
that open and close between us."

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

July 26, 2016

*

ROCKS AND THE INVISIBLE

Rocks hold the invisible.
They have their history -

but most of the time -

they don’t tell their story -

except in cemeteries

and on cornerstones.

They have been around

for a long time. They hold

hot and they hold cold -

sometimes for a long time,

but you have to be in touch

with them to find this out.

Rocks hurt, crush, break,

and can weigh us down.

No wonder they have been

used for weapons from the

beginning of time. Remember
what Jesus told us that day, 
“Let the one without sin, 
cast that first stone.”**

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016
*Painting on top: Charles
Burchfield, Sun and Rocks.
**Scripture text: John 8: 1-11

IN  PRAISE  OF GRANDPARENTS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily on this July 26^th  feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus, is,  “In Praise of Grandparents.”

My main comments will be about Joachim and Anne, some quotes about grandparents  - and conclude with the importance and significance of grandparents.

Notice St. Mary’s Church does its praise with two statues up here - of Anne and Joachim. They were short people. [Joke]

WHO ARE THEY?

Anne and Joachim are names given them in time - from legends and from traditions.

As you know we don’t know their real names from our Bible. They are not mentioned in the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. And you won’t find mention of Joachim and Anne in the infancy narratives.

Obviously, Jesus had to have grandparents. That’s why I like the joke I love to use in the pulpit to see if people are listening, “As Grouch Marx put it, if your parents didn’t have any kids, chances are you won’t either.”

We do get the names, Joachim and Anne, from some of the apocryphal gospels and Infancy Narratives - legends and made up stories - to fill in the gaps about what we don’t know from the canonical or official gospels.

It was interesting to find out last night when looking up some of this stuff that there are about 150 surviving manuscripts of the so called, Gospel of James - which goes back perhaps to 150. We don’t have that document but copies of that earlier document - which go back to the 3^rd or early 4^th century and then after that.

In time - because they are connected so closely to Jesus - Joachim and Anne became models for grandparents and saints to pray to for help for being a grandparent.

In 1584 Joachim was mentioned in the Roman canon of saints.

They are also mentioned in Muslim traditions as well.

And you might remember that Luther in a violent thunder storm  - as he tells is - cried out in prayer, “Save me, Saint Anne, and I’ll become a monk.” He did - but others say he was thinking of that calling long before that thunderstorm.

A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT GRANDPARENTS

Those of you who are grandparents know the feelings and the joy in hearing the news that one of your kids is going to have a baby. It’s a different feeling - from the first time you were to be a parent yourself.

Becoming a grandparent also has its humor. “Welcome to your new job, babysitter, par excellence.” 

Those of you who are grandparents, know it gives great new meaning to your life - and deeper understandings of your kids who made you a grandparent.

SOME QUOTES

I looked up “Quotes about Grandparenting” and here are a few.

There is the Italian saying, “If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.”

Ogden Nash said, “When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.”

Pam Brown said, “Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.”

Marcy de Maree said, “Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day is complete.”

Lewis Mumford, “Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.”

SIGNIFICANCE

Grandparents are a marvelous support system - when so many families are struggling with balancing two jobs - many schedule stresses - divorces - financial problems and what have you.

Grandparents are the keepers of the stories.

Grandparents give cookies, checks, hugs and presence at so many family events - graduations, baptisms, and soccer and lacrosse games.

CONCLUSION

Saints Anne and Joachim bless our families and our world. Amen.

LORD IT OVER

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of St. James  is, “Lord It Over.”

In today’s gospel, I spotted the phrase, “Lord it over.” I thought it would be a good theme to think about for a homily.

The whole text was,

“But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20: 25-28]

And the text uses for the word "lord" a variation of the Greek word, "Kurios", which we would be familiar with as in "Kyrie" in the "Kyrie eleison".

It’s a warning and a message to all of us - especially if someone ever said to us, “Who do you think you are, God Almighty?”

Or, “Who are you, King Tut? or "The Queen of Sheba?”

YESTERDAY’S SERMON

Yesterday, in the Sunday sermon I preached, I talked about,  “How does God work?” or - “How do we see God?”

I wanted folks to think about and to see and to realize how they see God.

How do you see God? All powerful? Can do everything? Can solve everything?

Obviously, that’s how many see God. That description is in many of our prayers and texts - for example, our opening prayer for today, but I noticed the word is used for kings and queens more than for our God in our Bible.

 In fact, Jesus - God - was killed by us.

There’s a message there.

And Jesus said when he was arrested, “Don’t you realize God the Father could send 12 legions of angels down now and destroy those who want to destroy me?” [Cf. Matthew 26:53.] 

THE REVELATION: WEAKNESS AND SERVICE

The New Testament message is that our God is weak - as seen in Christ Jesus.

The New Testament message is that the call to us is not to be served but to serve - to treat others like Lords and Kings and Queens.

The New Testament message is that it’s all about service and we’re it.

The New Testament message is that God appeared as a little baby in Bethlehem - in a cave - in an animals’ crib - and ended up being a carpenter’s son - an itinerant preacher - a foot washer - a healer - a man who preached and walked around lots of little towns in dry, dusty, arid Israel.

Don’t we get ticked when someone tries to Lord it over us?  Don’t we get ticked when so and so puts us or others down when they have the title of head - boss - chief - priest - or what have you? [Cf. Mark 10:32.]

I think we’ve been around Jesus too much that we don’t get his big theme that he’s here to serve us and is not into worship. Smile! Aren’t we at Mass to do just that?

I once saw on TV, “Steambath” an off-broadway play by Bruce Jay Friedman - where God is a Puerto Rican attendant or janitor at a steambath. His name is Morty. The people on stage slowly realize they have died and they are moving around in the smoky steam.

How’s that for an image of Purgatory - and did the author possibly think “Carwash” as a cleaning process as well - after death?

CONCLUSION

So my message for today is to be like God, to be Lord, and that means, for us Christians, to serve - till as  earthen vessels we crumble.

July 25, 2016

CUTTING  THE  STRINGS

Where’s the scissors?

Use a knife.

Cut the stings.

Remove the wrapping.

Open the box.

Discover the surprise inside.

It can happen every summer

when a kid goes to camp.
It can happen every school year

when a kid enters a new class

or a new school. It can happen

when watching a puppet show

and someone realizes deep within,

“Wait! I’m not a puppet.”

But the puppetry people scream,

“Life is never: No Strings Attached.”

We have moms and dads,

brothers and sisters,

teachers and principals,

pastors and TV commentators,

bosses and managers.

coaches and staff,

rules and regulations

and they pull the strings around here.

Didn’t you know that?

Where’s the scissors?

Use a knife.

Cut the stings.

Remove the wrapping.

Open the box.

Discover the surprise inside.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

July 24, 2016

UNDERNEATH  THE  CROSS

Somewhere in the mix and the moments

of our life, we discover from time to time -

things aren’t what they seem to be. We

say things like, “Wait! What just happened

here?” or “Whoa! What’s going on here?”

It’s in that “Wait!” or that “Whoa!” or in

that “Wait a minute!” - we can discover

the underneath - the undercurrent -

the reality of motives different than ours -

and this can lead to understandings.

It can also lead to cynicism and pause,

hesitation and distrust. Hopefully, it can

lead to talking - really talking - to each

other - communication and communion -

instead of one more bloody crucifixion.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

HOW  DOES  GOD  WORK?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is for this 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C, is, “How Does God Work?”

I’m thinking that might be one of life’s biggest questions. What you think?

Is that question underneath people’s shock or surprise when something happens and they blurt out, “Oh my God!” or “Jesus Christ!”

What’s the rest of the sentence - what’s the rest of our thinking and feeling when something horrible or amazing happens?

Are we thinking, “God, where are you?” or “God,  how could you allow this to happen?” or “God, did you do this?” or “God, what are doing?” or “How do you operate?” or “What’s going on here?”

And I better say up front - that in the long run - after finishing this homily, that I don’t answer the question. 

Sorry…. Yet if the following gets us to get more and more in touch with the question - better if it gets us in touch with God, prayer and praying, I’ll be happy.

Is that a cop out or a CYA?

WHEN WE ASK THE QUESTION

It’s my experience that we ask the question, “How does God work?” for starters, when things go wrong. There is a tsunami or cancer or a crash or people go weird - or our kids mess up or a marriage falls apart.

God! Where are you? Why God, why? Why? Why? Whine. Whine. Whine.

Next, we might ask the question when we’re on vacation and we’re at the beach - and at the ocean’s edge and we’re all alone - like at 6 in the morning - the sun is rising - it seems - up out of the ocean - and the waves keep coming in - one after the other - and we’re thinking - this has been going on over and over and over and over again, and again, and again for millions of years. And we think, “Why God, why? What’s this all about?”

Or we’re on vacation and we’re camping and it’s dark out, really dark, the city lights are far, far away, and we look up at the sky - it’s all stars - and we reconnect with our previous moments like this - and we think to God, “What is this all about? How far do you go out and out and out? Is there an end to the stars and the galaxies and the nebulae?

We ask the question, “God, how do you work?” - when we realize that we are powerless over so much - especially ourselves.  Then there are the others. We really don’t know what others are thinking and doing. God help me! Help. Help. Help.  I don’t get it. I don’t know what it’s all about at times.

THE BOOK OF JOB

It’s not our first reading, but the Book of Job tackles this question big time - at least that’s what I’ve been told many times.

It’s 42 chapters long - written perhaps between the 5^th and 3^rd century before Christ - and it deals  - as in a play - with the problem of suffering and the reality that we all question God down deep.

The playwright wants the audience to hear the questions that people ask God all the time - and the playwright wants people to hear God questioning each member of the audience in return.

In Job 14:14 he asks the big question, “If someone dies, shall they live again.”

He asks this I assume for himself - because he lost most of his family.

The play begins with a conversation between God and Satan.  God brags about how great his servant Job is. Satan says, “You have put a wall around him - and nothing bad hits him. Take away that wall and watch what happens.”

So God says, “Let’s find out.”

Job’s family and fortunes - sons and daughters - farm and cattle - donkeys and oxen -  all are destroyed.

Chapter One ends with the significant statement, “In all this misfortune Job committed no sin or offered any insult to God.”

Then the play gets very interesting  - with lots of dramatic speeches.

I think the Book of Job gets us into inner conversations we all have. I think that’s why the book survived and made it into the Jewish Bible.

We ask these questions back stage in our soul - in hospitals, when dealing with aging of ourselves or parents - and at many a  funeral.

In chapter 30 Job  says to God that he sees his life trickling away. Grief grips and grabs him. Sickness saps his bones in the night. He can’t sleep. He says he cries to God and God won’t answer him. He says he hoped for happiness and it didn’t come. His stomach won’t slow down.

In chapter 38 God says, “Now it is my turn to ask questions and yours to inform me.”

What would that be like?

God asks: Where were you when I set up the world’s foundations?  Where were you when I set up the boundaries of the sea - to go this far and no further.  Can you go out as far as the stars?

Job concludes that he knows God is all-powerful - but he also knows that he doesn’t know - and what he knows only by hearsay.

And he simply decides to leave it all in God’s hands - because he certainly can’t solve it all.

EACH OF US

For starters, each of us has to deal with the question that is the title of this homily: “How Does God Work?”

I know that I can’t give answers to that question - but I think I need to know it’s a question that hooks me all my life.

I love it that a question mark is formed like a fish hook.

I know now that my first answer is, “I don’t know how God is?”

It’s humbling to take that position. Job did. I will try - but at times I find it hard to do just that.

PRAYER AS AN ANSWER

Since a main theme of today’s readings is prayer, let’s briefly look at prayer as an answer to the question: “How Does God Work.”

Besides saying, “I don’t know”, here are three things that can happen as a result of prayer.

One: Prayer Can Change Our Understanding of God. 

Today’s first reading from Genesis 18: 20-32 has the idea that God zaps people.

Whenever something goes wrong, some people think God zapped them.

Sometimes bad things happen to people because they drive dumb or smoke or don’t exercise or what have you - and they blame God.

Sometimes good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. There are books around with those titles.

As to God zapping people, as today’s first reading puts it, that is the understanding of some people. It’s not mine. I know it’s in the scriptures - like today’s first reading - but there are enough passages that says the opposite. I see the Bible as giving us many sights and insights of how people see.

Some then think that when there is a fire, or a crash or when things go wrong, they see God as a zapper.

I’m assuming that Sodom and Gomorrah were burnt down. I assume that people said it was because people there were bad.  I heard people say that when we had our September 11.  I heard others say, “No. New York and  Washington weren’t any worse than any other place on the planet - more or less.”

I assume that evil happens when people choose evil.

When it comes to natural disasters, I assume that they happen and will continue to happen and it’s good to find out where the earthquake faults are and where not to build a house or what have you.

Then again, there are the humbling moments when I have to say, “I don’t know.” It’s out of my control.”

My second message would be: Prayer Can Help Change Our Attitudes.

People often pray for changes out there - that the weather be different - that a family member will stop dating a loser or what have you.

I would like to stress seeing prayer changing inner stuff - for starters our attitudes.

I think the Serenity Prayer has helped a lot of people. It has helped me.

“God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.”

Taking time to read - especially the scriptures - taking time to pray - taking time to go to church, synagogue, mosque or temple, taking time to sit in quiet rooms or back porches or to take walks in the woods or being quiet while driving, can bring us to some answers about God and life.

Today’s first reading probes the question: do good people - would 10 good people save the planet.

The message from this famous story of Abraham haggling God down from 50 to 10 has humor to it. Evidently, since Sodom and Gormorrah are destroyed, they didn't have 10 decent folks within.

But if we see it as inner attitude material, we have experienced how 1, 5, 10, or 50 good people in a neighborhood, work place, parish, can make a difference.

Of course - good karma, people being instruments of peace, unagitated people - bring peace to the rooms they enter.

I hope that’s been your experience.  Take my dad for instance. Mr. Calm. Mr. Peace. Mr. Easy.

If your shoe laces keep breaking - this is mainly for guys - buy stronger ones or be more gentle when you tie your shoes or wear loafers.

My third message would be: Prayer Can Lead to Action.

I love the saying, “Pray for potatoes - but pick up a shovel” has helped me a lot.

We heard Luke’s version of the Our Father today. Pray for Daily Bread but get a job and share your bread.

Pray for forgiveness - but accept forgiveness and forgive others and watch how you make the jump to accepting God’s forgiveness of your life so far.

So I learn from prayer that Christ can push me to the ability to accept forgiveness for my sins as well as to forgive those who hurt me - because I don’t know others motives - as Jesus said on the cross, “People do what they do without knowing why they do it” at times.

I know that prayer is all about asking, seeking and knocking on God’s door and God will give me answers - and sometimes the answer is no.

I like the song, “Thank God for unanswered prayers” and I thank God for answered prayers.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “How Does God Work?”

I basically answered, “I don’t know, but I’ll keep on asking that question, seeking answers to it, and I believe God does open up that door at times and gives me hints.”