What Book are You Writing?

If you consider the thousands of different books available in the world, the adage, “So many books, so little time” takes on a completely new meaning.

I love books. In fact, when I moved here to Summit, the movers commented about all the boxes, Father, you have so many books, have you read them all? The answer is yes, because I believe that in reading books, you are also writing your own – creating your story. C.S. Lewis once said, “We read to know we are not alone.”

Surely, all book lovers have their own favorite genre — in fact, probably multiple favorite genres. The genre system first began as a classification process for ancient Greek literature, including poetry, prose, and performance. Each genre has a specific, distinct style relating to theme, content, tone, details, and intensity. More simply, though, you know that all books can be broadly classified under two main categories: fiction and non-fiction.

We know that a work of fiction is one that is derived from the imagination. The great thing about fiction is that it could be inspired or partially borrows from real-life situations. Fictional books are often synonymously categorized under the umbrella term of a “novel.”

The polar opposite of fictional books, nonfiction books are based on facts, true accounts of history and real events. Also, unlike fiction books, nonfiction books have relatively few genres. The most common nonfictional works are biographies, autobiographies, almanacs and encyclopedias. Some of the fictional genres are:

1. Classics - Humorist writer Mark Twain once said, “Classic – a book which people praise and don’t read.”

2. Tragedy - written in a serious style, it focuses on human suffering or tragic events, brought into motion most often by a heroic individual.

3. Science Fiction - An umbrella term dealing with the advanced concepts of science, technology, time travel, space exploration, extra-terrestrial life, alternate timelines, cyberpunk and end of the world. These books often veer off into the world of fantasy, adventure, mystery, supernatural and dystopian fiction.

4. Fantasy - Works of speculative fiction, which generally revolve around magic, the supernatural and witchcraft. A lot of fantasy writers use mythology, theology and folklore as inspiration.

5. Fairytale - Take the form of short stories, usually involving fairies, dwarfs, princesses, goblins, unicorns, elves, talking animals, trolls, dragons and other magical creatures.

6. Adventure - These usually follow a reluctant hero leaving a familiar world behind to embark on a dangerous quest, where s/he encounters challenges, temptations and revelations. Helped along by mentors, guardians and friends, the hero navigates the unfamiliar world of adventure, defeats evil and returns home, successful and transformed.

7. Crime & Mystery - These usually revolve around a mysterious death or a baffling crime that needs to be solved. Usually, the book’s main protagonist is a detective who solves the mystery by logical deductions. The best mystery usually focuses on the starkly different views of morality and the societal aspects that the hero and the antagonist represent.

8. Historical Fiction – These are based less on accurate historical facts and more on imagination, taking place in a setting located in the past and paying attention to the mannerism, society and other details of the period depicted.

9. Humor – These are novel-length works of comedy, wherein the writer seeks to amuse or entertain the reader in a carefully woven narrative. This category needs to be divided into several sub-genres, including shock comedy, horror comedy, irony, satirical and parody.

10. Satire – These feature the abuses, vices, maltreatment, corruption and shortcomings that seek to shame societies, individuals and governments into improvement. Most satirical fictions feature dark humor and irony, although its greater purpose is actually constructive criticism of the society.

11. Romance - Although romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative involving awe-inspiring incidents. These days the genre mostly focuses on a loving relationship between two people. Often, these books end in “happy endings,”.

12. Horror – Horror seeks to provoke feelings of fear, disgust, shock, terror and loathing in the reader, horror books have roots in ancient mythology and folklore. The ancient Romans and Greeks focused on evil, death, afterlife, the demonic and these principles embodied within a person. These elements were manifested into creative works featuring witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves and other monsters.

And, as I said earlier, nonfiction genres are much fewer than fiction books. As with fiction, they often have cross-genre status, including biographies, autobiographies, almanacs and encyclopedias.

What is the book you are writing with your life? Is it,

- Tragedy? Science-fiction? Fairytale? Horror? Romance or humor? Or what?

Each day, believe it or not we add another page, another chapter, another genre to the story of our lives. And it’s important to be aware because not only are others reading it, so too is the Lord.

Today in the Old Testament reading we hear that God too is writing a book, one that invites us to include our story in it – our life story in God’s great collection. The Book of Daniel, chapter 12, sounds the trumpet of warning today, saying,

At that time, there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.

The chapter is Daniel’s final vision, describing final conflicts, where ultimately some will pass to everlasting life and others to shame and everlasting contempt. The text is that of the angel’s words to Daniel, warning him to warn his people.

The authors of the book of Daniel were the maskilim, the wise, of whom Daniel is one. And the job of the maskilim is to make the people understand.

Isn’t that the job of the wise and the learned of our day too? More personally, we are all called to be among the wise and the learned, to be well read … to warn perhaps, but better, to inspire one another … to realize that we are all called to be accountable to our God for our lives ... to be accountable to our God for the way we cared for one another … to be accountable to our God for all God has given us including creation.

And that accountability comes in our writing … writing the story of our lives, each and every day.

So despite all of us having a chapter or two of tragedy, or romance, or satire, or humor, or for some even crime and science fiction, the story of our lives is important to our God … because it is a classic, and contrary to Mark Twain’s words, God does read it every day … and God’s encourages us to live a meaningful life … one based on and modeled after the life and the story of his son Jesus.

In these weeks, in these days of fall, the readings will look to the end times, the last days, reminding us that all this will all end someday, and we will be called back to our God …

This week, let’s works harder as individuals, as families, as a community of faith to model our non-fiction lives on the life of Jesus, so that this adventure, this romance, between God and us will come to a very happy ending ... in heaven.

Blessings!

#RSM

THEOLOGY OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Dear Friends:

How we live our lives matters to God!

In workplace terms, our performance matters. Moreover, God's Word reminds us that we will have to give an account to the Lord Jesus for all that we have done and left undone. In workplace terms, this is called accountability. Performance and accountability are profoundly important to the Christian life, and we cannot dismiss them as secular concerns of no importance to God.

My priest friends sometimes like to describe my pastoring style as promoting a "theology of accountability." I think they're right because, in my heart, I am keenly aware that what we do, and don't do, matters. I believe that this is true in our personal, professional, and parish lives.

As Christians, we know that we have been uniquely created, gifted and talented like no other person ever born. And to repeat a familiar phrase, we were created to know God, love God, and serve God in this life to prepare to meet him in the next.

Professionally, so many of us have been given opportunities like no other. Whether we work in the world of business, finance, law, medicine, private or service industries, so many of us have been given so much. This reminds me of the Scriptural passage, "to whom much is given, much will be expected."

And while many of us are truly accountable personally and professionally, I respectfully bring to your attention the responsibility that we also share for the care and support of our parish. We've inherited an incredible parish, one that has walked the faith journey with thousands of people for almost 175 years through the tough, tragic, and tame times. Unfortunately, I believe that too many here in our midst take what we now have for granted, presuming that what was and what is will always be. Nothing could be further from the truth unless each person is accountable to the next for our individual responsibility for caring for, supporting, and serving our parish.

While it may be easy to see the need for financial support, our accountability goes much deeper, demanding a sharing of our time and our talents as well.

In a week or two, members of our parish finance council and trustees will address our congregation, with two goals: (1) reporting as to where we are; (2) taking a deeper look at where we need to go and what we need to do to get there. In anticipation of that address, please take a look at our 2020-21 Annual Report, which you should have received in the mail. If you didn't, please call the parish office so we may send you one.

Long after I am a permanent resident of St Teresa's Mausoleum, I pray that St Teresa of Avila will still be a thriving, energized, and faithful parish. One that continues to walk the faith journey with people, but that all depends on us here and now.

Saint Paul, who constantly faced situations that could result in his death, reminded his contemporaries that at the final judgment, each person would be "recompensed according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." These words also apply to us.

When we analyze Paul's teaching in its entirety, we find it is in harmony with that of Jesus and even the teachings of the Old Testament. For all of them, faith that does not express itself in good works is no faith at all. Indeed, faith, obedience, and accountability are closely intertwined. While here on earth, what we do in the body cannot help but reflect what God's grace has done for us.

As we approach Thanksgiving, and the season of giving, let's recommit ourselves to live our lives in ways that matter to God – personally, professionally, and parochially.

Thank you for all you do for St Teresa's.

Blessings!

RSM

Cost of Discipleship - What Do You Want To See?

Where have you been today, Bartimaeus?

“I’ve been in a world of hunger and fear and darkness.

I’ve been by the side of the road I name despair.

I’ve been cast off, like something beyond repair.”

What have you heard today, Bartimaeus?

“I’ve heard the pain of those who cry for justice.

I’ve heard the pain of those who cry for peace.

I’ve heard someone is near who brings release.”

What do you need today, Bartimaeus?

“I need to know that joy can rise from ashes.

I need to know that hope can rise from grief.

I need to see the sun touch the lifted leaf.”

What did you do today, Bartimaeus?

“I called to the Son of David who comes to save us.

I called to the One who mercy freely gives.

I called to the One whose power opened my grave.”

Where are you going today, Bartimaeus?

“To be with Christ as he brings new days to others.

To follow the One who’s brought me this new sight.

To share with all God’s people this new life.”

We continue with our October Message Series on the Cost of Discipleship, focusing today on What do I want to see?

It’s kind of ironic that the Scriptures teach us to see, by using the story of a blind man, named Bartimaeus. Let’s look more closely at what Bartimaeus saw, and pray the Lord gives us those same eyes of faith. The recited poem will help us with that focus …

· Bartimaeus said I’ve been in a world of hunger and fear and darkness. I’ve been by the side of the road I name despair. I’ve been cast off, like something beyond repair.

More than 2,000 years later, we still live in a world of hunger, physical, spiritual and emotional hunger. The UN World Food Program aggregates 957 million people across 93 countries who do not have enough to eat.

We don’t have to look to the world statistics to see this startling number. Millions of children and families living here in America face hunger and food insecurity every day. Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 42 million people may experience food insecurity, including a potential 13 million children. More closely, that breaks down to 40,200 people here in Union County alone who experience food insecurity.

Do we see with the eyes of faith? … the fear and darkness that this creates … How can we better help those who feel cast off, feeling like something beyond repair?

· Bartimaeus said he heard the pain of those who cry for justice, the pain of those who cry for peace.

More than 2,000 years later people all around the globe are still crying for justice, crying for peace. A quick google search will fill your results screen with issues beyond issues of justice and calls for peace. Among them, voting rights, climate justice, healthcare, refugee crisis, racial Injustice, income gap, gun violence, and the list goes on and one. It is overwhelming!

Bartimaeus challenges us, as believers, in the name of Jesus to hear these cries, and to respond to them, some of them, those we can. Bartimaeus challenges us to be a people who work for peace because we too have heard of that someone who is near who brings release.

· Bartimaeus said he needs to know that joy can rise from ashes, that hope can rise from grief, that he see the sun touch the lifted leaf.

Bringing a genuine sense of hope and optimism into the lives of people is our calling, our baptismal challenge. It’s important to remember that all around us many people are struggling. They’re exhausted, they’ve sought guidance from self-help books; sought advice from friends and family; they’ve confided in clergy and counselors; they’ve looked for answers from talk shows or the internet.

When all of those endeavors fall short, they turn to us … family and friends … those of us who’ve identified ourselves as believers, believers in Jesus Christ … perhaps not for solutions, but for companionship, for a listening ear, for a shared half hour, for a cup of coffee that can bring inner peace and healing. Our simple efforts can help many to see the sun touch the lifted leaf.

· Bartimaeus called to the Son of David who comes to save us, he called to the One who mercy freely gives. He called to the One whose power opened his grave.

Who do we call to? Who do we turn to? Do we think we can do it all ourselves? Do we think that we can manage all of life’s challenges on our own merit? Even the greatest saints knew that after they had given all they had, the rest was in the hands of God.

St Francis of Assisi said:

Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon your great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of your will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously.”

· Bartimaeus said he was going to be with Christ as he brings new days to others, to follow the One who brought him his new sight, to share with all God’s people his new life.

How do we do that? Do we even do that? It’s the cost of discipleship … that the Good News that we’ve received, we bring to others, where they are, as they are, how they are, without cost or expectation.

The crowds told Bartimaeus to be quiet, to shush … so many of us too are also too quiet about matters of faith … we are shy, timid, even embarrassed of sharing our faith stories with others. Society tells us to shush, to not talk about God or Jesus or faith … how wrong this is … how disappointing.

The Psalmist sings today, The Lord has done great things for us … we are filled with joy. Let’s work harder to see those things, to share those things, to celebrate those things, for then, and only then will we truly live up to the cost of discipleship.

RSM##