The Eucharist: Heaven's Security Gate: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily - Second Draft
Here's a cleaned-up version. My thanks to Steve for his suggestion to highlight something of what we receive back when we turn our lives over to Christ. This helped me in the conclusion of the homily. I'm still not satisfied, however, with the lack of a "Okay, now here's how we do this" segment.
Let me know what you think.
Fr. Jim (jms48@fuse.net)
Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
If you commute to work…
if you listen to traffic reports…
about conditions on I-275
or slow downs at Lytle Tunnel
or the Cut-in-the-Hill
than can easily relate to today’s gospel reading.
Why?
Because it refers to a traffic snarl-up
for travelers to Jerusalem back in Jesus’ time.
Bible scholars, you see, tell us
that there was once a gate into the city of Jerusalem
that was low and narrow.
The transporters of the day had a name for it.
It wasn’t “the Cut-in-the-Hill,”
they called it “the Eye of the Needle”
because it was a pain in the neck.
Caravans and merchants
had to unload the camels of their cargo
in order to get them through “the Eye of the Needle.”
Now, in today’s gospel, Jesus refers to that bottleneck
to illustrate how hard it is
for people to let go of their insecurities
and put their trust in God.
“It is easier for a camel
to pass through “the eye of the needle,”
than it is for a rich man
to get into heaven.”
Now, as you all know,
I don’t have to commute to work.
But I do like to visit the work places
where my parishioners spend so much of their time.
A couple of weeks,
I joined a city building inspector whose current assignment
is to oversee the extensive road work taking place
on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
between University of Cincinnati and the Federal EPA Building.
Part of that project includes a new security gate
into the parking facilities at the EPA building.
Everyone on the job site is intrigued by this.gate.
In the course of one hour I heard two different discussions
about this mechanical gate which can stop
20 ton truck coming at it at 30 miles per hours.
I wonder if the Lord Jesus might find some similarity
between the gate called “the eye of the needle”
and the security gate at federal Building here in our own city?
And, instead of talking about unloading cargo from camel,
might he have something to say
about the difficulty we have when it comes
to unloading our security
and placing our trust in him?
I think he might. Why?
Because a rich man is a fearful man.
Jesus isn’t speaking about riches
as much as he is speaking about insecurity
that comes with having a lot of loot.
It’s hard to get into heaven
when you can’t put your trust in God.
And you and me, well, we live in a fearful society today.
Our insecurity makes it hard
to place our trust in God.
No matter how many bags are inspected at the airports.
No matter how many metal detectors are placed at the doors of our schools.
No matter what type of health insurance you might carry.
No matter how strong of a pension plan you think you might have…
if you can’t put your ultimate trust in God
then deep down you’re insecure, you're nervous, you live in fear.
Without trust in God,
without an abiding fiendship with Jesus Christ,
the foundation of your life...
and your reason for walking the face of the face of earth...
turns to sand.
You all know the story about the farmer who bought more land
and built more silos.
“Finally, I have security,” he says.
“I have wealth stored up for years to come.
Now, finally, I can sit back, eat, drink and be merry.”
But God says, “You fool! Tonight your life will required of you.”
No doubt, it’s hard to let go
of the things we work so hard to get.
But that’s why, on our way to God’s table today,
we find ourselves in line at a check point.
As Jesus himself said,
"Those who feed on me will live because of me."
This means that the Eucharist is the gateway to heaven.
It also means that Eucharist functions
as the security gate into heaven.
So today, as we stand in line for Holy Communion,
let's picture ouselves in line at a security check.
Make certain that we realize that,
to partake fully in the banquet,
we’re required to hand over, not only our belongings,
but our very lives.
Why?
The answer's easy.
It's so that,
with open hearts and open hands,
we might grasp as much of God ...as we can.
__________________
Dear Friends,
The first draft of this week's homily has a sore butt, that is, it's weak at the end. I think I did a good job of dressing the "the eye of the needle" in contemporary garb, but the ending seems predictable and undeveloped. Any ideas you might have would be appreciated. Post them on the discussion board or e-mail them directly to me at jms48@fuse.net.
Thanks!
JMS
Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Modern day commuters who listen to traffic reports
about road conditions on I-275 or slow downs at Lytle Tunnel or the Cut-in-the-Hill
can relate to today’s gospel reading
because travelers making their way into Jerusalem
also had traffic slow-downs and highway bottle-necks to deal with.
Bible scholars, for instance, tell us
that there was once a gate into the city of Jerusalem
that was low and narrow.
The truckers of their day had a name for it.
They didn’t call it the Cut-in-the-Hill,
they referred to it as The Eye of the Needle.
And it was a pain in the neck.
Caravans and merchants who approached the outskirts of the city
from that direction
had to unload the camels of their cargo
in order to get them through “the Eye of the Needle.”
Jesus used that narrow gate
to illustrate how hard it is
for people to let go of their insecurities
and put their trust in God.
You know, a couple of weeks,
I was on the job site with a parishioner
who’s overseeing the extensive road work taking place
on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
between University of Cincinnati and the Federal EPA Building.
Part of that project includes a new gate into the parking facilities at the EPA.
I got to listen in on a couple of discussions
about the strength of that gate which is engineered to stop
a 20 ton truck going 30 mph.
I wonder, if Jesus had engaged people in Cincinnati instead of Jerusalem,
if he might not point to a security gate
like the one outside the Federal EPA Building
and remind us that it’s not easy to break into heaven.
“It’s easier for a terrorist to ram a truck through a security barrier
than an frightened person to feel secure in today’s world or in the world to come.
I like the idea of a security gate at the EPA Building
as opposed to the city gate in the wall of Jerusalem
because the word that Jesus speaks today
is not simply about unloading cargo from a camel.
He’s really speaking about security
and how, no matter what we do,
no matter how many bags are inspected at the airports
no matter how many metal detectors are placed at the doors of our schools
no matter what type of health insurance you might carry
no matter how strong of a pension plan you think you might have…
if you can’t put your trust in God
you’re wasting your time,
you’re wasting your energy,
you’re wasting your life.
You all know the story about the farmer who bought more land
and built more silos.
“Finally, I have security,” he says.
“I have wealth stored up for years to come.
Now, finally, I can sit back, eat, drink and be merry.”
But God says, “You fool! Tonight your life will required of you.”
It’s hard to let go
of the things we work so hard to get.
And that’s why, on our way to God’s table today,
we find ourselves in line at a check point,
not an eye in the needle but a metal detector,
like those at an airport.
Call it God’s security barrier.
Guns and knives set off the alarm.
Laptops and cell phones must be discarded.
Like Moses before the burning bush,
we even take off our shoes.
We enter the outskirts of heaven
when we hand our life---every aspect of our life—over to God.
Here's a cleaned-up version. My thanks to Steve for his suggestion to highlight something of what we receive back when we turn our lives over to Christ. This helped me in the conclusion of the homily. I'm still not satisfied, however, with the lack of a "Okay, now here's how we do this" segment.
Let me know what you think.
Fr. Jim (jms48@fuse.net)
Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
If you commute to work…
if you listen to traffic reports…
about conditions on I-275
or slow downs at Lytle Tunnel
or the Cut-in-the-Hill
than can easily relate to today’s gospel reading.
Why?
Because it refers to a traffic snarl-up
for travelers to Jerusalem back in Jesus’ time.
Bible scholars, you see, tell us
that there was once a gate into the city of Jerusalem
that was low and narrow.
The transporters of the day had a name for it.
It wasn’t “the Cut-in-the-Hill,”
they called it “the Eye of the Needle”
because it was a pain in the neck.
Caravans and merchants
had to unload the camels of their cargo
in order to get them through “the Eye of the Needle.”
Now, in today’s gospel, Jesus refers to that bottleneck
to illustrate how hard it is
for people to let go of their insecurities
and put their trust in God.
“It is easier for a camel
to pass through “the eye of the needle,”
than it is for a rich man
to get into heaven.”
Now, as you all know,
I don’t have to commute to work.
But I do like to visit the work places
where my parishioners spend so much of their time.
A couple of weeks,
I joined a city building inspector whose current assignment
is to oversee the extensive road work taking place
on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
between University of Cincinnati and the Federal EPA Building.
Part of that project includes a new security gate
into the parking facilities at the EPA building.
Everyone on the job site is intrigued by this.gate.
In the course of one hour I heard two different discussions
about this mechanical gate which can stop
20 ton truck coming at it at 30 miles per hours.
I wonder if the Lord Jesus might find some similarity
between the gate called “the eye of the needle”
and the security gate at federal Building here in our own city?
And, instead of talking about unloading cargo from camel,
might he have something to say
about the difficulty we have when it comes
to unloading our security
and placing our trust in him?
I think he might. Why?
Because a rich man is a fearful man.
Jesus isn’t speaking about riches
as much as he is speaking about insecurity
that comes with having a lot of loot.
It’s hard to get into heaven
when you can’t put your trust in God.
And you and me, well, we live in a fearful society today.
Our insecurity makes it hard
to place our trust in God.
No matter how many bags are inspected at the airports.
No matter how many metal detectors are placed at the doors of our schools.
No matter what type of health insurance you might carry.
No matter how strong of a pension plan you think you might have…
if you can’t put your ultimate trust in God
then deep down you’re insecure, you're nervous, you live in fear.
Without trust in God,
without an abiding fiendship with Jesus Christ,
the foundation of your life...
and your reason for walking the face of the face of earth...
turns to sand.
You all know the story about the farmer who bought more land
and built more silos.
“Finally, I have security,” he says.
“I have wealth stored up for years to come.
Now, finally, I can sit back, eat, drink and be merry.”
But God says, “You fool! Tonight your life will required of you.”
No doubt, it’s hard to let go
of the things we work so hard to get.
But that’s why, on our way to God’s table today,
we find ourselves in line at a check point.
As Jesus himself said,
"Those who feed on me will live because of me."
This means that the Eucharist is the gateway to heaven.
It also means that Eucharist functions
as the security gate into heaven.
So today, as we stand in line for Holy Communion,
let's picture ouselves in line at a security check.
Make certain that we realize that,
to partake fully in the banquet,
we’re required to hand over, not only our belongings,
but our very lives.
Why?
The answer's easy.
It's so that,
with open hearts and open hands,
we might grasp as much of God ...as we can.
__________________
Dear Friends,
The first draft of this week's homily has a sore butt, that is, it's weak at the end. I think I did a good job of dressing the "the eye of the needle" in contemporary garb, but the ending seems predictable and undeveloped. Any ideas you might have would be appreciated. Post them on the discussion board or e-mail them directly to me at jms48@fuse.net.
Thanks!
JMS
Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Modern day commuters who listen to traffic reports
about road conditions on I-275 or slow downs at Lytle Tunnel or the Cut-in-the-Hill
can relate to today’s gospel reading
because travelers making their way into Jerusalem
also had traffic slow-downs and highway bottle-necks to deal with.
Bible scholars, for instance, tell us
that there was once a gate into the city of Jerusalem
that was low and narrow.
The truckers of their day had a name for it.
They didn’t call it the Cut-in-the-Hill,
they referred to it as The Eye of the Needle.
And it was a pain in the neck.
Caravans and merchants who approached the outskirts of the city
from that direction
had to unload the camels of their cargo
in order to get them through “the Eye of the Needle.”
Jesus used that narrow gate
to illustrate how hard it is
for people to let go of their insecurities
and put their trust in God.
You know, a couple of weeks,
I was on the job site with a parishioner
who’s overseeing the extensive road work taking place
on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
between University of Cincinnati and the Federal EPA Building.
Part of that project includes a new gate into the parking facilities at the EPA.
I got to listen in on a couple of discussions
about the strength of that gate which is engineered to stop
a 20 ton truck going 30 mph.
I wonder, if Jesus had engaged people in Cincinnati instead of Jerusalem,
if he might not point to a security gate
like the one outside the Federal EPA Building
and remind us that it’s not easy to break into heaven.
“It’s easier for a terrorist to ram a truck through a security barrier
than an frightened person to feel secure in today’s world or in the world to come.
I like the idea of a security gate at the EPA Building
as opposed to the city gate in the wall of Jerusalem
because the word that Jesus speaks today
is not simply about unloading cargo from a camel.
He’s really speaking about security
and how, no matter what we do,
no matter how many bags are inspected at the airports
no matter how many metal detectors are placed at the doors of our schools
no matter what type of health insurance you might carry
no matter how strong of a pension plan you think you might have…
if you can’t put your trust in God
you’re wasting your time,
you’re wasting your energy,
you’re wasting your life.
You all know the story about the farmer who bought more land
and built more silos.
“Finally, I have security,” he says.
“I have wealth stored up for years to come.
Now, finally, I can sit back, eat, drink and be merry.”
But God says, “You fool! Tonight your life will required of you.”
It’s hard to let go
of the things we work so hard to get.
And that’s why, on our way to God’s table today,
we find ourselves in line at a check point,
not an eye in the needle but a metal detector,
like those at an airport.
Call it God’s security barrier.
Guns and knives set off the alarm.
Laptops and cell phones must be discarded.
Like Moses before the burning bush,
we even take off our shoes.
We enter the outskirts of heaven
when we hand our life---every aspect of our life—over to God.
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 10:24 AM
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