FatherRon.com

A 70 year-old priest made a retreat. In the course of it he was struck deeply by three images he’d always been aware of but had never really taken to heart..
First, there are millions of people in the world who are hungry and homeless.
Second, he had spent his entire priestly life living in a comfortable rectory and preaching comfortable homilies to comfortable people.
Third, he had bent over backward to avoid disturbing or alienating his parishioners.
In other words, the 70-year-old priest found himself to be much like the priest played by Jack Lemmon in the film Mass Appeal. He preached only about those things that did not disturb his parishioners.
And now, like the priest in Mass Appeal, the old priest suddenly realized he’d been more worried about not disturbing his parishioners than about preaching the Gospel.
He’d been more worried about rocking the boat than about challenging his parishioners to look into their hearts to see if they were satisfied with what they saw there.
The week following his eye-opening retreat, the old priest looked up the Scripture readings to prepare his Sunday homily.
As he read the gospel, these words of Jesus leaped right off the page:
“These people …honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.” Mark 7:6
Right then and there the old priest resolved that he was going to share his soul-searching with his parishioners. So he began his homily by saying:
“My homily this morning will be exactly 30 seconds long. That’s the shortest homily I’ve preached in my life.
“But it is also the most important homily I’ve ever preached.”
With that attention-grabbing introduction, he gave his 30 second homily. He said:
“I want to make just three points.
First, millions of people in the world are hungry and homeless.
Second, most people in the world don’t give a damn about that.
Third, many of you are more disturbed by the fact that I just said damn in the pulpit than by the fact that I said there are millions of hungry and homeless people in the world.”
With that, the old priest made the sign of the cross and sat down.
In the spirit of this wise old priest, I would like share with you a challenging image to reflect on this week.
A righteous man was permitted by God to attain foreknowledge of the world to come. In a celestial palace he was ushered into a large room where he saw people seated at a banquet table. The table was laden with the most delectable foods, but not a morsel had been touched. The man gazed in wonder at the people seated at the table because they were emaciated with hunger and they moaned constantly for food even though it was in front of them.
“If they are hungry why is it that they don’t partake of the food that is before them, asked the man of the heavenly guide. “They cannot feed themselves,” said the guide. “If you will notice, each one has his arm strapped straight, so that no matter how hard he tries he cannot get the food into his mouth.”
“Truly this is hell,” said the righteous man as they left the hall.
The heavenly attendant escorted him across the hall into another room, and the man observed another table equally as beautiful and laden with delicacies and choice foods. Here he noticed that those seated around the table were well-fed, happy and joyous. To his amazement, he noticed that these people, too, had their arms strapped straight. Turning to his guide he asked in perplexity, “How is it that they are so well-fed seeing they are unable to feed themselves?”
“Behold,” said the guide, the righteous man saw that each one was feeding the other.
“In truth,” he exclaimed, “this is really heaven.”
“In truth it is,” agreed the attendant. “As you can see the difference between hell and heaven is a matter of cooperation and serving each other.”

I always wondered why our high school football coach would always disappear in the middle of the third quarter. I remember during my first game on the varsity squad, I looked up from the sidelines (where I spent most of my time) and noticed that he was gone. (It was a lot quieter). I couldn’t figure out what had happened. I was afraid the other team had kidnapped him. Or maybe he had gotten sick on his chewing tobacco. So I asked a senior “sideliner”. (They know everything).
“Where’s the coach?” I asked, thinking I was the only one to notice his absence, which made me feel important.
“In the press box”, he answered.
“Getting coffee”? I asked.
“No, getting perspective”.
Getting perspective – now that makes sense, doesn’t it? There’s no way a coach can really keep up with the game from the sidelines. Everyone yelling advice. Parents complaining. Players screaming. Cheerleaders cheering. Sometimes you’ve got to get away from the game to see it.
That story reminds me; occasionally we need to try that on ourselves, too. How vital it is that we keep a finger on the pulse of our own lives. How critical are those times of self-examination and evaluation. Yet it’s hard to evaluate ourselves while we’re in the middle of the game: schedules pressing, phones ringing, children crying, and bills to be paid.
Max’s story offers us a suggestion. Take some press-box time. Take some time (at least half a day) and get away from everything and everyone.
Take your Bible and a notebook and get a press-box view of your life. Are you as in tune with God as you need to be? How is your relationship with your mate, your children, a good friend? Our parables this Sunday ask us a few press-box questions. What do you value as important in your life? Are you investing your energy in things that will last? Perhaps some decisions need to be made. Spend much time in prayer. Meditate on God’s Word. Be quiet. Fast for the day.
Now, I’m not talking about a get-away-from-it-all day where you shop, play tennis, go to a movie, and relax in the sun (although such times are needed, too). I’m suggesting an intense, soul-searching day spent in reverence before God and in candid honesty with yourself. Write down your life story. Reread God’s story. Recommit your heart to your Maker.
I might mention that a day like this won’t just happen. It must be made. You’ll never wake up and just happen to have a free day on your hands. You’ll have to pull out the calendar, elbow out a time in the schedule, and take it. Be stubborn with it. You need the time. Your family needs you to take this time. As our story of the coach reminds us, getting some press-box perspective could change the whole ball game. I would like to add, getting some press-box perspective could change our whole lives!

few springs ago, Western Oregon State played Central Washington University in women’s softball for the conference championship. An NCAA playoff spot was on the line. With two on, Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky connected to hit a home run clearing the center field fence. It was Sara’s first home run ever. A part-time starter in the outfield, Sara, a senior, had only 3 hits in 34 at-bats all season.
But as she circled the bases, Sara fell and hurt her knee. The five-foot-two-inch senior lay crumpled in the dirt a few feet from first base—and a long way from home plate.
Her teammates ran to help her—but their coaches stopped them: According to the rules, if any teammate ran on to the field, Sara would be called out. The umpires said that if Sara could make it back to first base, a pinch runner could be substituted—but Sara’s home run would be scored a single. Any assistance from coaches or trainers while Sara was an active runner would result in an out.
While Western Oregon was deciding its next move, the first baseman for Central Washington asked the umpire chief if she and her teammates could help her. The umpire knew of no rule against the opposing team helping the player—so two Central Washing players put their arms under Sara’s legs and Sara put her arms around their shoulders and the three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Sara touch each base.
Central Washington’s compassion cost them. They lost the game—and the playoff berth—4.2.
But that didn’t seem to faze Central Washington. “In the end, it’s not about winning and losing so much”, Washington’s first baseman Mallory Holtman said. “It was about this girl. She’s a senior; it’s her last year. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run. It was the right thing to do”.
This ultimate act of sportsmanship mirrors the generosity of spirit and humility of hear that Jesus asks of us in today’s Gospel. When Jesus calls his disciples to embrace the simple faith of “little ones”, he is not saying that our approach to faith should be “watered down” to the level of children. He is calling us, instead, to embrace a faith that is centered in the love and compassion of God: love that is not compromised by self-interest and rationalization, compassion that is not measured but given completely and unreservedly. Christ is asking us to embrace a faith that is simple, pure and honest—not complicated and compromised by “adult stuff” like winning and losing. May the “wise and learned” among us embrace the spirit of generosity and selflessness exhibited by the Central Washing University women’s softball team—the class of the NCAA.