EDDIE HASKELL LIVES ON

Eddie Haskell was a sneaky little rat, a two-faced suck-up, and a tinpot bully.  A punk who stirred up trouble; and we loved him for it.

The brilliance of Eddie — an indelible character in the long running sitcom “Leave It to Beaver” — lay in the way he differed from virtually any other child or teen characters on TV: He was a bad kid, with little effort made to redeem or rehabilitate him.

Ingeniously portrayed by the actor Ken Osmond, who recently passed at the age of 76.  Eddie was as much a metaphor as a supporting character on a gentle family series. He embodied the kind of personality that people first encounter on the playground but then again throughout adulthood: the servile work colleague, the backstabbing boyfriend, and/or the unctuous politician.  Real life has a lot of Eddie Haskells.[1]

Paul has been the heart and soul of the Christian community in Ephesus for the past three years.  Now they are grief-stricken that he is leaving them, particularly as he extends a rather dire warning: “I know that after my departure Eddie Haskells will come. I mean, savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.”  Many times, in the Gospels we hear the commands, “Be vigilant” and “Stay awake.”  For the Ephesians, this has never been truer as Paul prepares to depart from them.

Paul leaves the disciples with this prescription for what they must do next: “[W]e must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  The disciples, we, must genuinely attend to the physical needs of those who are weak, those who have less, care for the poor, the sick, and the disenfranchised.  Not because the Father is watching, but because of the Word we have received.  This is the real challenge, to give of ourselves, to lift up the weak, and empower them with the love of Jesus Christ, we first received.  It is often easy to give money to those in need; it is harder to give of ourselves, our time, our talents, our love and compassion.[2]

Osmond would later repeat his role as Eddie Haskell in a Disney Channel sequel of his old show, “The New Leave It to Beaver,” where Eddie had grown up to become a shady contractor, which felt just right.  The jerk lives on.  So, we too, must “Be vigilant” and “Stay awake” as we too are the poor and the weak.  Our needs may not be as obvious, but all the same vulnerable to the Eddie Haskell’s of the world, as we share in the humanity of all God’s children.  Our best gift to others is the gift of ourselves united to Christ Jesus who loves us unconditionally. 

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[1] The Washington Post. “The brilliant, subversive jerkiness of Eddie Haskell” by Paul Farhi, May 19, 2020.

[2] Weekday HomilyHelps. Homily Suggestion by Mary Carol Kendzia.

BEING SPENT

A young man came to the door of the city’s largest hospital.  A plague was raging through the city so horrible that as many as twenty people were dying each day, just in that hospital alone.  Many of the people who died, were those who were tending to the ill.  It was a desperate situation -- more and more people were falling ill and fewer and fewer people were there to help them.

This twenty-year-old man, standing there, had not come because he was ill, but because he wanted to help.  He brought not new patients, but young men like himself, willing to tend the dying.  For four months he and his companions worked day and night, not only to comfort the patients, but to organize and clean the hospital.  Only at the end of the plague did Bernardine himself fall ill -- of exhaustion.

But this was St. Bernardine's way.[1]  Another dynamic saint once said, “…I will not be a burden, for I want not what is yours, but you…. I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your sakes.” (2 Cor 12:14).

In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul recognizes “in every respect [the Athenians] are very religious,” and they want to know how to stay in the good graces of their many gods.  But Paul narrows the focus to his discovery of the one altar dedicated to “an unknown god,” which became a perfect lead-in to tell them about the God he knows. Paul is willing to meet these people right where they are.  He invites them to acknowledge and experience his God, who, Paul says, is closer than they think.[2]

Not much has changed; we still struggle with acknowledging and experiencing the one true God when there are so many other gods competing for our worship.   For far too many people, their gods are success, popularity, wealth, possessions and power; celebrities and sports figures are often lifted to godly status; and there are any number of other things.  Any and all of them take our attention away from who the real God is.  They consume our focus, attention, and energy.  We spend our time and money on them.  We focus on getting more of them.  We make them our gods.[3]

As we begin to reopen our parish communities for public worship & Mass, are we able to leave these false gods to re-invest ourselves into the community of believers worshiping the one true God.  To listen for and hear the Spirit of Truth, who speaks to and guides us in glorifying our one God, and are we willing to spend ourselves through works of service and mercy for those most in need.

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[1] Catholic Online, Saints & Angels. “St. Bernardine of Siena”.

[2] Weekday HomilyHelps. Homily Suggestion by Jeanne Hunt.

[3] Thought of the Day: A One Year Devotional, by Marty Pressey © 2020.

THE TRUE CARETAKER OF THE VINE

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.  He shared There are 5 things you need to know, before I send you out into the world.  Always remember them and never forget and you will become the best pencil you can be.

1. You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.  
2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.  
3. You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.
4. The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
5. On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark.  No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.  The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.[1]

The desire to belong is one of the most basic human emotions.  Community, belonging, feeling connected and protected are all reflected in today’s Gospel about the vine and the branches.  Enduring the last couple of months without our public gatherings for Mass and other community events, on the surface we can feel very much disconnected.

However, something even deeper is happening in Jesus’ message.  Yes, he is the vine, and we are connected to him as the branches.  Let us not overlook the emphasis Jesus puts on his Father—and our Father. God the Father is the true caretaker of the vine and its branches.[2]  Physical separation from each other, does not mean being disconnection. If we, “the branches”, remain connected to Jesus, “the vine”, we can produce fruit within our family, our neighborhoods, our work for those who are essential workers, and even through our social media connections, connections that glorify the Father.

Putting ourselves in the place of the pencil; we must always remember and never forget these 5 things to become the best person we can be.

1. We will be able to do many great things, but only if we allow yourself to be held in the Father’s hand allowing others to access your many gifts.
2. We will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, we'll need it to grow stronger.  Jesus understands the pain.
3. We will be able to correct mistakes we may make or grow through them.
4. The most important part of we will always be what's on the inside.
5. On every surface we walk, we must leave your mark.  No matter what the situation, we must continue to serve God in everything.

By remembering and never forgetting our relationship to the vine, our lives now, will have meaningful purpose and bear fruit for the glory of the Father, the true caretaker of the vine.

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[1] Parable of the Pencil by an Unknown Author

[2] Weekday HomilyHelps Homily Suggestion by Linus Mundy.