Tag: Homily

But they’re cousins (not identical…)

A homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, December 4, 2022

Is 11:1-10, Rom 15:4-9, Mt 3:1-12

A while ago, I took the Ancestry DNA test, a thoughtful gift from my wife, who’s been tracing her family tree (it’s become almost a forest). There were no surprises in my results, no hidden contributors to my cellular structure from far-flung places, no clear ties to Genghis Khan or Michelangelo or Einstein.

Nope, all was as expected: Celtic on Mom’s side, Eastern and Central European on Dad’s. No surprises.

The surprise arrived a couple of months after I received my results. First, Ancestry emailed me to say the test revealed that I had potential relatives and, then, a long-lost — and until then, unknown — cousin emailed me.

It turns out, she and I share a great-grandmother.

Continue reading But they’re cousins (not identical…)

No snooze button

A homily for the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2022

Is 2:1-5, Rom 13:11-14, Mt 24:37-44

Long before 9/11, long before we all were told that if we see something we must say something, people in the armed forces had a profound call-and-response:

Stay alert!
Stay alive!

Because, of course, sleepwalking through the day can lead to disastrous consequences.

Continue reading No snooze button

The right pronoun

A homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, November 20, 2022

2 Sm 5:1-3, Col 1:12-20, Lk 23:35-43

I learned a long time ago that a boss says “I” and “you” but a leader says “we” and “us.”

A boss tells you what to do and precisely how he wants you to do it, and then tells you to get going and do it while he (almost always a he) sits back and watches … uh … supervises.

A leader shows the team what needs to be done and relies on the skills of all participants to join in the effort. A leader works alongside everyone, clearly articulating the goal and guiding everyone to the destination.

A boss preys on people’s fears and lack of information. A leader reassures and educates.

A boss exploits people. A leader empowers them.

A boss gets fat. A leader sweats.

And yet, so, so many people choose to follow bosses and not leaders.

Continue reading The right pronoun

Yogi

A homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 13, 2022

Mal 3:19-20a, 2 Thes 3:7-12, Lk 21:5-19

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

That sterling bit of advice is attributed to the great American philosopher Yogi Berra, whose wisdom spanned every aspect of everyday life.

And our everyday lives are filled with forks in the road, with yes-or-no, right-or-left choices, sometimes dozens or even hundreds a day.

Yes or no.

Right or left.

Right or wrong.

Oh my: Once again, we’ve come to a fork in the road. Where do we go? And how do we know?

Continue reading Yogi

Under the bed

A homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 6, 2022

2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14, 2 Thes 2:16-3:5, Lk 20:27-38

I am a tech nerd, a gadget head, enthralled with gizmos, a personality quirk that goes back to before my high school days when I was an AV geek playing with 1-inch videotape and gritty black-and-white images from a somewhat massive camera.

So it’s probably no surprise that I usually say goodnight to Alexa — not because it’s a real person but because I have it programmed to rattle off my calendar and the weather for the next day. And then I do something silly: I tell Samuel L. Jackson to sleep tight. His voice randomly replies, occasionally with wishes for sweet dreams but a warning nonetheless to check under the bed.

Because monsters, right?

Continue reading Under the bed

Attracted

A homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 30, 2022

Wis 11:22-12:2, 2 Thes 1:11-2:2, Lk 19:1-10

Back in the 1960s and early ’70s, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner did a couple of albums featuring a character they called The 2,000-Year-Old Man, played by Brooks. They did comedic interviews and let the supposedly really old man reminisce about the good old, old, old days.

One bit they did was about religion, about whether they believed in a god before Abraham introduced them to I Am.

Yes, Brooks said, a guy named Phil.

Continue reading Attracted

It keeps you running

A homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 16, 2022

Ex 17:8-13, 2 Tm 3:14-4:2, Lk 18:1-8

In the 2007 movie “Run Fatboy Run,” a ne’er-do-well man who’s made an infamous name for himself by running away from commitments accepts a challenge — a macho dare, really — to run in a marathon.

The character played by British comic actor Simon Pegg is an out-of-shape cigarette smoker whose feeble attempts at training leave him totally unprepared to finish the race, let alone compete in the first place. 

But there he is at the starting gate, arriving in barely the nick of time, running because of jealousy and insecurity. 

Not exactly the best motivation to stride 26.2 miles.

Continue reading It keeps you running

Trustworthy, loyal, helpful…

A homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 18, 2022

Am 8:4-7, 1 Tm 2:1-8, Lk 16:10-13

Trust.

It’s at the heart of every relationship: personal, business or governmental. It underpins every transaction.

It’s the first byword of the Boy Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy.

A trust — a structure that manages finances for someone or some group — ensures stability and security in perpetuity.

And speaking of finances, even our money says simply, “In God We Trust.”

Trust is an absolute.

Continue reading Trustworthy, loyal, helpful…

Return trip

A homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 11, 2022

Ex 32:7-11, 13-14, 1 Tm 1:12-17, Lk 15:1-32

A news article about the cleanup of a toxic-waste dump quoted an environmental scientist about the contaminated soil. 

It’s like a kitchen sponge, he said. You can rinse a sponge and squeeze it again and again, but you never get all the soap or dirt out of it, no matter how many times you try, no matter how hard you try.

You can get really close, but that’s it.

Which is exactly what happens when we seek forgiveness.

Continue reading Return trip

Aw, shucks

A homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 28, 2022

Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a, Lk 14:1, 7-14

Imagine for a second that you’re a top-flight horseback rider and you’ve just won a coveted blue ribbon.

Or maybe you’re a quilter, and you’ve won a blue ribbon.

Or a chef, and you’ve achieved Cordon Bleu.

The applause is deafening. Your family and friends and total strangers are cheering for you, clapping for you, patting you on the back, maybe asking for your autograph.

Then it’s time to say a few words.

Continue reading Aw, shucks