"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.
(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.
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 6:21 PM
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