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Dennis Guyon Memorial7/13/2024 "How to Make a Sad Song Better"
Presented at St Vincent de Paul Church Albany, New York How do we remember and honor the life of Dennis Stephen Guyon? How do our sacred texts help us do that? From the Book of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15) we heard some wise words that borrow from autobiographies and proverbs. At the time, Judea was under the autocratic rule of Hellenistic kings. The average Jew felt hopeless and wondered why God was so silent. Many people feel the same way today about their lives. Old Testament scholar Kathryn Shifferbecker called the Book of Ecclesiastes a collection of skeptical or dissenting wisdom. Though the one who wrote Ecclesiastes, in Shifferbecker’s words, was tired of life’s uncertainties, she somehow saw a “reliable order that God has put in creation.” [1] Yes, as the world and we turn, turn, turn there is a time for everything under heaven. What is required of us in time is humility, accepting imperfection and mortality as normative. At the same time, we do take comfort in glimpses of the lights of a new city that reveal the brighter sides of life. In this sense, as the psalmist suggests, (Psalm 116) we learn to walk in the presence of God all the days of our lives, to map out our journeys. Where do we want to go? To the land of the living, of course. Sometimes the road to the land of the living is not so smooth. To make crooked paths straight we stand up to people who are not humble and who desire only to reap the goods of this earth for their own benefit. We are wary of troubling voices who create fear and suspicion in our minds. This is what happened in the first century to the Colossians, a population of Gentiles and neophyte Christians. [2] In the second reading (Colossians 3:12-17) the apostle Paul noticed that there was trouble brewing among the Colossians. Writing from prison, Paul admonished the people to put away their vices and turn to doing good, to put on love. Paul taught them several high moral standards that undergird the ideal Christian life. Marion Soards, a professor of New Testament studies, puts it this way. “The virtues [listed by Paul] describe the character of Christians living as God’s chosen people who are called out of the ordinary realm of human existence.” Paul, he wrote, “let the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly, which means teaching, and admonishing, and singing [psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs].” [3] Are you thinking of Dennis? Ahh. How can the ideal Christian keep from singing? Perhaps this is one of the questions that energized Dennis. He believed his life flowed on in endless song above earth’s lamentations. Dennis said it himself: “My ministry allows me to share and give back the gifts with which I seem to have been blessed.” Dennis understood, “there is nowhere you can be that isn’t where you are meant to be.” Although Dennis longed to see a day of glory dawning he wondered how long it would be before every tear would be washed away. But we really cannot wait that long, can we? We want peace and justice and loving kindness here and now for all people. And, that’s what Dennis did in a quiet but active way. His ministerial passions spread beyond making music to the parish food pantry and other volunteer programs like working with incarcerated persons in area prisons. Dennis wanted everyone to know that that heavenly place over yonder can be theirs here and now. One of Dennis’s favorite bands [Here’s a clue: they were from Liverpool] resonated with his desires to make a difference in the world, to "take a sad song and make it better.” Here is a sampling of their other lyrics …. Imagine all the people living life in peace, getting by with a little help from friends. We all wanna change the world. There is nothing you can sing that cannot be sung. All we need is love, because life is very short and there’s no time for fussing or fighting, my friends. Life goes on within you or … without you. And just one more word. It is from the gospel of Matthew where the author presents what we have commonly understood to be the responsibilities of Christian disciples. These beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) remain a wonderful lesson for us as we remember how much of a blessing Dennis was to so many of us. Biblical scholar Elizabeth Shively wrote this about the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus applied the presence of the kingdom of heaven to poor and persecuted persons. (verses 3, 10) Those who trust in God will be fortunate forever. She remarked: “Jesus calls those who would be his followers to the same radical commitment and hope” he had. [4] With courage, we too are called to bring about the kingdom of God here on earth. Dennis led a good, perhaps an ideal Christian life. He loved, he worked, he played, he prayed. We continue to remember him, determined to keep his spirit alive. And we know, pondering the precious words of his 4-year old granddaughter Cora when she learned her Grampy had died: “Now he is safe!” —————————-- 1. Shifferbecker, Kathryn. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-3 2. Colossae was once a thriving city located in the southwest corner of what is now Turkey. It is uncertain that Paul ever actually visited Colossae. In Colossians 2:1 he implies that those at Colossae and nearby Laodicea had never seen him “face to face.” 2. Soards, Marion. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/first-sunday-of-christmas-3/commentary-on-colossians-312-17-2 4. Shively, Elizabeth. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-3
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The 2024 Easter Sunday Homily3/31/2024 REJOICE AND BE GLAD!
Easter Sunday Homily St. Vincent de Paul Church, Albany, NY Acts 10:24, 27-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; John 20:1-9 This church this morning is an Easter basket full of glorious gifts — gifts that are holy because you are holy. And, like the psalm we sang: “This is the day God has made let us rejoice and be glad.” Yes, it is a difficult psalm to sing in a world filled with bad news. And, it is a good song of praise because we are people of hope. But not everybody is in church today. Recent surveys suggest that many organized religions are in decline; that a growing number of people of different generations claim to be spiritual but have no interest in religion. One study reported last week that attendance in churches and synagogues is down by as much as 50% in this country. How wonderful it is, then, for us to gather this morning to hear the Easter stories, to renew our lives as Christians, to share the sacramental bread of life and the cup of salvation, to think of ways to bring the good news to others. In addition to the psalm we heard three biblical stories this morning. In the first one the disciple Peter summed up the life of Jesus of Nazareth. That letter was not written to a large crowd but to Cornelius, a leader in the Roman army. He was a good man who had converted to Christianity. In many ways Peter wrote that letter to inspire first century Gentiles to believe that God is impartial; that there is room for everyone in God’s house. Peter was encouraging them to commit themselves to the mission and message of Jesus. The second reading this morning, attributed to Paul, was an admonition to the people of Corinth caught up in a culture of immorality. The text is rather contemporary in that it suggests that you and I are needed like a “fresh batch of dough” in order to rise up to overthrow the malice and wickedness in the world. But, as Paul writes, we first must remove the old yeast from our lives because old yeast can go bad. We are charged with renewing, reinventing what it means to be a follower of Christ in these difficult times. We Christians believe that these biblical texts sustain our faith in a God who, throughout the history of salvation, is a demanding but just God. We Catholic Christians, along with other people of faith, can remedy what is wrong in the world with sincerity, truth and acts of loving kindness. That is why we renew our covenant with God and each other throughout this Easter season. Sprinkling ourselves with water from the baptismal font reminds us to refresh our identity in the world, to discover ways to bring hope to those who live in distress, those who doubt, those who live in fear. That’s what may have happened on that first Easter morning when it was still dark outside. Contrary to those who disparage her Mary of Magdala was not only a prominent supporter of Jesus, she was an enlightened woman, a wise woman, who brought light into the mysterious sides of life. Mary of Magdala, the first apostle among apostles, found the tomb empty. But her heart was not empty. She ran to tell the other disciples who, huddled together, were afraid of what might happen to anyone who followed Jesus. They doubted Mary at first but after she talked to them they followed her to go see for themselves. The remainder of the resurrection story does not rest with the early Christians who came to believe that the wonder working Jesus was raised from the dead. No, it rests with all of us, each of us, not to question the presence of Christ in our lives but to illuminate and energize others with new hope. In the lyrics of our final Easter song this morning we will sing: “In this feast we share the story — love’s new birth for all to see.” This Easter we join some 2.6 billion Christians throughout the world who gather today and on Orthodox Easter Sunday on May 5th, to remember Jesus’s proactive promise that suffering and death can be defeated. Imagine what one-third of the world’s population could do to eradicate greed, corruption, racism, war, prejudice, hunger and homelessness. If we would only work together to accomplish that overwhelming mission we too can sing without doubt “This is the day God has made let us rejoice and be glad.”
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The 2024 Easter Vigil Homily3/30/2024 Repair aWorld That Has a Broken Heart
St. Vincent de Paul Church, Albany, NY According to recent surveys there is a growing number of people in this country who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religious affiliation. They gather in non-religious places where there are no pulpits or altars. Formal liturgies are rare. They say they believe in God, that they are spiritual persons, that they are charitable, but they are just not religious. Our gathering this evening is a marvelous counterpoint to the survey results that claim many organized religions are in trouble. Yes. There is a general decline in church and synagogue attendance in many parts of the world but the good news is this: We are here! Our liturgies are as much about us as they are about our ancestors. In this holy night we started a new fire, to celebrate the radiance of the risen Christ. We are entrusted to keep the light of Christ shining. We gather in this holy place to hear biblical stories about where we’ve come from and to plot where we might be going. These narratives are about us; and our future, which is in our hands. We splash ourselves with baptismal water to recommit ourselves to the peace agreement established between our ancestors and God, a covenant affirmed by Jesus of Nazareth. We promise also to be true to one another in our common priesthood. We share spiritual food and drink to nourish ourselves on the sacrament of Christ’s sacrifice. We are desirous to end food insecurity and other social injustices as part of our commitment to act with loving kindness. We want to invite everyone to feast at the supper of the Lamb. And we take delight in being here with our Elect — Catherine, Alexander, and Dylan — who by their faith are answering the call from God to join this Christian community. We initiate them in the refreshing waters of baptism, with a fragrant stream of chrism, and the rich taste of bread and wine from heaven. It is also our privilege to witness Stella and José as they take yet another step in their spiritual journeys guided by a Holy Spirit. Together we share the hope that our faith and good works can raise up to a new life those people who live in despair and with tired bones. Our story of salvation is a long journey marked by sinful deeds and acts of reconciliation. The origin of our history is recorded in Genesis a retelling of more ancients tales of creation. In her just released novel on the Book of Genesis, Marilynne Robinson writes that the text we heard tonight is about “the nature of creation and the spirit in which it was made; the nature of humankind … and in what spirit the creator God enters into a relation with human creatures.” (p. 24) We then heard segments from other biblical texts that summarize the joys and sorrows in the associations between a demanding but just God and a recalcitrant tribe of nomads searching for peace and justice. It is a story of failure and success, trust and doubt, wisdom and ignorance, loyalty and infidelity, war and peace, patience and impatience, victory and defeat, the very stuff of life and death we ourselves know all too well. The three women found the tomb empty but their hearts were filled with joy as they raced to share the good news with others. We are called to share the good news with those who have not yet heard the word of God. The knot that ties these strands of biblical intrigue together is the faithfulness of a God who never gave up on the human protagonists created by God for a particular purpose. The intention God has for humanity, for you and me, is for us to figure out for ourselves how to repair the world by developing honest and just alliances with one another, between cultures, nationalities, races, genders, and class systems. That brings us to tonight when we celebrate the bright light of Christ and the Christian water bath, the charisms of a holy Spirit and the sustenance of eucharistic blessings. In the Easter season we re-identify with the Christ who was raised from the dead. We are strengthened in our beliefs and our efforts to overcome needless suffering and death in the world. As the surveys suggest there may be many believers who are no longer fed by traditional rituals and ancients words of wisdom. But for tonight you and I remember these biblical stories. They prompt us to maintain healthy relationships with God and one another. These narratives matter in our period of history that calls you and me to repair a world that has a broken heart.
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Break Down the Boundaries3/3/2024 BREAK DOWN THE BOUNDARIES
Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent - Year A Delivered at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Albany, NY Recently a program called “With Malice Toward None, With Charity for All: Reclaiming Civility in American Politics” was held at the Washington National Cathedral. [1] Leaders from two political parties discussed their differences. This event was timed at the start of an already contentious election season. In the words of Ruth Okediji, a professor at Harvard Law School: “If we don’t encourage and teach and preach and pray and speak about the strength of institutions that can be gathering places for us, then we leave this generation and ourselves with nothing but contempt and hate.” [2] In this gospel of John (Jn 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42) we hear a story about putting an end to contempt and hate. John describes the uneasy meeting between Photina, the Samaritan woman, and Jesus, a Jew. [3] After the initial and scandalous dialogue between them, Jesus listened to the woman’s story but, contrary to other commentaries, he never actually judged her as sinful. Rather, he offered her a drink of “living water.” Because she did not harden her heart ( 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9) she would never again be thirsty. Theologian John W. Martens comments: “Ultimately she grasps that what Jesus offered fulfills more than material desires: it is exactly what she and everyone needs.” [4] After meeting Jesus, Photina felt better about her own identity; she grew in self confidence and she became an ardent disciple of the good news. But there is more to this story. Although Samaritans and Jews held some beliefs in common, according to biblical scholar Pat McCloskey, “both politics and religion were involved” in this meeting between Jesus and Photina. The Samaritans and the Jews hated each other for a long time. After the Babylonian exiles the Samaritans, a mixed race, were ready to welcome the Jews back. The Jews, however, despised the Samaritans because of their inter-marriages with the Assyrians. They also emphatically disagreed over which mountain was the correct cultic location for worshiping God. The battles in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East are current examples of raging bi-cultural tensions that have resulted in deep seeded acts of hate, murder, and crimes against humanity. In this country, too, there is a painful socio-political-cultural divide caused by competing policy-making idealisms, conspiracy theories, falsehoods, and a reckless interpretation of biblical texts to justify moral agendas that suffocate people’s freedoms and rights. Christian denominations disagree over what is best for America. Heidi Pryzbala wrote: “People’s sense of right and wrong often is shaped by religious conviction.” It is OK to be influenced by our individual Christian faith. Many social movements fuse Christian theology with Christian activism. e.g., the civil rights movement. Tension occurs, however, when it is asserted “that there should be Christian primacy in politics and law … [because] it can manifest itself through ideology, identity and emotion.” [5] The same tensions occurred among mid-first century Christians in Rome. Paul appealed to the Christian Gentiles and Christian Jews to end their divisive ways. He worried that those arguments would threaten his hope-filled message that Christ’s mission modeled a way of living whereby all human beings could live in harmony with one another. But for Paul hope does not fail. (Rom 5:1-2, 5-8) In her comment on the gospel the late biblical scholar Gail R. O’Day wrote: Jesus showed that the grace of God he offers is available to everyone. “Jesus breaks open boundaries in his conversation with the Samaritan woman: the boundary between male and female, the boundary between ‘chosen people’ and ‘rejected people.’” [6] Through these texts the Christian water bath - baptism - takes on new significance for us as we march toward Easter. To drink deeply of the “living water” is to be fully immersed in the life of Christ. For our elect — Kathy, Alexander, Dylan — baptism celebrates their acknowledgement and reception of the call to make a difference in the world. For those of us who have been baptized a long time we are reminded to confirm our obligations as Christians. For all of us it involves a life long learning curve on how to be more effective Catholic Christians. How are we recognized in the public square through acts of witness to the gospel — attending rallies, writing to elected officials. By what measure do we share our convictions with others? Once she was immersed in living water the Samaritan woman spread the good news to others. Theologian Terra Schwerin Rowe adds another thought: “There is no more an important task before humanity in the twenty-first century than to rethink models of relationship and exchange among humans and between humans .…” [7] In that Washington, DC meeting diverse political agendas and opinions were aired in an effort to come to a common ground that would serve all people in this country and around the world. That is our goal as baptized Christians — to break down boundaries and barriers like Jesus did, to work effectively in both small and large ways to assure that all people no matter who they are, what language they speak, what they look like, where they come from … it is our responsibility to make sure that they too can drink of the “living water.” ------- 1. The title of the Conference held on February 21, 2024 is borrowed from a line at the end of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address that lasted just five minutes. 2. See Adele M. Banks <https://religionnews.com/2024/02/22/at-national-cathedral-leaders-of-different-parties-perspectives-call-for-civility> 3. Photina is a Greek word that means “enlightened one.” She is a saint in the Greek Orthodox tradition. 4. John W. Martens. The Word on the Street: Sunday Lectionary Reflections. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016), 29. 5. David French. “What is Christian Nationalism, Exactly?” In New York Times February 25, 2024. 6. Gail R. O’Day. “The Gospel of John” in Women’s Bible Commentary, Newsom, Ringe, Lapsley, Editors (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 2012) 517. 7. Terra Schwerin Rowe Toward a Better Worldness: Ecology, Economy, and the Protestant Tradition (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017), xxxix in Joerg Rieger Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class and Solidarity. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2022) 100.
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A Holy Disruption2/18/2024 A HOLY DISRUPTION
Homily for the First Sunday of Lent - Year B St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Albany, NY https://www.facebook.com/stvincentalbany/ I talk quite frequently with a 16-year old boy who lives in Harlem. Mpiana is a refugee from Congo who lives with many hardships that are different from most teenagers. Through it all he is a remarkably resilient student-athlete determined to succeed. Mpiana goes to a Baptist church with his little brother and, impressively can recall passages from the Bible. He once told me he believes God does not test us beyond our ability to be tested; that God does not leave us alone; that God helps us deal with the tests that come our way. (1 Cor 10:13) Mpiana is nourished by God’s promises. Mark’s gospel today (Mk 1:12-15) asks us to pay attention to “Biblical precedents where God does test people to play a significant role in the story of salvation.” [1] Think of Abraham being tested to sacrifice his son Isaac. But this gospel is not just about Jesus being tested. (The Greek word also means temptation. One could say all temptations are tests.) The gospel also tells us how Jesus was called to ministry when his cousin John baptised him. According to the story, during that event God broke through the world order with an earth-shattering, roaring voice, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Jesus was being called out loud by God to a life of service that would engage him in a conflict with world powers. David Schnasa Jacobsen, biblical scholar at Boston University, noted that Mark’s narrative pointed out the urgency of the gospel. “In doing so, we’ll understand Jesus’s temptation as the first skirmish of his vocation and a harbinger of the apocalyptic battles to come.” [2] Those are the struggles that confront us today. In so many words, Jacobsen wrote that Jesus’ baptism in Mark is portrayed as an act of apocalyptic, cosmic, holy disruption that will usher in God’s plan for the coming kingdom. It will be a time that includes healings, liberations from bondage caused by evil, announcements of forgiveness, and calls to social transformation. But the devil and evil are still at large. How do we respond to the tests that often can lead to a change of heart? The reading from Genesis (Gn 9:8-15) is a good reminder of the covenants God created with us. A covenant is an ancient formula wherein two parties promise to do something or not do something. Some of them are worth remembering. In the covenant with Noah God promised no more floods. It was a sign of God’s faith in people but the people did not return the favor. The psalmist (Ps 25:4-9) today reminds us God’s ways are love and truth for those who do keep God’s covenants. So God tried again. The covenant with Abraham and Sarah prompted loyal relationships with God. What is our bond with a God who wants to be our friend? The covenant with Moses at Mt. Sinai included a code of conduct (the 10 commandments) to help us live together in harmony. Are we abiding by those moral barometers? The covenant with David included the promise of a messiah who would save people from all oppression. And, the new and everlasting covenant embodied by Jesus assures us that God forgives sins and restores communion with all of God’s people. (1 Peter 3:18-22) So, how do we keep our part of our covenant with God today? Can we set complacency aside? Advocate for justice? Can we disrupt the work of evil doers? Or, are we being tested beyond our abilities to handle the test? These are urgent questions for us as we begin our march toward Easter. Lawlessness is rampant; lying is normal; negotiated diplomacy doesn’t seem to matter; covenants rooted in love are broken, civility is trumped by rudeness, distinctions between classes are distorted and the rights of marginalized persons are minimized. These challenges require a “moral reinforcement in [our] collective beliefs.” [3] Of course, Lent can be an intense period of prayer, reconciliation, initiation and even fasting. More urgently, however, it is a time to confront those forces that alienate us from God, one another and ourselves. Can we figure out “what we are willing to sacrifice for a more important good.” [4] Our task is to balance competing interests that can cause anxiety, even sickness. On Ash Wednesday Pope Francis said Lent is about rediscovering our call "to love the brothers and sisters all around us, to be considerate to others, to feel compassion, to show mercy, to share all that we are and all that we have with those in need.” Yes, Lent calls you and me to renew the values that Jesus invites us to embrace — loyalty, commitment, solidarity. It is a time to cause a holy disruption that will bring about the kingdom of God here on earth. Getting into “good trouble” [6] is grounded in our longing for God to set things right. If Mpiana, that young teenager from Harlem, were here he would say: “Hey, Bro, don’t you know with God on our side anything is possible.” (Mk 10:27) ___________ 1. Byrne, Brendan. A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark’s Gospel. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press) 2008, 33. 2. David Schnasa Jacobsen. <https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/first-sunday-in-lent-2/commentary-on-mark-19-15-6 3. See Karen Fields and Barbara J. Fields. Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life. (NY: Verso, 2012), 227 in Joerg Rieger Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class and Solidarity. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2022) 96. 4. David Brooks “The Cure For Ails Our Democracy” <https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/opinion/democracy-good-evil.html> 5. John Pilch. <https://liturgy.slu.edu/1LentB021824/theword_cultural.html> 6. “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.” John Lewis made this statement on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 1, 2020 commemorating the tragic events of Bloody Sunday.
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Performing Redemption2/4/2024 Performing Redemption
Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B Cycle Presented at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Albany, NY There are many stories in the New Testament about the healing miracles performed by Jesus. The evangelist Mark uses these episodes to describe Jesus exercising his messianic ministry; a redeemer who had definitive authority over anything having to do with evil spirits, sickness, oppression, and death. Some believe Jesus cured people from whatever afflicted them. The word “cure” is in the gospel we just heard. We all long for miraculous cures for cancer, dementia, Sickle Cell Anemia, and other diseases that plague our minds and bodies. But did Jesus actually cure people or did he heal them? In the Bible healing is different from curing. When Jesus healed people it was not just about fixing things in the moment — making them see, walk, feel better, rise up again. No, the purpose of those actions was to inspire the healed person and those who witnessed the act to transform their lives, to follow Jesus, to become healers of humanity themselves. In the Bible healing is a long transformative process, one geared to bring about the kingdom of God on earth through acts of loving kindness. In today’s gospel, once Peter’s mother-in-law was healed from her fiery fever, she started offering hospitality to others in the room. Jesus does not tell us why suffering exists. However, he does show us how to deal with it. As the long awaited “eschatological prophet” [1] it was his vocation to heal humanity from pain and, in doing so, deliver people from oppressive regimes — what Paul calls the powers and principalities. That’s the political message of the gospels that has been entrusted to all Christians. Through his miracles Jesus revealed a time, an end-time, when all people would experience freedom from illness, disease, oppression, persecution. We refer to that time as eternal life. But who can wait that long? Jesus was slowly fulfilling the promise of liberty from dictators, power mongers, greedy financiers. It would be a time when justice is the hallmark of every country and institution. Jesus of Nazareth performed those redemptive acts before his execution on a cross. Proclaiming freedom was a costly mission for him. His antagonists were suspicious of his words and actions. They wanted to get rid of him. What does it cost you and me to be followers of Christ, healers of humanity? The author, Murphy Davis, a tireless advocate for homeless people and incarcerated persons on death row, once wrote that we cannot just go with the flow. To do so, she wrote, is to “give silent assent to the realities of war, oppression, violence, crushing poverty, mass imprisonment, executions, [and] the destruction of the earth.” When she was alive Murphy Davis urged her colleagues and others to make good use of their time on earth to “perform redemption.” [2] But every healing process takes so much time. Addicts overcoming addictions, unemployed persons hunting for a job, hungry people waiting in line at food pantries and soup kitchens, incarcerated persons spending time in correction facilities, immigrants reaching across borders — all these persons know what it means to be resilient and steadfast as they search for inner peace and sustenance. In the worldview of the gospel physical illness is no less a mark of the evil spirits in the world. There is continuity between the healing that took place in the house of Peter and the exorcism in the synagogue in last week’s gospel. [3] So too there is continuity between these ancient biblical stories and our own modern lives. Our world order is off track. Of course, we can choose to ignore the facts about inequality, climate change, and looming threats to freedoms but these factors are eroding lives of millions of young and old people. The story about Job is our story. Job’s life was turned upside down and he began to think he would never see happiness again. This tale is commonplace today. Life is a terrible drudgery for people all across the cultural, educational, financial spectrum — people who are afraid, lonely, poor, disoriented. Yet here we are. We gather in this holy place to be sustained by one another in a ritual sacrament to remember who the Christ was, what he did and why he died. We also remember and believe in being raised up again like he was. Our faith is not just in the mission, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. Our faith and our hope rests with all of us, each of us. Our love for one another, family, friends, and strangers alike, should stir in us a desire to be proactive working for peace, justice, reconciliation among all peoples. The psalmist says God heals the broken hearted. God does that through us. Our passion for doing good is the same that Jesus had for healing the world. He showed up to dispel evil spirits and evil doers. Now it is time for us to do what we’ve been called to do — “perform redemption.” ------ 1. Eschatology is a study concerning the final things, such as death and the destiny of humanity. 2. Murphy Davis, “It’s about time,” Hospitality 28, no. 9 (October 2009) 9-10 in Jennifer McBride, Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel (Fortress Press: Minneapolis) 2017, 102 3. Byrne, Brendan. A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark’s Gospel. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press) 2008, 46
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Funeral Homily Terry P. Doyle10/13/2023 Theresa "Terry" P. Doyle died October 3, 2023
This is the homily delivered at St. Vincent de Paul Church, Albany, NY October 13, 2023 Loreto Abbey, Rathfarnham, Dublin was a boarding school, convent and farm established by the Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1822. The founder of the Institute was an Englishwomen Mary Ward whose ideas of religious life were so radical that her Institute was suppressed until 1877. Our sister Theresa Doyle, whose life we honor and remember today, went to that school as a youngster. She must have absorbed some of the fiery spirit of the women who taught her there. Given all that we know about Terry it could very well be that her passion for teaching, her desire to end injustices, and her unrelenting commitment to the gospel truth took root in the hallowed halls of Loreto Abbey. Nurtured by her parents and informed by her teachers, Terry grew into a loving and kind human being — daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, educator, and a fierce advocate for human rights. After Terry died many comments about her were shared by volunteers at Coxsackie Correctional Facility, her friends from this St. Vincent de Paul parish, and, even, her students from Albany public schools. They all remembered her fondly. One former student wrote: “You could tell at first sight that she was a force to be reckoned with.” Another mentioned: “Terry was a rebel, but she was usually right.” Some who volunteered with her at bible studies for incarcerated persons noted how the men were always touched by Terry’s prayers and thoughts and how eager they were to read out loud the meditations she wrote for them. No matter what topic she tackled, Terry, firm in her convictions and often with a faint smile on her lips, revealed a Christ like social grace. Her moral fiber coupled with her Irish wit would be not be shaken by anything or anyone who tried to distract her from her mission. Terry identified with the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. His mission and message continued to transform her and fuel her desire to share her faith and hope with others — young children, teenagers, adults, and, yes, those incarcerated persons in prison. Her no-nonsense message revealed how the presence of God is found everywhere in both the joys and sorrows of life. The first reading (Wisdom 3:1-9) this morning was an exhortation to Jewish leaders to pursue wisdom and justice. It encouraged them to take pride in their faith at a time when tensions between Jews and non-Jews incited anger, hate, murder. Filled with wisdom, Terry fearlessly embraced that message as she proudly shared her faith with others by doing good works for them. She believed that “grace and mercy are always with God’s holy ones.” She was that amazing grace. The messenger St. Paul saw that some members of the Corinthian congregations were departing from the moral lessons of the gospels. (1 Corinthians 2:6-10) He reawakened them to the reality that none of the tyrants of an earthly age or political rulers who are hostile to humanity, understand the wisdom of God expressed in the gospel texts. Paul claimed they overlooked how that wisdom can help resolve local, regional, and global conflicts. Terry took that teaching seriously. The Irish poet and philosopher, John O’Donohue, wrote about it this way: “We, who have been given much, whose voices can be heard, have a great duty and responsibility to make our voices heard with absolute integrity for those who are powerless.” And, that’s what Terry did. Fittingly the gospel (Matthew 25:31-40) we just heard sums up the dedication Terry possessed for the sake of the gospel and human beings. It is the Evangelist Matthew’s most powerful ethical statement regarding performing works of mercy for those in great need in the present world: “When I was a stranger you welcomed me.” And Terry did so by participating, for one example, in the Albany Tula Alliance inaugurated in the Capital District in 1991. She helped a Russian family from Tula, an industrial city south of Moscow. With others, she provided mutual support and inspiration to immigrants seeking to improve their lives. “When I was in prison you visited me.” And Terry did so by encouraging others to join her in prison programs such as Residents Encounter Christ and weekly bible study sessions. She insisted that the incarcerated persons sitting in the pews, who so appreciated her candor, should pay attention to what she had to say. She often told them without mincing words: “Listen to me. God loves you and don’t you dare forget it.” That explains perhaps why Terry also believed the line in the hymn we will sing later while sharing communion — “For You are My God.” She was convinced that God would not leave her for dead and that her happiness would be at God’s right hand forever. Yes, the Terry Doyle we knew is gone now but in so many ways … she will not be forgotten.
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Diana K. Bangert-Drowns9/16/2023 Homily delivered at the funeral liturgy for Diana K. Bangert Drowns
St. Vincent de Paul Church, Albany, New York “All artists operate out of a faith in abundance and the experience of hope, despite the propensity of our egos,” wrote novelist Makoto Fujimura. [1] Fujimura also mused that without beauty and mercy, the gospels will not change the world; for beauty and mercy are the avenues of imagination that transfigure us into what God intends for us. As we gather today to bless the creator of an unfinished cosmic enterprise we remember Diana, who lived and worked in this environment by making beauty and advocating for loving kindness. Known for her humility and generosity, her sense of collaborative justice and truth, Diana was a maker of art. She gave expression to the gifts of creation, she revealed the love of the creator God … in her music, her art, her cooking, her marriage, her motherhood, her friendships. Like many artists we know, Diana also experienced times of transition where self doubt clashed with confidence, where mental fatigue bumped up against clarity, where physical inabilities stifled creative ingenuity. But because her life flowed on in endless song, no storm could shake her inmost calm … through all the tumult and the strife she heard that music ringing, sounding, echoing in her soul, hailing a new creation. Diana trusted God was always at her side. What kept Diana going? We know Diana because of her loyal and loving presence to Bob, Chris and Mike. And, her passion for ministering in the church was apparent. Before she got sick she biked briskly to worship. Determined not to give up she soon shuffled slowly with a walker back to the piano bench. She organized members of this community to create a monumental mobile of 1,000 cranes. Making art with symbols of peace and longevity. Was it resilience that kept her going? Her love of making art? In her final hours of sickness Diana asked questions that are often set aside until shades are drawn down in life. She wondered about the word “meaning.” It was not so much about probing why her illness was happening as much as it was about her purpose, her role in God’s creative process. What meaning would her life’s portfolio have now? The scriptures we heard this morning give us a glimpse of what made Diana a maker of art, a lover of Christ and humanity, a spirited explorer, a holy and wise woman. The passage from Isaiah (Is 25: 6a, 7-9) suggests a new level of communion and intimacy between God and God’s family. Did Diana believe that God actually “swallows up death?” Is that why she eventually wanted to transition from life to death to an alternate reality, an after life? Diana lived on earth in a communion of saints … in the presence of God. (Ps 116 sung this morning) She perhaps also reflected on the apostle Paul’s letter (Romans 8: 31b-35, 37-39) about the meaning of God’s justice and holiness and that “nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” Is that what hastened her desire to let go, to move forward, to fully embrace the love of Christ? Her body said “Go, Diana! Go!” But her mind said “No! Not yet.” Maybe Diana saw herself as Martha did in this gospel text (John 11:17-27). As illogical as it sounded in this story, Jesus brings the future promise of resurrection and eternal life into the present. The artist Makoto Fujimura wrote that Martha perceived what no one else could understand at that time, that Jesus is the resurrection and life; something to be fully embraced now. Maybe Diana sensed that her life was not ending but that she would transition somehow into someone wholly new, somewhere else in a vast borderless extraterrestrial realm. So, we ask, how does Diana live on? Another word she wrestled with was “God.” It is normal for a believer to question God, to doubt God, to reject God’s words when suffering and dying, poverty and hate overwhelm us. For Diana’s inquiring mind she wanted something else. The contemporary understanding of God as “More” gave Diana something to ponder. In fact, the idea energized her as she began to imagine that God is always something more than what is known to us. In her art making Diana gave us a sense of beauty and mercy that is essential for giving life new meaning. She was transfigured by her art making. Those who knew Diana were also transfigured to make a difference in the world. Her life’s work contributed to an understanding of the love of God, revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, expressed in a Holy Spirit. Diana, made in the image and likeness of God, gave us “More.” Wanting to make art in the midst of dying troubled Diana. Tired but not despondent, troubled but not angry, breathless but not silent, Diana uttered, “I am spent.” Like many artists who have completed the most important work of art in their lifetime — a concert, a sculpture, a painting, a poem — there was nothing more Diana could give. Ever eager to explore something new, she said, “I think I will now try to find out what it is like to die.” And she did. Gone now, but not forgotten. _____ 1. Fujimura, Makoto. Art + Faith: A Theology of Making (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020)
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Do Not Stop Telling Your Story4/7/2023 Holy Thursday 2023
Homily presented at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Albany, New York For many years I had a place at the family Seder meal led by my friend Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman. Each year he would write a contemporary Haggadah (narrative) to mark the feast of Passover. Jews keep Passover so as not to forget what it means to be freed from bondage. The main story is the Exodus — a passover from slavery to liberation. For the Israelites the narrative became a memorial feast, a time of remembrance, which all generations shall celebrate. (Ex 12:1-8, 11-14) For Jews the powerful memory (zikkaron) of the Passover makes it possible for them to identify with that event in their own lives. It is not just a story about their ancestors. It is their own story. Each year it takes on new meanings always including the story of the Holocaust and this year, rising anti-semitism and the slow eradication of liberty and justice in Israel and Palestine. Why is that Jewish story important for us to hear tonight? Why do we tell it? Why should we not forget it? Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. He was born a Jew, he lived as a Jew, and he died as a Jew. During the time of Passover in Jerusalem he wanted to have a last meal with his followers before his execution. [1] At that “last supper” Jesus did not start a Christian religion to replace Judaism. Scholars continue to probe if he himself actually intended to create a Christian liturgy of the eucharist or to institute an all male priesthood. Knowing that it was the custom at that time, women, children, and strangers would have been present in the room as shown in the 16th century painting by Tintoretto. [2] They were all there — women, children, men. Perhaps Jesus called all of them to a priestly ministry of service! For the Jews gathered with Jesus at that supper the bread on the table reminded them of the bread of affliction carried by their ancestors who hastily fled Egyptian captivity. (Deut 16:3) Jesus, remembering the Exodus, held the bread in his hand and identified with it in such an emotional way that he called it his body! Not the bread carried by his ancestors but his own body. At the end of the meal he raised the cup of blessing. It reminded the Jews of the sprinkling of the blood of young bulls on the people to confirm their covenant with God (Ex 24:8) and the forgiveness of their sins. (Lev 5:9-10) Today, we think of all the broken covenants with God: blood spilled in Ukraine, school shootings, migrants reaching across their own Red Sea in search of a promised land, our failure to act when injustice prevails. Jesus identified with that cup of wine and called it his blood shed for all! But then he said something most important for us to think about tonight: “Do THIS in memory of me.” What’s the THIS? John’s gospel is the only one that describes the washing of the feet. (John 13:1-15) In this familiar story Jesus once again turned the status quo upside down. In all humility, by washing dirty feet of everyone in the room — children, women, and men — he modeled what it would be like if every person on this planet were respected and not be shunned because of who they are. Gay, straight, trans, male, female, young, old, able, not so able. Imagine if every person were respected because they are human beings. This is the THIS Jesus spoke of: Feed the hungry. Refresh one another’s being. Visit incarcerated persons. Comfort the sick. Console one another in times of trouble. Lend a hand to outcasts living on life’s edges. Open doors of possibility for those who are vulnerable. Teach children to know the difference between right and wrong. Practice loving kindness to all. Acts of social justice and mercy cannot be separated from our worship of God. One action cannot be done without the other action. Scholar Hal Taussig commented on tonight’s second reading: The apostle "Paul presents ‘the body of Christ’ to the Corinthian assemblies as a concept and as an image of social and spiritual connection.” (1 Cor 11:23-26) [3] Washing one another’s feet here tonight is an expression of our communion and our responsibilities for one another. It is a practice session for what we must do to repair the world (Tikkun Olam) and to stop any authority from depriving us of our human rights. It is a responsibility that we cannot ignore. Jesus, who never forgot the Exodus experience of his ancestors, identified with it. He was going through it like his ancestors went through. His entire life was all about passing over from grief to joy, from anxiety to hope. In this sense, Christians have come to know Jesus as a passover. He is the blessing cup (Psalm 116). He is the bread of life. (John 6:35) Whenever we enact the liturgy of the eucharist as a priestly people (and we do it together) it is not only a remembrance (anamnesis) of who Jesus was and what he did. It is now our story. We are called by our baptism to identify with that paschal mystery as our own. We are his body. We are his blood. [4] Jesus said: “For now I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do for one another.” (John 13:15) ______ 1. Note that John’s gospel says that the meal took place before the Feast of Passover. 2.Tintoretto’s The Last Supper (1592-4), which hangs in the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, depicts women, beggars, and others in the same room with the apostles. 3. Taussig, Hal. A New New Testament. (New York: HarperOne, 2015), 263. 4. Augustine of Hippo said in a 5th century homily quoting Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.“You are the body of Christ, member for member." (1 Cor. 12:27)
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Keep Striking the Rock3/12/2023 Third Sunday of Lent Year A
Homily presented at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Albany, NY We’ve often heard the expression “you can’t get water out of a stone.” It usually means we are up against enormous odds to get something done. Well, apparently Moses knew how to do so. In the first reading he was told to “strike that rock and water will flow.” And, the water did flow and it kept the Israelites hydrated on their arduous, dangerous journey to the promised land. According to legend a wellspring was beneath the rock that Moses struck and is known as Jacob’s Well. It is mentioned only once in the Bible, in today’s gospel, where Jesus and the Samaritan woman had a forbidden but life changing conversation. Eastern Orthodox Christians call her Photina which means “luminous one.” The Jews and Samaritans were old enemies even though they shared borders and Torah teachings. The two groups argued over what was the exact cultic location for the worship of God and they never came to peace, never reconciled. So, it was dangerous for Jesus and his team to travel through Samaria back to Galilee. But, Jesus was thirsty and stopped for a drink of water in Sychar. The woman he met there apparently was worn down, troubled and perhaps wondering what to do with her confused life. To dwell on Photine as an immoral woman is to miss the point of this gospel. She had no idea of what to expect when she found Jesus waiting for her. Often, when we wonder what to do next in our lives, Jesus shows up to give us advice, to get us back on track, to take us to new places. Then, two unusual things happened to Jesus and Photine. First, she prompted Jesus to identify himself as the messiah and he did. Scholar Jennifer Garcia Bashaw wrote: “it is the only time that Jesus reveals this truth to another person. That the person he trusts himself to is a Samaritan and a woman is deeply significant.” [1] During this rendezvous the woman Photine also learned something life-changing about herself, something that made her feel alive again and that she mattered. She becomes an influential evangelist, a leader among disciples. Biblical scholar John Pilch wrote: clearly, a cultural subversion took place at the well. "Modern social scientists would probably call this interaction [between Jesus and the woman] a cultural innovation.” [2] The clear message in this gospel is that Jesus brings about a new way of living for all peoples. Anyone or anything today that prevents living water from nourishing lives and helping people to grow and change, must be removed. Maybe that scene in Samaria could be considered the very first International Women’s Day. Now an annual event this year focuses on “embracing equity.” We owe thanks to the evangelist John for pointing to the importance of women in a community. The story about Moses reminds us, too, about those times when we strike the rock and no water comes out? How often has a synodal church called for “embracing equity” so women can experience what Photine did? How often have the global cries for women’s rights been ignored by patriarchal hierarchies who want to keep their power? Recently, African philosopher Françoise Diarra wrote: “Women have been the backbone of the church when it comes to the hard work … but when it comes to giving the reins to women, it is not so easy. Men are in charge of everything that happens in the Church, and women take a back seat.” Diarra called for a special Synod to address women’s roles in the church. Jesus was a spirited advocate for equal rights for all people. Photine and other women found new life because of Jesus’s radical action and courage to break boundaries. Each of us is called by our baptism to do the same, to erase barriers that prevent all people from being nourished at the font of living water. We cannot harden our hearts once we hear the voice of Jesus. Today’s readings about water are important to us at this time of year. Lent is a season for transformations. It calls us to think anew about our baptismal identities as Christians in a secular world. If we ourselves thirst for life giving water, if we want others to drink the same water of life, we must be proactive. We just have to keep striking the rock! ------- 1. Garcia Bashaw is associate professor of New Testament, Campbell University <www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-commonlectionary/third-sunday-in-lent/commentary-on-john-45-42-6 2. https://liturgy.slu.edu/3LentA031223/theword_cultural.html 3. Diarra is professor of philosophy in the Archdiocese of Bamako, Mali. https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/the-church-needs-a-synod-on-women-says-african-professor/17417
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Super Sunday Sermon2/12/2023 JESUS GETS US, BUT DO WE GET HIM?
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A Presented at Our Lady of Grace Parish, Ballston Lake, NY Millions will watch the Super Bowl tonight and millions will not. Still, surveys tell us Americans are obsessed with football. It seems that the sport is a metaphor for American rugged individualism and the fighting spirit that gave us revolutionary independence. Some suggest, even for those who do not like football, that it is the most popular cultural and social event of the year. Others think we are only interested in the pageantry, the halftime show and the clever commercials. One commercial tonight deserves our attention. Maybe you’ve seen the ads on social media, TV, the Internet and billboards. “He Gets Us” is a movement created to reintroduce America to Jesus of Nazareth and his radical way of living by loving and forgiving. Tonight’s two Super Bowl commercials will cost about 20 million dollars. Theologians, pastors and others are suspicious of the movement. Some say it portrays an incomplete and simplistic view about who Jesus was and what he did, that it focuses on his human but not his divine mission. Others are critical of it as a subtle effort to promote Christian nationalism in this country disdaining other faith groups and minority races that have emerged in the course of American history. In the meantime, last week Pope Francis, with a bad knee and a broken heart, challenged corrupt civic leaders and corporations to stop pillaging the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pope Francis called upon them to stop child abuse in the cobalt mining industries, to treat women as equals in cultures that breed exaggerated masculinity, patriarchy, and dictatorship. The pope’s African journey to South Sudan had many agendas. His speeches were powerful reflections that Jesus himself may have delivered if he were alive today. The pope reminded all of us, who often live far away from the injustices in other countries or our own, that the cultural caste systems in the world that divide people in haves and have-nots are driven by prejudice, ignorance, power and greed. The first reading this morning is from Sirach, a book of wisdom. Originally, it was used as instructions for Jews whose cultural system and values were threatened by dominant foreign leaders and internal conflicts. This passage urged the Israelites to remain faithful to the guidance, the commandments, given to them by God. Today, many sociologists and historians claim that cultural systems that promote the common good and a decent way of living for all people are slowly being thwarted by powerful and privileged members of society whether in Ukraine or here in the United States. Is religion helping to heal the wounds? The polarization that exists within our church and other faith groups is also discouraging and troubling for many. Different generations, especially younger ones, are feeling disenfranchised. They are moving away from religious institutions in search of spiritual direction. The gospel this morning is a section from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. It offers ethical guides that are relevant today. They summon us to practice loving kindness toward one another rather than hate and anger. Biblical scholar Melanie Howard, wrote that these are teachings that Jesus endorsed and “can be understood under a larger paradigm of upholding trust and compassion within [the] human community.” Taking action to end divisions, social inequities, and other injustices that tear us apart can lead to experiences of peace and harmony. This is true not only in our own lives but also in our relationships with others. The psalmist proclaimed that we will be blessed for doing so. Much later in the Bible, after Jesus died, Paul urged the Corinthians to live by the wisdom of God and not the dictates or empty promises of rulers who come and go. Such good advice for us these days. These biblical texts are challenging. Whether or not the religious movement “He Gets Us” is the right path toward spiritual harmony, peace and justice in this country remains to be seen. Right now it is an eye-catching commercial designed to invite Christians to refashion their lives after the life of Christ. Maybe Jesus “gets us” but do we get the message that Jesus left us?
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Making Room In the Inn12/24/2022 Christmas Eve Preached at St. Mary's Parish, Crescent, NY, USA Recently, I had a conversation with a young woman who has a Muslim father and a Baptist mother. I asked, somewhat reservedly, if she celebrated Christmas at all. She said not really. But I will get together with my friends and we will probably go out for something to eat. We read in many studies that different people of various generations no longer practice a religion and do not keep the traditions. They feel left out or disenfranchised. Some say religion does not speak to them about what matters most to them. Early reports from the Synod in the Roman Catholic Church tell us that young people want to be recognized; they want their opinions heard; they want truthful answers to their questions; they want to have a role in making decisions that govern the church. The young woman I met believes in God (perhaps she calls God Allah). She told me she prays and volunteers to help others when she can. She is a spiritual person, who has little need for institutional religions that do not welcome her or acknowledge her as a fully human person. In many ways, like Joseph and Mary, there is no room for her in the inn. Many women feel the same way. There are plenty of people — children, women and men — who feel left out, left behind. They have no place to call home. Immigrants and refugees pressing in at our borders; Ukrainians fleeing their country in fear of the Russian war; Americans in our own cities who cannot afford decent housing. They live in shelters and cardboard boxes on the streets. So many people are not respected for who they are as fully human beings. There is no room for them in the inn. Jesus’s teenage mother, we read, when she discovered she was pregnant, promised that her son would deliver captives to freedom. Powerful, greedy autocrats would be defeated. Vulnerable people would gain respect and power. Perhaps she had in mind the downfall of the authoritarian rulers of the Roman Empire who saw themselves as saviors and kings. But they only cared about their own concerns. Before Mary, the prophet Isaiah imagined, “there would be a prince of peace.” The psalmist envisioned “someone who will reveal justice to the ends of the world.” They were hoping for a different kind of messiah who would show the world a new way for people to live in harmony. It would be a victory won by peace and love rather than military might. Years later, the evangelist Luke, in his infancy narrative (featuring curious shepherds and jubilant angels) noted incredibly there was no room in the inn even for this Wonder Counselor, God-hero. It is so good for us to gather here, to commemorate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. He grew up practicing loving kindness toward everyone. His powerful but peaceful message was ridiculed by some and spurned by others. He suffered an unjustifiable death for protesting against injustices. Like his mother Mary, Jesus did what he was called by God to do. We continue to believe that his Spirit and vision for living resides in each of us. This year’s festivals of Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa remind us that we are the bright lights in a world that can be cold, dark, and bleak. The holidays bring cheer to many of us but not all of us. We cannot cover up the reality that we live in a world torn by unbridled corruption, cruel wars, rampant hunger, homelessness, and hostility. What do we do now? In the scripture attributed to Paul we heard about the qualities of the ideal church leaders of his time. It says that they are to be eager and ready to do every good work. For us that means opening doors for strangers, and making room for everyone in the inn.
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Where is the Advocate?6/5/2022 Please note that this is my last homily until September 4, 2022 - Labor Day Weekend. Taking some time to refresh -- read new topics, write other essays. Many of you have commented how you appreciate reading a voice from the vanguard. Thank you.
Pentecost Sunday - Year C For many years I used a 1492 Venetian woodcut, “The Building of the Tower of Babel,” for the logo on my stationery. The mythical story of Babel refers to the origins of multiple languages on earth that prevented people from understanding one another. (Genesis 11:1-9) Babel is a Hebrew verb and means to jumble or confuse. In my work I tried to do the opposite, to bring diverse voices together to work for the common good. Today is Pentecost. The familiar story in Acts 2:1-11 offers a constructive way to look at the baneful Babel story. The dissimilar groups that gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles [1] understood the words of the disciples in their own languages. To stress this point, the author Luke went to great length to list all the different ethnicities present. Theologian Greg Carey wrote: “The pleasure of visualizing this diverse crowd hearing the gospel reinforces the power of the miracle.” Comparing the Pentecost story to Babel, Carey added, “Language no longer poses a barrier. The gospel reverses the misfortune of Babel … it names, respects, and embraces diversity” Pentecost is a story for our time. The reality is this: we are all linked with different voices from all across the planet. The Internet gives impetus to the notion of globalization where economies, ideas, politics and cultures converge. No one religion or nation can be parochial, nationalistic or dominant in this human ecosystem. To survive in this age we have to find ways to reach out to all of God’s creatures, to listen to one another, to elevate the unique gifts and identities of all people who wish to live in ways that are interconnected with the environment and other human beings. The psalmist (104:1, 24, 29-31, 34) begged God: “Send out your spirit to renew the face of the earth!” Some linguists suggest that “advocate” would be a more appropriate word than “spirit.” Advocate, used in one of today’s gospels (John 14:15-16, 23b-26) is both a noun and a verb. Philosopher and theologian John Kavanaugh wrote that this Advocate is not found in one place, one group or one person. It does not reside only in laws, sanctuaries, hierarchies, sacraments, scriptures, or people who are rich or poor, powerful or weak. [2] The Spirit of Pentecost advances new hope for all oppressed peoples whose voices are most always misunderstood or not heard — people of color, women, children, the LGBTQIA+ community, refugees and immigrants. This holy Spirit broke language barriers, blew down walls of division and opened up doors of justice. As advocates we do not work alone. We advocate for justice by relying on each other’s gifts and strengths. (1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13) Our task is to peacefully synch a diverse human race with the borderless divinely infused cosmic enterprise where there is no geo-theological heaven or hell. Here and now, a boundary-less cyberspace offers us endless possibilities for communicating with others to spread goodness and not evil. Some call it working to bring about the kindom of God on earth. In commenting on the work of American contemplative Beatrice Bruteau, scientific theologian Ilia Delio wrote: “Bruteau describes a ‘grid of wholistic consciousness’ whereby the world is seen as a pattern of inter-independence, complementarity, cooperation, friendship, and creative joy.” [3] Achieving such harmony may appear as an elusive goal but given the evils that confront us it is urgent that we advocate blessings for all. This ever evolving Advocate is not a “spirit of slavery.” (Romans 8:8-17) It will continue to growl and grow inside everyone of us until at last all are transformed, liberated from whatever holds us back from becoming all we can be, from doing all we can do. We can choose to ignore the Advocate but we cannot avoid its incomparable presence. Where, actually, is that Advocate? It is already deep inside our beings waiting to burst forth. ____ 1. The Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot — is a celebration of God’s provision for the Israelites all through their wanderings in the wilderness and during harvest time. Today, Jews understand it as a time to renew their covenant with God. 2. Kavanaugh, John. The Word Engaged: Meditations on the Sunday Scriptures (Maryknoll: Orbis Books) 1997. 72-74. 3. Beatrice Bruteau, “The Whole World: A Convergence Perspective,” The Grand Option, 39-52 in Ilia Delio, The Hours of the Universe: Reflection on God, Science and the Human Journey. (Maryknoll NY: Orbis, 2021) 99.
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What Are We Doing?5/29/2022 The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year C
Firearms now kill more American children than car crashes, with this country’s gun sales on an unrelenting rise. The National Catholic Peace Movement Pax Christi reports: “Almost half of all the civilian guns in the world are in the hands of people in the United States, who make up only four percent of the world’s population.” The murder of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, TX has once again raised up a call for more restrictive gun laws. A Gallup poll found that 52% of Americans said laws regarding the sale of firearms should be made more strict, although the numbers differed across party affiliation. Last week, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr angrily criticized the U.S. Senate: “There’s 50 senators, right now, who refuse to vote on H.R. 8, which is a background check rule that the House passed.” He continued: “I ask you, are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children, and our elderly and our churchgoers?” Scarlett Lewis, mother of Jesse, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shootings, has lost hope in politicians and believes Congress will not make gun laws more restrictive. The founder of the “Choose Love Movement” said we “have to do something ourselves.” Lewis now travels world-wide urging everyone to become part of the solution to the issues the world is facing. In today’s gospel (John 17:20-26) we read Jesus’ final words to his followers before his arrest. Wherever he went, whatever he said, the Nazarene revealed God’s love for people and all of creation. Jesus had hoped to unite everyone around the theme of love, peace and justice. Jesus’ message appears to be forgotten even by many who profess to be Christians. Disciples of Christ minister and veteran Army chaplain Richard Niell Donovan wrote: “A divided church loses its persuasive force.” Unity stems from being in a relationship with God and Jesus who are united in the Spirit. It is a spirit that then drives faith communities to work for peace. In writing about God in the midst of pain, theologian Ilia Delio wrote: “When we are united to God, we become new again.” She added that “God will not clean up the mess we have made, but we are constantly invited into a new future.” [1] Civic and religious figures have important roles in encouraging people to continue to work for justice and peace. However, as civic citizens and members of diverse faith traditions we cannot stand by waiting for them to actually do something. The Spirit that hovers among and within us is divine love. We are urged to infuse that exuberance into every aspect of our beings. By the way we choose to live — work, study, pray and play — we can create cultures built on love and compassion rather than hate. The Book of Revelation (22: 12-14, 16-17, 20) paints a picture of a cosmic realm stimulated and sustained by an eternal God-head — Creator Redeemer, Sanctifier. We are interdependent with this enterprise. Divinity and humanity are united. Caring for all of the fruits of our planet, human and otherwise, is our duty in this relationship. Finding ways to plug into this measureless, infinite, ever developing, colossal, spiritual energy is a healthy, holistic way to go through life. It recharges us to unite with one another to do something good for humanity and the eco-system of which we are a part. On the night of the Uvalde shootings, an infuriated Chris Murphy, D-Conn, pleaded with Congress to pass legislation to address gun violence. He repeatedly challenged his colleagues: “What are we doing … why are you here … if not to solve a problem as existential as this one?” His provocation to end gun violence, to establish common sense gun laws, is a question addressed to each one of us: What are we doing? ____ 1. Delio, Ilia. The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey.” (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021) 38.
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Utter Peace on Earth5/22/2022 The Sixth Sunday of Easter - Year C
Early last Sunday I posted my homily with a focus on Jesus’ command: love God, your neighbors, and others who are different from you. That same day we heard news about the white-supremacist-hate-crime in a Buffalo, NY super-market. Later, another shooting took place in the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, CA, a Taiwanese congregation. Those tragedies were two of 198 similar shootings that have occurred so far this year in the United States. The root cause for these heinous evil acts needs our attention. Known as the great replacement conspiracy, [1] it has superseded the critical race theory (CRT). Extremist conservative politicians, talk show hosts and Internet trolls disparage CRT while supporting the great replacement theory. They loathe people of color, minorities (e.g., Jews), immigrants, and those who advocate for equal rights for all humans beings. Vice-President of the NAACP Patrice Willoughby wrote: “Unless there is … a holistic approach to stamping out hatred, we are never going to have the type of society in which people are free to live and work without fear.” Christians and others have work to do. In this week’s gospel (John 14:23-29) Jesus tells his colleagues they should not be afraid of bringing his message of love and justice to everyone because his Spirit will be with them. Elisabeth Johnson, a Lutheran pastor and missionary in Cameroon, wrote that Jesus concludes this farewell speech by wishing his followers shalom, which “signifies more than the absence of conflict; it is a profound and holistic sense of well-being.” Those who advocate for justice and peace are called to provide for the well-being of all. Although access to basic goods, security, education, and prosperity are human rights there is a growing number of narcissistic government leaders and domestic insurrectionists who either commit evil acts or encourage them. Their aim is to eliminate anyone who threatens their identity, power and authority. The shooting in Buffalo is the latest example. Jesus’ primary concern was to liberate Israelites from ongoing oppression. As a Jew he understood the long history of persecution his people suffered; he wanted to stop it. In fact, he was executed because he challenged Roman empirical autocrats and corrupt religious leaders. While he sought to break down barriers between people of different tribes, Jesus did not have to deal with all the issues that confront us — gun control, women’s rights, human trafficking, global warfare or racism as we know it. His geographical field of dreams was small but his virtual vision was global and eternal. It would replace the old order and laws with new ones. Love and compassion would prevail. In commenting on the Book of Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23, Methodist New Testament scholar Israel Kamudzandu described what that new order might look like: “The orderliness of night and day, the changing seasons, physical laws, and biological rhythms [would] reveal the presence of God in human lives.” Every person matters. God’s love is abundant, borderless, not contained nor stamped out. Hatred and evil deeds have no power. And, in the words of Lutheran pastor Sarah S. Scherschligt, in this last book of the Bible “Scripture ends where it begins, with harmony among humans and creation …. Sin is nowhere to be found. Civilization and nature exist together. There is utter peace in all that God has made.” That day, when “utter peace” dwells on this fragile planet, is what gives us hope. Advocating for human rights is the antidote to the great replacement ideology and other crimes against humanity. ------ 1. The conspiracy is based on ethno-nationalist false news and fears that people of color will eventually take over the United States rendering white oligarchs powerless. |