Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Friday, June 14, 2002 A Homily for a Sunny Day (written some years ago) I saw a rare eucharistic meal with my daughter, Shana. We went out to go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. As we neared the small shopping mall it was in, some people along the street held up signs offering free slices of pizza. Obviously it was a promotion for the opening of a pizza place there. "Well, I want Mexican food, not pizza," I said to Shana, "but maybe you'd like pizza instead." She did want pizza. We parked and went to the pizza place across the lot. There were many people: young people, couples, small children, a mixture of ethnic groups, and there was rampant joy! There was palpable delight on people's faces. Children beamed with glee at the festival, picnic atmosphere. Why? Because these were poor people. I can't say how I knew except that one who has been there knows. I'd never seen such people so happy! A free meal and drink! The air was giddy with delight. This, for them, was the loaves and fishes. This was a moment of healing eucharist, true eucharist - not churchy solemnity, not pious pretense, not indifferent reception or meaningless prayers. This was a miracle of a godsend, a momentary gift from God, and it was gladly, joyfully received as a blessing, a pure joy. I have rarely seen such a sight. My daughter was amazed and awed by the spectacle of such human happiness. The adults stood smiling, laughing, talking - relaxed with one another. Teenagers sat and didn't mind being with their parents. The little ones simply beamed with radiant joy. They were so happy to be near to so much happiness that I thought they might burst in holy ecstasy. As we ate, I told Shana - "this is Eucharist! This is what the kingdom of heaven is about." And she agreed. She could see and feel it for herself. Suddenly, we all knew what it was like to sit on a hillside in Galilee and have a meal with Jesus. We were transported in time and space. It was heaven. This is what made the early Christians so delirious with faith - healing eucharist, the loving sharing of food, the fellowship of divine gift and grace in community with Jesus of Nazareth. We don't have this in our churches. Let's not pretend anymore that we do, but it sure could be something we can rediscover if we want. We can do it, but to receive joy, we have to trade away fear. We have to share what we have, expose our deep need to love and be loved by each other and take some risks. Some poor people can do it because they have nothing to lose in taking risks. It is the poorest churches that are often the happiest, most joyful places. posted by Mark Butterworth | 1:22 AM | |
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