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Transcript of Homily
I'll try to make it as painless as possible;
but this is gonna involve some Greek words and possibly some Hebrew.
You're all awake, right?
You know, I always think that the Lord
speaks most powerfully in the scripture, in the parts that you don't understand.
When you don't understand something, I…well, at least for me, that's
where God is trying to tell me something.
Well, I was looking at the readings, and
I thought…
The first reading, that the Lord God, that
the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me.
Glad tidings to the poor, ext. ext….to
announce a year of favor to the Lord.
And the word "favor" caught my eye.
What the heck does that mean? Favor.
Favor,
Mary, Mary is when the angel of God appeared
to Mary he called her highly favored one. Or God has favored you.
And the scripture says Noah found favor
in God's eyes.
I thought, what does it mean?
And of course, I looked it up.
And I was a little disappointed by what
I saw.
Because it's just the word for grace.
(? ? ? ). C-H-A-R-I-S-T it would be in
English.
It's the word for Grace.
Well, we all know what Grace is.
Well, I guess I really don't…because
I don't think of "Grace" and "Favor" in the same breath.
Grace is that stuff God gives you to get
through 24 hours, you know?
Grace is that strength that comes from
God, I always think
And that's true
But that's not "favor"
So I thought, what does favor mean…
And you know, perhaps you've heard me say
this, but it was this time of year I got my start in show business.
The Christmas pageant.
When I was six years old in first grade.
Now, I had a nun teaching me, who will
remain nameless, because I am amazed that I am still a Catholic after having
to endure this woman.
This woman was …. Very difficult.
Uh, fact is I was having a conversation
with a few people, and we were discussing how difficult our first grade
nun had been.
And we came from three different schools.
Turned out it was the same woman.
She had eventually left the convent and
started working in a ( ? ? ? ) prison. She had found her neesh, I think.
But!
Why should I burden you with my problems..
Now where was I…
..this nun, was very difficult.
And I was – and not this is not
easy to believe, but I was not a perfect child.
Once upon a time I remember I was packing
groceries in Jewel and Mrs. O'Harris came by and well…she said, "ooh,
I remember the day you were born" and I expected "you were wonderful, perfect,
gorgeous."
And she said "You were horrible, your mother
didn't sleep. Your mother didn't sleep for a year."
And I went home and said, "Ma, is that
true?" She said "No, you were a perfect baby."
Which… I may still be.
Where was I
Yeah, I was not a perfect child, and it
was very rare that I got to go through a whole recess.
You know, when they let the kids out to
breath.
You know, the standard punishment was you
don't get recess.
Well, it was very rare I got through recess.
And I was out, enjoying those 15 minutes
of freedom, out in the ( ? ? ? ) yard.
And somebody came and said "Sister, wants
to see you"
and I thought "eh.." and I went in and
she was standing there with a woman who was going to fit me out for a costume
for the Christmas pageant! And I thought…whoa, maybe my luck is turning
around.
Well, it was the costume of the donkey.
IT didn't matter! It was just great, it
didn't occur to me until I was an adult!
Wait a minute, that was sarcasm.
I remember talking to one of my school
mates, and we all knew it at the time, it was a statement at the part of
our teacher.
But, this was great, I got to be the donkey.
And I (? ? ? ) donkey ( ? ?) audience,
but I managed.
I had to (? ? ? ) Mary Sue Ellen on the
stage and it was a great privilege.
That was favor.
That was grace.
At least, I thought it was.
Who, me?!
Have you ever picked out for something
special? That's favor!
The favor of the Lord, this is the year
of favor, the prophet says.
That is a dimension of grace.
That isn't just God saying, "Yeah, alright,
I'll give you a pass on this. I'll give you what you need to get through
it."
Oh, no, no, no.
Favor is….come here, I want YOU, who
me?
Well, that's true for all of us.
That's one of the reasons God chooses to
be called father.
Not mother
Your mother, she loves you no matter what.
It's her job description, right?
That's why the Church is the mother, she's
gotta take you in no matter what.
But dads ….they can be kind of picky.
Can't they?
Well, when a father beams with pridea bout
his son or daughter, that's favor.
And that's why God chooses to be called
"father" in relationship with us.
He is infinitely more to us than "Father"
or "mother" or anything.
But he chooses to be called Father.
Because…. He made you for Himself.
That is favor.
Mary was uniquely favored by God
But you are uniquely favored by God.
That's the amazing, amazing truth of the
Christian message.
That God really is nuts about you.
That's why He made you.
This vast universe, in which this little
galaxy is but a pin prick, and we are but a speck on a pin prick, but He
fixes all His attention not only on this galaxy or this plaent, but he
fixes it on this building, not only the row you are sitting in, but the
seat you are sitting in.
He knows your name.
And has a better one still prepared for
you.
This is the favor the Lord.
Well, that's the good news.
The bad news is…as (? ? ?) said to God,
as he was bringing his limping horse back from rounds, ( ? ? ) from Fiddler
on the Roof said, "God, I know we are the chosen people, but couldn't you
have chosen someone else?"
Now and then.
Nobody ever preaches about that pasture
in ( ? ? ) in which God says "I, the lord your God, is a jealous God. My
name is jealous."
oooh..
God is jealous?
Yes.
And He has the right to be.
You don't have the right to be.
But he does, though.
He made you for Himself.
He made you for Himself.
You wouldn't expect one of my sermons to
be thoroughly cheerful, so here's the hard part.
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