{"id":2708,"date":"2008-10-11T20:12:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-11T20:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/10\/homily-for-october-12-2008-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html"},"modified":"2008-10-11T20:12:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-11T20:12:00","slug":"homily-for-october-12-2008-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/10\/homily-for-october-12-2008-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for October 12, 2008: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>When I was looking over the readings for this weekend, I thought to myself: well, nobody could be blamed for feeling hungry in the middle of mass. Food is mentioned everywhere. Again and again we hear references to a great feast — how God will provide for us, and nurture us, and nourish us. \u201cJuicy, rich foods and pure, choice wines,\u201d Isaiah tells us. <\/p>\n

And, of course, the entire gospel parable told by Jesus centers on a wedding feast. <\/p>\n

Jewish culture is one that revolves around food. (They\u2019re like the Italians that way!) This time of year, our Jewish neighbors celebrate a number of holy days in which the sharing of a meal is a vital part of their religion and their identity. <\/p>\n

And we, too, gather to share in the great meal of the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

But we do it at a moment when we are reminded that so many of our neighbors \u2013 our brothers and sisters in the human family \u2013 are facing their own kind of famine.
It is happening here, in America, in 2008. And not just among the poor.<\/p>\n

Last week, the New Yorker magazine profiled people in Ohio who are being hit especially hard by the economic calamity around us. <\/p>\n

The story focused on a single mother named Barbie Snodgrass in Columbus, Ohio. She met the writer at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in a nearby strip mall as she finished her first job, as a medical receptionist, at three in the afternoon. She was about to begin her second job, working nights cleaning the studios of a local TV station. She works some weekends, too. She\u2019s barely making ends meet. <\/p>\n

And she had no patience for either of the men running for President. <\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who makes two hundred or three hundred thousand a year,\u201d she said, \u201cwho eats a regular meal, who doesn\u2019t have to struggle, who doesn\u2019t worry if the lights are going to be turned out\u2014if he doesn\u2019t walk in your shoes, he can\u2019t understand.\u201d <\/p>\n

It was sobering to read. The number of men and women like her in America will probably grow as the weather turns colder, and the nights grow longer \u2013 no matter who wins the election. <\/p>\n

Meantime, in a cruel irony, the people at Nieman Marcus last week released their annual Christmas catalog. <\/p>\n

For 10 million dollars, you can buy 12 thoroughbreds and have them stabled, trained and managed by a champion breeder in Kentucky. <\/p>\n

If that\u2019s too much, for just one million, you can have a three hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus installed in your back yard. <\/p>\n

And if that\u2019s still too much, for just 110-thousand dollars you can buy a training session with the Harlem Globetrotters. You can even play in one of their games. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think the creators of the catalog had that woman from Columbus, Ohio in mind. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re entering a strange and unpredictable time in history. And nobody knows where it will lead. Between the election and the economy, you can feel the earth shifting beneath our feet. A writer in the New York Times the other day noted how widespread the problem is. A crisis that began with a bubble in California McMansions, he wrote, has ended up causing catastrophe in Iceland. The global economy is quaking. <\/p>\n

But amid so much uncertainty, the scripture this weekend offers us something certain, and true, and brimming with hope. <\/p>\n

Listen again to the words of St. Paul \u2013 his final words to the Philippians. He has survived the best of times, and the worst. And, from prison he writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.
I can do all things in him who strengthens me.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Put another way \u2013 in the words of the angel who spoke so gently and reassuringly to a poor unwed mother in Galilee \u2013 \u201cNothing is impossible with God.\u201d <\/p>\n

We belong to The One who dwells in possibility. <\/p>\n

We are beloved by the Father who invites us to share his feast, to dine at his table.<\/p>\n

But are we open to accepting that invitation? And are we properly disposed?<\/p>\n

The parable of the wedding feast is about much more than wearing the right clothes. It is about having the right heart. A heart that appreciates the privilege of what it means to be a guest of God. A heart that is full of gratitude — open to receiving His grace. <\/p>\n

Those familiar words of the 23rd Psalm, which we heard a few moments ago, take on new meaning this Sunday: <\/p>\n

\u201cYou spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. \u201c <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God pours out His love, and our cup overflows. His table is set with mercy, with generosity, with tenderness. He gives us more than we ask for, and more than we deserve.<\/p>\n

He gives us His son. <\/p>\n

And He gives that gift again and again, here, in the Eucharist. <\/p>\n

This is the ultimate banquet. The definitive feast. <\/p>\n

Here, around this table, in this community, we seek from that feast the strength and the hope to face a world where autumn will soon give way to winter, and we will enter the coldest, hardest season. <\/p>\n

The almanac can tell us how to prepare for snow and frost. But some things, like the stock market, are impossible to forecast. <\/p>\n

But: we can do all things in him who strengthens us. <\/p>\n

No matter what may come, Christ is our strength. The Eucharist is our food. And God\u2019s love is the bounty that sustains us. <\/p>\n

This morning, we pray for all those who are worrying where their next meal will come from, or how the mortgage will be paid. A lot of us are wondering how we\u2019ll send the kids to college, or even be able to afford to retire. <\/p>\n

But we remember, as well, those who hunger for other things \u2013 those yearning for love, or understanding or compassion, or hope. <\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s words offer us all that, and more. In his letter is the reassurance we need that, after the fall, spring will surely come. <\/p>\n

God will sustain us. <\/p>\n

Because we can do all things in him who strengthens us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was looking over the readings for this weekend, I thought to myself: well, nobody could be blamed for feeling hungry in the middle of mass. Food is mentioned everywhere. Again and again we hear references to a great feast — how God will provide for us, and nurture us, and nourish us. \u201cJuicy,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies"],"yoast_head":"\nHomily for October 12, 2008: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/10\/homily-for-october-12-2008-28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Homily for October 12, 2008: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was looking over the readings for this weekend, I thought to myself: well, nobody could be blamed for feeling hungry in the middle of mass. 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Prior to that, Deacon Greg worked for 26 years as a writer and producer for CBS News, where he contributed to \"The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,\" \"60 Minutes II,\" \"48 Hours,\" (Emmy Award, Writers Guild of America Award) and \"Sunday Morning.\" He was co-writer for the acclaimed documentary \"9\/11,\" hosted by Robert DeNiro. (Emmy Award, Christopher Award, Peabody Award, Writers Guild of America Award.) His radio essays were featured in the bestselling book \"Deadlines and Datelines\" by Dan Rather. He's also a two-time winner of the Catholic Press Association Award. Other places you may find him: AMERICA, U.S. CATHOLIC, CATHOLIC DIGEST, REALITY (Redemptorist Communications) and THE BROOKLYN TABLET. He also contributes homiletic reflections to the parish resource CONNECT!, published by Liturgical Publications. In November 2009, he began serving a three-year term as a consultant to the Communications Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Deacon Greg grew up in Maryland (Go Terps!) but he and his wife today live in the beautiful borough of Queens, New York. You can contact Deacon Greg at dcngreg@gmail.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/author\/gkandra"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}