He was living alone, while his wife was recovering at a rehab facility.
At 84, physically limited, he feared the world beyond the walls of his
small house in Kansas City, Missouri – and the social and political
divisions in his community and world only fueled his anxiety and
resentment.
So little wonder when his doorbell rang that evening in April, he
reacted as he did. When he looked out his window, he did not see a
teenager who went to pick up his brothers. He did not see a young man
who had come to the wrong house (a common mistake in that
neighborhood). He did not see an honors student who, at 5-8 and 140
pounds, was hardly a menacing figure.
He saw a Black man on his porch who he immediately thought was
trying to break in and assumed that he was in imminent danger.
And so, he shot twice, hitting the teenager in the head and arm.
“Don’t come around here!” he yelled, as the teen struggled to get away.
The shooting left the country as well as his Missouri community
reeling.
The man’s grandson later told The Kansas City Star (April 20, 2023),
that his grandfather had been immersed in “a 24-hour news cycle of fear
and paranoia.” He believes his grandfather is not a racist – just 84 years
old, living by himself, retired…and afraid.
The April 13 shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yari reveals not just our
political divisions, but our fear of what and who we don’t know; ideas
that we imagine threaten our safe, protected bubble; cultures and
lifestyles that seem to call into question the values and verities we
learned growing up. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus tells his followers
again and again “fear no one,” “do not be afraid.” If we embrace Jesus’
spirit of compassion and Jesus’ vision of a world of peace and
reconciliation, we can move beyond the darkness of anger and
hatred….and fear. Jesus assures us that we have nothing to fear if our
souls are ever aware of the presence of God’s love in our lives and we
are resolved to manifest that love in the midst of every challenge and
adversity.
Armed only with his Black Skin 6-25-2023
June 13th, 2023Sacred Vessels 6-11-2023
June 5th, 2023The teacher asked her young students to bring to their next religious
education class something from home that symbolized their families’
faith. One student brought a rosary; another brought a Bible, a third a
crucifix. But one little girl brought perhaps the most meaningful
expression of all: her mother’s casserole dish often used to bring food to
the sick.
In our church, we use many “sacred” vessels and objects in our
worship: plates on which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is
placed, chalices to hold the precious blood of the Lord, linens to cover
the altar, bowls of incense with clouds of smoke rising like our prayers
to heaven.
But there are many other ordinary, common things we use every day
that we would never think of as “sacred” – yet they can be instruments
and tools of God’s compassion.
For example: the crock pot, in which you make supper for a family in
mourning preparing to bury a loved one, is a sacred vessel.
The towel you use to wipe the brow of a dying parent or spouse is as
precious as altar linen.
The soup kettle and ladle that are used to feed the poor and homeless
transform a basement soup kitchen into a very holy place.
Every act of generosity, every kindness extended, every moment
given to the needs of another, is the incense of prayer rising to God’s
dwelling place.
On this day we recall something very special. In our taking the body
of Christ, we become the body of Christ. In receiving the Eucharist, we
must be willing to become Eucharist for others: to make the limitless,
complete love of Christ real for all.
I close with this: One day Mother Theresa of Calcutta was talking
about her ministry to the dying and her love of the Eucharist. She said
this, “We see Christ under two forms. We see him on the altar as bread
and wine and we see him in the slums as the broken bodies of forgotten
people. A body comes in eaten by worms. I know when I touch it that I
am touching the body of Christ otherwise nothing could make me do it.”
Take this home with you! “When we say “Amen” at communion today,
how do we become Eucharist to others”?
Trinity Sunday 6-4-2023
June 3rd, 2023
The people who ask the most questions about God are children and
theologians – and their questions are surprisingly similar. Does God
exist? Where does He live? What does He look like? Where did He
come from and how does He spend His “time”? The search never stops.
When one inquiry is answered, it usually triggers others.
Actually, the deep mysteries of religion are not answered but only
commented on. Even Jesus didn’t give direct responses most of the
time. He replied with a story, a parable, or a comment. “What is the
Kingdom?” they asked, and He responded, “It’s a net full of fish.”
“How about the Church, what is it?” “A mustard seed.” “How can you
tell if a person is wise or foolish?” “One builds a house on rock, the
other on sand.” These are not complete answers but enlightening
comments designed to make people think.
Trinity Sunday presents us with some real puzzlers. Can you
explain the Holy Trinity? No! But we can make a comment: it’s like a
triangle, a shamrock or something that is three and yet one.
Religion is well supplied with a multitude of unfolding mysteries
of which the Trinity is only one – a major one. It’s no real
accomplishment to ask a question which perplexes the experts, for we
have millions more good questions than good answers. People often
think that the priest, bishop or pope, is the “answer man.” Not so.
These persons are expected to have some penetrating insights, but
basically they cannot answer religious mysteries. Their best response is
to make an intelligent comment in the form of a symbol, story or
perhaps a simple act of faith.
The mysteries of religion are not the kind which are waiting to be
solved. Rather, they are to continue as mysteries and be acknowledged
and appreciated. The Trinity is saying something to us about God’s
inmost nature. Although it is beyond human explanation, we will have
our own “answers” but they will all be incomplete. God is too big and
complicated for our little minds to grasp completely. But even though
He cannot be fully explained, we can always admire and believe God.
On a more down to earth level.
A high school teacher was talking to her students about the Trinity.
After her presentation she gave her class a writing assignment on this
question: “Which person of the Trinity do you relate to best at this time
in your life?”
I’d like to share with you three student answers to that question.
One boy wrote:
“My father and I have a zero relationship. I need a father right
now, and since I can’t turn to my own dad, I turn to my Father in
heaven. I sometimes talk to him about my problems, the way I would
like to talk to my dad about them.”
One girl wrote:
“My brother lives with my father, and I live with my mother. Ever
since my parents’ divorce two years ago, we hardly ever see each other
anymore. I never thought I’d miss my brother, but I do. So now I’ve
kind of adopted Jesus as a brother.”
Finally another boy wrote:
“Just recently I began praying to the Holy Spirit. I’m going to
college in a year, and I have no idea what I want to take up. I hope the
Holy Spirit will enlighten me. Anyway, I’m praying to him for
guidance.”
I find those comments refreshingly honest. I also find that they
make me ask myself, “Which person of the Trinity do I relate to best?”
I close.
God, you are profound in your mystery, and you never cease to
amaze me; I sometimes come to think that I have you figured out, and
then you zap me, and remind me that you are beyond the limitations of
my insight.
As I search for the words, titles, songs and images that attempt to
corner you, help me to know that you are beyond my words, deeper than
any effort to be “inclusive,” because what really matters, is that you
exist and that I see you present in your creation.
Amen.
