Do you know me ? (2019-09-29, Sunday- 26)

• 2019 September 29 •  26^th Sunday

Version 1 was originally for Sept. 8

•  Amos 6:1a, 4-7  •   Psalm  146  •1 Timothy 6:11-16 •  Luke 16:19 - 31 •           

Title:    Do you know me ?

[_01_]  “Do you know me?” 

E.g., those of you who are old enough to remember the phrase, “Do you know me?” will easily recall that it was an ADVERTISEMENT for the credit card American Express card that helped the famous people in those commercials buy a product or service or get something … – with the card and because they had the American Express card …

So – for example – let’s say the ad were running in 2019.   While in 2019,everyone knows what Amazon is and may also know that Jeff Bezos is the head of Amazon, they may not know what Jeff Bezos looks like. So, you would see Jeff Bezos in a store buying something and asking “do you know me” and then he reveals his or her name with the AmEx card.

          So -- we all have an identity worth remembering..and we all can be “known” even if we are not famous.

That brilliant TV ad campaign was so successful that dozens of big-name celebrities asked to be in the television ad.

[_02_]      The rich man of today’s example thinks – he thinks – that people know his name and that he is important and well-to-do. And in a monetary and material sense, he is well to do, he was well-to-do.

          But, it is also a caution to us.  about choosing and making choices and priorities.

          Last Sunday’s parable concluded with the words –“you cannot serve both God and mammon.”   And, “mammon” is an ancient Aramaic-language word for “riches.”

          So, the parable today is about what and who is important.

          I’d like to connect this idea of “do you know” or  “do you know me” to the idea of

..COURTESY… to COMMUNITY and to CHARITY…

[_03_]      1^st. Courtesy.

          I have visited the offices/Archdiocesan offices by the Cathedral in Newark more than 100 times for various functions or meetings over the past 10 years or so. I am not saying I am important…I am just one of many who has been there.

          During those 100-plus visits, I have walked past the same 2 security guards at the reception desk well over 100 times.

          I have no idea what their names. If one of them were to ask me, “do you know me?” I would be ashamed to admit, No, I do not know you. I should know you.

          Fortunately, they have not asked and they very cordially smile with recognition because they do know my face … you know that way that someone recognizes you by face.

          It is a common courtesy and kindness to learn someone’s name.

Yet, this does not happen instantly. It may take a while to learn associate both names and persons, because we may not see people every day.

          Was Lazarus at the doorstep, at the door, every day? It seems so.

          That’s the end of my section on “courtesy” & knowing names. Now I’d like to touch on “community” & knowing names.

[_04_]   2^nd. Community.

          There is a small community within this Gospel episode and example. They are 3 people, in order of appearance :  the rich man, Lazarus, Abraham.

          St. Jerome the ancient biblical scholar wrote that it is notable that the apparently prominent “Rich man” does not have a name. Jesus gives him no name. In some traditional commentary, you may hear him referred to as “Dives”…but that’s like calling him… “Moneybags” or “Richy Rich” or some other nickname. He has no real name.

          Lazarus, the poor beggar -- and he is definitely not an American Express cardholder –  he has a name.

          This is St. Jerome’s point that wealth and money do not give us an identity or relationships … and in the rich man’s case … his wealth separates him from community rather than tying him to the community.   What’s important to be in a community – learn some names.

          The rich man may have known the name of poor Lazarus during his life.

          So, our calling as Christians is not just about knowing names, but using them…. And allowing ourselves to know others and to be known by God in a community.

          We have touched on the courtesy of knowing names, and the community in which which we are called to know each other.

          I’d like to touch on the idea of charity.

[_05_]    3^rd. Charity.

          Will I gan salvation and be perfectly right with God an with others simply because I know people’s names …or because other people know my name?

          No, there’s more to it than that. But, I certainly can get pulled into or pulled down by the idea that I must be liked and known.

I do not want to be forgotten.

          But, how do I treat those whose names I already know? Do I pray for them? Endeavor to know them? Endeavor to pray that God wil give them what they need?

          When I was a kid – maybe 13 years old – I recall beinig corrected for my boldness by my father who was displeased because I had failed to properly address my mother by name…and what was worse, my mother was in the room, right there. I had referred to my mother as “she” and was told you know ..you never refer to your mother  as “she”… it’s Mom or Mommy.

          I do notice that it’s really easy to fall out of the practice of calling others by name….especially if we are angry or upset or feeling indifferent.

          While the rich man evidently knew Lazarus’ name ..he certainly did not use it much except when he needed something..

          Here at Lourdes, I meet with engaged couples who are preparing for wedding/marriage and we have conversations in which they talk about themselves and also talk to me about their future spouse. I ask them – require them – not to refer to the other person as “she” or “he”. You must – in my presence – use other peron’s name.  And, I suggest it’s not just to make the other person feel good but also to remember that we are all named by God, even before we were born.

          I am grateful for those who have prayed for me – by name – those whom I do not know.

            And, if you can use the name of someone whom you may be upset with, or have a disagreement with…that’s not just courtesy or community. That’s charity. That’s true love. That’s God. Do you know Him?  [_fin_]    

The Unjust Steward (2019-09-22, Sunday-25)

HML  • 2019 September 22 •  25^th Sunday

• Amos 8:4-7  • Psalm 113 •1 Timothy 2:1-8 •  Luke 16:1-13   •           

[_01_]     The parable seems to indicate or implicate – it has a very strange implication –  that we can cheat and steal and be dishonest our way to success and to salvation. But, we cannot really cheat and steal our way to material success and comfort.

          What we encounter in the parable is a man with a really bad track record for financial management who has been caught red-handed by his boss for taking money. The old saying is that “his hand was caught in the cookie jar.”

          Boys and girls, if you parents ask you not to have an sweets or dessert before dinner and then you go secretly to find some cookies and then someone sees you… your hand is caught in the cookie jar.

          In the case of this parable, the cookie jar was full of money and this man is caught taking money from the jar.

          And, the man knows he is in trouble and cannot get another job.

          So, he decides because he is in charge of all the cookies and in charge of all the money for my boss and master, I shall give out some of the money to other people.

          It is a strange message and outcome because after all this fraud, the boss praises him for doing that.

[_02_]  In this ancient parable, Saint Bede (England) [Source: Catena Aurea, Luke, ch. 16] points out that the steward is manager of the farm, who is in charge of the cookie jar and all the money, he takes his name and reputation from the property farm. But the steward, or director of the household, is the overseer of money as well as products and fruits, and of every thing the master possesses.

          So, the steward has everything tied into the master – his name, his reputation, his money, his home …and he also has the power to “give out” the things his master possesses.

          It is a reminder that you and me about what is the source and origin of all our efforts and energies and favors we do for others.  We are called to remember that we do for others and give to others were gifts that we received from God… to be given away.

          John Paul II: we find ourselves by self-gift, by giving ourselves away.

          God gives us intelligence, honesty, forgiveness … and we are called to share these things with others.

          We are asked to share these things with others, that intelligence, that honesty, that forgiveness with others.

          Everything we have is a gift of God.The mercy we show towards others is not strictly from our own bank account or balance sheet of patience …but is really God’s mercy. So, we are running out of patience, feeling short or scarce on mercy, we might ask and pray for more from God, the source of all mercy.

[_03_]      The man in the parable is being praised for what he does to make connections. And, then to use those connections for good.  I’d like to use an example about gratitude and connections and giving back.

          Years ago, my father and mother went to visit my sister in California and while there they went to what my father told me was a famous golf course and restaurant on the golf course. It is called Torrey Pines in San Diego.

          My father said they went there for lunch because dinner was going to be way too expensive.

Then, he waited – fearfully – for the bill/check to come at the end of the meal for how expensive it was going to be.

          My father/mother /sister had never been to this restaurant before, had never been to this city before. At the end of the meal, the waiter informs him that the meal is complimentary – it was free, free of charge, it had been paid already. To this day, it remains a mystery and perhaps a mix-up that the meal was free. Maybe it was for someone else.

          Returning to NJ, my father called the restaurant again to find out what the deal is, figuring he is going to get a bill one way or another. It never came. We still do not know. He tried very hard to find out.

[_04_]       When we receive material things from other people, we know that we are supposed to say thank you, to send thank you notes, to acknowledge the gift.

          And, we do those things especially common courtesy for the big gifts.

          But what about the gifts we receive from God? Do we express the same gratitude, go to the same lengths and efforts to thank him, to express our gratitude, in good times and in bad times?

          Do we express gratitude, thankfulness for the little things that are done in our lives?

          We are good at giving thanks for the big bulky items.

          What about the little things of people being in time, making sacrifices for us?

          Do we go to the same length to seek them out and to seek out God’s presence in thanksgiving?

          My father loved telling the story about the free meal at Torrey Pines Golf Club I like telling the story about the gift giver we could not see but yet experienced … do I tell the story with the same enthusiasm to praise God up and down whom I cannot see with the same visibility but yet also experience?

[*** pause ***]

[_05_]       Also, we remember that mercy and forgiveness are hard projects to undertake.

          It is hard to forgive those who hurt us deeply. And, for this we need not only our own logic and intelligence, to forgive.

          But, we need God to intervene with his grace, with the precious blood and water of salvation.

          We need prayer, fasting, sacrifice to forgive others… it may take multiple “calls back” to find our way to Him as our source, and we can give credit to him for all the gifts that we receive. [_fin_] 

Prodigal Son: How to Get Out of Debt (2019-09-15, Sunday-24)

• 2019 September 15 •  24^th Sunday

• Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14   • Psalm 51    • 1 Timothy 1:12-17 •  Luke 15:1-32             

Title:    How to Get Out of Debt: Part 1,2

[_01_]   The Gospel of the Prodigal Son presents us with a young man with many difficulties, some of which are financial monetary difficulties.

          We could say he has many debts. He is in debt up to his eyeballs, beyond his eyeballs, in debt.

          In the Gospel and in God’s Word, “debt” is often compared to sin, or debt becomes a symbol of sin or sinfulness.

          In Luke’s translation of the Our Father we prayer, we read “forgive us our debts…”  rather than “forgive us our sins [or trespasses].”

So, how do we get out of debt? I think we all agree that LESS debt is good. I’m just using this as a metaphor – how to get out of debt, how to stay out of debt … the less money we owe to other people  or on our credit cards or to the bank, the better.

[_02_]     The Prodigal Son has a simple plan for how to get out of debt, and how to stay out of debt, but it only involves himself. It’s not a good plan.

The Prodigal Son goes bankrupt.

          First of all, in order to get out of debt or stay out of debt, you have to be willing – I have to be willing – to do something, to work, to drop some expensive habits.

          Let’s say Part 1 of Getting Out of Debt is to “Drop Some Expensive Habits”.

          The Prodigal Son has to drop some expensive habits in order to get out of debt.

          At first, the Prodigal Son is greedy and has the expensive habit of thinking only about himself.

          Sometimes, I have the expensive habit …of being too self-absorbed because I am so “busy.” This is not a good message to send to people around you. I will pay for this in the long run. It’s expensive.

          Pardon me as I give an example of this of myself. I am repeating an incident I told you about…but I think it illustrates how self-centeredness – on a moral level – keeps us in debt, or keeps us down…

          A few weeks ago, I walked out of Dunkin Donuts right down the street.  I was carrying stuff physically and mentally so self absorbed in my mind that I hardly noticed did not notice that someone had held the door for me.

          He gently whispered toward me – “thank you” – meaning that I should say “thank you.” But, even this did not register in my thick head immediately.

          That was expensive, that encounter … the coffee was cheap compared to the insult of me to the other. It was avoidable.

          He who is exalted will be humbled. 

The gentleman who kindly reminded me to say thank you … was also paying it forward, doing me a favor … I am in debt to him.

because I think about this a lot walking through doors now!

How to get out of debt … drop expensive habits.

[_03_]      I have found that I myself get stuck in “debt” or buried in debt – spiritually – when I am stubbornly resistant to change or selfishly expecting that things will always go my way.

          Don’t be self-absorbed. That’s an expensive habit.

          We are reminded that LOVE is meant to come first…

[_04_]     How to Get out of Debt, Part 2.

          This is credit-card payback 101. How to get out of debt? Make more than the minimum monthly payment !

          Now, the temptation for the Prodigal Son and the elder son…and for all of us who are in debt to our heavenly father or in debt to God is to do only the minimum, make the minimum monthly payment.

          But, the covenant with God is not a contract.  It’s a covenant in love, not a contract in law.

          I am grateful and inspired by you … who do more the minimum for your … children, for your parents, for your parish of Lourdes, for your neighbors, for your country. The 9/11 anniversary reminds us of those who did more than the minimum not only on 9/11/2001 but in days and months and years afterward.  

          Also, we do not know – looking at other people what their minimum monthly payments are.

          We gather in prayer to pray and support each other because do not know what each other’s debts are.

          Ours is relationship in a covenant of love, not just a contract.

A covenant binds persons together beyond the mere contractual agreement.

In a contract,  we may say what is the minimum I must do to keep up one side of the CONTRACT. However, a covenant is about “love” and what maximum I can do for the COVENANT.  Do you shop for a Christmas present for your beloved spouse or child based on the “minimum” you can give? Or the maximum?

[** pause **]

[_05_]     Doing more than the minimum also is the reality when we think about forgiveness of others.

          We know it is hard to forgive…and I’m not saying that “forgiveness” is the minimum…no forgiveness – forging another person, letting go of bitterness, that is more than the minimum monthly payment, but it GETS US OUT OF DEBT!

Jesus tells us to pray as he does and to ask God,  “forgive us our trespasses – forgive us our debts – as we forgive those who trespass against us…  ”

          And, to follow the example of the Father in the Prodigal Son parable who is not thinking of his sons only in material or monetary terms..but in terms of mercy and how is also making more than the minimum payment.

          The father is not just paying off remotely the credit card debt that was run up … and the father is not just seeing his son as a material object. In this regard, the lost son of the Prodigal Son touches us differently than the lost asset of the sheep or coin (looking for a person is different ..we don’t see people just in terms of money).

[_06_]               John Paul II wrote that the desperation of Prodigal Son is not just a material or monetary desperation where is financially overdrawn at Wells Fargo or Chase. The Prodigal Son is also desperate because he measures himself.

          The paradox for the Prodigal Son is that the focus on wealth got him into trouble. The knowledge that he is poor is going to get him out of trouble.That’s the paradox.

          “[The Prodigal Son] measures himself by the standard of the goods that he has lost, that he no longer "possesses," while the hired servants of his father's house "possess" them. These words express above all his attitude to material goods; nevertheless under their surface is concealed the tragedy of lost dignity, the awareness of squandered sonship. (John Paul II, Dives In Misericordia, n. 5)

          But..maybe he has not lost everything…because he is willing to drop his expensive habits and by repenting make more than the minimum payment:

          “It is at this point that he makes the decision: "I will arise and go to my father.”  (John Paul II, Dives In Misericordia, n. 5)

          This is how we get out of debt.   [_fin_]      

Runaway. Domination. Danger. Defeat (2019-09-08, Sunday-23)

• 2019 September 8 •  23^rd  Sunday

• Wisdom 9:13-18 b • Psalm 90 • Philemon 9-12, 10-17  •  Luke 14:25-33 •           

Title:    Runaway. Domination. Danger. Defeat

[_01_]    Renunciation… renunciation with an R-as-in-Robert is a theme of this Gospel. “Renouncing or giving up our possessions.”

          Jesus uses a powerful word to define “renunciation”.

          The word = “hate”. H-A-T-E.

          We teach our children not to say it, not to express themselves this way. It is a word we teach our children and others not to say, not to act on.

          We ask them to apologize if they say that word and they may be corrected/penalized if they say that word.

          And, we are called not to say it, to avoid that word: HATE.

          But, Jesus is saying it differently than we often do. It goes back to RENUNCIATION, to renouncing or giving up and that we are called to prefer God, to prefer God to all things

          … so that our love of God is going to help us to love our mother, our love of God is going to help us to love our love our brother or sister, our love of God is going to help us to to love our spouse and children.

          Our love of God is even going to help us to “love” or exercise proper stewardship and care over our possessions in the right way.

          So … RENUNCIATION.

          [*** pause *** ]

[_02_]    Did you ever want to run away? Did you ever just want to run away ?

          There is a runaway in the New Testament letter of Paul to Philemon. He is a runaway slave.

          And, there can be good reasons to run away, I’d like to discuss them, we might run away from … DOMINATION (“being dominated”), ___ run away from DANGER,  &  ____ run away from DEFEAT (“being defeated”)

[_03_]    St. Paul encountered a person who is running away from domination.

This is Onesimus, a slave. Paul is in jail, in prison, But along the way, Paul had met this runaway slave “Onesimus”, a  slave who belonged to a man named Philemon.

 Onesimus had gone, as we say, “off the reservation”. Onesimus had run away but along the way, Onesimus – in the company of St. Paul had become educated, had been baptized and had been assisting Paul in the ministry.

Paul was insisting that Onesimus go back to his home and even go back to Philemon. But, on different terms. Paul is asking hat Philemon take Onesimus back not as a slave but as a brother, as an equal.

It foreshadows something that will come in next Sunday’s Gospel: The Prodigal Son.

The Prodigal Son says. [Father take me back and treat me as you would one of your hired hands, servants / i.e., a slave ! ]  (cf. Luke 15).  But the Father takes him back as a son and friend.

          Jesus wants to be free from domination and being dominated and also from the desire to dominate others.

Paul is telling us that we are free because we can follow the Gospel. Freedom is not the same as autonomy or doing whatever we want. That’s not freedom …  that’s really a form of slavery to my own desires. For example, coming to confession, to confess ours we admit our need to be free from…freedom from being dominated by selfishness or sin.

Run away from domination. That’s freedom !

[_04_]    2^nd Second part. Freedom from danger or running from DANGER.

          There are times when absolutely necessary run away from DANGER.     

          On Tuesday 9/11/2001, thousands and thousands of people were running away from danger in lower Manhattan and beyond. On that morning, no one in my immediate family was anywhere near the World Trade Center, but both my mom and brother were in N.Y. City, in midtown Manhattan. They met up and started to go uptown, north uptown to the 178^th Street and buses across the George Washington Bridge.

          And, along the way they met someone else, another N.J. resident who was also walking really fast if not running away.

          So, they went to Fort Lee and Englewood, and piled into my dad’s car and went home, drove out the suburbs.

          Sometimes, we have to runaway from DANGER together. We need help to get away from danger.

          It was not an extraordinary act of generosity on 9/11/2001 to give this person a ride home. That’s just what you did that day and beyond.

          Thousands and thousands of people were doing that.

          So  FREEDOM DOMINATION …and FREEDOM from DANGER.

          Now I’d like to touch on FREEDOM from DEFEAT.

[_05_]       From DEFEAT.

One of the best things that can happen to a team or player is to build up a big lead, maybe in the early innings, or the first half. Score runs, points, get a big lead.

          Then, you can run away with the game. You can run and hide, take a rest, if you have a big lead.

          And, in Major League baseball, it helps for example for the NY Yankees in the Bronx to get a lead a big lead “offensively”…. Because their “pitching”/defensively is often suspect.  Get a lead. Run away. Freedom from defeat.

[_06_]       Our freedom is not based only on our ability to get a big lead, but simply on our understanding on what is truly good. Then, to do it, carry it out.

          Not to be defeated.

          Sometimes, I have had, we may all have had a “defeatist” attitude.

          Have you ever been accused of having a defeatist attitude? I have been accused of having a defeatist attitude.

          So, we want to be free from a defeatist attitude.

          What does this mean?

          For Onesimus – the former slave – is being taught, being instructed that …

          “You, Onesimus, can do good not because you are slave, but because you are free..”

          Now, when we are young, when are children we may have a hard time getting this through our thick heads.

          In other words, following the rules is a form of freedom.

          But, this is what Paul wants to teach Onesimus, that following the Commandments … is a way for you to love unconditionally, not just because some earthly master (or boss) is going to be nice to you.

          It shows that we are free from being dominated.

         

           A strong team or player shows freedom by running away from defeat.

         

          We learn that our freedom is in doing good and the more we do good, the better we get at it. (CCC 1731, 1732, 1733…)

          And, we become more free.

          Doing good, we are free from DEFEAT, and we can become virtuous and good without thinking about it too much, kind of like getting a big lead on your opponent…

          That’s freedom from defeat, from discouragement.

[_07_]    This is true in any technical or artistic or musical sense or endeavor. The great technicians, or painters or musicians can do so much without looking at the page or without looking at their notes.

          That’s freedom. And, it is true in a moral sense that we want to do what’s good even without looking at our notes too much.

          Many years ago, I got something in my eye…on the surface of my eye. It was not too serious. But, I could not get this little object out of my eye. And a friend of mine had the same thing happen to him a few weeks earlier coincidentally.

          He had to go to an eye doctor. So I thought I better go to a doctor too (we run away from danger together).

          It wasn’t too bad, I could still see but I needed a professional to remove this little speck or whatever it was.

          So, I go. And, I recall that the first thing the doctor did in order to get close to me (hold hands up…) is he took out a book, like 4 inches thick volume.

          He says, don’t worry, I am not going to read the book, I’m just going to rest my forearm on the book.  Of course, he was not going to read the book. He knows what to do.

          That’s freedom. His goodness is within him, waiting to come out. And, we are called to be free in the same way, freedom from DEFEAT, … DANGER,  DOMINATION, so that we can follow Jesus’ command to all of us: take  up your cross and follow me.

[_fin_]

Pay It Forward: Courage, Compassion, Commitment (2019-09-01, Sunday-22)

HML  • 2019 September 1 •  22^{nd t} Sunday

• Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 • Psalm 68 • Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a  •  Luke 14:1, 7-14        

Title:   The Courage to Forget; the Compassion to Forgive; the Commitment to Focus. Pay It Forward

[_01_]   It takes courage to forget; it takes compassion to forgive and it takes commitment to focus on a goal.

            I bring up these 3 virtues of – COURAGE, COMPASSION, COMMITMENT, in light of Jesus’ message to those who are very concerned about their self-image, their place and placement.

            What we read in the Gospel is an instruction from our Savior that goes beyond mere social etiquette or common sense.

            Some of this social etiquette was explored by the philosopher and comedian Jerry Seinfeld in the TV sit-com Seinfeld bearing his name. There is one episode where 2 of the main characters are flying back to NYC on a plane and there are exactly 2 seats remaining on the plane.  One of the seats is in First Class, the other seat is in economy class. So, they must decide who is to sit where because – in this “overbooked” plane – both tickets cost the same money.

            Jerry uses this interesting logic to justify why he must take first class and Elaine must take lower economy class:  “Elaine, you have never ever been in First Class … so you would not miss it… ”

            In this TV fictional example, Jerry is being very self-conscious and particular about his need to be in First Class … it has to do with his own memory – apparently he forget that he was once NOT in 1^st Class and he forgets that 1^st Class is not something he deserves.

            The Pharisees in the Gospel also forget that 1^st Class is not the their salvation .. God is…Nevertheless, they would be very upset to be anywhere else.

[_02_]   It takes courage to forget … to forget one’s own needs.

          A more serious and real-life example…

This past July 30^th – just one month ago, there was a car accident and 911 emergency call to which the New Jersey State Police and West Orange Fire Department responded. The location was the Route 280 highway shoulder.

          Several West Orange Firefighters – fire truck and ambulance responded. What happened next was unusual – even for firefighters. While the firefighter/EMT’s  William Holder and Brian Keenan – were caring for a patient… their own ambulance was in an accident.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities but both have a long road for physical therapy and recovery. I know you and we have prayed for them and they are grateful for your prayers and support.

          It is part of the technique and focus of a firefighter, of a police officer, of an EMT, of so many first responders to be more focused on the other person than on themselves.         As a result, these firefighters and state troopers were vulnerable…

         

[_02_]      I cite firefighters Holder and Keenan and also the first responders in SE & Florida who will also surely give us examples of putting the other first and forgetting themselves, of the courage to forget….

          Our regional neighbors in the SE southeast and Florida prepare for Hurricane Dorian our prayers are with them.

          It is difficult – while we pray for others – to completely put aside our own needs, our own sense of what we deserve or merit. Our desire is to be paid back…

          With the courage to forget we can follow the virtuous action to love by paying it forward…

          In 2000, the novel – (Catherine Ryan Hyde ) Pay It Forward was published and adapted into a film/Hollywood movie also called “Pay It Forward” – with the young actor Haley Joel Osment and several others.., -- “Pay It Forward” showed scenes in which there was an obligation to “achieve” 3 good deeds for others in response to 1 good deed [received]. Such good deeds should [achieve] things that the other person cannot [achieve] on his or her own.

          Pay it Forward…

          Sometimes, I am too absorbed in “pay it back” than to … “pay it forward…” the message of the Gospel and God’s mercy is not just about pay back but pay it forward.

          “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…”

          Jesus who does not owe us anything or gain anything by forgiving us ..gives us his life as a free gift… and just says, for example at the at the end of the Good Samaritan  parable --- “go thou and do likewise”.

          I.e., = pay it forward.

[_04_]  Paying it forward involves not only the COURAGE TO FORGET ..but also the COMPASSION TO FORGIVE.

          And, forgiveness is an invitation to change… even if I may appear quite stubborn…

          A few weeks ago, I walked out of Dunkin Donuts right down the street.  I was carrying stuff physically so self absorbed in my mind that I hardly noticed did not notice that someone had held the door for me.

          He gently whispered toward me – “thank you” – meaning that I should say “thank you.” But, even this did not register in my thick head immediately.

          The Gospel reminds me today that he who is exalted will be humbled.  (The gentleman who kindly reminded me to say thank you … was also paying it forward, because I think about this a lot walking through doors now!)

          But, he had the compassion to forgive and remind me.    [][][]

[_05_]       Paying it forward also involves the commitment to focus.

And the moon landing of July 20, 1969 is one such example.

          50 years ago, what was that united or impressed people around the world, was not that all understood the moon scientifically …or magically or metaphysically.

          But, somehow, the landing on the moon touched us human beings, that we reached out of our Earth, our home to another place.  This united us not only in the doing ..but in the being in our existence as a human community.

          And, it was also tremendously well publicized by NASA and the government.

          It mattered to us to reach out beyond Earth to land on the moon.

          And, it was very attention grabbing of everyone at a time of great political strife and division and worldwide tension.

          I read these U.S. / national statistics of how much attention was paid to the moon landing, to the Apollo 11.

          On July 19-20, 1969, 93% of people in the U.S. watching television saw a man land on the moon.

          Never have there been a ratings percentage for anything before or since. 93% of people.

          In New York City, 100% of people watched the moon landing. No one watched anything else.

          Just in case you thought – because I thought this – that not that many people really had televisions.

That, TV watching was an exclusive like-minded club of people like people today who just did the same thing.   

That’s not the case. Consider - in 2019 – 96% of households have television.   In 1969, 95% of households had television.

So, the event of the moon landing – drew us together.

And, this positive event helped us to understand our nature – our being – as humanity, as sisters and brothers, as children of God.

And, sometimes it is a negative event – a catastrophe – that draws us together – 9/11 primary in minds.

The event or crisis reminds not that we know what to do, but who we are, the importance of community, the importance of our being, of respecting other people. Of .. paying it forward with our courage, our compassion, our commitment..

      And, Holy Eucharist, the Mass reminds that we exist simply because we are. And, we remember that we are saved simply because we exist …and by the incarnanate-existence of Jesus … for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that all who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life.   [_fin_]