Joan Clark Houk

Labor – A Reflection           by John Houk

Our home has seen a steady procession of people who work with their hands.  Masks were worn and doors and windows were open, and I stayed upstairs in the chapel to avoid exposure to COVID-19.  Joan became project manager for the weeks-long unscheduled mitigation and restoration of our moldy kitchen.  I liked being able to watch and celebrate Joan’s work.  I even bought her a white hard hat with her name on it.  If you know Joan you know this could never be just about replacing walls and cabinets.  It was all about people.

She knew everyone by name.  The sheet rock men and painters were George, Fernando and Pedro, the cabinet man was Jerry, and the hard work was done by Howard Jr and Ed.  Not only did she know their names, but their pets, their wives, how much they spend on rent; and when they didn’t have the right tool, she lent them mine.  But that’s not the only people she knew by first name.  There was the mitigation manager, Chuck, and crew chief, Jack, and restoration manager, Steve, site manager, Howard, Sr., the secretary, Amber, the USAA Insurance adjustors, Alexander and Victoria, the plumbers, Greg, Matt, Dave, Bryce and Lee, and their office manager, Bonita.  She knew everyone by name and used their names often along with many thank-you’s.  Why is this important on our annual celebration of labor?  It’s because there is dignity in the work of our hands that deserves respect and thanks.

People who work with their hands are not second-class people, repeat not.  They are not those who were not smart enough to go into college, repeat not.  These are the people who make our world actually happen.  Most obvious right now is that they are the people who put our world back together when it is destroyed by mold (our kitchen) or by storms as on the Gulf Coast.  The people who do the work not only deserve to be treated with dignity and respect because they are real human persons, but because we couldn’t live without them.

As Catholics we can take pride in remembering Pope Leo XIII, who in 1891 wrote Rerum Novarum (The Condition of Labor), which set our Church on the path of respect for the person who works with their hands.  Here is where we find the official teaching on the dignity of labor, workers’ rights, including the right to organize and even strike, the condemnation of child labor, for just wages, just hours of work, and much more.  Pope Leo set our Church on the pro labor path.  Thanks, Pope Leo.

Joan grew up in Pittsburgh with working class people and with a family memory of union members in its mills and factories fighting the Pinkerton hired guns for the right to organize and even strike for just wages.  She didn’t need Pope Leo to learn respect for the people who do our work, but today our country does.  So, in thanks for labor on Labor Day and a reminder of our Catholic positive history toward labor let us, celebrate this special day.  Celebrate especially by calling people by name wherever they work and whatever work they are doing for us, for us.  Oh, and many thanks again to Pope Leo, and thank God we have our kitchen back!  Amen.

We can honor Mary on this feast day by remembering that she was, and remains, part of our world, our personal and natural world.  Pope Francis reminds us over and over that the natural world and we are not separate, and certainly we must understand that we stand with the natural world and not against it.  He calls this integral ecology, which he elaborated upon in his encyclical letter, Laudato Si
(On Care for our Common Home).  If you have not read it, you really must.

Mary was part of our world in powerful ways so we have honored her in multiple ways in the history of our Church, even to include that God had the power to lift her to heaven in her complete self. Because she walked in our world and remains connected to us there is no life challenge that Mary does not understand.  She was there.  Mary knew what it was like to be pregnant without a husband.  She knew what it was like to be vulnerable, having no control over her life, even to the point of being displaced from her home.  She knew the grief of seeing her child tortured. Mary knew what it is to be a mother watching her son gasping for his last breaths.

We invite you to join with our global Church remembering Mary on this August 15^th by connecting with our world and with her, knowing that she is always there for us.

John and Joan Houk

In the Gospel according to John 20:17-18, we read:

Jesus said to her, 

“Do not hold onto me because 

I have not yet ascended to the Father.  

But go to my brothers and say to them, 

‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, 

to my God and your God.’”  

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 

“I have seen the Lord”; 

and she told them that the Lord had said these things to her.

According to a fragmentary manuscript of the non-canonical Gospel of Mary, written in the late first or early second century, Mary comforts the distressed disciples telling them, “For his grace will be with you all and shelter you.”  Peter asks Mary, “Tell us the words of the Savior that you know, but which we haven’t heard.” Mary agrees saying, “I will re[port to you as much as] I remember that you don’t know.”  After telling them what she remembered, she fell silent.

However, Andrew says that he doesn’t believe Mary “be[cause] these opinions seem to be so different from h[is th]ought.”  Peter joins in, “Has the Sa[vior] spoken secretly to a wo[m]an and [not] openly so that [we] would all hear?  [Surely] he did [not wish to indicate] that [she] is more worthy than we are?”

Levi confronts Peter’s competitive, argumentative behavior.  In Mary’s defense Levi says, “If the Savior considered her to be worthy, who are you to disregard her?  For he knew her completely [and] loved her devotedly.”  We still have both Peter’s and Levi’s attitudes in the Church today.

Although Mary of Magdala is mentioned by name in all four canonical gospels as being present at the tomb of Jesus, and she is named as the first to see the Resurrected Christ Jesus, even given the name, Apostle to the Apostles, attempts have been made throughout the centuries to silence Mary Magdalene, to discredit her, and to excuse her experience, all because she was a woman.

We women today are still being silenced, discredited, and pushed aside, just because we are women.  St. Mary of Magdala, pray for us.  

John Houk

Where is the Holy Spirit?  Experts on the subject think that she can be wherever she wants to be.  But how do we know where she is?  She is where she acts.  You can ask and hope that she will act, which we do at every Mass when we ask the Spirit to be present with us in the bread and wine.  But the Spirit is where she wants to be, which often surprises the unexpecting.

The stories of the Holy Spirit being promised, then given and received exhibit a confusion of details among early writers in wonderful ways.  This is why it is important to read for the big message, which is that God is present to us in love shared, and not get bogged down in the writer’s details.  Matthew writes that Jesus gives the Spirit to the “eleven on the mountain”.  In Acts the Spirit comes unannounced, as it were, “as they were all together” waiting.  In John Jesus breathed on the “frightened apostles” and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” on the very evening of Jesus’ resurrection.

So, what are we to think?  Was the Spirit given to the eleven on the mountain in Galilee; given to the “frightened disciples” on the very eve of Jesus resurrection; given to “all together” waiting?  If you have come to know the Spirit acting in your life then you may know this wonderful confusion around the Spirit acting in the early Church is just like what she might do.  The Spirit was with the eleven, with all followers together waiting, and with the frightened disciples on the evening of the first day of the week as John wrote.  This is typical Holy Spirit.  She can go where she is called or just show up and act in our lives as she pleases, with power to lift us up, console us, delight, encourage, teach, drive out fear and surprise.  Could it be that she likes the surprise part best?  I have often thought that this may be the most fascinating thing we know about a Spirit that acts, who is never passive, never indifferent, and always surprising us with gifts personally wrapped, but with an invitation inside to become one with her.  How could you not love her and want her in your life?  Surprise!  She is already there.  There is no gap between us and the Holy Spirit.  Any separation we may feel is an illusion.  She is always waiting to surprise, and if we like surprises, and most of us do, the best thing to do is laugh.

If you were surprised by the use of the feminism to describe the Holy Spirit you may like to know that there is a tradition in the shadows of our Church for doing exactly that.  That tradition stepped out of the shadows when Pope John Paul I told the world that God can be both Mother and Father to us.  JPI is famous for being Pope for only 33 days.  I believe that when the Holy Spirit seeks us out to surprise us with just what we need, she is very much like many of the women I know.  The “she” fits.

My reflections during this Holy Week 2020 was intended to encourage you to remember the end-game story of Jesus’ life, which has become our Christian Holy Week Myth.  That’s nice, but there is a much deeper reason for these reflections, which is to encourage you to place yourself in the story.  This is one way that we can discover our human potential, and this is why my reflections emphasized the human person, who was Jesus of Nazareth.  Story becomes myth inviting us to find ourselves in the story, and in the process, discovering our own human potential.

Jesus speaks to us:  On Palm Sunday we can enjoy the adulation of the crowd, but we are wise to know its fickle nature.  A few days later they will call for our crucifixion.  Monday, we enjoyed the company of friends and the loving touch of a woman, who knew the risk we take just being there.  On Tuesday we realize that evil is stalking us.  We go from one of the best days to one of the worst.  On Wednesday we ate with a betrayer and a denier, but we did not exclude them from our table.  Thursday we could sense time running out, and we gave the world a common every meal, bread and wine, way to remember us.  Then we showed them how to wash each other’s feet.  On Friday we could have run away, but we didn’t.  Over the centuries countless Christians have followed my example.  Speaking truth to power was, and is, dangerous, but we are not going to run away.  Saturday is Sabbath, will always be Sabbath, a pause that the human mind and body will always need.  Sunday, the first day of the week, has become our day of new beginnings, new possibilities, which flow from trusting that life prevails, will always prevail, and that love always wants to be forever.

If we make the mistake in thinking that Jesus said and did wonderful things because he was first God, then we give ourselves a pass, thinking that lowly humans can’t do those things, can’t live like that, but we can.  He was first, one of us.

Holy Week / Easter Epilogue by John Houk

Early in the morning on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James set out toward the garden where they had seen Jesus’ body placed.  When they entered the garden, they saw to their amazement that the stone in front of the tomb had been rolled aside.  They had brought a lantern knowing the tomb would be dark, and when they looked inside, they saw the tomb was empty.  Looking around in the dimness Mary Magdalene saw a figure standing near and assumed it must be the gardener. 

“We have come to anoint the body, but someone has taken it away.  If you took it, please tell us where it is and we will go there.”

The dim figure spoke her name.

“Mary.”

“Teacher, is that you?”

She dropped the lantern and ran to him, threw her arms around him and began to cry.  Then she felt that he had nothing to keep away the morning chill, and took off her cloak and put it over him.  The cloak was full of her warmth and smell, and for a moment he couldn’t speak.  Then she said, “Do you need anything?  I have a little food and some water.”

“Yes, Mary, there is something I need for you to do for me.  I am so pleased that it was you who came first to me this morning.  I must not go back into the city.  The guards ran away, but they will come back with more so I cannot stay here.  You must go and tell the others that I will go to Galilee and wait for them there.  Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t want to leave you.  I don’t want to ever leave you.”

The other Mary spoke.  “If you want to stay, I will go tell the others, but they will not believe me.”

“You must both go, and yes, Mary, they must see for themselves.  Both of you go, and hurry, because I must go now.

Mary asked, “When will I see you again?”

“You must come with the others to Galilee because there I will explain to you how important it is for you to help the others stay together, and how you must tell them all the things I have told you.  Now go to them.  They must see for themselves that I am no longer in the tomb.”

Then Mary the mother of James gently took Mary’s hand and pulled her away from Jesus, and they ran back toward the city.

Jesus stood there watching them go, and he took a fist full of Mary’s cloak in each hand.  It was the first time that he realized that leaving her would be the most difficult part.  He straightened his back and started down the road to Emmaus, and then to Galilee where he would tell them about the Advocate to come.

Stay tuned.

Reflection by John Houk

It was the Sabbath in Jerusalem.  Normally a very quiet day and today was no different, except there were whispers.  Jesus had been confirmed dead with a spear thrust, and his body taken down from the cross.  The body was claimed by a secret follower and placed in a tomb, while women who had come to Jerusalem with Jesus watched where he was laid.  Then they began to collect the spices they would need to anoint his body as was the Jewish custom.  They would wait until tomorrow because this was Sabbath, but they wondered who would roll the large stone from in front of the tomb because all the men they knew had fled.  The Chief Priest and Council of Elders were sure they had saved the people and themselves from catastrophic Roman retaliation.  The Roman governor was pleased that his district was now rid of a trouble maker, but his wife was not so sure and she told him so.  He had a sign placed on the cross over the head of Jesus that read, “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews”.  The sign had its intended effect on the many people who saw it.  If you cause trouble in my district this is what will happen to you was the message, and the people understood it.  This was the way Rome kept the peace in all its districts.  It was the Sabbath, but it was also spring, the beginning, of a new year.  The world was full of new life and new possibilities, but Jerusalem had pushed the pause button.
Please stay tuned. 

Reflection by John Houk

Jesus and his disciples loved this garden.  It was a safe comfortable place with deep grass and a light breeze.  It was dark, and they settled into the quiet, some even falling asleep.  Jesus tapped Peter, James and John, and asked them to come with him, and they went without question.  He asked them to wait for him as he moved “a stone’s throw” away.  He had felt agitated, and at first wanted company, then wanted to be by himself.  As he stood alone in the dark a feeling of panic descended on him, a gripping fear that he had never experienced before.  He fell to the ground, sweat dripping from his face.  His body said walk away from this place, no, run.  It is dark.  They will never be able to find you, run.  He stood up, turned and walked back to the three men he had brought with him.  They were sleeping.  He turned and walked away.  He could slip away and they would not know that he had gone.  He turned back to them.  They were sleeping.  They trusted him, and he had brought them to this place and this hour.  They trusted him.  How could he abandon them?  Did he not trust his own mission?  He had been so sure of what he was called to do.  Did he not trust himself or the One who called him?  He felt the coolness of a dawn breeze and could see a grayness in the eastern sky.  He felt a calmness descend upon him.  He would trust.  He had to trust.  He looked across the valley and he could see torches moving toward him.  He woke up the three men and led them back to the others.  When the men with the torches arrived, he held out his hands.  They tied him and led him away.

reflection by John Houk

Music is the inspiration of the Spirit.
It allows us to celebrate with joy,
singing, dancing, like Miriam with her tambourine.
It groans forth from the depths of our being
when we grieve our losses.
It gets our bodies moving in exercise, 
and marches with the those protesting against injustice.

Music eases our anxiety, soothes us, helps us to heal,
and sustains us when we need to persevere.
In this time of coronavirus, 
music is being sung from balconies,
played on porches, lawns and sidewalks 
during social distancing.
Music is found streaming from home studios,
featured on the evening news, 
on links sent by friends through the internet.

While we are “sheltering in place”
music is speaking to us about who we are,
and that we are not alone.
Music is bringing us together.

March 25^th, nine months before December 25^th, 
the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.
Yes, God is with us.  
We see Jesus, working through others, is with us. 

During this time of the coronavirus, we have gratitude and ask blessings upon:

the nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, clinic, hospital and nursing home staff, who are putting their lives on the line while meeting our medical needs;  

those who are serving people who are confined to prisons and jails, people living in homeless shelters and senior living communities, where social distancing is almost impossible;

those who are working long hours to provide the needed medical and health supplies, and those who are volunteering to do what they can to help;

and to friends and neighbors, and people who do not even know us, who reach out to ask if we need anything.

Bless them and keep them safe, O God.

Amen.