Gospel, Homily and Coffee

Nostalgia, I think, is a two edged sword. We remember the past with a degree of fondness, maybe even with a little longing. It sounds good, but is what we remember truly the reality?  I am not generally a nostalgic person. I am a child of the 70’s & 80’s, bell bottoms, polyester leisure suits. I have good memories growing up; I also have a lot I would like to forget. But now, there are amazing things going on. Wonderful things, and yes, not so wonderful things that persist still from our darker side. Still, I sense incredible changes in our parish, in our church. Changes that will serve our community well.  It is a church that tries and struggles to recenter ourselves on Christ; not on an institution. Recenter on mission and not ourselves. A church that becomes more universal, for all people.  We can appear as irrelevant to so many; this has become our challenge. People don’t attack us, they simply become indifferent. We cannot remain indifferent, we cannot ...

One of the most literally painful moments of my life was the first time I ever skied(remember, I am from Ohio, we don’t ski). I was 25. I went with a group and they invited me but did not tell me what to bring, so I was ignorantly and blissfully unprepared. I wore blue jeans, brought no gloves, did have sunglasses, but no sunscreen. It was a bright spring day in southern Idaho. I had a blast...except for having wet blue jeans and when I awoke the next morning, I was RED! SO Painful.  Needless to say, I invested in sunscreen, ski pants, ski gloves, et al. Skiing became even more enjoyable after that. Preparation helps us to do what we need and what we want to do and do it well. Before we cook or bake, we need to make sure we have all the ingredients.  Before we run a marathon, we prepare ourselves by training.  Before we play our first baseball, volleyball or football game, we must be prepared.  Preparation helps us to think and be open to what will come. Pent...

In life, we all experience those “threshold” moments; moments when we transition in life and become more “adult”.  When Parents bring their child to kindergarten on the first day...we see tears. When that child later earns a driver’s license and needs the parents a little less. When that child leaves home, falls in love and gets married, then has a child, and the cycle begins again.  There are mixed emotions; happiness at this growth, sadness about the change. All of us recognize that it’s inevitable and necessary. And then at some point too, what is it all for? What does this all mean?  We come up to the threshold of how we do see life and find purpose. I think all people want to feel they are valued and what they do have purpose and meaning. Usually around this time of year with graduations, there will be the stories of parents who worked in the fields or other hard labor so that their children and succeeding generations will not have to.  And sometimes those ...

In Eastern Ohio in the woods wild grape vines grow. They actually can cover a lot of trees and space; in the end damaging them. They take over everything. Yet, no fruit to speak of, and about the only use is for kids to swing on.  For a forest to be healthy there needs to be a variety of trees, both deciduous and conifers. And underlying them there needs to exist a fungal network that connects their roots. It is that network that will transfer food and other chemical messages so that the forest adapts and thrives. Networks form our world. Life comes from connections; the stronger and healthier the connection the more life thrives.  We see this in our families; a family thrives because of the closeness of the husband and wife. When that bond remains strong and the focus, when and if kids arrive, they will find a healthier life.  We see this in our more broad communities: parish and church; neighborhood and city. As people reach out and build up relationships, these ...