2019
October 6 / 27th Sunday ●●
Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ● Psalm 95 ● 2
Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ● Luke 17:5-10 ●●
[__01__] We
are very pleased to have at this Solemn Mass for the Rosary Altar
Society our concelebrant – Monsignor Sylvester Cronin, pastor of St. James Church in Basking Ridge - and an alumnus 1975 of Our Lady of
Lourdes School.
After Mass, Monsignor Cronin will be
speaking at our Communion Breakfast after Mass.
Considering the Gospel of today and
also the importance of our Blessed Mother and our own mothers in our lives, I’d
like to reflect on the Gospel with 3 ideas today:
1. What
is Certain
2. What
is Sufficient
3. What
is SERVICE?
[__02__] 1st. What is
Certain.
The
old saying of Benjamin Franklin was that the only 2 certain things in life were
DEATH and TAXES, dying and being taxed.
Jesus, in the few verses says that
what is certain – life – is that there will be SCANDAL. And Scandal – like
taxes – certainly gets our attention… before the start of today’s Gospel in
verse 5 of Luke 17, we read Jesus’ words:
“Things
that cause sin – scandal – will surely occur, but woe to the person through
whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his
neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little
ones to sin.” (Luke 17:1-2).
[__03__] Now,
of course, it is natural for us to associate scandal – or to be scandalized by
– the behavior of people we may see on TV news, or by any institutional leader,
or by a church leader, by a celebrity.
But, Jesus is also cautioning us that
we could – if we are not careful – also be the source of scandal or sin for
others.
[__04__] And, in today’s Gospel Jesus says that
given the certainty of scandal … what we need is not our opinion or our
analysis …but our faith in God’s love and mercy.
This is part 2 – Jesus speask about
what is SUFFICIENT…
Jesus encouraged us – noting that we
are all novices in knowledge of God’s ways, we are all beginners in the
Biblical-thought … while we might have the Commandments memorized, we do not
always remember to follow them.
Jesus does not want us to be
discouraged because we are not EXPERTS,
it is sufficient that we are simply starting out… sufficient that we
start and re-start ourselves in the ways of the faith each day.
Our Rosary Altar Society gives us a
beautiful example of this and reminder of devotion to the Lord, to the
mysteries of his life in the Rosary.
So, yes, there is the certainty of
scandal in our lives…but do we not also try to restart each day with our focus
on God and his ways including remembering that God is our Father and Mary our
mother.
[__05__] In
addition to speaking about what is CERTAIN and what is SUFFICIENT – Jesus
speaks about what is SERVICE the significance of service.
One commentator observed that is
Jesus’ way of warning his disciples not to pose for the ancient equivalent of
selfies…nor to seek places of honor for their service..but just to do what God
wants them to do.
[__06__] I
would like to close with an example from a Hollywood movie of the year 2000, a
movie called Almost Famous which is
about to become a Broadway musical.
I reflect on this because there is
contained in it…
The certainty of scandal, the
sufficiency of starting out, the significance of service…and not least of all,
the love of a mother for her son.
Almost Famous is also the nearly true
story of an actual music rock and and roll journalist in California in the
1970’s.
The movie title – Almost Famous – is
also kind of ironic because the movie was almost NOT VERY FAMOUS at all because
very few people went to see it in the theater. It was not financially
successful at least not at first…but the movie received 4 Oscar/Academy Awards
nominations, including a win for Best Original Screenplay and other significant
awards.
The famous critic Roger Ebert hailed it the
best film of the year 2000 and top 10 movie for the decade.
[__07__] I
also bring this up because of the character of the mother – the mother played
by Frances McDormand – who is so worried about her son being out on the road
with rock and roll bands…and who is – at various times – in the movie calling
up her son to find out if he is abusing alcohol or using drugs or getting into
trouble in other ways.
Her son is 15 years old travelling
with rock and roll bands. Surely, there is the CERTAINTY OF SCANDAL…and she
leaves messages at the front desk of hotels for him… written out by the hotel
staff at the front desk with words like, “your mother called, don’t do drugs”
So, in so many ways, the movie is not
just about a young man on the road …it is about his mother who loves him and
wants him to return home.
Spoiler alert – the young William
Miller does return home “almost famous” at the end of the movie.
[__08__] But
the character of the mother – Frances McDormand – reminds her son and us that
we are all in kind of an “almost” state…. That we are all just starting out in
life, that we all need just a little bit of faith to start out… that faith is
called to grow however…
In one scene in the movie… the mother
finds herself on the phone with one of the rock and roll stars…towards whom she
is scandalized and scared… for her son…
and she reminds this rock and roll guy that her son is just starting …and that
it’s important for the rock and roll guy to get her son home safe…
And it is important we recognize whom we
really serve…
Do we serve what is good, do we serve
what is Evil?
MOTHER: Hello?
ROCK
STAR (Russell): Look, you
got a great kid here. There's nothing to worry about. We're taking good care of him. You
should come to the [rock concert] show sometime.
MOTHER: Hey, listen to me, mister … Your charm doesn't
work on me. I'm onto you. Oh, of course
you like [my son]
ROCK STAR:
Well, yeah.
MOTHER: [My son] worships you people.
MOTHER: He 's
a smart, good-hearted -year-old kid with infinite potential. This
is not some apron-wearing mother you're speaking to. He's not ready for your world of
compromised values...and
diminished brain cells that you throw away like confetti. Am
I speaking to you clearly?
ROCK
STAR: - Yes, ma'am. -
MOTHER: If you break his spirit...harm
him in any way... keep
him from his chosen profession, which is law...something you may not value,
but I do...
MOTHER: you will meet the voice at the other end of
this telephone. And it will not be pretty.
Do we understand each other? Now go do
your best.
It's
not too late for you to become a person of substance, Russell.
Please
get my son home safely.
The Lord with his Blessed Mother just
wants us to get home safely, safely to heaven, through our recognition…that
scandal is certain…that is sufficient to start out with a little bit of faith
and that above all we serve God, we worship God and none other. We will also
meet Him one day.
Get home safe.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us. [__fin___]
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