CHURCH CHAT #18

 THE HAZARDS OF PREACHING

an interesting passage about falling asleep during a sermon from

The Acts of the Apostles 

20: 7-12

"On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight.

There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered, and a young man named Eutychus who was sitting on the window sill was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Once overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and when he was picked up, he was dead.

Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and said as he embraced him, “Don’t be alarmed; there is life in him.”

Then he returned upstairs, broke the bread, and ate; after a long conversation that lasted until daybreak, he departed.

And they took the boy away alive and were immeasurably comforted."

THE VISION LOSS THAT COMES FROM LIVING IN A BUBBLE

"Living in a bubble" is a slang term that refers to someone who is ignorant or unaware of the outside world and its issues. It implies that the person is isolated from reality, living in their own little world, and not exposed to different opinions or perspectives.

People who "live in a bubble" are often seen as privileged or sheltered, lacking the experience and knowledge necessary to understand the struggles of others. They may be dismissive of social issues, believing that they do not affect them personally, or they may have a narrow-minded view of the world.

This term can be used to criticize people who are out of touch with reality, particularly those who hold positions of power or influence. It suggests that their decisions are based on limited information and biased perspectives, rather than a comprehensive understanding of the world around them.

The phrase "living in a bubble" can also refer to a group of people who share similar beliefs and values, and who are unwilling or unable to engage with those who hold different views. This can lead to an echo chamber effect, where people only hear opinions that reinforce their own, and are shielded from dissenting voices.

In some cases, "living in a bubble" can be a deliberate choice, such as when someone chooses to live in a gated community or only associate with people of a certain social class. However, it is often used as a criticism of those who are unaware of their privilege and the impact it has on their worldview.

Overall, the term "living in a bubble" is a powerful way to critique ignorance, insularity, and lack of empathy. It challenges us to broaden our perspectives, seek out new experiences, and engage with the world in a more meaningful way. People who "live in a bubble" can be simple minded or highly educated.

My first experience of a person "living in a bubble" was that elderly woman in eastern Kentucky that I saw interviewed on KET several years back. She had never been more than two miles from the mountain cabin she was born in. When asked why, she answered the reporter, “I just don’t believe in goin’ places!”

A few years ago, I got a clear picture of what "living in a bubble" means today. I was in the locker room of a downtown athletic club after a racquetball game. We had an abundance of young business types as members. The TV was on. Nobody looked up or paid any attention while the newscaster reported mass starvation in India, the tragic spread of Aids through Africa or the drive by shootings in Los Angeles. Then the newscaster announced that the stock market had dropped 60 points and the whole locker room gasped and sighed collectively.

Recently, during the first few days of the Iran War, I was glued to watching the news. Amid all the destruction, devastation, death and worries of escalation, the commercials were about Botox Cosmetics, Cruise Line opportunities, premium cat food and weight loss drugs! It made me almost shake with dread and embarrassment! Do we not "live in a bubble" when our attention is constantly being drawn to Caribbean cruises, face wrinkles, premium pet food and losing weight, all while the Middle East explodes as if it is going to have little affect on us?

THERE IS NO RESCUE PARTY OUT LOOKING FOR YOU!

 The Very Place I Learned the Most Important Lesson of My Life

An Old Story Worth Repeating 

It was the spring of 1966. I was standing on that fire escape grid (outside the door in the bottom left corner) with a fellow classmate, Pat Murphy from Indianapolis. Maybe we were getting some fresh air between classes and sharing our feelings about some of the expectations of "seminary culture" in which we were living. The seminary staff was expecting me to "develop my  talents." I was no doubt, sharing something about my doubts about my having any talents.  

Back then, I was not a happy person. I was hoping that the world would change so I could be happy.  I was extremely bashful. I voided meeting new people or allowing myself from getting into unfamiliar situations. I was what George Bernard Shaw called "a feverish little clod of grievances and ailments, complaining that the world would not dedicate itself to making me happy." Yes, I was waiting for "a rescue party to come and save me!" As the leadership guru, Tom Peters, put it: "Unless you walk into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in your life are pretty low." 

In what had to be a great moment of grace, an impulse gift from God, I suddenly blurted out, "Pat, I am so sick and tired of being bashful, backward and scared of life that I am going to do something about it even if it kills me!" I realized then that it was up to me to "grab the bull by the horns." 

I was shocked by the words that came out of my own mouth. But from that moment on, I have been standing up to the coward in me. I have been deliberately “slaying dragons” and “confronting demons,” in my head and on my path, ever since. I would not be where I am today if that particular great “moment of grace” had not happened and if I had not responded enthusiastically. I decided that day not to indulge my resistance to personal and spiritual growth anymore. That day, on that fire escape, I made my first conscious decision to enter the world of personal growth and deliberate living. How appropriate and symbolic that the decision was made on a “fire escape.” 

That day, on that fire escape, I finally learned a fundamental principle of personal and spiritual growth – fear and pain cannot be used as excuses for backing-off from life. I have come to understand that pain serves a purpose. Pain captures our attention and lets us know that change is necessary. Pain signals that it is time to move on and learn new behaviors. Unfortunately, many of us sabotage the possibility of growth by denying, numbing or backing away from such pain. 

Some may call these turning points or pivotal moments, “luck” or “an opportunity coming from nowhere,” but as a believer, I would call them “moments of grace.” "Grace" is “unmerited divine assistance given to human beings for their regeneration.” Even so, those “moments of grace” have two parts. One part has nothing to do with us personally. It is a spontaneous gift from God that shows up when it shows up. we cannot create it, capture it or force it to happen. The second part has everything to do with us personally. It has to do with our cooperation, our ability to seize the moment and step up to the plate in doing our part to see where it takes us if we follow its invitation. 

We all have “moments of grace” when unmerited divine assistance is offered to us for our growth as human persons. In sharing my “moment of grace,” let it be known that it is not unique to me. My hope is that my sharing of it with others, it will trigger an awareness of their own “moments of grace” and how they have, or have not, cooperated with them in enriching their own lives. 

My fire escape moment was most significant for me for this reason. I was raised to believe that “life is something that happens to you and all you can do is make the most of it.” I was taught to be grateful for what I had even when it was not the best life God had to offer me. Thomas Merton was right on target when he said, “The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” I have always wondered how my life might have unfolded if I had responded differently to that moment of grace. I realize now that I was not entirely aware of the full implications of what I was choosing in that moment. I do know, however, that I am "still working my program," a program I started with baby-steps back in 1966 and gradually took more and more courageous steps over the years!  

SEEING THE CONNECTION - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother and led them up a high

mountain by themselves.

Matthew 17:1-9

After being invited the first week of Lent to “go to the desert” for new insights into ourselves, we are invited the second week of Lent to “go to the mountain” for a new perspective! 

When Jesus came out of the desert, the first thing he called for was a radical new outlook – metanoia! On the second Sunday of Lent, Jesus invites us to go to the mountaintop, a traditional place for achieving a new perspective on life. From a mountaintop you can see in all directions. Jesus invites us to go the mountaintop because conversion of life, the real purpose of Lent, is impossible without a change of perspective, without a new way of seeing. 

It is easy to “get stuck” in the way we think. As Brooks Atkinson put it, “The most fatal illusion is the settled point of view.”  Some of us go through life living out the old joke, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up!” Even scientists have trouble incorporating new information. The French Academy announced at one point that it would not accept any further reports of meteorites, since it was clearly impossible for rocks to fall out of the sky. Shortly thereafter a rain of meteorites came close to breaking the windows of the Academy. Lent is a time to take a long, loving look at reality!

Dr. Wayne Dyer teaches us that, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This is certainly true in resolving soul-eating anger and resentment toward other people. What many people fail to realize is that there is a “way out” when offending people refuse to apologize and own the hurt they have caused. What they fail to realize is that the hurt can be healed and the problem resolved with a new way of looking at the perpetrator. Lent is a time to change the way we look at others.

John Lubbock reminds us that “What we see depends mainly on what we look for!” Oscar Wilde put it humorously when he said, “The optimist sees the donut; the pessimist sees the hole.”   The more attention you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence of it will grow. Shine attention on obstacles or possibilities and they will multiply lavishly. Lent is a time to change the way we look at the world. 

Possibly the most important change we need to make this Lent in our perspective is the way we view ourselves.  No one has said it better than Marianne Williamson. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” Lent is a time to get a new perspective. Lent is a time to see the world through God’s eyes!    

Because of the “transfiguration” gospel, they are called “peak experiences” – those intense religious experiences that many of us have been lucky enough to have at least once in our lives. In fact, I believe that this is the main thing that keeps people in organized religion - at least one “peak experience.” On the other hand, it is also the main reason some people claim to be agnostic - the absence of even one “peak experience.”  

“Peak experiences” cannot be staged or created. They are simply moments of grace – spontaneous gifts from God. We can go to places where “peak experiences” have happened to other people, even places where we have personally experienced them before, but that does not mean we will have another one. They are simply unpredictable and unannounced gifts from God. 

“Peak experiences” can happen at some of the most surprising times and in some of the most unlikely places. Oddly enough, for example, during the sexual abuse storm that began in 2002 a significant number of journalists, who had been assigned to report on the crisis in various locales, ended up converting to Catholicism.  They had a “religious experience,” a “peak experience” even in the midst of that pain and sin!  Others have had these “peak experiences” during the death process of a loved one or even their own process of dying. I witnessed my mother going through one of these “peak experiences” as she was dying of cancer back in 1976.

“Peak experiences” happen most often during retreats and other religious events. For instance, many seminarians were so moved by meeting Pope John Paul II that they came back to the Church, after having been gone since childhood, and even decided that they may have a call to the priesthood. Many teenagers have their first “peak experience” during their senior retreat or an alternative spring break in places like Guatemala. Many married couples have had life changing “peak experiences” during Marriage Encounter weekends. Other Catholics have discovered a new burst of faith during a Cursillo weekend, a trip to Medjugore or Lourdes, even meeting someone with the stature of Mother Teresa.

How they happen, why they happen and when they happen cannot be predicted, staged or even understood. They all seem to be glimpses into another level of existence or little previews of coming wonderful events that God gives some people who need a reason to hang on! Those of us who have experienced them know how mind-blowing and life changing they can be! To those who cannot say they have ever had such an experience, I would say “it ain’t over till it’s over” and “your time may be right around the corner” at some unexpected and unpredictable time.

These “peak experiences” have several things in common. (1) You have to be open to them. The “transfiguration” that we read about today, happened during one of hundreds of little retreats that Jesus arranged for his disciples! Regular contact with God through prayer does not guarantee one of these experiences, but makes them more likely to happen. Your mind must to be open and you must remain in a receiving frame of mind.

There is always a temptation to want to freeze the experience, repeat the experience and make the experience permanent. This is what Peter was up to in the reading today. “Lord, it is so wonderful to be here. Why don’t we erect some tents and just stay up here forever?” Jesus tells Peter that the experience was only meant to be something to sustain the group during the painful days ahead. He tells Peter that they will have to go back down the mountain and back into real life for a while. Experiencing it “all the time” would have to wait until the resurrection after his death. One of the things that Cursillo, Marriage Encounter, Medjugore, senior retreat, Lourdes and other similar experiences have it common is the desire that many have to repeat those experiences or to “be in them” full time. They are never meant to be permanent. They are only glimpses into glory. God wants us to go back to our ordinary lives, with that precious moment in the back of our minds to sustain us.             

Lastly, “peak experiences” are meant to help is “see connections” to see the connection between where we come from, where we are now and where we are destined. This is what the conversation that Jesus had with the saints - Moses and Elijah. This conversation helped Jesus realize that he was the one they saw coming in the future so many years before. They helped Jesus understand where God was taking him in the days ahead – glory on the other side of suffering and death. Just so, our “peak experiences” remind us that there is something wonderful in the invisible world that awaits us on the other side of this life.

May you experience your own “peak experience!” May God give you a “glimpse of glory!”  May you get a “sneak preview” of the world to come! May that “peak experience” sustain you in the sometimes tediousness of worldly existence and help you keep your eye on the prize!

With all the problems going on in the Church today, others ask me and I ask myself over and over again “Why stay?” The reason I stay is that I have been blessed to have had several “peak experiences” and “glimpses of glory” in my life time. It is these intense experiences that sustain me during the ordinary moments, periods of spiritual dryness and intense discouragement. As I think about all the scandal that has beset the Church, I am not worried or overcome with discouragement. To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, who built his famous speech around this gospel, “I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead, but it doesn’t matter with me now because I have been to the mountaintop. God has allowed me to go up to the mountain and I’ve looked over and I have seen the promised land. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”

My friends, I am here to stay, I remain hopeful and I am committed to being faithful to the end, not because I am out of touch with the serious problems facing our Church, but because God has given me a couple of small glimpses of glory, like he did the disciples in today’s gospel. I hold on because of those “peak experiences.”    

CHURCH CHAT #17

 

AN IDEA ABOUT HOW TO ENGAGE OUR MISSING CHURCH MEMBERS

 

I get a fair amount of positive feedback from my homilies, and for that I am grateful, because I do spend a lot of time working on them. However, as I was talking to a Baptist friend the other day, he helped me realize something that I was not focusing on enough! He told me that his pastor does an excellent job on his homilies, but the people who most need to hear it are not there! His church, like ours, has seen a steep decline in church attendance especially since COVID.

When I left the Cathedral, I missed my pulpit so much that I volunteered to publish a column every week in The Record. I called it An Encouraging Word. After fifteen years of writing that column each week, I stopped and decided to start a blog also called An Encouraging Word.

Even though my preaching is deliberately based on a Isaiah 50:4 quote, "The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to answer the weary with a word that will awaken them," I realize that I may still be opening myself up to criticism and condemnation. However, I try my best to accept any criticism with humility and courage. My blog posts are deliberately called An Encouraging Word inspired by another passage from Isaiah 42:3. "A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish." In other words, I try to look for goodness to affirm, not sins to condemn. God knows there is more than enough of that from some clergy these days!

Following my Baptist friend's advice about "those who are not there" to hear my homilies, I offer blog postings every other day for the people listed below. On my blog, you will find homilies, reflections, humorous cartoons, prayers, updates on my mission projects, photos and various other useful materials.

TO ACCESS MY AN ENCOURAGING WORD BLOG GO TO:

fatherknott.com 

For those who don't go to church.

For those who have gotten out the habit of going to church.

For those who don't want to go to church.

For those who have never been to church.

For those who can't go to church. 

For those who go all the time to church.

"Let us consider how to spur one another to love and good works. Do not neglect to attend your assemblies, as some do, but rather encourage one another."

Hebrews 10:24-25