A homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 28, 2026
2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a, Romans 6:3-4, 8-11, Matthew 10:37-42
A half-century ago, more or less, the music industry had what they thought was a genius idea: quadraphonic stereo. Their engineers devised a way to embed not one but two soundtracks into each side of a vinyl record groove: a main one, intended to be heard from the front speakers, and another, for more depth or richness, to be piped through a set of rear speakers.
Four unique sounds blending harmoniously in our heads.
Critics, or, more accurately, cynics, saw this technology as a scam to sell more amplifiers, speakers and higher-priced albums.
We have only two ears, they argued. Why do we need four channels of sound through four speakers?
After a while, however, consumers like us — led by musicians and filmmakers — couldn’t imagine not having front and rear speakers and subwoofers and headphones and earbuds, with far-off timpani or coyotes howling.
Ah, depth and richness. A spatial experience. From an artist — a source — we embrace, even cherish.
