"Trail Markers:" The Second Sunday of Lent
Homily for the Second Sunday of the Year
[I will be on the road this weekend. The following homily will be delivered at St. Joseph Parish, New Hope, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis]
I don’t know if there are many deer hunters in a community like New Hope.
In the part of Ohio that I come from,
deer hunters are as common as pickup trucks.
The hunters I know don’t read the Bible much,
but they’re good at reading trails.
I’d like you to follow me down a deer trail
for just a minute because it’s going lead us into the story
about that day when
Abraham set off for the woods
holding Isaac with one hand and a hunting knife in the other.
It’s a hard trail to follow,
but eventually it’s going to bring us back here to New Hope
where, by the grace of the God, we’ll be able to spot the God
we’re all hunting for with a bit more skill.
* * *
Hunters, as you might suspect, know a lot about trails.
Most trails are easy to follow.
You can see the tracks laid down on a hillside,
the bent blades of grass in the meadows.
These trails are traveled by does and fawns
as they hurry from one protective stand of trees to another.
But these aren’t the trails traveled by the bucks.
They travel alone and are exceptionally wary.
They seldom move out of dense cover.
They might travel a well-established route,
but only occasionally.
Sometimes, they seem to lay down trails that lead nowhere.
Hunters call these trails “teasers.”
They lead nowhere but confusion.
In my opinion, the story about Abraham taking Isaac
on a three-day trek to some primitive altar of stone
in the land of Moriah
is a teaser trail.
* * *
These trails exist not only in the woods;.
not in the Bible.
They’re everywhere.
Even here in the Twin Cities.
For instance, if you’ve ever in a car
following an ambulance
carrying your child down Chicago Avenuew
on the way to Minneapolis Children’s Hospital…
wondering what’s going to happen,
what’s this mean,
and where in world is God at a time like this…
if you’ve ever been in a situation like this
then you’ve been on the trail to Moriah.
If you’ve ever received a call from the police at 3 a.m.
and found yourself driving downtown,
turning off on Park Avenue
and pulling into the lot next to the Hennepin Co. Detention Facility,
you’ve been on this kind of trail.
A “teaser trail” leading you into a forest
of confusion and desperation.
* * *
Have you been on a trail like this?
I have.
A couple of months ago, a young man from my parish in Cincinnati,
working as a security guard at a Sears Store,
was stabbed by a deranged man and critically injured.
When I got the news, I rushed to the hospital.
And I prayed with his parents.
And all we could say was
“Don’t take him from us, Lord!”
The words that we used were polite;
the prayers we prayed were respectful.
But the panic in our hearts was red hot
and what we meant to say was:
“Don’t ask this of us, God,
don’t you dare ask this of us!”
I’ve been on that trail.
You’ve been on that trail.
None of us want to be on that trail.
* * *
Fortunately, that’s not the only kind of trail there is.
There are other kinds of trails in the Bible.
In today’s gospel passage
we find Peter, James and John
hiking their way up Mt. Tabor
with Jesus at their side.
A close look at the passage suggests
that the day was overcast,
the sky was cloudy.
Suddenly a flash of light blinded their eyes,
the apostles were stunned, they were terrified.
Yet the vision…that strange vision they saw…and the Voice they heard
managed to clear the air
and dispel their doubts…
for just a moment they encountered—and knew they had encountered--
the ancient presence of a powerful God falling about them
like sunlight on a summer day.
And when the incident it was over,
they looked around,
and all they saw was Jesus.
* * *
Now, as we know,
they would soon return to the trailhead
and descend the mountain.
Normal conversation would resume,
soon worries about the future would shove aside
the memory of the dazzling Light
and that moment when everything was good
and life made sense.
But the experience remained in their memory
and the purpose of hiking up the mountain was clear.
It was clear to them and it’s clear to us.
It’s telling us that the trail ends with Christ at our side,
always at our side.
Any trail that it true leads us to grace.
The trail that is true takes to the Son
and reveals the face of God.
Any other trail is nothing but a teaser.
* * *
So, have you walked the mountain trail?
Have you seen the Son?
Have you encountered grace falling like sunlight
on the side of a mountain:
Or thunder like water down the side of a canyon?
Or, better yet, have you seen grace fall like diamonds,
not outdoors but just inside the door of a church,
water full of grace flowing across the soft skin of your daughter
on the day of her baptism?
This is the water that we seek,
the cool water we’ve come to expect
up there on the mountains of Transfiguration
as we make our way to heaven.
Today’s gospel provides us
with trail markers to get us there…
If you missed them, let me list a few:
White garments.
Dazzling light.
A canvas tent.
The sound of a Voice.
Were you able to catch the signs in the passage?
More importantly,
are you able to note the markers in your day-to-day life?
Let’s talk about it.
Today’s passage mentions the voice of God.
Now, if you’re a young man, let me ask you this:
Have you ever hear the pleasure of God (the pleasure God takes in you),
have you ever heard God’s pleasure within the voice of your dad
that day when he happened to say to you,
“Good job, son. I’m proud of you. You make me proud.”
Today’s passage refers to garment
of dazzling white.
If you are a mother, have had the opportunity
to feel the joy of God well up within you on a day
your daughter walked down the aisle of church
lovely and radiant
and dressed in a wedding gown
so beautiful…and white.
If you have young children at home,
did this passage make you think of a summer night
when the neighborhood kids camped in the back yard
and your five-year-old turned to you and pleaded.
“This is so neat! I love this tent,
Can we sleep in it? Can we sleep out all night?”
Have you been walking the trail?
Have you been reading the signs?
Have you reached a spot on your journey where,
on a given day, you look around
and all you see is Him;
everywhere you look is Christ?
That’s where this trail is leading us.
It’s leading you,
it’s leading me.
And we’re going to find the grace we need;
we’re going to find the God we seek.
[Please Note: There is a new feature on the St. Aloysius Web Site. Audio versions of my homilies are now available beginning with the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2006. Just click on the desired homily, then click "Play."]
[I will be on the road this weekend. The following homily will be delivered at St. Joseph Parish, New Hope, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis]
I don’t know if there are many deer hunters in a community like New Hope.
In the part of Ohio that I come from,
deer hunters are as common as pickup trucks.
The hunters I know don’t read the Bible much,
but they’re good at reading trails.
I’d like you to follow me down a deer trail
for just a minute because it’s going lead us into the story
about that day when
Abraham set off for the woods
holding Isaac with one hand and a hunting knife in the other.
It’s a hard trail to follow,
but eventually it’s going to bring us back here to New Hope
where, by the grace of the God, we’ll be able to spot the God
we’re all hunting for with a bit more skill.
* * *
Hunters, as you might suspect, know a lot about trails.
Most trails are easy to follow.
You can see the tracks laid down on a hillside,
the bent blades of grass in the meadows.
These trails are traveled by does and fawns
as they hurry from one protective stand of trees to another.
But these aren’t the trails traveled by the bucks.
They travel alone and are exceptionally wary.
They seldom move out of dense cover.
They might travel a well-established route,
but only occasionally.
Sometimes, they seem to lay down trails that lead nowhere.
Hunters call these trails “teasers.”
They lead nowhere but confusion.
In my opinion, the story about Abraham taking Isaac
on a three-day trek to some primitive altar of stone
in the land of Moriah
is a teaser trail.
* * *
These trails exist not only in the woods;.
not in the Bible.
They’re everywhere.
Even here in the Twin Cities.
For instance, if you’ve ever in a car
following an ambulance
carrying your child down Chicago Avenuew
on the way to Minneapolis Children’s Hospital…
wondering what’s going to happen,
what’s this mean,
and where in world is God at a time like this…
if you’ve ever been in a situation like this
then you’ve been on the trail to Moriah.
If you’ve ever received a call from the police at 3 a.m.
and found yourself driving downtown,
turning off on Park Avenue
and pulling into the lot next to the Hennepin Co. Detention Facility,
you’ve been on this kind of trail.
A “teaser trail” leading you into a forest
of confusion and desperation.
* * *
Have you been on a trail like this?
I have.
A couple of months ago, a young man from my parish in Cincinnati,
working as a security guard at a Sears Store,
was stabbed by a deranged man and critically injured.
When I got the news, I rushed to the hospital.
And I prayed with his parents.
And all we could say was
“Don’t take him from us, Lord!”
The words that we used were polite;
the prayers we prayed were respectful.
But the panic in our hearts was red hot
and what we meant to say was:
“Don’t ask this of us, God,
don’t you dare ask this of us!”
I’ve been on that trail.
You’ve been on that trail.
None of us want to be on that trail.
* * *
Fortunately, that’s not the only kind of trail there is.
There are other kinds of trails in the Bible.
In today’s gospel passage
we find Peter, James and John
hiking their way up Mt. Tabor
with Jesus at their side.
A close look at the passage suggests
that the day was overcast,
the sky was cloudy.
Suddenly a flash of light blinded their eyes,
the apostles were stunned, they were terrified.
Yet the vision…that strange vision they saw…and the Voice they heard
managed to clear the air
and dispel their doubts…
for just a moment they encountered—and knew they had encountered--
the ancient presence of a powerful God falling about them
like sunlight on a summer day.
And when the incident it was over,
they looked around,
and all they saw was Jesus.
* * *
Now, as we know,
they would soon return to the trailhead
and descend the mountain.
Normal conversation would resume,
soon worries about the future would shove aside
the memory of the dazzling Light
and that moment when everything was good
and life made sense.
But the experience remained in their memory
and the purpose of hiking up the mountain was clear.
It was clear to them and it’s clear to us.
It’s telling us that the trail ends with Christ at our side,
always at our side.
Any trail that it true leads us to grace.
The trail that is true takes to the Son
and reveals the face of God.
Any other trail is nothing but a teaser.
* * *
So, have you walked the mountain trail?
Have you seen the Son?
Have you encountered grace falling like sunlight
on the side of a mountain:
Or thunder like water down the side of a canyon?
Or, better yet, have you seen grace fall like diamonds,
not outdoors but just inside the door of a church,
water full of grace flowing across the soft skin of your daughter
on the day of her baptism?
This is the water that we seek,
the cool water we’ve come to expect
up there on the mountains of Transfiguration
as we make our way to heaven.
Today’s gospel provides us
with trail markers to get us there…
If you missed them, let me list a few:
White garments.
Dazzling light.
A canvas tent.
The sound of a Voice.
Were you able to catch the signs in the passage?
More importantly,
are you able to note the markers in your day-to-day life?
Let’s talk about it.
Today’s passage mentions the voice of God.
Now, if you’re a young man, let me ask you this:
Have you ever hear the pleasure of God (the pleasure God takes in you),
have you ever heard God’s pleasure within the voice of your dad
that day when he happened to say to you,
“Good job, son. I’m proud of you. You make me proud.”
Today’s passage refers to garment
of dazzling white.
If you are a mother, have had the opportunity
to feel the joy of God well up within you on a day
your daughter walked down the aisle of church
lovely and radiant
and dressed in a wedding gown
so beautiful…and white.
If you have young children at home,
did this passage make you think of a summer night
when the neighborhood kids camped in the back yard
and your five-year-old turned to you and pleaded.
“This is so neat! I love this tent,
Can we sleep in it? Can we sleep out all night?”
Have you been walking the trail?
Have you been reading the signs?
Have you reached a spot on your journey where,
on a given day, you look around
and all you see is Him;
everywhere you look is Christ?
That’s where this trail is leading us.
It’s leading you,
it’s leading me.
And we’re going to find the grace we need;
we’re going to find the God we seek.
[Please Note: There is a new feature on the St. Aloysius Web Site. Audio versions of my homilies are now available beginning with the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2006. Just click on the desired homily, then click "Play."]
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 4:30 PM
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