Love God. Live the Eucharist.

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Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B, July 12, 2015, by Fr. Kevin Anderson

[With a golf club] Now I am not much of a golfer.  Actually I only golf once or twice a year.

I won this club at our parish’s golf outing a few years ago.  We are having another golf outing coming up, 2nd Saturday in August.  Info and registration are in the main entrance.

 

Anyway, my favorite term in golf is “mulligan.”  That is when I ask for a “do over.”  Now I rarely keep score and I usually like to play in a best ball setting.  That is, everyone gets to hit the ball but we all play the ball that was lies the best . . . farthest or best angle. 

 

Well this reminds me of a story I heard about that was written in the Boston Globe of March 29 of this year.  It is about the connection that a mother and daughter had with each other. It started back when Meagan, the daughter was two years old. Julie, the Mom and daughter went to the park one afternoon. At the end of the day, Mom was more than ready to go home. She was five months pregnant and she had been up late the night before working on deadline. She was exhausted and, frankly, in a lousy mood. She wanted to go home, shower and maybe take a nap.

 

Little Meagan, however, had a different idea. She was having a wonderful time with her friends and was determined to break free from the stroller. Mom said no. Meagan said yes. Mom said sit in the stroller.   Meagan arched her back and attempted to climb out. Mom handed her a plastic container of apple juice. Meagan threw it to the street. Mom pushed the stroller faster. Meagan screamed louder.

 

The new mother was quickly learning that when parenting is going well, it's extraordinary. But, when it isn't, it's excruciating.  Finally, as Meagan made yet another attempt to escape the stroller, her exhausted mom held her in place. She got down on her knees, wiped Meagan's nose and teary eyes and pushed back her blond curls. Then Mom said something she had never said before:  "Can we turn the day around?"

 

Meagan looked puzzled. Then, surprisingly, the little girl seemed to comprehend what her mother was asking. It took a moment, but Meagan stifled her sobs and put her arms around her mother's neck. She seemed as relieved as her mom was. It was as if mother and daughter had hit an imaginary reset button and got the day back on track.

 

That was 25 years ago. Meagan is now a student in medical school. But still, Meagan's mom writes, "experience has taught us that we can turn the day around at any hour, even when it's close to midnight. When necessary, we can turn it around multiple times within the same 24-hour period. Sometimes Meagan is the one having a hard time, but there have been plenty of occasions when I'm the person who is struggling.

 

"It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while conversations are abrupt. Angry words are spoken. Or worse yet, no words are exchanged at all. Eyes roll. Shoulders shrug. Footsteps are heavy.   Then finally, one of us will ask if we can start over again. And we do."

 

In the gospel today, Jesus sends the Twelve out and gives them authority over unclean spirits. There are some people today who believe in the presence of demons or devils, but I say that what is more common is the dis-ease (i.e. non-ease) that we might feel.  I would even call it unclean spirits.  Many times it is not even obvious, but there is simply a sense that things are not “gelling” or the balance in the energy isn’t quite right.

 

I don’t think that this calls for an exorcism or some kind of big dramatic event, but is much more like the saying, “Can we turn the day around?”  Can we simply acknowledge that things are not flowing well and ask for a mulligan?  That is, a do over.

 

It’s when there is tension among people . . . and there haven’t been any awful words or wrongdoing, but things simply don’t feel right.  It’s when there an awkward comment made at work. Or when you remember that you forgot something . . . to say a compliment, or honor a special day and you didn’t.  And you just need to ask, “can we turn this day around?’

 

Well I think you can.  Try it.  Just naming the tension or difficulty is going to help.  Just as saying, “I’m sorry” is so powerful. And as simple as asking to re-start this conversation, or to turn this day around. 

 

Jesus tells the disciples NOT to make their message too complicated.  Isn’t that the same with us? To simple WANT to start over, or to acknowledge that the energy or flow is not going well. For example to recognize that there is not any “good spirit” going on here. 

 

I believe that is one of the important aspects of coming to Mass on a regular basis.  For we get to listen to God’s word, be inspired by the music or community . . . and it’s as if God gives us a mulligan each time we receive the Eucharist.  That is, when we receive the presence of Christ we are saying, “Let’s start the week over. Let’s begin anew.  Let’s turn this around and be better.”

 

Eucharist is not a prize for having a perfect or sinless week; it is food for people who want to be better.  To get better.   We gather as the Eucharist because we want to “turn our lives around.”  To become better.

 

With golfing, I am never going to be good . . . but I can be better.  And it is not that I will ever have a perfect game.  But every time I swing the club I can simply try to be better than the last time I swung the club.  

 

So for you, don’t set these lofty, “perfectionist” goals for yourself.  For with all the aspects of your live (physically, emotionally, spiritually) . . . come and receive the Eucharist, for it becomes a connection between you and God . . . that acknowledges, “Yea, let’s turn this around and for this week, or even this day, let me become better.

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