Tag: Prophet

Doing the right thing

A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18, 2022

Is 7:10-14, Rom 1:1-7, Mt 1:18-24

Let’s imagine for a minute that it’s 3:15 in the morning and we’re driving home after work. We pulled a double shift at the hospital and “exhausted” doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of how we feel.

It’s a quiet night on the highway, compared with the absolute chaos in the emergency department, and we’re forcing our dog-tired selves not to nod off as we ease the car onto the ramp off the highway that leads to our street.

And then: You’ve got to be kidding! Red light. Not tonight … uh … this morning! This light takes forever, especially when there’s no line of cars for its radar to detect. This light takes forever, and our warm, cozy bed is calling our name.

We look right, then left, then right again, and try to decide: Do we run the light?

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Warmup acts

A homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, December 11, 2022

Is 35:1-6a, 10, Jas 5:7-10, Mt 11:2-11

Back in the 1970s, my brother Steve and I scored tickets to a dress rehearsal for “Saturday Night Live” in an attempt to impress two lady friends of his from college. They were visiting New York from Tennessee, and after the show, it became painfully clear they were impressed with everything except us.

But that’s a sad story for another day.

Meanwhile, I was unimpressed with that week’s show, except for the warmup. As I recall, I laughed until my ribs hurt. I was all ready to laugh my way until the closing theme, even though it turned out I didn’t.

Most TV shows with a live audience get a warmup before the taping or the live airing begins. If it’s a scripted sitcom or sketch comedy show, the warmup performer usually is a standup comedian. If the show is more serious, the warmup might be a member of the writing or production staff, or possibly the game show host or lead actor(s), answering questions about the show overall and perhaps hinting at what the audience will see in the episode about to unfold.

Even the opening act at a concert is a kind of warmup. A good opening band or some other performer sets the mood for the headliner coming next.

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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.

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Up, not out

A homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18, 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18, Lk 18:9-14

When we hear about a natural disaster or a manmade tragedy (and, yes, dammit, they’re made mostly by men), how do we react? How do we act?

Probably the first thing we do is consider how much loose change we have, or whether we’re willing to skip a pumpkin spice latte this week, so we can send a few bucks to whatever charitable organization is taking the lead on relief efforts.

And with the ability to donate online, we can make a tiny bit of difference without getting off the couch. Website or app, click here, card information already stored, type in the CVV afresh, submit. 

And for less than a dollar a day…

Yeah, we all know those commercials, don’t we?

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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.

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You’ll know them

Some brief thoughts in lieu of a homily* for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 25, 2022

Am 6:1a, 4-7, 1 Tm 6:11-16, Lk 16:19-31

Everything we have is a gift, even if we are convinced otherwise, even if we are convinced that we did it all ourselves.

Even if we supposedly earned or won everything we have on this Earth, we earned it or won it with innate skills or talents or intellect or sheer dumb luck that themselves were gifts.

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Yard sale

A homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 4, 2022

Wis 9:13-18b, Phmn 9-10, 12-17, Lk 14:25-33

The late great George Carlin had a bit in which he lampooned Americans’ obsessive materialism. Everything, he would say, was about stuff.

We go to work to make money to buy stuff. We buy houses to keep our stuff in. When we’ve bought more stuff than our houses can hold, we buy bigger houses.

And then someone invented storage units.

Meanwhile, the bumper sticker reminds us: Live Simply So That Others May Simply Live.

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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.

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Best unkept secret

A homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 21, 2022

Is 66:18-21, Heb 12:5-7, 11-13, Lk 13:22-30

When we come across something fascinating or exciting or uplifting, do we keep it to ourselves?

Or do we share it with our families and friends — the old “you tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on…” from the shampoo commercial? Do we start the fire of exponential growth?

What if something we find fascinating or exciting or uplifting flips the status quo on its head? Does that change what we decide to do?

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