Homily Twenty-Eighth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Luke 11:37-41) “Appearances often Deceive”
Homily Twenty-Eighth Wednesday of Ordinary Time (Luke 11:37-41) “Appearances often Deceive”
How do we judge people? Do we evaluate people on small unimportant things? Many times, we do. When we do, we can write somebody off before we ever get to know them.
When I was a junior in college, I decided to enter the seminary. When I did, I receive material in the mail that described the college seminary. One of pages showed a basketball game. Two players were contesting a jump ball. One was a clean-cut fellow. The other had hair down his back that stretched to his waste. A smaller player with a beard and long curly hair was gazing up ready to retrieve the ball. Next to him was another guy that looked like he was a real straight arrow.
I immediately thought that the seminary team must be the one with the two players who were well groomed. I though there were probably rules about such things. I went to seminary with that idea.
When I got to seminary, I lived in a small room with three other young men. One of them had red hair that was trimmed up nicely. I recognized him as the basketball player in the photo. He had been the one whose hair, the year before, had been down to his waist. Not long after I arrived, I met the shorter basketball player with the beard. He was free spirited fellow named Eddie.
My two new friends decided that I needed to be on the basketball team. They forced me to join and they challenged me to come out of my shell.
I found the seminary, at that time, did not want people to conform right away, but they allowed people to grow slowly into principled young men. I met some of the finest guys I have ever known.
Jesus was judged by the Pharisee in the reading today because of his outward appearance and his lack of refinement. Consequently, the Pharisee missed an opportunity to learn from the Son of God. How often do we miss out on friendships with holy people because we judge too quickly?
- Have I ever judged someone by appearance? Did that person later become a friend?
- Am I more concerned with appearance than anything else? What would happen if I were more concerned about other things?
Dear Parishioners,
In the days ahead we will be starting to do major capital improvements on the Lee Center. One of the major needs for our parish a few years ago was that we needed to update all the air conditioners and many of the furnaces on our buildings. This was going to be a major undertaking. So far, we have replaced all the roof top units on Culemans Hall, both on the school side and the parish side. We have replaced the chiller that is part of the church air conditioner. In the upcoming months we will replace the roof top HVAC units on the Lee Center. There are seven in all.
This has been a major expense, but with this work we will have completed almost all the work that was necessary when we started. Thanks to all who donated to these efforts.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark