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January 27, 2007

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Threat of Words

As I write this in early December, Pope Benedict XVI is in Turkey on a pastoral visit to the Orthodox Church. The headline of a column in the Chicago Tribune says: "Pope trip to Turkey fraught with risk. Past remarks haunt him in Muslim nation." So, the Vatican decided to leave the Pope-mobile in Rome and offer the Pope an armored car during his visit. We are all praying for Pope Benedict's safety during these next four days.

Why is the Pope in danger? Well, it all goes back to some remarks he made in a speech on Christian-Moslem relations back in September at the University of Regensburg, Germany. In that speech the Pope quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor, Manuel Paleologus. The words were these: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The Pope did not ascribe to these words himself, but he did not make that point in his speech either. So, the result of all that has been a long war of words between the Moslem world and the Vatican. Who knows how or when it will end. We pray that there will be no violence.

I wanted to advert to that event because it speaks to me of the power of words, whether understood or misunderstood. Once a word is spoken and misunderstood, it can cause immense problems in relations between individuals, between churches or even nations.

I'm sure all of us have had the common misfortune of speaking before thinking and then berating ourselves afterward for what we said. Often nothing we can say can correct the wrong. There is no doubt about the fact that there is power in our words. Once those words are out there they are out there for good.

Our scriptures for this Sunday's liturgies each speak of the way that words work in this world. The first reading comes from the Book of Jeremiah the Prophet, who, by the way, was a man of tough words, that is, prophetic words, words that would have the effect of challenging people and disturbing the peace. So, here he is thinking about all this and he experiences God speaking to him: "Don't be crushed. I will not leave you crushed before them (your enemies.) I have made you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass against the whole land and its people." In contemporary words it could read: "Don't be afraid". God says. "Your task is to speak for me. Speak your mind and I will defend you."

I can think of instances in our own times when certain people had the courage to speak their mind for what seemed just and right to them. I think, for instance of Mother Theresa of Calcutta who had no fear about speaking out in the highest places for the poor, for the dying on the streets, for the unborn. She was a woman small of stature but unhumbled in her determination to speak for those who had no voice of their own. Some people in high places did not always like to hear what she had to say and sometimes said so publicly but that did not stop Theresa. She had nothing to lose in speaking her mind about an important matter. She was a prophet in her own time.

The gospel is a continuation from last Sunday. Jesus gives this very brief homily in the synagogue one Saturday about how he sees his own future: He chooses some lines from his favorite prophet, Isaiah: "The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

Now, those don't sound like very threatening words to me. In fact, the text says that everyone was amazed at the "gracious words that came from Jesus mouth."

That is something I have often wished for myself and for all of us, that our words would be gracious. Gracious could mean a number of things: Well chosen, for instance, filled with grace, wise, insightful, comforting, encouraging, but also challenging and prophetic.

Words are precious entities: They can do tremendous good or great evil. They are not simply "throw away" pieces of speech. They speak for ourselves, for what we believe, what we hold dear, what we will not negotiate on.

But you will notice too in that same gospel piece that Jesus' words also raised some hackles. "He's only a local fellow," they said, "where did he get all this knowledge." "Does he think he's so much better than the rest of us local folks?"

At that point, things get messy: The folks drove him out of town and even would have pushed him over a precipice if they could have."

It all seems like a lot of "smoke and mirrors", much ado about nothing. But it all proves the point again that our words can have consequences beyond their meaning and our intention.

Returning to the speech by Pope Benedict for a moment. John Allen, the columnist for the National Catholic Reporter had an interesting headline recently. He wrote: "Who will say no to the Pope?"

If someone in Vatican high places had said to Benedict: "Benedict, those lines might be misunderstood; you'd better change them." Well, seemingly nobody did make that suggestion, although everyone says that the Pope would have changed the text if someone had asked him to.

Once again, all this says to me that we have a responsibility to counsel each other if we think our words will get us into trouble. Often times we don't see or realize the implications of what we say, so we need the help of our friends to help us say the right things or even to help us accept the consequences when things go wrong.

The scriptures: Jeremiah 1: 4-5, 17-19, 1 Corinthians 12: 31-13:13, Luke 4: 21-30

Posted by Julie Galligan at 04:20 PM.

January 20, 2007

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Word Power

Some while back I happened to be listening to a segment on NPR's Morning Edition regarding the development of language, human communication. The newsperson was pointing out that at the time the first immigrants from Europe came to America there were already more than 200 different native languages being spoken in this land. Then to these were added all those other languages brought here from overseas. Soon after that, of course, the Native people were expected to learn a "foreign" language, Spanish and English, mainly. But on the part of the Europeans, learning the languages of the Native people was not even considered all that important. This was not a so-called "cultured" tongue.

Interestingly enough, today many of the Native tribal people living in America, like the Oneida people of New York State, for instance, are making an effort to retain that spoken heritage and are even calling on the Berliner Language Schools to help them pass this on to non-Native people. It is a precious treasure that should not be lost.

Listening to all that got me thinking about language and words because words are a sign of what makes human beings human, that is, the way we think of ourselves, the way we pass our knowledge and wisdom on from one generation to the next.

What also got me thinking about words and language is the theme that appears in two of our scriptures for this Sunday. They are both concerned about proclaiming a message, words.

The first comes from the Book of Nehemiah, and it describes an important moment in Israelite history. The Israelite people had been in exile for many years where there was no chance of hearing the Word of God. Now they are back in their own land and their first thought is how they could rebuild their nation and recover their culture and their spiritual heritage. They had not heard a reading of the Torah for many years. They were in exile in a foreign country. So, on this particular day, a copy of the Torah is brought forth and Ezra, the scribe, the interpreter, reads it publicly and amazingly all the people begin to cry because they had not heard these words for so long. Now, all of a sudden they once again hear some words that give them hope. Notice, it was the actual reading of the words that created new life for the nation. Again, the power of words....!

The gospel for this Sunday also gives us a sneak-preview of Jesus' early career. He is to be a speaker of words.

So, he comes home one Saturday morning and as usual goes to Sabbath services, a normal thing for him. We don't know how much experience Jesus actually had in preaching, but interestingly enough, he is asked to stand and say a few words extemporaneously in the synagogue. It is not something most preachers would want to do on a moments notice without some preparation.

At any rate, Jesus opens the Torah (The Old Testament scroll) and his eyes fall on a selection from the prophet Isaiah and he quotes it verbatim:

The spirit of the Lord is upon me;
Therefore he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring glad tidings
to the poor, to proclaim liberty
to captives, recovery of sight
to the blind and release
to prisoners, to announce a year of
favor from the Lord.

Now, here is where it gets really interesting. Instead of giving a long homily on that text, he simply sits down and says: "Ladies and gentlemen, today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." In other words, he is saying I think my career, like that of Isaiah, is to preach words, words that will give new life, good news." Then he sat down. That has to be one of the shortest homilies in history. Would that they were all that short.

But that was not the last word Jesus ever said. He did, indeed, become a preacher of words, as we know: Hard words, encouraging words, critical words. But people kept coming. Some even were willing to stay well beyond their dinner hour. So, it is clear that Jesus was a man who knew how to use words.
Now the point is that words have meaning, words have power. Remember those first words from the Book of Genesis: "God spoke and things came into being."
Perhaps we may not often think about it, but words have the power to change the world, either for the good or the bad. Think of Martin Luther King's words in his speech, "I have a dream." Or think of Hitler's words on radio that brought on World War II. Think of Shakespeare's plays or Beethoven's symphonies or Thomas Merton's journals. Think also about the words we speak, the words we wish we'd never said or the words we wish we'd said and didn't!

The point is that our minds and our tongues have the power to create things good or bad. Our minds, our tongues have more power than all the armies in the entire world. With a word we can encourage, we can make people laugh, we can counsel people, we can advise people, and we can console people. We can also listen to the words of others and grow. In short, every word we say can make a difference in this world. Think again about Jesus. All he did was to use ordinary human words and see what a difference it made in the world.

We're not Jesus, obviously, but our words count too. Say some nice words to someone this week and watch what happens.

The scriptures: Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4; 4, 14-21

Posted by Julie Galligan at 04:19 PM.

January 13, 2007

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - A Union Made in Heaven

I must confess to you that I have lost count of the number of marriages that I have celebrated with young people during my pastoral life. Some of the funniest experiences and most embarrassing moments I have ever witnessed have also happened at weddings; I shall spare you the details at this time.

There is something unique about this human bonding that we call marriage. It is an occurrence that is extraordinarily significant because the two individuals who participate in it are convinced that this is for life. Sadly, this is not always so, but their conviction about it when they stand at the altar is that this relationship is unique, like none other and will never be duplicated again in the history of the world. In other words, marriage has a sort of celestial quality about it: These two individuals are convinced that their relationship was made in heaven. It may indeed be true, for all I know.

The fact that engaged couples go through countless rituals, secular and sacred, and incur huge debts in the process of being married tells you right away that this event in their lives must hold special meaning for them and deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

When I try to help young people prepare for this special occasion we call sacrament, I make a point in saying that marriages are one thing and weddings are another. Weddings are simply rituals that give special meaning to a relationship that is already sacred. I try to explain that marriages are a sign of the banquet of God's kingdom. (I don't think they always really understand or believe this, but it sounds good to them.. We have so few metaphors as it is to describe sacred human events.)

When we speak, therefore, about those "extravagances" that are associated with weddings (clothing, transportation, meals. et cetera) what we are really trying to say in our secular language is that this moment, this relationship began in heaven or at least in the mind of God. For that reason a couple might well be wiling to "splurge" a little in order to call the world's attention to what they are engaging in. If one needs to go into debt for a few years...well....that's the price one pays for celebration.

Given this entire introduction, let us delve into the scriptures for this Sunday that begin the long list of Ordinary Sundays that, with a few exceptions, will take us all the way into next November.

The scriptures for this second Sunday's liturgy rather surprisingly have in them metaphors about marriage, but not marriage, as we commonly understand it. The references to marriage are rather about the extravagances of God's love for his people.

It seems as though, even as much as we try to imagine what our relationship to God is all about, we can't find metaphors which by themselves are rich and adequate enough to describe God's love for us unless we choose this most human relationship we call marriage with all its references to love, dedication, fidelity, et cetera.

There are some really beautiful images in the scriptures today, therefore, that describe this kinship between God and us.

Isaiah was one of the most famous and prolific authors in Old Testament literature. He was also a poet (fortunately) and he uses some interesting words to describe the God-Israel, God-us relationship. Let me just repeat a couple: "You shall be called `My Delight.' As a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.' " I grant you, trying to imagine our relation to God always seems somewhat abstract to us. So, perhaps poetry may be the best way to imagine it. It seemed to work for Isaiah.

When you heard the reading of the Gospel a moment ago, you probably said to yourself: "Wow, that must have been some wedding!" That was probably your thought because of the reference to the 6 stone water jars that held about 120 gallons of water-turned wine. It does seem somewhat extravagant for a small village wedding. We recall, of course, that Jewish weddings went on for several days which is probably why the wine ran short.

But there is a point not often thought about regarding the amount of wine. The clue to its meaning only comes at the end where the evangelist John lets us know that this turning of water into wine was the first of the signs Jesus did that revealed his glory (power?). John is telling us that there is a meaning in this sign and the meaning is in the amount (120 gallons)! In other words, this is the way God deals with us, superabundantly! This is what God's kingdom is all about, God's abundant love for his people.

So, you see, when we try to delve into the way God deals with us, we need to go to poetry, like Isaiah did, we need to go to stories about weddings that will never be forgotten, not even until this very day. That's about as close as we can get to an understanding of this God-us relationship, but it is rather revealing, when you think about it, realizing always that God is mystery.

Now, as I said earlier, I do not attempt to go into all this scriptural exegesis when I talk to young folks about their forthcoming marriage, but I do suggest that their marriage will also be an event like none other and that God in His heaven must also be rejoicing in it. In a sense, one could say that every marriage, as Jesus said, is a story, a metaphor for the kingdom of God. Wouldn't it be interesting if someone at the wedding reception actually used this as a toast? Maybe I'll try it sometime!

The scriptures: Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 2:1-12

Posted by Julie Galligan at 04:18 PM.

January 06, 2007

Epiphany of the Lord - "On the Road Again"

Odd as I may sound, being incapacitated can sometimes be a blessing. I say that because I was somewhat incapacitated last summer recovering from pneumonia. Obviously, I was not doing much vigorous physical exercise, but I managed to dig around in my flower garden every morning and for the rest of the day I would catch up on my reading.

It turned out that I had a book of around 500 pages in my little library that I had never worked up the courage to open and read. So, I thought to myself, this is the time to get into it. I may never have another chance like this! The title of the book is, The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage. The author is Paul Elie. He is senior editor at Farrar, Strauss and Giroux in New York, which tells you right away that he must know something about writing.

At any rate, it turns out that Paul Elie describes the pilgrimage of four American Catholic authors whom I have always liked and have read at one time or another. He introduces them as follows: "Dorothy Day, foundress of the Catholic Worker movement; Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and ceaseless chronicler of the inner life of the contemplative; Walker Percy, novelist, philosopher, and last gentleman of the South; and Flannery O'Connor, the "Christ-haunted" literary prodigy whose work has become the gold standard for Catholic fiction in its time."

As he himself read these authors, Paul Elie found that they each wrote about their personal life's journey, their personal pilgrimage, but the stories also sounded very similar. That already tells you that we all journey together, if not physically, at least in mind and soul.

Now let me interject at this point and say that inasmuch as we are celebrating the feast of the Epiphany today, the story of the three wise men who came out of the East searching for the new-born king, which I interpret as a pilgrimage story, perhaps we could explore a little about pilgrimage, what that means to Catholics and, obviously to all people who are "on the road again," as Willie Nelson once wrote.

I've never found a better definition of the word pilgrimage than the one which Paul Elie himself offers in his book. Here it is: "The pilgrim sets out on a path that others have taken, hoping to witness what others have seen---to see it with his or her own eyes. Pilgrims travel in company, but each must encounter the holy site personally. Finally, the pilgrims, on their return, tell others what they have seen and heard, so that others might be moved to set out on pilgrimage themselves---to go and do likewise.

I think that is a great description of what each of us experiences in our personal lives because from my own perspective, life itself is a pilgrimage, a search for the sacred.

It starts, oddly enough, the moment we travel down our mother's birth canal into the world. We do not know at that time that we are on pilgrimage, but it has to start somewhere and this is about as close to the beginning of things as one can imagine.

So, like the three wise men from the East, we travel the world during the rest of our life, physically or in our imagination hunting for something (for God) that will give meaning to our life. We are like Flannery O'Connor, Christ-haunted, God-haunted because we know there must be something more to life than merely making a living and we don't know quite what it is; so we go out in search of it.

Unfortunately, we also sometimes make wrong turns or find ourselves in dead-ends, but that is all part of the journey. If all of life were clear to us from the outset, we wouldn't be on a pilgrimage.

Once again, when you read the story of the three wise men, they did not know exactly where they were going. They even needed to stop along the way and ask directions from King Herod who wasn't exactly someone they could trust.

In our life journey too we often need to stop occasionally and ask for the spiritual wisdom of those we can trust because, left to our own devices, it is not always so clear to us that we know where we are going.

Perhaps the most important similarity between our life journey and the pilgrimage of the three wise men is that all our travels throughout our life are somehow holy journeys, at least if our goal is somehow to find God, not necessarily at the end of our life or after death, but in the meantime, all through life. After all, Jesus himself reminded us that the kingdom is already among us.

And finally, there is an interesting line at the end of the wise men story. It tells us that, once they had seen this new King and paid their homage to him they returned home by a completely different route. In other words, they themselves had changed somehow; they would never be the same again because they had experienced God.

I would like to think that all of us have "God-experiences" many times during our lifetime and each time that happens we are a little different, somehow filled with God. If that is the case, therefore, we can be sure that the journey home to God. will be a happy one.

The scriptures: Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Posted by Julie Galligan at 04:17 PM.