My friends, as I have previously mentioned, I will be away this next Sunday, November 17, 2024 taking in a retreat with my Midwest sister-priests. I have also added in a bit of vacation time before and after the retreat. Being that I won’t be with you on Sunday, I am leaving an older homily of 12 years ago, and except for the outdated examples, I think you will find that much of the overall thought is still relevant. I wish you all a good and healthy week–enjoy the weather and remember to keep on doing all the good you are always about! Remember those from our parish who are preparing for surgery, doing rehab, and preparing to relocate. Peace and love to you all, Pastor Kathy

P. S. Please know that any of you are welcome to pray on Sunday with the Congregationalists! We will gather again as a community on Sunday, November 24, 2024 at 10 A.M.

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Homily—33rd Weekend in Ordinary Time
November 17/18, 2012

My friends, I believe for many of us, the apocalyptic readings—those that describe the “end times” or the, “end of time,” are disturbing. Whether they were meant to frighten or not, the fact is, for many of us, readings like the first one today from Daniel and the selection from Mark’s gospel, do. For this reason, exegesis of the Scriptures becomes important, so that we can understand what is truly meant by words that we may otherwise just take at face value.

First, we have to understand that the ancient Israelite people had a concept of two different times—the “end times” and “the end of time.” The end times were thought to be a time of transition, when suffering and hard times would be no more, when the Chosen One, whom Christians believe is Jesus, the Christ, will come again in glory to make all things right and the kin-dom will be celebrated before the face of God, in that wonderful reality. It is a tremendously hope-filled image that is attractive to many people. The cinema has in recent years come up with such images of a time of justice when good, will reign—we have seen it in the epic series, The Lord of the Rings, and in the Star Wars movies. The “end of time” is another time, and when that time will come, none of us knows, or in fact understands just how it will be—we will just have to trust that all will unfold according to God’s loving plan.

So why are we given frightening images—of the sun and moon going dark—of stars falling from the sky? Both the readings from Daniel and from Mark have an apocalyptic tone, and part of that, the exegetes tell us, was their way to cover the subversive tone of their writings from their enemies. In Daniel’s writings, the Israelites were told that all they were suffering would come to an end—the Chosen One would come to alleviate their sufferings—this was their hope. This knowledge that their God did hear their cries and would come to save them, gave them the will to go on.

It has been thought that the reference to the “heavens and earth passing away” referred to the destruction of Jerusalem. As with the first reading, it encouraged fidelity when the people’s world seemed to be crumbling around them. And for each of us, this type of reading gives us courage in our struggles through life because there is reason to hope—we are not alone, our God is with us.
The placing of the “end times” readings on this weekend is appropriate as our Church Year is winding down, with next week’s traditional celebration of Christ the King, which in fact ends the Church Year, setting the stage for the wonderful season of Advent—a time of gentle hope, yet building anticipation for the coming of Jesus, our Way, our Truth, and our Life.

I made mention of next Sunday’s feast; in all Christian Churches, the feast is named, Christ, the King. I have mentioned this before and I humbly suggest again that we try and think of a title for Jesus that more honestly and clearly reflects his reality in our lives—what he in fact calls us to. We don’t live in a time of “kings,” so perhaps a different way of depicting him is appropriate. We might want to envision him as our Brother, which he is, having taken on our human form as Paul writes so beautifully to the Philippians. He was one who came to establish not a kingdom, which evokes a top-down, control-over mentality, but a kin-dom, based on love, compassion, mercy, justice. “Kin” as opposed to “king”–kin representing “family”—a concern for each one who makes up the family. In this light, calling Jesus, our brother makes more sense than to call him our king. If we are simply worshipping someone who stands above us, we don’t have to become engaged with that person if we don’t choose to. But when someone is your “brother” that is a whole different relationship.

This weekend’s readings serve then as a beginning to a time of transition in our Church Year, but also in our personal lives. They also remind us of the end of time, whenever and however that might come to be. The end of time—our personal time, when our life as we know it, comes to a close, need not frighten us if we strive in our lives to do our best, always keeping our eyes on Jesus, who truly shows us the way. The thought then of our God—Jesus, the Christ, coming “in the clouds,” with great power and glory,” should bring us joy and anticipation, not fear and dread.

Many people over time, from those people who were the first Christians, followers of Jesus, thought that the “end times” were inaugurated with Jesus and that the end of time would follow shortly. Jesus, they thought, had come to make all things right, get us on the path of goodness—mercy, love, justice, compassion and once we got it, Jesus would return and take us all, the faithful, with him, to heavenly glory. It seems it has taken us all, collectively, longer to “get it” then those first Christians thought. And when the end of time will come, no one knows, and perhaps it is not something we need worry about, but rather, to concentrate on the transition in our own lives.

This past week, I took the opportunity of renting a table at Winona State University (WSU) to display our “wares,” as it were, as a Catholic parish here in Winona. I recently received a letter, which I’ve mentioned before from someone taking issue with me about calling our church “Roman Catholic” in the WSU student bulletin when I don’t agree with the bishops. The last time I checked, my baptism within this Church signified that I would ultimately be following Jesus, not the bishops. It is great when the two are asking the same of me as far as how I live my life, but when that is not the case, I must follow Jesus’ lead.
My time at WSU was to offer an invitation to the student community that all are welcome at our table, should any want to pray and celebrate with us. That is what the call of the end times is all about—that we would be our best selves. I would guess that the traditional Catholic community has the same mission; that people would be their best selves; but if the choice is between following Jesus or the bishop, the choice for me is clear.

Interestingly enough, what I discovered in sitting for 5.5 hours in the lower hyphen of Kryzko Commons, a well-traveled area by students, is that “church,” as represented there is either a non-issue to them, or for Catholic students, they are an ultra-conservative lot. Three young people stopped at different times, with two engaging me and another Church member, at one point, rather passionately about the law and of how I was confusing people. Both, rather smugly, promised to pray for me and I promised the same for them. We have a long way to go my friends in helping people “get” the message of Jesus.
The hopeful note was that of my presence there and of trying to engage students as they passed by, with a smile, a greeting. We never know the seeds that we plant.

Friends, there is much suffering in our world—just this past week we heard of the renewed fighting in Jesus’ homeland. Suffering in our world has traditionally been held as a sign that the end times are near. When we look at starvation, wars and injustices around the world and in our own country; we may at times wonder if we will ever get it right. Therein lays our task as individual Christians. Jesus is constantly calling each of us to transition in our life through his blessed word in the Scriptures that we hear every week. We must not only hear the word with our ears, but let it sink into our hearts and then show its goodness—through the works of love, mercy, compassion, justice and peace in our personal lives.
I had the privilege a few years back to hear a presentation by Jim Bowey at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Jim is a photographer, and his presentation was on how the photographer communicates a message through his medium. He said that we communicate most and best as photographers, as people, through pictures or words, when we allow a communion to happen between those we encounter—when we let their story seep into our hearts. In reflection on my time with those passionate, ultra-conservative Catholic students, I realized that the way to make a difference with them will be by the way I am with them—trying to understand their concerns—witnessing to what I have come to, and showing them that I am not the errant, law-breaking feminist that they have been led to believe, but a faith-filled woman trying to answer God’s call in my life.

So, my friends, this week, as we ever so relentlessly move toward the end of our Church Year, anticipating the beautiful season of Advent, recalling that our brother Jesus is always with us, showing us the way, let us pray for each other that we might let his example of truth, goodness and justice for all seep into our hearts in order that our encounters with others might more regularly move from the surface to become empathic encounters, true communions with them, and through them, with our loving God.

My friends, I continue to be amazed at how the Scriptures given us to ponder each week do give us a way forward even in the seemingly darkest of times. And sometimes that way forward comes in the smallest of ways…
Our first reading today from Kings we have all heard many times before—that of the prophet, Elijah asking a poor woman and her son, “living on the edge,” to share some of what she has with him. I would like to lift up for us to consider a few words from Elijah that seem to me to speak, volumes: Elijah says, “bring [me] a little water.” I believe his words here are a fine way forward in our world that today seems to be so in need.
If any of us had to be responsible for all that is needed, we would have given up long ago. But if we each can do our “little bit,” together we can become, as Episcopalian bishop, John Shelby Spong has said so well, “divine,” and when that happens, he continues, we have reached “heaven,” the place, more than just physical, that God intended for us all along, “giving, caring, loving, and living for [not only ourselves], but for others.”
In today’s gospel from Mark, we are shown another poor woman, “living on the edge,” who gives from her need, and it seems that our brother Jesus wants his disciples, including us, “to truly get” the meaning here—we are all asked to give something. Many of us are blessed to be able to give, for the most part, out of our excess—sometimes life calls us also, to give out of our need—perhaps, and I know there are those of you either hearing or reading this today, that while maybe financially secure, are being called to give, emotionally and spiritually, out of your need as you care for spouses, children, friends, and more.
We can look again to the prophet Elijah’s comforting words to the poor woman in his time that he requests help from: “Do not be afraid.” Elijah asks her “to share,” and if she does, “there will be enough.” Others have written about this phenomenon when trying to make sense of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes that our brother Jesus accomplishes: “when we all share, we encourage others to do the same, and then, there is enough.”

A comment that I have heard repeated several times since the “will of the people” was brought to light on November 5th was the fact that many in our great country, “felt unheard.” Somehow my friends, it would seem that we all need to become better listeners, hearers of what people truly need. None of us as true followers of our brother Jesus, should be okay with the fact that anyone in our world is hungry, homeless, lonely, or afraid—frankly, it should weigh heavy on our hearts that this is the case.
Now, having said that, I want to lift up for each of you, that I know, all of this does weigh heavy on your hearts, because I see the generosity of your giving through our parish in many ways, to do our “little bit” in our world to make a difference. All of this is about striving to be “our best,” which Jesus modeled so well for us.

Being that two of our readings for today speak of women “living on the edge,” I would be remiss, as your pastor, a woman too, if I did not at least lift up a comment that came from a man in the past few days that speaks to the sexism still so prevalent in our country.

This nameless man simply asked, “What kind of a resume does a woman have to put forth in this country to be elected president?” I share this here, not to be political, but just to lift up the issue of “sexism” and to say, it’s time to grow up as a country, and a world and see the tremendous gifts that women, as well as men bring to our world. And our Church is no better—Pope Francis ended two years and more of study and contributions to make our Church better –including seeing women equally in the mix, and he could only say, “the time is not ripe,” to which I say, “if not now, when?”

I would like to further encourage all the men here and those reading this who have faithful, trusting and caring women in your lives to begin more purposefully advocating for them—speaking truth to power and calling the lie that it is whenever you hear it, “that women are not equal or acceptable!”
I did not mention the second reading today from Hebrews yet, but what I would like to lift up from there is the simple fact that, “the Jesus from the gospels,” (Paul and Barnabas—probably the writer of this letter)—never knew. They always speak of him as what he became through time, “the Christ,” –someone big enough for all believers in this world. It would seem that we all as believers need to realize, as the banner behind me signifies, our God who loves us in an over-the-top way, is big enough to include us all.
So friends, I will conclude here today, trying to make sense and to respect wherever you and I are at this point, by sharing something that came to me this week that gave me hope, direction and purpose for all that comes next, continuing to be about something bigger than myself—hopefully, there is meaning here for you as well—

From Rebecca Solnit, author of Hope in the Dark:
“They want you to feel powerless and to surrender and to let them trample everything and you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and neither am I. The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving. You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is. The pain you feel is because of what you love…
You can be heartbroken or furious or both at once; you can scream in your car or on a cliff; you can also get up tomorrow and water the flowerpots and call someone who’s upset… A lot of us are going to come under direct attack, and a lot of us are going to resist by building solidarity and sanctuary. Gather up your resources, the metaphysical ones that are heart and soul and care, as well as the practical ones.
People kept the faith in the dictatorships of South America in the 1970s and 1980s, in the East Bloc countries and the USSR, women are protesting right now in Iran and people there are writing poetry. There is no alternative to persevering, and that does not require you to feel good. You can keep walking whether it’s sunny or raining. Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself, because you are interwoven with the ten trillion things in this single garment of destiny that has been stained and torn, but is still being woven and mended and washed.”
And I say—Amen? Amen!

My friends, we have arrived at November and our Church calendar calls us to two significant days at the beginning of this month each year. November 1st marks “All Saints Day,” reminding us of those special people who have gone before us, who for the most part, lived exemplary lives, journeying in Jesus’ footsteps. What our Church hierarchy probably doesn’t do as well is, call each of us to the realization that, we too are called to living “saintly” lives, even though most, if not all, will never be officially canonized into this outstanding group. Interestingly enough, one of my sister priests from out east has just published a book entitled, The Cost of Sainthood, wherein she basically says that those who don’t follow the rules aren’t canonized, even though they may have done many wonderful and outstanding things in their lives.

November 2nd calls our attention to “All Souls Day,” a group of all those who have lived, loved hopefully, and gone on before us—a group that we will each, and all, be a part of one day. These folks include our family members and friends, who have shared life with us, for good or ill—shared their faith and values, whom we remember during November each year as we mark the ending of one Church Year with the feast of Jesus, the Christ, our Brother and Friend, (formerly, here, Christ the King) and the coming of Advent, on Sunday, December 1st this year. Our All Are One church Book of Life will be available each Sunday of November to record birth and death dates of family and friends who have died in this last year and who will be part of our prayers throughout the month, along with all those previously listed.
Our Scripture readings today, as always, call us toward being our best selves.

The 1st selection from Deuteronomy lifts up for us to consider the chief prayer always on the lips of the Hebrew-Jewish people, and I paraphrase, “Hear O Israel…you are to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and these words [should] be written [on] your heart[s].” Our brother Jesus, in Mark’s gospel today, as a good Jew, repeats God’s command and adds to it—a law that he says, “is no less important, that we love our neighbors as ourselves.” This commandment reminds us of the apostle John’s words in the first of three New Testament letters that he wrote ( 1 John 4:20) questioning how we can say that we love God, whom we cannot see, and not love our neighbors whom we do see.

Jesus goes on today in Mark’s gospel saying that, “no commandments are greater than these” [two]. It is said that St. Paul, who studied under Jewish Scripture scholar, Hillel, learned from him, that after the two great commandments, “all else is commentary.”

The idea of “love of a neighbor,” interestingly enough is deep in the religious and spiritual history of the Israelite people, being that they were a nomadic people in their earlier history, often moving from place to place, with the possibility of being stranded somewhere without shelter, water, or food. For this reason, they had a deep sense of caring for “the stranger” as well as “the guest,” and treating the stranger, who may even be an enemy, as a guest, if that person came to their door, seeking hospitality. So with this understanding, it was right for Jesus to call his people’s attention, along with others, us, to the 2nd of the two great commandments, along with the first.

Another point that is very important for us hearing Moses’ instruction in Deuteronomy today is that we all remember that the commandment to love God with our total being, soul and strength, is written on our “hearts.” We have often talked here about the fact that as Christians, we should make our decisions based more on our “hearts” than our “heads,” because the “heart” is wiser. The heart allows, and pushes us in fact to see the world as more than “black and white,” the heart allows women, for instance, to break the unjust Canon Law 1024 that says ordination is only for men—in effect the heart gives us all, in other situations as well the ability to choose love, always love, when compared to merely following a law. Many of you have heard of the Danube 7 –the beginning of our Roman Catholic Women Priests movement. We learned this weekend that one of the 7, Gisela Forster’s husband, one of the ordaining priests in 2002, has died.

An additional fine-tuning of the Scriptures today, that will help us to ultimately become our best selves, is the admonition to listen—Moses says, “Hear O Israel.” This reminds me of the work of three Roman Catholic Women Priests, who recently finished 3.5 years of diligent work, updating our Constitutions, checking back over nearly 25 years as a movement, to see that our work reflected accurately our original words and that if needed, the words were changed and expanded upon to be more inclusive and loving, going forward, in the memory of our brother, Jesus. After reading the entire updated set of Constitutions, I shared with one of the writers that I was most impressed with their statement again and again throughout the document, that we attempt to minister by first using “sacred listening,” to understand how best to be in our world as Roman Catholic Women Priests.

This “sacred listening” it seems to me, would be a great tool for most of us in our world, in order to better come together on issues that divide us. And it should then lead us toward “acting” in our world just as the writer to the Hebrews today says, “You can’t just hear the Word, but must act” [upon it].

This idea was again something that Jesus could appeal to in his teachings with his people. He and they came out of a history of having made a “covenant” or promise, we would say, with God—God would be there for them as their “rock, fortress, deliverer, and refuge” as the psalmist prayed today, and they would love God in return.

And when Jesus came into existence –he became initially, a “high priest,” saying he would always be there for the people. In time, he would become “the Christ” –a being for all people, as modern theologians, Teilhard de Chardin, and Franciscans, Ilia Delio and Richard Rohr, among others, have described Jesus.
From the beginnings of the sacred journeys of our sisters and brothers in the Jewish faith, on through our brother Jesus, all have instructed that we love God as we know God to be, and attempt to love others to the best of our abilities. When I think on this personally, and especially when it is hard to do, I ask Jesus to help me do what I find hard. Sometimes, trying to see beyond what someone shows by their actions, to what may be driving them from inside helps—maybe it can for you as well. Amen? Amen!

My good friends, I will begin today with four lines from Scripture for this 30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

• Psalm 146—“God has done great things for us; we are truly glad.”
• Jeremiah speaks of our loving God—“I will gather them from the ends of the earth…the blind, lame, expectant mothers and women in labor—I am forever a mother and father to Israel.”
• Hebrews—the writer speaks of the high priest that God has appointed to be there for the people and deal with the things of God.
• Mark—in this gospel, Jesus asks a wonderful question of the blind man—“What do you want me to do for you?”

   All of the above my friends, can guide us in our spiritual journeys, toward keeping a balance in our lives—”what is mine/yours to do?”—as St. Francis of Assisi asked of himself, and his followers, to better life not only for myself, but for others.  I had the opportunity this past week to view a film about the Berrigan brothers, Dan and Phil, entitled, Devout and Dangerous.  As you may recall, these two began their adult lives as Catholic priests, Dan a Jesuit, and Phil, a Josephite priest.  Dan remained active throughout his life, as a priest, even though sanctioned many times by the hierarchy of the Church, while Phil chose to marry and have children with his wife, Elizabeth McAllister, a former nun.  They were both excommunicated on their wedding day!

   Dan, at one time in his ministry, and much of that work involved speaking vehemently against nuclear buildup in our country and around the world, asked this question of the bishops and others in spiritual leadership, “How can you preach the gospel, and remain silent?”  For this activity in the world, besides being sanctioned often by his Church, he was jailed countless times.

   The way that the Berrigans, and this included Elizabeth McAllister,  chose to live out their commitments to their brother Jesus in their earthly lives was not something that many of us could do.  Actor Martin Sheen, a Catholic himself, who supported their work for disarmament, said as much, “I wish I could be like them.”  I find myself “convicted” by Dan’s question of [am I] “preaching the gospel when I remain silent?”  That is why you will always hear me advocating that we, “check the fruits” before we act. In Dan’s later life, he softened somewhat by saying basically, that you don’t have to complete the task, “start small, [even] stay small.”

   “Gratitude” is a virtue uplifted up in the prayer of the psalmist in 146 today.  “God has done great things for us; we are truly glad.”  Gratitude seems to be implied here for the chance each of us has in life to not only enjoy it, for ourselves and our loved ones, but to share the gifts we may have with those who have less. 

   Our “Christian walk” does implore us to do our best to “see” others and their worth.  Dan Berrigan once said, and I paraphrase, when I walk down the street, I try to think of each person as a “bead on my rosary, [someone] valuable and to be treasured.” 

   Jeremiah, in today’s first reading speaks of our loving God as One who will “gather” everyone,  as a mother and father, and that this will be done with mercy. In today’s second reading from Hebrews, we see this idea of “gathering” continued in the sense of the “high priest” being there to guide the people.  In both readings, from the prophet Jeremiah, and in the gospel from Mark, we see the issue of “blindness” addressed.  We know that one can suffer from “blindness” in several ways; physical, emotional, and spiritual, and these Scriptures call us to look at the “blindness” we may see in our world—in all ways. 

   Bartimaeus was definitely suffering from physical blindness—his own, but given the mores of the society in Jesus’ and his own time, we could probably agree that he suffered from the emotional and spiritual blindness of others in their reactions to him. 

   Bartimaeus’ family, friends, and acquaintances no doubt saw his physical blindness as punishment for some sin in his life, a common belief at the time.  His cry-out to Jesus’ question of, “what do you want me to do for you?” was also it would seem, an imploring that Jesus take away all of his and others’ “blindness,”—“God, I just want to see,” to have some fullness in life! 

   Bartimaeus’ statement is one that we might all pray in these troubling times in our country and world—one that seems to have lost the value of truth-telling, and basic decency—in a world that too often chooses conflict and war, over diplomacy, to the detriment of its innocent victims.  God, we just want to see—to find our way—to do our part.  Show us perhaps what we are missing.  Dan and Phil Berrigan spoke of always, “checking themselves against the gospels.”  We can only imagine when the hierarchy of our Church came up with the “just war” theory,  they weren’t checking that statement against the gospels.  We have probably all heard, a time or two in the past, the prophet Isaiah’s words, (2:4) “beat your swords into plowshares…”

   So my friends, lots to think on and pray about, and so, I’d like to close with the following lines from The Talmud, the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law—something our brother Jesus would have been very familiar with. I have shared these words before, but thought they bear repeating:

Do not be daunted, by the enormity of the world’s grief.

Do just[ice] now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now

You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. 

Let us come together friends, all, to make our world, and its people, all that it, and we can be to the glory of God who loved us so much, in the beginning, and now.  Amen? Amen!

My friends, as you know, I steer clear of ever trying to tell you how to exercise the precious gift that each of us as adults has to vote for those, we want to lead us in these United States of America.  What I have done, and will always do, is to tell you to “look at the fruits,” and I feel a need to do this now, again, in response to my own Christian walk and responsibility that I feel toward all of you as your pastor.  For us as Christians, as followers of our brother Jesus, it is all about keeping our eyes on him—his words and his actions, and then doing likewise. 

   In today’s gospel from Mark, we get a most clear idea about what Jesus considers our lives, as his followers, to be about. We humans, as is demonstrated well through the words of James and John in their questions of “place and status” in Jesus’ one-day kindom, tend to stay on the surface, missing the point of what Jesus’ mission and ours is, and should be, in our world. 

   Jesus clearly tells them that he did not come, “to be served, but to serve,” and their and our stance in the world should be no different, that of serving others.  Jesus continues, “this is what makes one great,” [if that is what you are after]. 

   On this point, “to be great,” let us look at the “fruits” of the two major, political parties, and their words to their followers:  One party says that keeping immigrants out and sending massive numbers, already here, “back where they came from,” and lying about who most of them are in the first place, as opposed to a message of hope, and trying to give everyone an even break in our country, to realize the American dream, and basically, helping and supporting one another. 

   And again, “checking the fruits,” we each need to choose between two very different ideas for our great country, just as we Christians need to constantly be doing in our daily lives—checking the fruits! 

   As I stated in the bulletin, Pastor Danielle will be addressing the topic of “Christian Nationalism” later this morning, and I believe lifting up for us, the “real inability of being a true follower of Jesus” along with this “nationalistic” agenda. 

   The writer to the Hebrews, whom we think was Paul’s student, Barnabas, speaks of our brother Jesus as “one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet never sinned.”  Someone once said, “this is our experiment here, not God’s [we are spiritual people here having a human experience]—we have free will and can make it whatever we choose.” In other words, if things don’t go well, it is not God’s fault!

   We can choose to follow our brother Jesus, and be about “service” as he was, and “justice toward all,” or we can choose the more selfish road that basically takes care of “me and myself.”

   This decision over the last several years has divided friends and families, and so, while not always easy to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, it is our Christian call.  Barnabas continues in the 2^nd reading to the Hebrews: “Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor, and find help in our need.”  Thus, we are not alone friends.  Additionally, the psalmist today prays with us:  “May your faithful love be upon us, God, as we place all our hope in you.” 

   “Checking the fruits,” one final time, I raise for all of us to consider, the sense of “hope,” which I believe we humans carry throughout of lives. I recall one journalist and commentator, Jonathan Capehart, assessing the National Political Conventions this past summer—he spoke of how one campaign’s week-long events left him so down with their heavy message, while the other one peaked his sense of hope with each passing day of events—one campaign chose old messages of hate and name-calling, and belittling of their opponents, while the other was ready, “to turn the page,” and work toward “justice for all.”  As was said earlier, we have our God-given “free-wills” and can make [of our lives and actions in this world] whatever we choose. 

   Therefore friends, let us choose wisely, as we vote, “checking and re-checking the fruits,” –are they about, “service to oneself,” or “service toward all.”  Amen? Amen!