Love. Declaration. Vocation. Equation (2021-10-31, Sunday - 31)

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Homily –  Oct. 31, 2021  /  31^st Sunday (Year B)

● Deuteronomy 6:2-6   ●   Psalm 18 ●  Hebrews 7:23-28 ●  + Mark 12:28b-34 ●

Title: Love. Declaration. Vocation. Equation

[__00-a_]        One unusual feature of this Gospel of Mark conversation is that Jesus and the scribe are so “simpático” or friendly to each other.

          Usually, a scribe and Jesus are antipático or unfriendly, texting back and forth their critiques.  Here, they are in perfect agreement.

[__00-b_]   The bottom line here, friends, also is that love of neighbor and love of God are necessary partners. They are compatible. Each necessitates the other.  It even asks us to make sacrifices  and not just to be friendly with those who are usually friendly with us.  Jesus gives us an example of sacrificial love, summarized as:

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)

This is what Jesus wants to show the scribe and you and me. In this Gospel passage, we're told about 3 dimensions or demonstrations of love – love of God, love of neighbor, and love of oneself.

It may be helpful to see the three as connected in a way that [ELECTRICITY]  or [power charge] is connected to multiple dimensions of your house or devices in your house all at once.

The [E] runs around to all of the devices. And, when your phone is fully charged, you can do lots of things. The [E] or electricity or [charge] is the love.

I'd like to touch on this in terms of the [declaration] of love, the [vocation] of love and the [equation] of love.

 

 

 

[__01_]   [declaration] of love.

God is love.  That’s the declaration. The theologian Josef Pieper who was very influential on Pope John Paul 2^nd wrote this about love:

“to love another person means that we  state / DECLARE   “‘it is good that you exist, it is good that you are in this world“ (Josef Pieper, Faith Hope Love, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997, pp. 163-164).

In other words, “I love you simply because you are, because exist.” Is this not the love of parents for children even before they're born? I love you simply because you are. And, when the child is small and can neither walk nor talk. The parent loves the child for his existence.

And by the way, the opposite is true. When you and I fall into the temptation of despising somebody else, really not liking somebody else being anxious about somebody else. What do we declare? “I wish the person didn't exist”.  Yes, this is pretty harsh, but have I harbored this thought or been tempted by this thought at times?   Yes. have you?

To love God is to acknowledge his existence, to declare his existence.

Do I thank God for God's existence? For his mercy? Do I acknowledge his existence? That means we love Go.

The first step in loving a person is to acknowledge or to affirm the other. And the same is true when loving God to acknowledge God and as we read in the Gospel:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength”  (Mark 12:__)

That's the declaration of love. God’s word is the declaration of love.

[__02_]   [vocation] of love.

What is your vocation or your calling? Often we think of vocation or calling as something very explicit or formal like being married, being a mother being a father, being a religious sister, a nun, being a priest, these are vocations.

But we also have a vocation, a calling, to practice love and charity, “Love thy neighbor”.

And sometimes love is going to ask me to do things that I may not want to do.  Think about the electricity or what you and I are plugged into.

Just because something is plugged in and fully charged, do I have to make use of it? Could I ignore it ?

Love is a vocation and draws us out of ourselves, sometimes to where we do not want to go or we do not think it is possible to go..

   Peter Kreeft, Boston College Philosophy professor, makes this observation, asks this question:

  But how can we love someone if we don't like him (her)?

And he says this there, it's, it's possible to love somebody, even if you don't like him or like her. Because there's somebody that you love right now, who you may not like, or maybe didn't like that person yesterday, or the day before. And that person is you. Or me.

We don't always have tender, sweet, comfortable feelings about ourselves; sometimes we feel foolish, or wicked. But we love ourselves: we seek our own good. Indeed, the only reason why we feel dislike toward ourselves and berate ourselves is precisely because we do love ourselves! We care about our good, so we are impatient with our bad.

And it is important that we also engender this in young people who might despair about their lives or about their existence, or even tempted to anxiety, depression, suicide, because they have experienced “dislike” or displeasure from others.

You can be loved even if you are not liked !   And, your your existence matters. It is good that you exist. Your existence matters to God matters to you, it matters to other people by whom you are loved.

Just because someone has expressed “dislike” it does not mean there is no “love”.

So, we talked about the DECLARATION of love (in God) and the VOCATION to love our neighbor and ourselves.

Now, the EQUATION of love and the EQUATION of love in the Gospel.

 

[__03_]   [equation] of love.

I call this the equation of love because Jesus made himself equal to you and me.  The Incarnation is about an “equation” of his existence in a perfect unity of one person who is fully divine and fully human.

But, the Son of God also made himself equal to every child, every every woman and every man, by becoming the incarnate Son of God.

This equation was demonstrated by his sacrifice and our salvation.  Paul wrote of this as Christ who is perfectly “godly” or divine makes himself equal to you and me who are sinful and not yet “godly”.

We need the electricity of his mercy, love, grace.

“For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.  Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:6-8)

God loved us so much that even when we were sinners, Jesus died for us.   Jesus made himself like a sinner, even though Jesus didn't have any sin.  Loving us, he became our equal.

This equation is Christ’s declaration of love for you.

And isn't this the beauty of giving and receiving love that we experience the equation or equality of of love. Think about someone who really loved you or does love you. Maybe this person is a teacher, a coach, parent, grandparent, someone who was “above” you but loved you as an equal.

Thus, your existence was important and affirmed.  This is the calling of parents for their their children. Parents treat their children as equals. It doesn't mean that the child is identical to the parent or the same as the parent but equal in value.

[__04_]   [conclusion]

In this Gospel passage, we see a relationship developing between a scribe and Christ Himself. This is notable because the average scribe represents the "few" among his leadership / group who did accepted Jesus . So, this “view of the few” - of the 1 scribe - shows “what might have been” – for the “many” other scribes.

It also shows what is still possible for you and me, to be his disciples. We do not have to worry about "what might have been"

God DECLARED and made us in His love, different and diverse, but we're called to be loved and forgiven for who we are even loved by Christ when we have sinned against him

In this regard, you (I) have a VOCATION to love others who are sinning against and trespassing against us.. How can I love somebody who's sinning against me? Because I know that Jesus loved me. Do I always carry it out? No.

To carry this out, I have to keep the electricity charged.  I have to pray for this strength and grace. I have to keep myself plugged into God's love as the origin of love and to remember that our destination is heaven where God is love.  [__fin_]  

Bartimaeus. Crossing Over (2021-10-24, 30th Sunday)

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Homily: Oct.  24, 2021  /  30^th Sunday (Year B)

● Jeremiah 31:7-9  ●   Psalm 126 ●  Hebrews 5:1-6 ●  + Mark 10:46-52 ●

Title:  . Crossing Over

[__00_]   Many years ago, I encountered a blind person at a crosswalk, at the street corner.  I’d like to talk about this encounter, just as an example related to Bartimaeus (the blind man who cannot physically see with his eyes and the Gospel) and the

[ (1^st ) CROSSWALK, the

(2^nd ) CROSSROADS, and the

(3^rd ) CROSS + Christ. ]

[__01_]   [ 1^st . CROSSWALK]

          It was about 7:30 am, it was morning rush hour, in the city, outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

A blind gentleman walked up to me and asked if I would accompany him across the street, in the crosswalk =  the specially paved or marked path for pedestrians crossing a street or road.

This entire task of walking him across the street happened pretty fast and was completed in a lapse of time shorter than it's taking me to tell you this right now.

And, I was apprehensive, nervous. After all, this blind gentleman had been doing fine without me all along. I might mess this up.

          I do recall that my inclination was to talk with him…that I must fill in this moment and create conversation.  By the way - a note to myself --- don’t fill in every moment needs to be filled in with my conversation, with words, James Ferry! That’s true in praying as well…sometimes, it’s OK just to be there and be present and not say anything out loud.

Upon exiting the crosswalk and re-entering the sidewalk, he detached himself from my elbow from my arm, and resumed walking with his cane, and made his way confidently up uptown on 8^th Avenue.

Is there, right now, a difficult task or transition for you to complete or comprehend? Or for you to commence or begin to get started on?

There are things I can think of…”Oh, I don’t even want to start that… or I don’t even want to think about that yet.”

I need help to get started. I need the guidance of friends, neighbors, co-workers, neighbors just to get started.

          But, we are also called not only to seek out personal help from others but the spiritual help of God in our prayer and meditations.

          By the way, that incident with the blind man reminded me at the time that a friend of mine had a similar encounter in which a blind person also asked me friend for guidance across the street. And, the fact that someone had done this before was a help to me.

          But the real example for us is Christ, God’s word and God’s illumination in our blindness.

As we read in the 119^th psalm:

“Your word is be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)

          That’s the “crosswalk”. Then, there is the “crossroads”

[__02_]   [2^nd The Crossroads]

Practically, this NYC gentleman – blind - needed assistance from someone -- it just happened to be me -- to enter the crosswalk, where there would be traffic and cars and more danger.

But, are we not all – at time – at crossroads and at intersections?

Bartimaeus was at a crossroads – a time of transition – in that he threw aside his cloak (his outer layer of clothing) to go and meet Christ.

There is also a crossroads between Jerusalem and Jericho which I would like to discuss in a moment.

But, Bartimaeus is at a crossroads in his life. He throws aside what is material, he throws off his cloak, in order to get closer to Christ. He does not much in the way of possessions. And, he is blind.

Am I willing – are you willing – to put aside material things in order to draw closer to Christ? What is getting in the way that I could put aside? Or, what material things might be blocking me in my responsibilities of love towards others?

One thing that Bartimaeus puts aside is “rejection”.  Bartimaeus – at least at first – is rejected by the crowd. But he puts that aside as well. Am I willing – are you willing – to put aside experiences of rejection to draw closer to God?  Experiences of rejection can keep us on the sideline or the side of the road.

It’s a paradox in this Gospel that Jesus is recognized as the Messiah – picked out of a line-up - by someone entirely NEW and entirely BLIND. That’s Bartimaeus.

Meanwhile, his disciples, up close and personal, are not so sure.

Are you sure that Jesus is your Lord and Savior? Am I sure? Do I live and act with this certainty, with the enthusiasm of Bartimaeus at a very public intersection, a public crossroads, and in front of a crowd?

That’s the crossroads for Bartimaeus. Now I’d like to talk about the crossroads of Jericho and Jerusalem. Bartimaeus is outside Jericho.

[__02-b_]    [2^nd The Crossroads + Jericho, Geographically]

          It so happens that Bartimaeus is outside the city of Jericho. There is something that we can is significant about Jericho in both its ‘NEARNESS / PROXIMITY to Jerusalem’  and in terms of “DISTANCE from Jerusalem”

          Also, nearness to Jesus.

          [1^st. Nearness]. Jericho is 15 miles from Jerusalem and the last stop of Jesus’ caravan (there are many people near Jesus) before entering Jerusalem, for his suffering, death and resurrection. The crowd surrounding Jesus is not a group of local by-standers, but rather the caravan of disciples, at least some of whom want to keep this show on the road, get to Jerusalem.

          They have heard there is glory in Jerusalem, but they do not know fully know what that means yet. They

– at least at first – want to avoid the poor Bartimaeus.  Bartimaeus was an unexpected newly recruited disciple.

          Am I willing to be recruited, to be near Jesus? How do I feel about being recruited, if I am also being asked to experience some suffering, to go along on the way of the Cross?

          Am I willing to recruit others, for service of the Gospel? To invite, for example, someone to come to church, or to know about Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, we are also ONLINE (virtually, YouTube channel) for those who cannot be here!  Or, for those of you who are visiting, to do this for your own parish.

          We hope and pray for those who are not with us physically. We are all called and recruited together.

          But, this is not only about church attendance. Am I willing to recruit others, to help others, not because I exist to share my wisdom, but to share God’s Wisdom?

          This recruitment is not about getting people to have more people in your inner circle or my inner circle…but so that everyone will recognize Christ as our true friend in the interior life.

          In this Gospel episode, Bartimaeus is near to Jesus and in the spotlight, Bartimaeus he is asked, “what do you want me to do for you?”

          This was the exact same question asked by Christ to James and John who ask for “seats at Jesus’ right and left in his kingdom”.  James and John want to be near to Jesus so as to avoid difficulty.

          Bartimaeus’ response is: “I want to see”

          James and John want (desire) what no one else has or is supposed to have and, thus, avoid suffering.

          Bartimaeus is satisfied, grateful, just to be on a level playing field, to have what everyone else has and to give SIGHT this back to God.

Am I happy to have what God has already given me?  Or do I want more than my fair share. Sometimes, I want more than my fair share of the good stuff and less than my fair share of the tough stuff!

Am I happy with gifts similar to what everyone else has?

          Am I happy just to be near Jesus, to be near him in Jericho, to be near Jerusalem and on the way of the cross?

          The nearness of Jericho and Jesus is important.

[2^nd Distance] The distance of Jericho from Jersualem is significant. Jericho is below Jerusalem in altitude, elevation. Jericho is below West Orange in altitude, elevation. Jericho is below everywhere in altitude, elevation!

          Jericho is not the lowest point on earth, but it is the lowest elevation of any inhabited city.  At 800 feet below sea level, Jericho is the lowest inhabited city in the world, that was true in JC’s day and is true today.

          Jerusalem, OTOH, is 2,000 + feet above sea level.

          So, it is a strenuous, steep, treacherous climb, 1,000 meters or 3,000 feet to go up to Jerusalem.

          Bartimeaus is up for the climb. Jesus is up for the climb and goes ahead of us to help us to go the distance and gain eternal life!

          Are you up for it? Am I up for it?

 [__03_]    The blind man of New York City and Bartimaeus are similar to me in this way. They both knew someone else would be their guide to get them to the other side. But for Bartimaeus and for you and for me, this guide in person is not a human being not some random guy on the street like me.

The guide to get us to the other to get to the other side is Jesus Christ who helps us to focus our attention on new life, to make our way to the cross to Jerusalem. Jericho is Jesus's last stop before entering Jerusalem. He's going to Jerusalem to help us to cross to the other side, by giving his life first. Our journey begins now. [__fin_]  

Revival. Survival. Service (2021-10-17, Sunday - 29)

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Homily – Oct.  17, 2021  /  29^th Sunday (Year B)

● Isaiah 53:10-11 ●   Psalm 33 ●  Hebrews 4:14-16 ●  + Mark 10:35-45 ●

Title:  . Revival. Survival. Service.

[__01_]   At Los Angeles Int’l Airport – at LAX –  one day – a few years ago, my sister was returning back home, back east, to the east coast, and she bumped into, saw, someone she knew. And, it’s always great to bump into someone you know far from home, and someone you like.

          This person had no idea who my sister was, but my sister knew him.

          This was Steve Carrell, TV and movie star, Steve Carrell from the TV show, The Office as the fictional “Michael Scott” the outrageous boss.

He was in the LAX terminal and would soon be on the plane with them.   Telling us the story, we were recounting all the coincidences:

1.      Steve C.  went to L.A. (my sister went to L.A.)

2.      Steve C is from the state of MA (my sister is from the state of MA where she now lives).

3.     On the airplane LAX to Boston, Steve C was sitting in 1^st Class (NO MORE COINCIDENCE – my sister and family were not sitting in 1^st Class)

[__02_]  My sister and family didn't expect to be in 1^st class. They didn't expect to be in first class just because they recognized a TV / movie star – Steve Carrell. However, that that would have been nice.   For example, imagine this lottery-prize: “whoever is the first person to recognize Steve Carrell gets to sit in 1^st Class and near him….”

[__03_]  That is similar to the way James and John seem to be thinking.

Why do James and john think that they should be in 1^st class seats in the Christ’s Kingdom?  James and John say this:

 “Lord, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you… grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” (Mark 10:35, 37)

Why do J+J expect this? They expect this because they have had  exceptional access to Jesus. Together with Peter, they have been the inner circle or principal witnesses to certain miracles and Peter-James-John were the only 3 disciples on the mountain of the Transfiguration. They went  up, but not in a plane, and observed Jesus’ glory at the high altitude

J+J expect this access to continue.

Christ, however, speaks to them and to us about 3 phases of their journey to the kingdom. J+J seem not interested in “phases” or waiting.. they are anxious passengers who have run up to the front of the line (queue).

J+J treat Christ not as the Lamb of God and servant of all …but as a celebrity or politician who's going to win everybody over with a smile or a look or a YouTube video, is going to make everything OK. Thus, they do not expect to serve but simply to stand at the gate and wait for priority boarding into their 1^st class seats.

[__04_]  The journey – according the Gospel and to Christ – is something else and involves:

[ 1^st. BAPTISM / our “REVIVAL”

2^nd.  CUP / our  “SURVIVAL”

3^rd.  CROSS / our “SERVICE” ]

 

[__05-01_]  [ 1^st. BAPTISM / our “REVIVAL”]

          Baptism. Revival. Birth

It's ironic that the most important physical event that happened to you, you have no recollection of it.

That is the day or moment you were born, or came into this world.

Also, the moment of our birth and before that being conceived as a new life – is not just a stage of development of new life, but “new” and “binary” from  ZERO to ONE. CREATION from nothingness to something.

Every other “life experience” is a development from something else, such as learning to walk is a development from mobility and balancing. Learning to talk is a progression from hearing and listening.   Learning to talk and walk does not come from nothingness but from something.

But life comes from nothingness.

          And, while our parents gave us life by procreation, before them, were nothing. God creates life out of nothingness. And, with God we are something. With God – who is love – we are truly a child and beloved child.

To be born reminds us that you are one who has never existed before and will never exist again.  For this reason, we mourn very deeply when someone dies. We know that the person will never exist again.

Your baptism is also a moment of birth of being born again. Baptism is our REVIVAL. You are a disciple who will never exist again, you have gifts that no one else has.

What is your understanding of your baptism as  REVIVAL?  It's true that our prayers and celebration of baptism, especially baptism, infants, encompasses so many of our hopes and dreams:  we pray for strength, for health, for prosperity on the day of baptism and afterwards.

Yet baptism is not simply a continuation of life as we know it, but a separation from life as we knew it.  It is about something new.

It is REVIVAL and forgiveness of original sin of personal sin. And remember that Jesus has power over sin and death, over sinfulness and over dying.

In our Catholic tradition of confession, penance, reconciliation, to be forgiven is also to be given a new birth, a new lease on life.  This is REVIVAL.

Mercy brings revival.

And, sin and evil – whether vanity, greed, lustfulness, dishonesty – have a way of drawing us in, being attractive – but after we are done with it, we may feel that we are NOTHING, that we are a ZERO again.

But, it is God’s mercy that pulls us out of nothingness and revives us.

Mercy brings revival.

 

We are also called to instruments of God’s mercy. We cannot do this alone.

When you forgive someone from your heart, someone who has hurt you, you participate – with God’s grace – in this revival.

When someone forgives you for your action – even a willful intentional action – this person helps to participate in a revival for you.

God’s mercy is our REVIVAL.      Baptism is our REVIVAL.

[__05-02_]  [ 2^nd.  CUP / our  “SURVIVAL”]

The cup as our SURVIVAL.

Jesus says to James and John, “can you drink the cup?”

Their response, “Sure, we can drink the cup” as though they are being served something in 1^st Class – champagne, Cabernet Sauvignon, mineral water….

.

Jesus is communicating to James and john that what is being poured into their cops is not fine wine or spring water, but a cup of suffering, similar to the Garden of Gethsemane. Recently, I learned that Gethsemane  means the place where the olives are “pressed” or “crushed” and thus remade. It is an olive press.

Christ is crushed in Gethsemane. And, Christ expresses it this way:  “Father take this cup from me but not my will but thine be done.”

Jesus’ suffering is our SURIVAL.

And, the fact we know we can suffer for Christ and with Christ is also our survival. We are not alone in suffering.

Also, a great service to our children by showing them that we – as grown-up’s – do not avoid all inconveniences. Suffering teaches us something about survival.

 

So we talked about BAPTISM and our REVIVAL, about SUFFERING and SURVIVAL.

Why did Jesus revive us with baptism? Why does Jesus help us to survive with the his death and resurrection?

It is not simply to give us seats in 1^st Class, but to make us his servants.

[__05-03_]   [3^rd.  CROSS / our “SERVICE” ]

When I was in college, I applied for a summer job to wait tables at a fairly expensive restaurant near where I lived. I had never been to this restaurant as a customer. And, given that it was expensive, I thought the tips would be good.

When I met the owner, I recall him telling me that he before he ever worked where the people were eating or went into the kitchen, he was made to polish the silverware for 6 months.  

I was like, “so ..are you giving me the job or not…I was confused by that.”

His “silverware” task seemed an exaggeration. But, I never forgot it. Also, I learned at that restaurant that there was a clear differnce between the real table “waiter” in charge and the person busing tables.  There is nothng wrong with busing the tables.

I was not the waiter. I was just busing tables, bring plates back and forth. I had not then  - and would never during my summer time there – rise to the level of being a real waiter.

It was a sign of experience and competence to be a waiter at this restaurant. I simply did not have that yet.

[__06_]   Jesus is asking us to be his servants. He is not handing out seats in first class like complimentary chocolate or mints on the pillow. That’s too bad (some days!) because way, I really like complimentary chocolate and mints on the pillow. So I will admit that I can sometimes lose focus on Christ’s mission for me., when I am called to suffer and sacrifice.

As Jesus himself said in the Gospel today: “the Son of Many came not to served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:___)

Do you and I want security and stability?  Of course, we want security stability. Maybe we even want 1^st class seats. These are good things. They're not bad.  But, Jesus is asking us not to put those things ahead of him.

When you allow yourself to be least or to be last for the good of a child, you are taking a seat of honor.

It is a seat of honor to care for someone who is will, to be at someone’s bedside, this is a seat of honor. When you are speaking the truth in love to someone who cannot yet hear it, and perhaps also rejects you for speaking the truth, that is a seat of honor.

We are not waiting at the gate for seats in 1^st Class, we are waiting to go unto eternal life. And, that’s not bad … for a servant.

And, it’s not a coincidence. It is Christ’s plan for us.  [__fin_] 

What's in the way?. (2021-10-10, Sunday - 28)

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Homily –  Oct.  10, 2021  /  28^th Sunday (Year B)

● Wisdom 7:7-11 ●   Psalm 90 ●  Hebrews 4:12-13 ●  + Mark 10:17-30 ●

Title:  What ‘s in the way?

[__00_]      The headline here friends is that things or objects can get in the way, sometimes between ourselves and God, they can possess us. This is based on our gospel reflection of the rich young man who approaches Jesus and he's asked to detach himself from his possessions.

[__01_]     When I bought my first car, my first vehicle - the car itself became something of an idol – or a substitute for god –  for me. This was kind of ironic because it was not – visually or aesethetically speaking – a very nice looking car.

It was all scratched up, with old bumper stickers including one of the

Roman mythological god “Hercules” on the back.   If you owned a car with a Hercules bumper sticker and traded in at a Hudson County dealership, I may have bought your car.

                            

I could not bring myself to remove any of these markings as they gave the  car a certain character and history.  It also made the car fit in well in an urban neighborhood in Hudson County a short distance from NYC where I lived at the time. I had no garage or private off-street parking. I could only park on the street.

So, a  car that was less shiny and less new was perfect such a use.

It was not, to many people, nice looking. But it was my own “not-very-nice-looking” car.

[__02_]     In this case, there was at least one instance where not my very nice looking car became a source of sin, pride,  and temptation.

But, was I wiling at the time to trade in or "sell off" this personal asset so as to gain real treasure in heaven. Absolutely not!  I still had some growing up to do, some hearing of the Gospel  to do, some praying to do...and by the way, I am still a work in progress, I still have some growing up to do, some praying to do, and I am still a work in progress. You are a work in progress.

[__03_]     I am sharing this episode with you because it does highlight for me how an object of my own possession could come to possess me or lead me astray. 

In the Gospel, there is a man in who is being asked to sell his possessions to follow the Lord, but he is unable to do that because he is attached to his possessions.

[__04_]     I was very attached to that car, to my first car. As you might imagine, since it was my first car, I did not have a car before that. I rode my bicycle to the dealership several miles across town ... took my bicycle home in "pre-owned" car with the old bumper stickers.

I was absolutely determined to buy a car on my first day of shopping. This was, perhaps, error  and sin # 1. It was my absolute hastiness.  I did not really know what shopping around for a car meant, but I was not into that at all. I just wanted a car, and I wanted it right then and there.

And, I wanted something used - not too nice - that I could park on the street in a neighborhood full

of apartment buildngs and parallel parking. 

I was shown a car with 103,000 miles, 2 door compact Nissan and it was 5 years old...and the dealer wanted 6,000 for it. This was 25 years ago. That would be about 10,000 today for a small car that's 5 years old and with 103,000 miles.  (It was really 5,995 “sticker“ for the car in 1998)

Not knowing much better, being hasty, I talked him down to about 4,000 and signed on the dotted line.

I was pretty proud of myself. I had a car.  Then, when I got the car home, I realized that the car needed about 4,000 worth of work, so I had

to pay almost as much to fix the car as it was to buy it.

[__05_]     A few months later, I had to leave the car at my parents' house for about a week. They were appalled at the appearance of the car with the bumper stickers and it did not look very nice in their driveway.

One day, my father had to go out and move the car and he noticed some receipts that I had  absentmindely left  folded up in the car. That was the 4,000 in repairs.

He asked me about them - "did you really pay 4,000 to get this particular car repaired?"

I was stunned and really did not want to answer the question, feeling I was being interrogated.

I am ashamed to admit that I was tempted to lie... but did not actually lie to my father.

How could I lie to him?

My response was, "Dad, can we talk about this later?"

When was "later". Later was was about 10 or 15 years before I "came clean" and told him the whole story.

The car was an object in the way of living in a completely truthful, honest way toward my father.

What are the objects in the way for you, for me now ?  for you ?

What gets in the way of our relationship with Jesus, in the way of love of God and love of neighbor.

Sometimes we idolize things that are not things per se. For example, I can idolize praise. Praise can be very important to me, or perhaps being praised by one particular person is so important to me that if that one or particular person does not praise me, the praise from everybody else doesn't matter. Praise can be an idol. Secondly, punctuality can be an idol. It's good to be on time, but sometimes, I am so attached to being punctual and sometimes I'm my own worst enemy. I cause myself not to be punctual. Yet, I end up unhappy due to my attachment. Punctuality becomes an idol that cannot satisfy me, only God can satisfy.

 

[__06_]     Until 2 years ago, I had a really simple cell phone. It was almost an “analog rotary dial phone.” I noticed I could run that phone for 3 or 4 days without charging it. It had no features.

          I also could get neither video nor internet, nor email, nothing.  I could not take photos or video or record myself.

          I enjoyed that phone. All I could do was text and call.

I enjoyed that. Now, I have a smart phone.  I cannot seem to disconnect from my email and all the other so called “advantages” or perhaps they are disadvantages. I check my email in the sacristy sometimes.

When I am in church by myself, I will try to make a conscious effort not to answer my phone or even

look at my phone "inside the altar rail".   I will go out to the lobby or sacristy.   But, even this, I fear

is not really a sufficiently reverent behavior or response to the presence of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The phone can also be idol for me, a god for me.

What is the idol for you or the object for you? What is the item on your calendar or the entertainment

that you never ever want to miss?

It does not have to be anything big but even the little things can get in the way.

 

[__07_]     And, how do you feel when someone else calls you “out” or notices these idols? Or, you think they notice. Do you feel good?

          I do not feel good. I feel uncomfortable.  But that’s what the Gospel often arrives – as a comfort to the afflicted and affliction to the comfortable.

My father, noticing these 4,000 in receipts on the car was not trying to afflict me. He was just naturally asking a question.

But I experienced this as an “accusation”  or an affliction.

Because those repairs were a source of pride and vanity.

I was called to let them go.

I am called to let other material things go and to recognize that, right now, or very soon,  I could start shopping around for something else that might  get in the way between me and Jesus Christ. I might even want it, right away !

[__fin_]