Please read - or have your mom or dad read to you - from the part of the First Book of Samuel shown above.
Did you ever get chosen? Did you ever not get chosen or get left out or picked last? That doesn’t happen as much anymore. Most of the time, when we get picked it’s for sides in gym class.
But when your pastor and your grandparents were growing up, many of us lived in the city or in big neighborhoods where lots of kids would play together on the streets or in the fields. Sometimes, the game would be Tag or Hide-and-Seek. Then the leaders chose their friends for each side or team. As long as one of your friends was the leader, you’d be sure to be picked. But when choosing sides for softball or “stickball” (ask your parents what stickball was if you don’t know), only the best players got picked first. Sometimes, you were left behind because nobody picked you. Then you just watched from the sidelines . . . or went home sad and embarrassed -- and maybe just a little angry - because you weren’t picked.
There’s a very famous children’s book called, “The Once and Future King.” It’s by a man named E.B. White. If you are at least a seventh grader, you probably can read the book. It is also was the subject of a famous Walt Disney Movie, “The Sword in the Stone.” It even became a Broadway play, called “Camelot.” The first reading at Mass for Sunday, March 22, is also about a “Once and Future King, named David.
He also did NOT get picked - at least, not at first. He had a whole bunch of older brothers. Many of them were strong and smart and athletic. They all were the sons of an important man named Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem - the same village where, many, many years later - Jesus was born. Samuel was God’s messenger. Like we do for Confirmation, Samuel used oil to bless someone God would pick out for him. We call that blessing “anointing.” One of the reasons Samuel would use the anointing was to mark out the next king. So, while King Saul was still in charge, God sent Samuel to Jesse’s house, to choose a new king from one of Jesse’s sons.
Imagine Jesse’s surprise when none of his strong, smart boys was picked. Imagine how disappointed, and maybe even angry, each of those boys was at not being picked! Imagine how David must have felt - nobody picked him ... not even his dad! Until the Prophet Samuel made Jesse pick him. He must have been embarrassed; and sad; and maybe a little angry.
Please read the story in Saint John’s Gospel before reading my homily. As you read, pay close attention to two things. The first is the pattern of the conversation between the formerly blind man and the Pharisees; the second is to the description of the Pharisees in Christ’s last dialogue. Also ask yourself what great hymn was inspired by this Gospel story and how did the hymn misuse the story?
I’m sure you got the hymn correct. It’s obviously the towering Protestant standard, now also a staple of Catholic worship, “Amazing Grace.” “Amazing Grace” has an amazing origin.
Written in 1772 by the English poet and Anglican clergyman John Newton. Growing up without any religious conviction, Newton became involved in the slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, so severely that he lashed himself to the mast and called out to God for mercy. This conversion moment marked the beginning of a more gradual his spiritual journey. Although he continued slave trading until 1755, when he ended his seafaring, He began studying Christian theology. Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day, 1773. It has become one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world, performed an estimated 10 million times annually, even becoming a popular hit by artists such as Judy Collins and Elvis.
Here are some thoughts on the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent. Please read John 4:5 to 42. Pay close attention to two things: first, note how many differing opinions about religion and faith are expressed in the story - exclusive of what Jesus Himself says; and second, isolate and reread the words of Jesus.
The Gospel of St. John is symbolized in Christian iconography by the eagle because he soars above the other three “Synoptic” Gospels in depth of perception and spiritual insight. For that reason, people sometimes miss the fact that the sacred writer is also a consummate storyteller. He goes his own way with the miracle stories, even when he uses a common source. There is a sweep and grandeur to the tales, reaching a climax with the raising of Lazarus. To understand today’s gospel properly, you have to see it in context. John the Baptizer had pointed out Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” Disciples of the Baptist had traipsed after Jesus, to ask “where he dwelt.” Somewhat like the 1960s hippie expression, “where are you at, man?” It implies more than what house you’re living in. The Baptist declared that Jesus must increase and he himself decrease. Jesus began to reveal His true identity at a wedding party, making an enormous amount of wine, in fulfillment of the promise of the days when the hills would run with pure choice wine. Nicodemus, a leader among the intelligentsia of Israel, snuck out at night to see Jesus, in order to preserve his status among the leadership. He is baffled by Jesus’ teaching and the conversation drifts off into a monologue by Jesus. Then comes today’s story, set in a region of Palestine where “good” Jews did not go.