Hungry People: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Second Draft

[This revison differs little from the first. If you compare, you’ll find some minor refinements and deletions for the purpose of a sharper focus. If you wish to hear it delivered on streaming audio, it will be posted on the St. Aloysious Gonzaga web site under “Parish” then “Homilies.” --JMS]

A construction worker grabs his lunch bucket,
finds a spot of shade and pulls out a sandwich.
He takes off his hard hat, complains about the heat
and doesn’t think much about what he’s eating.

Another day, another dollar, another peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Same thing happens with a student in a school cafeteria.
Coins slide down the slot in the vending machine,
a door slides open,
a cold sandwich slides out.
Along with a can of Coke,
the student fails to notice the mediocre taste
of something with a texture similar to ham salad
as she text messages friends on her cell phone.

Another day at school.
Another go-through-the-motions meal.

***

When it comes eating,
this sort of preoccupation
and lack of attention is common.

But this “lack of attention” isn’t everyone’s experience.

When you’re hungry, for instance,
meals become very important
and you pay attention to what’s on your plate
as well as what’s on the plates of the people around you.

For instance,
think of a family on a tight budget
where the mother skips a meal
so there’s enough food for her children to eat.
She stays busy at the kitchen counter
so her kids don’t notice that she’s holding back.

Think of the young boy who falls asleep
at the back of class.
The teacher wakes him up she asks,
“Did you eat breakfast this morning?”
He rubs his eyes and says,
“Today wasn’t my turn.”
Meaning,
“Today wasn’t my turn to eat.”

Might sound strange,
but it’s true.
That’s an actual statement
made by an American child
in an American city.

Incredible, isn’t it?

It’s hard to believe that hunger exists
in a country where people spend an average of
$33 billion dollars a year on diet and weight loss products.

The same country that spends $500 billion a year on its military
and only $10 billion a year to fight other dangerous enemies of peace,
insidious enemies of world peace known as Hunger, Starvation and Poverty.

Each year, 6 million children die from hunger and malnutrition.

Six million.

Children.

It’s hard to think about.
It’s a truth we’d rather not face.

Fortunately, there is also good news to tell.

In recent years,
the problem of hunger around the world
is being addressed more effectively.

For instance, in the last 30 years, there has been a 20% reduction
in world hunger…
and that’s something to celebrate.

Food is important.
Still, most days, like that construction worker on the job site
or that student in the cafeteria,
we take God’s blessing of food for granted.

But today’s gospel reminds us how important food really is.
It reminds us how important it is the Christ.
The gospel story tells us that the Lord is concerned
--mightily concerned—
with making sure
people have the basics they need:
that includes food,
shelter and medicine.

It also include those basic elements of the Christian faith
known as the sacraments.

Sacraments like the Holy Bread we’ve come to church to receive today.
The Bread of Life,
the very Body of Christ given to us today
in what appears…and only appears…to be bread.

This sacrament is not only for the soul
it is food for the heart, a gift of compassion.

A sacramental gift
connecting us to Christ and to everyone in the Church.

And, in some mysterious way,
to all the people of the world,
all the hungry people of the world.


______________________
(First draft)

A construction worker grabs the lunch bucket,
finds a spot of shade and pulls out a sandwich.
He takes off his hard hat, complains about the heat
and doesn’t think much about what he’s eating.

Another day, another dollar, another baloney sandwich.

Same thing happens with a student in a school cafeteria.
Coins slide down the slot in the vending machine, a door slides open,
a cold sandwich slides out.
Washed down with a can of Coke,
the student fails to notice the vague taste of ham salad
as she text messages friends on her cell phone.

Another school day schpeal.
Another go-through-the-motions meal.

But, when it comes eating,
this isn’t everyone’s experience.

When you’re hungry, for instance, really hungry,
meals become very important
and you pay attention to what’s on your plate.

Think of a family on a tight budget
where the mother skips a meal
so there’s enough food for her children to eat.
She stays busy at the kitchen counter
so her kids don’t notice that she’s holding back.

Think of the young boy who falls asleep
at the back of class.
When the teacher wakes him up she asks,
“Did you eat breakfast this morning?”
He rubs his eyes and says,
“Today wasn’t my turn to eat.”

That’s a story reported on the web site of Bread for the World.
It’s the story about an American child
in an American city.

It’s hard to believe that hunger does indeed exist
in a country where people spend an average of
$33 billion dollars a year on diet and weight loss products.

The same country that spends $500 billion on its military
and only $10 billion dollars to fight the enemies of peace
called hunger and poverty.

Each year, 6 million children die from malnutrition.

Fortunately, there is also good news to tell.

In recent years,
the problem of hunger is being addressed more effectively.

Through letter-writing campaigns like those conducted here at St. Al’s
and in churches around the country,
more money is being directed to help poor nations
to become more self-sufficient.

In the last 30 years, there has been a 20% reduction
in world hunger…
and that’s something to celebrate.

And, depending on your age,
for the last 30 years, or 50 years or 70 years,
or however old you are,
the Lord has been providing you with food and shelter.
Most days, like that construction worker on the job site
or that student in the cafeteria,
we take God’s blessings for granted.

But today, we’re reminded how important food really is
and how the Lord is mightily concerned with making sure
people have the basics they need:
food,
shelter,
medicine
and sacraments.

Sacraments like the holy bread we’ve come to church to receive today.
The Bread of Life,
the Body of Christ,
food not only for the soul
but a sacrament of compassion,
a sacrament connecting us to all the people,
all the hungry people of the world.

A Good Day Off: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last Sunday we talked about
“hittin’ the road” and “travelin’ light.”

That’s because the gospel talked about
the apostles going out across the region
to preach the gospel and cure the sick.

They traveled far and they traveled light.

Well, today’s gospel picks up where last week’s ended.

The road trip’s over.
The apostles come back.
They debrief,
they give their reports
and they’re proud of what they accomplished.

But most important, Jesus also seems pleased with their progress.
Here’s how the passage reads:

The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to an out-of-the-way place
and rest awhile.”

Now, if you look around this church today,
you’ll realize that the very same thing
is happening right now.

We’ve spent a week out there
and now we’ve gathered again…back here.

The ancient practice of the Sabbath,
as you all know,
demands that we gather together around the Lord,
to rest in the Lord and,
in so doing, take a break from our weekly work
and daily duties.

Honoring the Sabbath
is the one commandments
we love to follow.

(At least the part that has to do with
taking a break from work.)

But, look closely at today’s gospel a minute.
Before Jesus invites the apostles
to come with him
to an out-of-the-way place,
the apostles provide him
with a report of their progress
while out on the road.

Now, I don’t know about you,
but when it comes to the weekend,
I look forward to taking a break.
I tend to jump over the part
that has to do with giving a report.

Yet, there’s a wisdom to what’s going on here.
When you stop and think about it,
it makes sense to bring a weekly progress report
with us to church.

It makes sense because the progress report
is more about God’s performance
than it is about ours.

(That’s because the purpose of the Sabbath
is to praise God, not ourselves.)

And you know what happens as a result?
When we give God the credit that God is due,
that’s when we can truly relax.


Why?
Because it’s then that we realize
that the weight of the world
does not rest on our shoulders alone.
Rather, it’s the Lord’s will,
the Lord’s energy,
the Lord’s love
that’s at work
within the service we provide
in our life week in and week out.

_________

So, what do you have to report today?

There’s a wonderful couple here tonight
who have 50 years of love and marriage to report.
And Otger and Maria will be the first to tell you
that the praise and gratitude in their hearts
for all that God has done in their life together
is beyond their ability to put into words.

What about the rest of you?
Some of us have 25 years of service to report,
others have five years, ten years,
others are just beginning.

I’m not just talking about marriage or ordination,
this also applies to the young, the single,
the widowed, the divorced.

Because, you see, we are all disciples out there on the road,
week after week.

If you work in the health care industry,
you have healings to report.

If you work construction,
you have the completion of apartments and homes and offices to report.

And through your work God is glorified
because all God’s children need good health and a place to live.

Maybe your report this week includes a victory over a strong temptation
that came your way.
Maybe it includes a moment of forgiveness,
the relief of reconciliation
or the birth of a child
or plans for a vacation
or a new car
or a new dream…a dream that God himself has put into your heart
to help this world become a better place
because of you and what you plan to do next week
for Christ, in Christ and because of Christ.

So, before you leave Mass, check your report.
Make sure it’s complete.
And enjoy your day off!

Pennies at the Pump - Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily for Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Third Draft: The changes are subtle but you’ll find, in this version, a sharper interplay between God’s Kingdom and the contemporary situation. –JMS

Every now and then, something stops you in your tracks,
or at least, slows you down a bit.

As you all know,
this past week, news reports were packed with stories
about escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Some commentators speculated that we are on the edge of
World War Three, if not there already.
The use of that phrase “WWIII”
certainly gave me pause.

I made me realize that,
in light of the hatred, the bombing and the killing,
the dollars we pay at the gas pump are trivial.

The tension in the Middle East
goes a lot deeper than the price of gas at home.

That’s because rumors of war
and the reality of war
leaves us all feeling insecure.

We wonder where things are headed.

All we can do, it seems,
is count the pennies per gallon of gas
and keep going on with our lives.

What else can we do?

Well, today’s gospel offers an alternative plan of action
on how to get through life.

***

Today’s passage starts off with Jesus telling his disciples
to head off on down the road
but to leave their wallets at home.
No credit cards.
No gas cards.
No coupons.

“You don’t need a suitcase,” he says.
You don’t need to pack a thing.”

That’s right.
When you decide to obey the Lord and follow his call,
you don’t much,
just a good pair of sandals
or maybe a pair of Goretex hiking boots.

Today’s gospel passage, you see,
is about an alternate way to travel,
another way to get through life.

Not in a truck or a car or an SUV.
Not with a lot of speed, either.
But with steps,
slow steps,
“one-foot-in-front-of-another” steps.

There are advantages to this type of travel.

For one,
when you set off on foot,
you don’t need to count extra pennies per gallon.

For two,
when you do what the Lord suggests,
that is, walk two-by-two as the disciples did,
you have time to talk.

And in your talking,
you get a sense not only of where you’re headed,
but also where the world is headed or should be headed.

That’s because,
when you walk with a friend,
you talk.

You’re not listening to the radio
or plugged into an ipod.
You’re talking, just talking.

And that talking together
it’s more important than you know.

_________


A woman by the name of Margaret Wheatley
recently wrote a book called
“Turning to One Another.”

It’s a book about the importance of conversation.

In the book she points out that,
whenever you hear about something good taking place,
good things like someone getting the Nobel Peace Prize…
all the way down to a local school
collecting used pencils for a school in Africa…

whenever you hear a story about something good
getting accomplished,
the story always comes down to a conversation
somewhere along the way.

The person who “got the ball rolling,”
will say something like,
“Well, some friends and I started talking and we thought,
wouldn’t it be good if our kids could help other kids?”

It’s always like this.

Change begins when people start talking about
things that they care about:

In the book, this author
tells the story of a woman
who planned to returned to Viet Nam
to adopt a second child from an orphanage in that country.

She vowed to take some medical supplies along this time.
She told a friend,
“They need Tylenol, not t-shirts.”

Her friend, a nurse, suggested that the orphanage
could probably use an incubator as well.

The woman going to Viet Nam
was surprised by the idea.
(She’d been thinking pills and band-aids,
not medical equipment.)

So she started making phone calls.

One conversation led to another.
When the day came for her to leave for Viet Nam,
she’d been offered enough pedicatric medical supplies
to fill four 40-foot shipping containers…
including 12 incubators.

All from a conversation between two friends.

***

Change happens when a few people
respond to a dream of what’s possible.

That’s what happened here at St. Al’s last spring,
Instead of counting dollars at the gas pump.
this parish decided to pull together
and contribute $18,000 so Fr. Christian
could have a car to bring the Good News of Christ
and the Sacraments of the Church to the outlying areas
of the Jasikan Diocese in Ghana.

That’s what happens when people start talking
and feet start walking…
things get done and dreams come true.

It’s especially true when it comes to “God’s dream.”

That’s what the Kingdom of God is about:
sharing God’s dream of healing,
building God’s dream of compassion.

That’s why Jesus sent his disciples out
two by two,
not one by one…
so they could talk the Dream over along the way,
then work together to get something of God’s dream
accomplished.

That talking together
and walking together
allowed the Holy Spirit to equipped those disciples
to work wonders in the villages they visited.
* * *

Centuries have passed
since those disciples took set off down the road,
yet you and I are Christians today because of them.

And it all started with disciples
taking a walk and sharing their thoughts.

Ant that’s where it starts.

That’s where it always starts…

walking through life and talking with people
along the way.

That “disciple way of talking” is, in fact,
what parish life is all about.

That’s because
the kind of people you meet here at church,
are people of compassion,
people of conviction,
people of faith…

people who know that counting pennies at the pump
won’t get you too far…

but walking with Christ will.
________________

[Second Draft: The revision features a sharper clash in the introduction and a tighter focus on the way to the conclusion.]

Every now and then, something stops you in your tracks,
or at least, slows you down.

This past week, media reports were packed with news
about escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Some editorials speculated that we are on the edge of
World War Three…
if, indeed, it hasn’t already started.

These reports make us pause…
slow us down…
stop us in our tracks.

In light of the killing and the bombing,
the dollars we count at the pump are trivial.

The tension in the Middle East
goes a lot deeper than the price of gas.

Rumors of war
and the reality of war
leaves us feeling insecure
and without control.

We have no idea of where things are headed.
All we can do, it seems,
is count the pennies per gallon of gas
and keep going.

What else can we do?

Well, today’s gospel offers an alternative plan of action.

And it starts off with Jesus telling his disciples
to head off on down the road
but to leave their wallets at home.
No credit cards.

No gas cards.
No coupons.

You don’t need a suitcase, he says.
You don’t need to pack a thing.

When you decide to obey the Lord,
you don’t much,
just a good pair of sandals
or hiking boots if you prefer.

You see, today’s gospel passage
is about an alternate way to travel,
another way to travel through life.

Not behind a wheel of an SUV.
And not with speed, either,
but with steps,
slow steps,
“one-foot-in-front-of-another” steps.

There are advantages.

When you set off on foot,
you don’t need to count extra pennies per gallon.

And, better yet, when you so what the Lord suggests,
that is, walk two-by-two,
as did the disciples,
you have time to talk.

And in your talking,
you get a sense not only of where you’re headed,
but also where the world is headed or should be headed.

That’s because,
when you walk with a friend,
you talk.

You’re not listening to the radio
or plugged into an ipod.
You’re talking, just talking.

And that talking
it’s more important than you know.

_________


A woman by the name of Margaret Wheatley
recently wrote a book called
“Turning to One Another.”

It’s a book about the importance of conversation.

In the book she points out that,
whenever you hear about something great and wonderful
--from someone getting the Nobel Peace Prize
all the way down to a local school
collecting used pencils for a school in Africa—

whenever you hear a story about something good
getting accomplished,
the story always comes down to a conversation
somewhere along the way:

The person who “got the ball rolling,”
will say something like,
“Well, some friends and I started talking and we thought,
wouldn’t it be good if our kids could help other kids?”

It’s always like this.

Change begins when people start talking about
things that they care about:

The author, Margaret Wheatley,
tells the story of a woman
who planned to returned to Viet Nam
to adopt a second child from an orphanage.

She vowed to take some medical supplies along this time.
She told a friend,
“They need Tylenol, not t-shirts.”

Her friend, a nurse, suggested that the orphanage
could probably use an incubator as well.

The woman going to Viet Nam
was surprised by the idea.
(She’d been thinking pills and band-aids,
not medical equipment.)

But she started making phone calls
looking for an incubator.
One conversation led to another.
When the day came for her to leave for Viet Nam,
she’d been offered enough pedicatric medical supplies
to fill four 40-foot shipping containers…
including 12 incubators.

All from a conversation between two friends.

Change happens when a few people
respond to a dream of what’s possible.

That’s what happened here at St. Al’s last spring,
Instead of counting dollars at the gas pump.
this parish decided to pull together
and contribute $18,000 so Fr. Christian
could have a car to bring the Good News of Christ
and the Sacraments of the Church to the outlying areas
of the Jasikan Diocese in Ghana.

That’s what happens when people start talking
and feet start walking…
things get done and dreams come true.

That’s what the Kingdom of God is about:
sharing God’s dream of healing,
building God’s dream of compassion.

That’s why Jesus sent his disciples out
two by two,
not one by one…
so they could talk things over on the way.

That talking together
and walking together
allowed the Holy Spirit the opportunity
to equipped those disciples to work wonders
in the villages they visited.
____________

Centuries have passed
since those disciples took set off down the road,
yet you and I are Christians today because of them.

And it all started with two friends
taking a walk and sharing their thoughts.

Ant that’s where it starts.

That’s where it always starts…

walking through life and talking with people
along the way,
the kind of people you tend to meet here at church,
people of compassion,
people of conviction,
people of faith…

people who know that counting pennies at the pump
won’t get you too far.

But walking with Christ
will take you where your heart longs to go.

______________________________
(First Draft)

Every now and then, something stops you in your tracks,
or at least, slows you down.

This past week, media reports were packed with news
about escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Some editorials speculated that we are on the edge of
World War Three…
if, indeed, it hasn’t already started.

These reports make us pause
slow us down
stop us in our tracks.

If nowhere else than at the gas pump
where we come face to face
with the most immediate impact of the
hatred and conflict flaring up
a half a world away.

In light of the killing and the bombing,
the pennies we count at the pump are trivial,
yet we keep looking for the best buy
and worry how high the cost will go.

We count the pennies per gallon of gas
but have no idea of where we’re headed.

We just keep going.

What else can we do?

Today’s gospel offers an alternative plan of action.

Jesus tells his disciples to hit the road
but instructs them to leave their wallets at home.
No credit cards.
No gas cards.
No coupons.

You don’t need a suitcase.
You don’t need to pack.

Just make sure you got a pair of sturdy sandals
or hiking boots if you prefer.

You see, he’s talking here about an alternate way to travel.

Not behind a wheel
not with speed, but with steps,
slow one-foot-in-front-of-another steps.

When you set off on foot,
you don’t need to count out extra pennies per gallon.

And, furthermore, when you walk, two-by-two,
as did the disciples,
you have time to talk
and, in your talking,
you get a sense not only of where you’re going,
but also where the world is headed or should be headed.

That’s because,
when you walk with a friend,
you talk.

You’re not listening to the radio
or plugged into an ipod.

You’re talking, just talking.
And it’s more important than you know.

A woman by the name of Margaret Wheatley
recently wrote a book called
“Turning to One Another.”

It’s a book about the importance of conversation.

In the book she points out that,
whenever you hear about something great and wonderful…
from a Nobel Peace Prize down to a local school
collecting used pencils for a school in Africa?

The story always comes down to a conversation
somewhere along the way:

“Some friends and I started talking and we thought,
wouldn’t it be good if our kids could help other kids?”

It’s always like this.
Real change begins with the simple act
of people talking about things that they care about:

Wheatley tells the story of a woman
who planned to returned to Viet Nam
to adopt a second child from an orphanage.

She vowed to take some medical supplies along this time.
“They need Tylenol, not t-shirts,” she told a friend.

Her friend, a nurse, suggested that another valuable thing
they could probably use was an incubator.

The woman was surprised by the idea.
(She’s been think pills and band-aids, not medical equipment.)

But she started making phone calls
looking for an incubator.
One conversation led to another
until she had been offered enough pedicatric medical supplies
to fill four 40-foot shipping containers…
including 12 incubators.

All from a conversation among two friends.

“Change doesn’t happen from a leader announcing a plan.
Change begins deep within a system,
when a few people notice something
the will no longer tolerate,
or respond to a dream of what’s possible." (p.25)

That’s what happened here at St. Al’s last spring,
when, instead of counting pennies at the gas pump,
this parish decided to pull their pennies
and contribute $18,000 so Fr. Christian
could have a car to bring the Good News of Christ
and the Holy Sacraments of the Church to the outlying areas
of the Jasikan Diocese in Ghana.

That’s what happens when people start talking
and feet start walking…
things get done and dreams come true.

That’s what the Kingdom of God is about:
sharing God’s dream of forgiveness
building God’s dream of compassion.
That’s why Jesus sent his disciples out two by two,
not one by one…
so they could talk things over on the way.

That talking together and walking together
gives the Holy Spirit as opportunity to work.
The their hashing things over
and their assessment of their mission,
the Holy Spirit equipped those disciples to work wonders
in the villages they visited
for those who were lame in body and sick in spirit.

Though centuries have passed
since those disciples took those first steps,
you and I are Christians today because of them…
Think about it.
Because of the courage they had to hit the road
and share the news of God’s salvation…
you and I have been given a dream to share.

It’s not about changing the world.
It’s about taking a walk through life
with the kind of people you meet here at church,
people of compassion,
people of conviction,
people of faith…

people who know that counting pennies at the pump
won’t get you too far,
but walking with Christ
will take you to that place
where your heart longs to go.

"A Man with a Box on his Head" - The 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Revised Draft)

I have friends down in Texas.
Occasionally I go on-line and read the Amarillo newspaper.
I like to keep up on out what’s going on in that part of the country.

I came across a story a couple of weeks ago
about some fool who tried to rob a hotel.

Listen to this:

A man wearing a cardboard box on his head
attempted to rob a Soncy Avenue hotel on Tuesday afternoon.

After some apparent miscommunication with the hotel employees
--because of the box--
the man became more threatening in his demand for money.

Once the employees realized they were being robbed…
they fled to a neighboring business and called police.

(It gets better!)

Police received a report that a hostage had been taken
and sent a SWAT team to the hotel.

Negotiators tried to make contact with the man with the box on his head
but he apparently left before the officers arrived.

The hostage report was later dismissed as a miscommunication.

Anyone with information about the attempted robbery is asked to call Amarillo Crime Stoppers at 806-374-4422.

(And you think you’ve done some stupid things in your life!)

Well, what lessons might be drawn from this article?

1. Think twice about conducting a hold-up with a box on your head
2. If you do conduct a hold-up with your head inside a box, speak clearly and distinctly.
3. If you visit Amarillo this summer with a box on your head, the SWAT team is looking for someone matching your description

Might there be another lesson from this story
in relation to this Sunday’s Scripture readings?

I think there is.

This might strike you as an odd connection,
but when I thought about the bumbling thief with the box on his head
when I got to the verse in St. Paul’s letter where he says:

In order that Christ’s strength might be at work in me,
I will gladly boast of my weakness.

This reminded me of the guy with the box on his head because,
when it comes to praying,
a lot of us would rather put a box on our head
than look the Lord directly in the eye.

That’s because the hardest part of praying is being honest.

So, in effect, put boxes on our heads,
and try to hide our true identity.

We don’t want Christ to know how tightly
we hang on to the things that we are actually ashamed up.

It’s hard to pray in a deep and honest way when:

· you feel jealous because a friend makes more money than you
· you’d like to get even with someone who doesn’t respect you
· you’re still upset because you didn’t receive an invitation to someone’s party
· you’re still angry because you didn’t get the promotion
· you’re still attracted to someone other than your spouse and you become unfaithful in your mind

You live with these feelings.
You try to ignore these feelings.
You pretend they don’t matter…
and, usually, they don’t until, that is,
you sit down to pray.

It’s then that you taste the sourness in your soul
and realize how much these sins are a part of you
and yet, you can’t seem to let them go.

It’s embarrassing, but it’s true.
So, we reach for cover!
We grab a box, so to speak, and put it on our head.

We approach God like that theft down in Texas.

We demand God hand over some loot
then run from the scene.

How silly we must look when we try to pray that way.

That’s why St. Paul recommends that we pray honestly,
without a box on our head,
without a ski mask pulled over our face.

“Boast of your weaknesses,” says St. Paul,
“so the strength of Christ might take their place.”

How is this done?

With some concentration and dedicated effort.

Each time you set time aside to pray,
allow yourself
—force yourself if need be—
to gaze into the eyes of Christ.

That’s how we are to pray.

That’s why we sang in today’s Psalm:
“We fix our eyes on the Lord…”

Peer into the Lord’s eyes
and you will discover that his love for you
and the fire of his love for you
will burn away the revenge, the jealously, the anger, the lust…
all those sins that make our love for God so small,
and our love for others so weak.

Don’t hide your weakness, admit it.

St. Paul goes so far as to suggest that
we even brag about it.

So, rip that box off your head!

Look the Lord in the eye.
He’s looking back.
He’s not looking at your baggage.
He’s not looking at your sins.

He’s looking at you.
Only you.
________________________________________


(First Draft)

As some of you here know,
I have good friends in Texas down in Texas.
Occasionally go on-line and read the Amarillo newspaper
to keep up on out what’s going on in that part of the country.

I came across a rather unusual story a couple of weeks ago:

A man wearing a cardboard box
on his head
attempted to rob a Soncy Avenue hotel on Tuesday afternoon.

After some apparent miscommunication with the hotel employees
--because of the box--
the man became more threatening in his demand for money.

Once the employees realized they were being robbed…
they fled to a neighboring business and called police.

(It gets better!)

Police initially received a report that a hostage had been taken
and sent a SWAT team to the hotel.

Negotiators tried to make contact with the man with the box on his head.
They received no answer and entered the hotel.

The hostage report was later dismissed
as miscommunication between officers and employees of the business.

The man apparently left the hotel before the officers arrived.

Anyone with information about the attempted robbery is asked to call Amarillo Crime Stoppers at 806-374-4422.

(And you think you’ve done some stupid things in your life!)

Well, what lessons might be drawn from this article?

1. Think twice about conducting a hold-up with a box on your head
2. If you do conduct a hold-up with your head inside a box, speak clearly and distinctly.
3. If you visit Amarillo this summer with a box on your head, the SWAT team is looking for someone matching your description

Might there be another lesson from this story
in relation to this Sunday’s Scripture readings?

Maybe.

It may strike you as an odd connection,
but when I read the second reading
from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians,
I thought about the robber with the box on his head.

I thought of that bumbling thief when I got to the verse
where St. Paul says,

In order that Christ’s strength might be at work in me,
I will gladly boast of my weakness.

This reminded me of the guy with the box on his head because,
when it comes to praying, and I’m talking here about
spending serious time with the Lord,
most of us would rather put a box on our head
than look the Lord directly in the eye.

When it comes to allowing the Lord
to enter into your life,
that is, inviting the Lord into the very center of your person,
the very heart of your identity…

This is difficult, very difficult.

That’s because the hardest part of praying
is letting go of our resentments, bitterness and anger.

We hold tight to these things and, in doing so,
hold back from God.

A great spiritual writer,
Fr. Henry Nouwen,
spoke about the natural resistance
we all experience
when it comes to praying honestly…
honestly praying.

Our God is a God of love.
Our God desires a strong, heart-to-heart friendship
with each one of us.

Yet, we put boxes on our heads,
trying to hide our true identity.

We don’t want Christ to know how tightly
we hang on to the things that we are actually ashamed up:

· you feel jealous because a friend makes more money than you
· you’d like to get even with someone who doesn’t respect you
· you’re still disappointed because you didn’t receive an invitation to someone’s party
· you’re still angry because someone didn’t smile at you when you walked by

You live with these feelings,
you try to ignore these feelings
and pretend they don’t matter…
and, usually, they don’t until, that is,
you sit down to pray.

Then you taste the sourness in your soul
and realize how much these sins are a part of you
and yet, you can’t seem to let them go.

It’s embarrassing, but it’s true.
So, we reach for cover!
We grab a box, put it on our head,
and approach God like some theft
demanding He hand over some loot
then run from the scene.

How silly we must look when we do that.

That’s why St. Paul recommends that we pray
honestly,
without a box on our head,
without a ski mask pulled over our face.

“Boast of your weaknesses,” says St. Paul,
“so the strength of Christ might take their place.”

How is this down?

With concentration and effort.

Each time we allow yourself to gaze into the eyes of Christ,
the fire of his love for you
will burn away the revenge, the jealously, the anger, the lust…
all those sins that make our love for God so small,
and our love for others so weak.

Don’t hide your weakness, brag about it.

Take that box off your head.

Look the Lord in the eye.
He’s looking back.
He’s not looking at your baggage.
He’s not looking at your sins.

He’s looking at you.
Only you.