A half a million people, just in the United States. During the past year the world has been crucified to the cross of Covid. We have seen people run from the proofs. We’ve seen people in great denial. We have been betrayed by those who should’ve loved us, and those who should’ve led us. There have been accusations hurled back and forth, many of them false accusations. We have seen the venality and temporizing of those who hold public office. We have seen that those who are charged with the public safety, sometimes cruelly and brutally, disregard the public safety. We have seen those lone individuals who’ve reached out in mercy and loving kindness. We have heard crowds screaming two and three syllable epithets back and forth, one at the other.
We begin Holy Week this morning, with the story of the crucifixion. We know how the story ends because that’s the root of our faith. What caused that ending was the combination of two things. There was, according to St. Paul in today’s second reading, the abasement of Jesus. His choice to live in service and to die for the principles by which He lived. Some of our scriptures summed that up in one word - obedience.
When I was a little boy, one of the most popular television programs for children was “The Howdy Doody Show.” And next to Buffalo Bob Smith, the most important character on the show, one of the other few live actors, was Clarabell the Clown. And, one time, the Ringling Brothers Circus came to New York City, and one of its main attractions was Clarabell the Clown, who was making a personal appearance, and all the children could meet Clarabell. So I begged and pleaded and my mom took me to the circus. We all had to get on line to meet Clarabell the Clown, and the line moved very, very slowly, and we waited very, very patiently. And, finally, I got to shake Clarabell’s hand. And Clarabell smelled funny. I didn’t find out until years later that the funny smell was booze.
When I was in college, I got tickets to watch a taping of the Jimmy Dean show. That was back before the sausage days, when Jimmy Dean was a really good singer, and had his own variety show on ABC television. And, when you watch a taping of a television show, it’s start and stop, start and stop. They do a little bit, and then they reset, and then do a little bit more, and then someone makes a mistake and they have to do that over again. And whenever Jimmy Dean was on camera, he was casual and he was friendly and he was warm, and he sang very well. The minute the cameras were turned off, he was really nasty to the cameramen and crew. It was appalling to see. And I was very disappointed.
Tim Tebow. He has several claims to fame. One is, he is one of the few people who were in two major league sports, both football and baseball. Not doing exceptionally well in either one, but participating in both. The other claim to fame that he has is the so called “taking a knee.” Before every football game, he would kneel down and pray to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for a successful game. I don’t know why that stirred so much attention, when you see basketball players quite frequently, especially Catholic college games, doing this [making the Sign of the Cross] before a foul shot. But, whatever the reason, this attracted national commentary. What a lot of people don’t know about Tim Tebow is that, in addition to taking a knee, he used the war paint under his eyes for a special purpose. That black smudge that’s put under football players’ eyes to keep the glare off their faces. He would take his black pencil instead, and write “John 3:16” under both eyes. “John 3:16.”
That’s the gospel we just heard. It is the rallying cry of the evangelical churches. In case you missed it, this is what it is. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” John 3:16. We even see that on bumper stickers and placards here and there. However, Tim Tebow should have continued, and written on the other eye, John 3:17. Because this is what John 3:17 says. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved by Him.”
“When fact becomes legend, print the legend.” When fact becomes legend, print the legend. Those are the closing lines of the movie, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” For those of you who have never seen the movie, a very, very brief plot summary.
A greenhorn eastern lawyer, played by Jimmy Stewart, comes to a wild western town, in a western territory not yet a state, armed only with his law book and the belief in the freedom of the press. The town to which he comes is controlled by a powerful bad guy named Liberty Valance, who is the henchman of all the local ranchers who, for some reason, feel that acquiring statehood will be financially ruinous for them, and they will do anything to stop the move for statehood from going forward. Naturally, Stewart is pushing for statehood.
Early on in his time there, he meets one of the most upstanding citizens of the town, played by John Wayne. At first Wayne belittles him as a greenhorn, but finally begins to form a friendship, and teaches Jimmy Stewart how to shoot. Jimmy Stewart winds up being a very good shot, not matter what, and he will not carry a gun.