We Are Family

There was a formal ball one evening,

And Lynda Johnson decided on short notice that she wanted to go.

But there was little time to get ready, and she didn’t have anyone to take her.

So her daddy, Lyndon, called in the Marines.

He asked the General to pick a good young Marine

And send him over to the White House to serve as Lynda Bird's escort.

The General considered his choices there at the 8^th & I Barracks.

And he sent a young officer—Lt. Chuck Robb.

That’s one of the stories the old General liked to tell.

He’d known President Johnson before that.

But this chance role as matchmaker brought him closer into the Johnson family.

I first began chatting with the long-retired General at my daughter’s soccer games.

My daughter and his only grandchild, Danielle, were eight-year-olds and best friends.

He was a very devoted and involved grandfather.

Trying to fill in for his son, Danielle’s father, who had died shortly before she was born.

Danielle and her mother lived just down the street from us.

And I’d see him there a few times a week, doing handyman jobs or just visiting.

Every summer he and his wife would pick up Danielle and her mother.

And drive down to the small farm in Tennessee where he’d grown up.

They’d stay there a couple months, visiting with a few locals,

Swimming in the river that ran through the yard,

Doing a few chores, but not too much work.

And enjoying a peaceful country rest.

As the girls grew older, we started letting our daughter make the trip with them.

And then we’d go down a couple weeks later, stay a few days, and bring her home.

The farmhouse was a few miles down a shady dirt road from the nearest little town.

The main house was fairly large for a farmhouse, and surrounded by dense woods.

In the early 1800s it had been an inn for travelers who came by that route to ford the river.

There was a smaller cottage behind the house.

An old couple, James and Ella, lived in the cottage.

They took care of the whole property most of the year while the General was away.

As they had done for decades while his career kept him too busy for long visits.

James’ father had worked the farm for the General's father.

James had been born in that cottage and never moved away.

He had been like an older brother to the General when they were boys.

And now the old farmer enjoyed calling his important world-traveled friend Little Brother.

And so, each summer they all lived on the farm, like one happy family.

Old James calling the General Little Brother.

And my daughter calling him Pappa.

Though neither title was technically correct.

And when we came to visit and retrieve our daughter, we were treated like family too.

It’s a real honor to have someone tell us that they consider us family.

And deeply touching when they treat us in a way that shows that they really do.

So this morning we should be exceedingly honored and exceedingly touched.

Because we just heard the words of Jesus, telling us that he considers us family.

No mere General.

No mere President.

But Jesus himself.

3rd Tuesday Ordinary Time

Mk 3:31-35      Read this Scripture @usccb.org

Sunday, Sunday

One Sunday night we were driving home from a weekend trip.

My young grandson hadn’t eaten much at dinner and now, at 9:00, he was hungry.

We were all eager to get home, and still had another hour to drive.

But we decided we’d grab something for him at the next fast food place.

There was a McDonald’s at the next exit just a few miles up the road.

But as we approached, it looked kind of dark and empty.

When we pulled up by the door we could read the sign.

Closed 8:PM on Sunday’s.

We found the same thing with the Wendy’s at the next exit.

How inconvenient!

We’ve come to expect that just about anything we want will be available 24/7.

But it wasn’t all that long ago when almost every business was closed on Sunday.

Hospitals, police and fire departments, utility companies, public transportation, hotels,

And other essential services operated at reduced levels.

But they were the few exceptions.

Today, things have shifted in the other direction.

Most non-service businesses still close.

But now, most service-industry businesses are open.

And the service sector has grown to employ a much larger portion of the workforce.

Sunday’s a big day at the Shopping Mall.

A workday for many, and a diversion for the rest.

Except in those few states that still enforce laws restricting Sunday business activity.

Years ago when I lived in New England, most of the states there had strict “Blue Laws”.

A holdover from their early Puritan days when they tried to enforce religious rules by civil law.

But those laws have been generally repealed, or relaxed, or left unenforced.

Jewish law was very strict regarding work and other activities on the Sabbath.

And interpretation of that law became a key point of dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees.

They disagreed on many of the finer points.

But they actually agreed on the larger point that Jesus reminds them of in today’s Gospel.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

God gives us the Sabbath as a day of rest.

His third commandment tells us Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

That keeping holy does involve devoting time to worshiping God.

But it's all for our benefit, not God’s.

And that keeping holy also involves resting and devoting time to ourselves and our families.

For many people, caught in the struggle to survive, it’s hard to make that time.

And for those with the luxury of leisure time, the distractions make it hard.

So God gives us the added incentive of commanding that we do it at least once a week.

He tells us that it’s not only okay, but required.

During our country’s era of slavery

Jesuits and other missionaries tried to baptize as many slaves as they could.

There are stories of mass baptisms, spraying the slaves with hoses, at the ports and slave pens.

Those missionaries weren’t just trying to crank up the number of Christians in the New World.

They were trying to ensure that those poor slaves would be entitled to at least one day of rest.

Christian slave holders, of which there were regrettably many,

Would have to grant that Sabbath rest to their Christian slaves.

Some people still maintain very strict rules regarding their Sunday activities.

They avoid work of any kind – except for true emergencies.

They avoid shopping or riding a bus or any activity that might require someone else to work.

Some won’t even watch football players work on TV.

We can all differ on our interpretations of just what it means to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

But we should make sure that our own interpretation honors the gift that God is giving us.

2nd Tuesday Ordinary Time

Mk 2:23-28      Read this Scripture @usccb.org

Theologians

My fellow theologians ...

As St Anselm defined theology, it is faith seeking understanding.

And that fairly well describes us.

We have faith in God—week or strong or imperfect as it may be.

Some of our beliefs we simply accept, even though we don't fully understand.

So we'd like to understand more.

How can we increase our understanding?

There are some things we'll never fully understand in this life.

But certainly prayer and study can lead us to greater understanding of our God and our faith.

Scripture—The Word of God—is one major source of increased understanding.

We hear the Scripture proclaimed here at Mass.

On Sundays we have four readings.

Typically, one each from the Old Testament, Psalms, Epistles, and Gospels.

The book that contains the Scripture readings for each Mass is the Lectionary.

It was organized by a group of liturgists and Scripture scholars.

And often, they selected readings that complement each other.

They might present a Book of the Gospels in day-to-day serial installments.

And then select Old Testament and Epistle excerpts related to each daily Gospel passage.

For example, one day's Gospel passage quotes Jesus reading from the scroll of Isaiah.

And saying that, as Isaiah foretold, he has come to set the captives free.

The Old Testament selection for that day is that very portion of Isaiah that Jesus read.

And there's a Psalm selection that speaks of setting captives free.

Other times, especially on weekdays, the readings are not so complementary.

The Gospel might be serially progressing through Matthew.

And the First Reading might be serially progressing through the Book of Samuel.

And dealing with a totally different theme from the Gospel.

These Scripture passages can greatly aid our theological quest.

They can increase our understanding of God and of our own faith.

And like so many things, the more we put in the more we get out.

Hearing them, reading them, contemplating and praying with them.

We can make a practice of re-reading them after Mass, or pre-reading them before Mass.

We can use them as a study tool.

Or as a jumping off point for meditative or contemplative prayer.

We might ask ourselves, Why is this set of readings grouped together today?

Does the grouping itself emphasize some complementary lesson or theme?

Or do the individual readings each offer an independent message?

Scripture passages usually have multiple explicit and implicit messages.

The readings can all be found in the Bible, using the citations listed in our Sunday Bulletin.

They're more conveniently found in a book, a Missal, that is like the Lectionary.

It groups all the the Scripture readings for each daily and Sunday Mass.

Or you might subscribe to Magnificat, a monthly paperback that has all the readings.

If you prefer using your computer, there's a great, free, online site.

It's provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at usccb.org.

The home page shows a calendar, and you click on any date to see the readings.

As for today's readings, they do complement each other to give us a more complete message.

The linkage isn't quite so obvious as in the Isaiah-captives example.

But I don't think I'm stretching too far to find one.

Maybe it's what the Lectionary organizers had in mind, or maybe it's not.

But it's what I saw when I contemplated on today's readings.

You've just heard the readings too, maybe you already have your own impressions.

If you re-read and ponder them, maybe you'll have even greater insights and understanding.

Today's Gospel describes how St Peter, one of our greatest Saints, first found Jesus.

Our First Reading (from the Book of Samuel) tells us that God himself calls us to himself.

But, like Samuel we need help in recognizing the call.

How did Peter find Jesus?

Someone led him—his brother Andrew.

How did Andrew find Jesus?

Someone led him—John the Baptist.

How did John find Jesus?

Someone led him—The Holy Spirit.

John was very special, the Holy Spirit alone was enough for him.

Unless we're already in pretty intense direct contact with God,

And receive some special revelation,

We're not going to find Jesus without some sort of human guidance.

How did you find Jesus?

Probably for most of us—it was, at least initially, through parents and family.

But maybe instead or in addition it was friends, teachers, writers.

In this generation, this age, we're the ones called to be those guides.

It's up to us to answer the call like Samuel did, and as our Psalm proclaims.

Your Servant is listening. Here I am Lord, I've come to do your will.

Like John the Baptist and Andrew and Peter before us, we've all been led to the Messiah.

Now, like them, God is calling us to bring others to Jesus.

And, as we hear in our Second Reading (1 Corinthians), God is here to help us.

He didn't leave us alone without assistance.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, dwells right here—within each of us.

We see that we have a God who calls us and reveals himself to each of us individually.

But also a God of community, who relies on us to help each other hear and understand his call.

Today's Scripture adds to or reinforces the information we have for our theological quest.

It gives us a greater understanding of our God.

And hopefully that added understanding brings a little additional strengthening of our faith.

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Jn 1:35-42      Read this Scripture @usccb.org

Feed Them Yourself

Even in our secular, cynical culture,

The vast majority of Americans still believe in Divine miracles.

The other day a Facebook entry led me to a HuffPost article.

That article quoted a recent Pew Survey on miracles.

It found that 75% of Americans believe in the miracles of Christmas.

They believe that Jesus was born to a virgin.

They believe that angels announced the birth to shepherds.

And they believe that a star led wise men to the stable.

And there are still many more Americans

Who don't believe in all three of those Christmas miracles,

But do believe in other miracles.

For us Catholics, our faith requires belief in some of the major miracles.

Like the virgin birth—that's a matter of dogma—it's part of our Creed.

But some other miracles are more open to interpretation.

I was a little surprised at the survey results and at the positive tone of the article.

It quoted a number of professors and scholars who offered their take on miracles.

They said miracles are God's interventions in this world.

God's drawing our attention to some important truth.

Catching our attention and making us look at everything in a different light.

They agreed that belief in miracles requires a leap of faith.

One scholar was a former atheist who's now a Jewish theologian.

He had decided he was more comfortable living with faith than without it.

The importance of a miracle, they said, is less its violation of natural law or science.

And more its drawing us to the particular message or truth associated with it.

And to the insight that we really don't know all there is to know about this world.

In today's Gospel passage we have another miracle.

The feeding of more than 5,000 people with just a few fish and loaves.

Many of us accept that miracle as a historic fact.

Some may view it as just a metaphorical story.

But we can all get the associated message:

Feed the hungry—whether they hunger for physical food or spiritual food, or justice.

Tend to the sheep who have no shepherd.

Recognize that we have the responsibility and the power.

Jesus tells us, Give them some food yourselves.

And he shows us that the power is available to us.

We just have to take that leap of faith and call on that power.

Tuesday after Epiphany

Mk 6:34-44      Read this Scripture @usccb.org