My friends, these are interesting readings coming off of a very busy week for me, beginning on Monday and Tuesday with interviewing and filming for the documentary on women priests.  One can hardly talk about this blind-sighted vision of our hierarchical church men to deny the equal calls of women from our inclusive God, to priesthood along with men without experiencing justifiable anger.  And that extends to all the ways in Church and society that women are made to feel, “less than” their brothers, and all the harm that is done to women as a result. More on that later. 

   But one does wonder what the real problem is when so many of God’s people go unserved because of a stated “shortage” of candidates for the priesthood.  This truly is a case of not seeing a bigger, more beautiful picture including married men, women, and people of all genders and lifestyles as candidates – God calls all of these! 

   I believe perhaps that for too many men, clerical and lay within our beloved Church, there is a real aversion to women, and their goodness and giftedness for the People of God.  I offer a current example of this:  In the August 18-27 edition of the National Catholic Reporter (NCR), Karen Park pens an article entitled, “Where Vance (V.P. of U.S.) and Barron fall short on Catholicism.”  This was an hour-long discussion between a “newbie” Catholic and a bishop of many years.

   I would just like to zero in on their discussion about women, or better said, their “lack of discussion.”  Anyone who has read any of the writings of our Winona/Rochester, Minnesota bishop, Robert Barron, knows the truth of what Karen Park states within this article:  “During Barron and Vance’s hour-long discussion, Catholicism emerges solely as a tradition of intellectual and philosophical ideas.   Augustine, Aquinas and Rene Girard are all extolled , but Catholicism is not only a philosophical system.  It is a lived tradition sustained by the sacramental imagination…”

   She continues, and I paraphrase, they did not talk at all about relics, rituals, pilgrimages … “or the … material and communal practices through which Catholics encounter the holy.”  “ Absent too, are the holy and brilliant women of the Catholic tradition” … in their world, “there would seem to be no Teresa of Avila, no Dorothy Day, no Hildegard of Bingen, no Julian of Norwich …”  Except for a minor mention of Jesus’ mother, Mary, nothing significant is said with regard to the courageous, patient, faith-filled woman that she was and model to follow.  For that matter, no mention is made of Jesus at all! 

   That brings us, after a rather long opening to todays’ Scriptures:  If we were to pick a theme; “justice coupled with mercy,” says it well, I feel.

   Beginning with Isaiah in the 1^st reading, his counsel is to, “do what is right, and work for justice.”  For Isaiah that seems to be about “clinging to [the] Covenant” that God made with them, because this will bring you joy…

   Paul, in his letter to the Romans speaks about disobedience versus mercy, explaining how God offers love to all, and that, unfortunately, some reject it, but others do, accept it! 

   And as we continue to ponder our theme of justice coupled with mercy, our brother Jesus, in todays’ gospel from Matthew, shows us his rather human face, and that we humans, even Jesus, are capable of much good, and at times, not so much good, and a woman reminds Jesus of it! 

   Such examples as this underscore why I can much more easily relate to Jesus in his humanness, than to a mysterious God who knows little of what I experience in life.

   Some hearers or readers of my comments today, seemingly calling Jesus to task, may be offended, but as Scripture scholar, Diane Bergant says, “If we don’t accept Jesus’ at times, shortcomings – than that minimizes the extraordinariness of those of his actions that break through the limits of his culture, his humanity – and at the same time he was open enough to break out of that limitation.”

   We, just as our brother, Jesus have that wonderful combination of spiritual and human natures and it should give us great hope knowing that, as we struggle to be our best, we have One, who stands with us and knows that struggle.  Again, as we often say, “we are spiritual people, here, having a human experience?”

   And for those who have never thought about Jesus being less than perfect, I think you would agree, that “unkindness and rudeness” are never acceptable, no matter who you are!

   Jesus, as a good Jew would have grown up learning not to talk to women in public, or with Canaanites, especially if they didn’t believe in the God of the Jews, but again, this is no excuse for his behavior, or for that of the apostles, “get rid of her,” they say!Apparently they were worried about their image, not realizing that their actions say much about who they are!  Probably a strong reason for our Church to share leadership and ministerial roles with women – providing a “check and balance” for each other. 

   You will recall that I began this homily addressing the fact that women are made to “feel less than” their male counterparts, especially in Church, but in society as well and to realize the harm that is done to women, as a result over time.  “Justice and mercy,” our theme of the readings today, do come into play here. 

   A somewhat current example, or at least one most would recognize, to look deeper into this societal and religious sin is that of Richard and Karen Carpenter – wonderful musicians, each, in their own right.  Their story was carried this past week on public television. Karen and Richard arranged and performed their own music and that of others during approximately a dozen years in the 70’s and 80’s. 

   Theirs is a bittersweet story that ended too soon due to Karen being a victim of anorexia nervosa and bulimia which ultimately took her life.  She experienced these illnesses at a time when little was known about them, but through the tragedy of her life, the world came to know the toll that these illnesses exact on those so afflicted. 

   Karen, a contemporary of mine was normal in most ways as all girls growing up when she lived, 1950-1983, but she struggled all her years trying to get the love of her mother, who for whatever reason couldn’t give it, instead doting on her big brother, Richard.

   This magical duo known as the Carpenters was a combination of a voice, Karen’s who when you heard the first note and words sung, one biographer said, “You knew it was Karen,” and of her brother, Richard who was constantly on the lookout for new material and arranged all their songs.

   We have often talked here about the fact, both in Church and state, that when half the population – men, are seen as better – superior to the other half – women, the effects can be devastating.  Karen Carpenter’ mother was no doubt a product of this kind of thinking, preferring her son to her daughter, having picked up religious and societal notions that one was better, more acceptable than the other. 

   One very telling example in Karen’s life as she and Richard began making music together, was the fact that she played the drums and she always considered that, “she was a drummer who could also sing!” And for most of her life, this was how she thought of herself, even though her voice was what distinguished this fantastic duo.

   My friends, our theme through the Scripture readings of “justice coupled with mercy” is one that in our Church and wider world is so needed today to carry on the message of our brother Jesus who came into our imperfect existence to have “that human experience” with us, striving to be his best, to show us the way, even though he couldn’t always do it either to perfection as we see in today’s gospel reading.

    He shows us rather plainly what happens when one holds on too tightly to the law, for law’s sake instead of radically choosing what is most loving as Jesus was finally able to do in today’s gospel when a Canaanite woman challenged him to choose the higher road. 

   We, my friends, as Jesus’ followers must too, more often, choose to love radically, seeing women and men equally, for their gifts, for their calls, for their personal stories – for their calls from an inclusive God who sees the diversity in gender, race, lifestyle choices, and loves it – so that women and men, little girls and little boys, from the get-go would realize their capabilities and their worth in order to live more wholesome lives.  Amen? Amen!

My friends, we come back to Ordinary Time once again after side-stepping it last Sunday for a special mass to uplift the ministry of women in our Church, and especially Mary Magdala, the Tower of Faith.  Ordinary Time, we have come to realize in many ways is really an “extra-ordinary” time due to the challenge each Sunday’s readings contain to help us become our best and live as such in our daily lives. 

   The Scriptures today give us a clear path to follow in the words of Isaiah, Paul, and Jesus.  Let’s take a look:

   “All you who are thirsty, come to the water,” from Isaiah in the 1^st reading seems to be about what truly satisfies…Isaiah continues, “why spend your money for what is not bread?” And of course, we realize that the prophet is speaking about more than being physically thirsty, even though we do  have the need for physical liquid and physical food, but Isaiah seems to be indicating that we humans “thirst” in emotional and spiritual ways too – to be accepted, to be listened to, to be appreciated, to be loved.  We addressed this a bit last week uplifting women in a general way through the use of language that includes us all. 

   This past week Robert and I watched an older movie, from last century, 1987 to be exact, entitled, Can’t Buy Me Love, highlighting the Beatles song of the same title.  It’s a sweet, and a bit heart-breaking story about young people trying desperately to be noticed, accepted, and ultimately loved. Ronald, the nerdy lawn boy aches to be noticed by Cindy, whose lawn he mows, as she is the most popular girl in school. 

   He lays out a great deal of cash to get her to pretend to be “his girl” for a month so that he will acquire some status at school through association with her.  Both young people learn a great deal about what is truly important in life through this “experiment.”  “Why spend money for what is not bread,” Isaiah reminds. 

   The gospel today from Matthew opens up our hearts in much the same way as the movie does.  Jesus has just learned that John the Baptist has been beheaded.  We know these two were most likely close, 2^nd cousins in fact.  Yet, as Jesus seeks solace and refuge, he cannot really care for himself  because the “crowds have followed him.” Jesus’ reaction is to be “moved with pity.”

   There is much in our world my friends that calls for the same reaction from us—that we be moved with pity. The chaplain in me always adds that we look for balance in the good that try to do, caring for ourselves as well. 

   The 2^nd part of today’s gospel gives us another wonderful key in modeling our brother, Jesus. The people gathered, many no doubt sick, lonely, or bereft in other ways, are physically hungry too.  Jesus shows us how to help.

   Scripture says, [He] “looked up to heaven, blessed the food, broke it, and gave it to the people.”  In looking deeper, as I often encourage us to do, there are Scripture scholars who have suggested that Jesus “brought forth” enough bread to feed everyone by suggesting that those with food share what they have with others, thus making enough for all. 

   “Breaking” and “opening up” ourselves to others cannot only feed physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well.  And when you think about it, isn’t that what the “Eucharist” is all about – meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual hungers we find in our world?  What we do here, at this table, is just the beginning …

   And friends, in all the good that we attempt to do in our world – we have a great companion assisting us in our brother Jesus.  Paul affirms this for us in the 2^nd reading from Romans today, one of the more beautiful quotes from him:

“What will separate us from the love of Christ?  Trial, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? … For I am certain that neither death nor life … or any pain, neither the present or the future, neither heights or depths, nor anything else … will be able to separate us from the love of God … in Christ Jesus.”

   I believe most of us turn to God in times of trouble and we should … we might also turn to our God with praise when good things happen as well,  because this God loves us mightily and is interested in all that happens to us.  The psalmist in #145 today lets us know that our God is, “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness … just in all … ways, holy in all works.”

   So, you might be thinking, well pastor, how do you know this is so?  I know it because Jesus said as much before leaving us – “I will be with you all days …

   In all my years, I have never met anyone who has testified to have seen God, but I have met countless others who are grateful for much good in their lives. 

I believe, and I hope you do as well that our God is loving us through each act of goodness we see and receive in our lifetime. 

   In today’s gospel, Jesus tells his followers who are worried about feeding so many, “You give them something to eat” … you and you and you …  Amen? Amen!

35 of us gathered on the Redig Family farm today for an outdoor Mass celebrating Mary Magdala and all women called to ministry – in fact all women in whatever the fields they pursue. And in the end, it is a day for all men as well, because when each and all are given respect for who they are and what they do, men and women, all, are better. We followed with a potluck lunch and much good community time. We were additionally joined by several of our sister community from First Congregational where we share space. We prayed well together!

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My friends, for those who have joined us for this special feast uplifting Mary Magdala’s true image –not of a prostitute, but as a prophet and priest and loyal follower of Jesus of Nazareth, the new exegesis that became available in 2017 about this Mary, through the work of Elizabeth Schrader, a then master’s candidate in New Testament studies, has been shared in full for several years now, so today, I won’t share all of it again, but just the highlights.  Those of you who might want a “deeper dive,” let me know and I can send it to you. 

   To begin with then, as your program says, “Once there was a follower of Jesus who loved him enough to show the courage necessary to watch him be crucified. He is turn loved her enough to choose her as the first to know of his resurrection.”

   This wonderful example of our brother Jesus toward inclusivity of both women and men called to serve the People of God was unfortunately not carried through by the men who ultimately took power in the early days of the Church. 

   In the past, I have shared that Pope Gregory I in the 6^th Century “put” all the Mary’s in Scripture, except for Jesus’ mother, into a composite giving them one character trait, that of prostitute, so as to discount any other exemplary traits they may have had. Thanks Gregory!  By the way, I discovered that this same Gregory is a canonized saint, hopefully not for the above action!  —  because…

   This action took away the honor and integrity of these women, along with any reason to take them seriously, then or now, with women in general. We may wonder why this was done, and the answer has to be about “power,” being in control.  We have all seen examples both in Church and State of what those afraid of losing their power, or even sharing it, are capable of – it shows itself in excommunication, firing, bullying, denying the truth, and more. 

   Thus, these celebrations are meant to set the record straight – to tell the truth – even if the powers that be in our Church never hop on board –the Spirit is today calling women as She did in the past, and as Jesus once did, in order that all the voices are heard. 

   So, let’s look at the highlights of Elizabeth Schrader’s research and exegesis:

1. Throughout most of time as we know it, our Mary celebrated today was known as Mary of Magdala – the thing is, in Jesus’ time there was no city of Magdala!
2. Elizabeth Schrader was interested in knowing more about this Mary and so she studied the Greek, Aramaic, and Coptic languages. In the earliest texts, specifically, Papyrus 66 from 200 A.D. in John’s gospel, chapter 11, in the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, she discovered that “Martha” was probably “an addition” to the story! 
3. There is a similar story in Luke’s gospel, chapter 10: 38-42, and we are made to think that the two stories speak about the same 3 people.
4. Taking a look at the story from Luke, we read, “Jesus entered a village where a woman, Martha, welcomed him to her house.”  This is telling in that women in Jesus’ time didn’t own property if they had a father, brother, son or husband.  Reading further, she had a sister Mary – no mention is made of a brother, Lazarus. 
5. Going back to the reading from John, Schrader found that the earliest texts had been changed by someone in the 4^th Century giving Lazarus two sisters, one Mary, the other Martha. 
6. Again, we have to ask why this was done. Schrader makes the case that it solves the early Church “problem” of leadership – was it Peter or Mary, maybe both, whom Jesus called to lead…maybe he intended them to share this awesome responsibility!  Think what it could mean for our Church if men could have seen women as Jesus did!  Just like Pope Gregory making an unflattering composite of all the Mary’s, — someone in the 4^th Century did the same!
7. Schrader goes on to demonstrate that in the John text, Lazarus has only one sister, Mary, and that it was she, and not Martha who proclaimed as did Peter that, “Jesus is the Christ, come into the world”[!]
8. Even Tertulian, early 2^nd Century Church father, known for being the most misogynist of his time, stated that Lazarus had one sister, Mary. 
9. “Magdala,” as stated above, was not the city where Mary was from, but a character trait – in  the Greek, “magdala” means, “tower” and was most likely given her because she was, “a tower of faith.”

   So, what are our takeaways?

• The Luke and John stories are about two separate families.
• Mary, formerly thought to be from “Magdala” is now reclaimed as “Mary, the Tower of Faith,” and was most likely from Bethany where the supposed family, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Jesus’ friends were from. 
• It is this Mary, not Martha, in Matthew’s gospel who utters the same words as Peter, naming Jesus as the Christ.  You might be asking why it matters that Mary, rather than Martha uttered these prophetic words … in this story from Matthew, Martha is depicted as a housemaid, and cook – nothing wrong with that, whereas Mary is depicted as one sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to his every word  — learning from him. If the words are put in Martha’s mouth, then Mary can be dismissed as a “starry-eyed girl” rather than the prophet that she was!
• It is this Mary, “the Tower of Faith” who remained faithful to the end, and proclaimed the Resurrection to the men hiding in the Upper Room. 

   So, my friends, at the end of the day, why is this important?

1. The truth should always be told, because when it is not, people get hurt, misused, abused and dishonored.
2. If our Mary is no more than a prostitute, she doesn’t have to be listened to, nor any woman, for that matter.
3. I can think of 3 women who were called to be priests in a Church whose men said, “No,” at a time when there were no other options for answering that call, as in present time, and if I know 3, certainly there are more. 
4. There have been orders of religious women, some called “Magdalens” who offered their “reformed” lives to God on a lie, and suffered needlessly from the powers over them. 
5. On the merit of so much misogyny throughout the history of our beloved Church, Pope Benedict XVI, in present time, in all sincerity claimed that women seeking ordination as priests were committing sin on the level of male priests who abuse children!  Think of that!  As my sister priest Alice would say, “It’s crazymaking!”
6. On a personal note, in a Church that uplifts men over women, I am reminded of my days back in the 9o’s serving on the Pastoral Council at the Cathedral in Winona.  We were advocating then for girl servers.  One of the younger men on the council who was originally against the idea shared a personal example that changed his mind. One Sunday at Mass, his 7-year-old daughter asked why she couldn’t be a server – he looked at her and realized, “there was no good reason why she couldn’t. 

This also reminds me of the early days of Roman Catholic Women Priests, when many of the women were already quite elderly who were getting ordained – I specifically remember a 70-something year-old woman who said one of the reasons beyond service that she wanted to be ordained was so that little girls could see someone at the altar [table] who looked  like them!

• My friends, when truth is told, whether it ever bears fruit in change or not, in our patriarchal church, we know that Jesus had no problem with women, seeing them as an image of the divine, nor should we!
• The changes made to Scripture over time to accommodate men after power speaks profoundly to Scripture scholar, Sister Sandra Schneiders’ comment that, “Scripture was written by men, about men, and for men!”  Sister Sandra also has an article—copies on the table, “God is More Than Two Men and a Bird.”
• Another interesting comment that always makes me smile comes from another Scripture scholar , Sister Elizabeth Johnson in her book, She Who Is, with regard to men and their power. When asked if she didn’t think it would have been better for women had Jesus come as a woman, she said, and I paraphrase – no, he needed to be a man to model for men what women already knew how to do – serve! In other words, and here I quote her, “The problem is not that Jesus was a man, but that more men are not like Jesus!”
• And again, this exegesis proves that Mary, the Tower of Faith proclaimed the same truth as Peter whom Jesus supposedly called, “The Rock.”   We might think what our Church could be like if instead of being led by “Peter, the Rock,” a title which seems more about him, it was led by “Mary, the Tower of Faith,” which seems more about service … or perhaps a Church led by both…

Amen? Amen! 

My friends, as I said in the bulletin this week, today’s readings – en masse, speak of a God who loves us in an “over-the-top” way as Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong always said.  I always think lovingly of the Episcopalians ever since my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) training to become a chaplain when one of my professors, an Episcopalian priest gave me my one joke, regarding Catholics versus Episcopalians: What’s the difference between the two? Episcopalians are Catholic-lite, 1/3 less guilt.

   Each of us with any amount of years under our belts are aware of having grown up with our share of guilt for not having been our best.  And really, when it comes down to it, “laying guilt” was never something that our brother Jesus modeled for us.  We only need to look to the beautiful story of the Prodigal to understand this – when his beloved child returns, the father runs to meet him, throws his arms around him, and then throws a party!  There is no, “I told you so – you made your bed, now lie in it!”  One can only conclude that the tactic of “guilting” is about control.

   And when you think about the readings today, we see a God who continually gives us “another chance” – who knows what we are capable of, and encourages us to keep trying to do our best – that’s the meaning behind the parable of the weeds and the wheat – the weeds and the wheat show the two sides of us as humans – we are capable of much good, “the wheat,” and much that is not good, “the weeds.”

   Those of us humans who aren’t as loving and understanding as our God is, would be willing to “ rip out” the weeds which we see as “less good,” which I did this past week, so as not to harm that which we see as good, “the wheat.”  But enter our loving God who says, “No, let them “grow” together – perhaps some good can come from that.”

   In the beginning here, I made the statement that the readings today speak of a God who loves in an over-the-top way.  Let’s look at some of the proof of that:

• The Wisdom writer speaks of God being “mild in judgment,” and instructs that, “Those who are just, must be kind.” The writer continues, “You [give] your children good ground for hope.”

• The psalmist in #86 says, “Adonai, you are good and forgiving, full of constant love.
• Paul, in his letter to the Romans today lets us know, “The Spirit…comes to help us in our weakness,” expressing for us, “groanings too deep for words.”  He continues, when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit “speaks” for us.
• Matthew, in today’s gospel shares another of Jesus’ parables – that of the mustard seed, the smallest of seeds that grows into the largest shrub.  This story confirms for us, or it should, that every bit of good that we do in our life helps – it truly does, because we never know who we truly affect, and how far that good might go.

   Over my lifetime, I have had people come up to me and say, “thanks” for something that I said or did, that encouraged them to do their piece to make our world better, so don’t ever underestimate the “seemingly small” things that you do!

   My friends, we live in a time, as you know, that shows us so much that appears as “weeds.”  We wonder what we can do… Someone once said, “Name the pain that you see in the world, and ask what part you have to play in it.”  Sometimes, we perhaps don’t do our best because of our focus. Most of us are familiar with the statement, “I am my brother’s [sister’s] keeper.”  A friend, in a letter to-the-editor this past week, advocating for the city of Winona to accept the offer of Saint Paul’s Episcopal church as a day and night shelter for the homeless, quoted Desmond Tutu, Anglican bishop who worked tirelessly fighting apartheid in South Africa who said, “I am not my brother’s keeper, I am my brother’s brother.” 

   Where the first statement seems to designate, a bit of power over, the 2^nd really says – we are equals – I may be blessed with what you don’t have, but I could easily be in your shoes too.

   When we think of “naming the pain, and asking, “what part we play in it,” I would lift up the issue of “language.”  I think most of you know that I am being interviewed for a documentary on women priests and my personal story.  In preparation for that, I have been going over much of my previous work in order to more fully explain who I am as a woman in the Catholic church.

   Twenty-five years ago, I graduated from Saint Mary’s University with a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministries. My dissertation was entitled, Excluded by Birth, Diminished by Language: A Case for Inclusivity in the Catholic Church.

   As I said above, I would like to address briefly, the issue of language, and basically on the horizontal level – how we “name” each other.  The vertical level would be about how we “name” God, but that is for another time. 

   I always used to say, those who have the language, have the power.  If half the population has no words that express their essence – we all remember the days when “he” was used for everyone, whether you were a “he” or not.  We got that fixed, and then someone came up with the term, “You guys” which apparently includes us all? That’s what I and other women are told who complain.   But try switching that term for “you gals,” and see if everyone still feels included. 

   Just this week it came to me (thanks Spirit) that I need to change my thought from “those with the language have the  power,”  (because the men with the power are always accusing the women of wanting some), to something deeper.  Having language that names me and my story, gives me a voice – not power, but a voice!  During my studies 25 years ago, I remember reading Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book, Women Who Run with the Wolves – and thinking she was the 1^st person who spoke to my heart, about what it means to be included.

   Another interesting phrase within our beloved Church that supposedly says why women can’t be ordained, is “in persona Christi.” In the Greek, this means, “in the presence of” – more simply, “standing in for.”  The men with the power claim that this means, one has to be a man.  Critics of the this thought, both male and female say, “in persona Christi” has a broader meaning than that!

   If we are to believe that as stated in the Old Testament book of Genesis 1:26-27, that all humans were created, in, imago Dei, in Latin, the image of God, then we can be sure that women can, as men do, stand, “in persona Christi!”  Language is power, but more importantly, it gives us voice, and helps us to not only be our best, but to become who God intended us to be.   Amen? Amen!