Monday, September 15, 2014

Daily HOMILY for August 19, 2014: Tuesday of the 20th Week of Ordinary Time

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In 2014, I am facilitating a 12-week interactive online course in contemplative prayer and action for priests with Saint Luke Institute.  Please visit SLIconnect.org to learn more:  https://www.sliconnect.org/product/living-god-program-contemplative-life-2/
Tuesday 20th Week OT
St. Luke’s Institute
August 19, 2014
MEANINGS OF CAMEL/EYE ++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  What if this is literally true?
Ø  That, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God”
Ø  This Gospel verse says that my stuff is not coming with me into the Kingdom
Ø  Or maybe if I have stuff, there is no entrance wide enough to accommodate me
Ø  Or maybe it’s not literally true, & the image of a laden camel symbolic 4 a high-minded collector
Ø  Or it’s some ancient gate that’s so narrow I will have to dismount my camel & all my belongings
THE REAL MEANING +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  Another meaning here can be seen as gracious & filled w/ comfort
Ø  This might be a magnificent invitation: we will not need anything
Ø  We will be greeted and welcomed and ushered in just as we are
Ø  We will need no protection from hot or cold, from rain or snow
Ø  We will need no provisions for food or shelter
Ø  All our assignments are completed and projects have been handed over at the last exit ramp
Ø  Nor will we need any official papers verifying credentials, qualification, endorsements, or civil agreements
Ø  We will each be known as we are
Ø  Not only do we slip, slide, or slink in w/ nothing, but all obligations are checked at the door of death
DEATH AS A WARM SHOWER ++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  My favorite image of death is simply stepping out of the shower
Ø  We are clean, warmed, refreshed, and brand new
Ø  There is a new life awaiting my next step into that giant warm towel of well-being, into life ever after
Ø  Clothed in light, there is no shame, only grace
Ø  We won’t need any of our stuff
CONCLUSION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  For many of us this has been a rough ride, staring with the passage from the birth canal out of our mother’s womb
Ø  This needle’s eye is a welcome point of entry
Ø  Nothing but God 

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