Elvis Has Left the Building
January 15, 2005 Thursday of the 2nd Week of Ordinary Time
The other night, I turned on the television and saw the end of a program about Elvis Presley. I’m not the world’s biggest Elvis fan, but I left it on because it was almost over. They were showing what a hassle it was for Elvis to go anywhere. This particular night, he finished his concert and while the audience was begging him to come out and sing another song, he was already in his limo, on the way to the airport. The announcer came out and said, “Elvis has left the building.”
I guess this is a common problem with celebrities. The Beatles caused near-riots everywhere they went. Rock stars and sports stars, television and movie actors all have to deal with big crowds. Last summer I saw people stand in line for three hours to get an autograph from Rupert, the guy from Survivor.
The government spends millions of dollars every year providing security for the President and his family. The get Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus dealing with the crowds. As word spread of His teaching and His healings, everybody wanted to see Him. Everybody wanted to touch Him. Everybody wanted to be healed. He tells the disciples to have a boat ready for him so He can get away. It’s hard to imagine He ever had any privacy.
How different is it today? Jesus still walks among us. He is present in the word that we read from this ambo. He is especially present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. But, we surely don’t have a problem with crowd control. You can pretty much walk into any church, any place in the world, and get a seat right in front. In fact, at 5:00 on Christmas Eve, the last seats to be taken were two right here in the front row.
So what happened? How is it that we’ll stand in line to get an autograph from some guy in a tie-died shirt, but so many won’t take the time to visit the Son of God in His house? I know I’m preaching to the choir here. Anyone who gets out of a warm bed to come to church at 8:00 on a Thursday morning knows what a treasure we have. As we said in our Responsorial Psalm, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
The other night, I turned on the television and saw the end of a program about Elvis Presley. I’m not the world’s biggest Elvis fan, but I left it on because it was almost over. They were showing what a hassle it was for Elvis to go anywhere. This particular night, he finished his concert and while the audience was begging him to come out and sing another song, he was already in his limo, on the way to the airport. The announcer came out and said, “Elvis has left the building.”
I guess this is a common problem with celebrities. The Beatles caused near-riots everywhere they went. Rock stars and sports stars, television and movie actors all have to deal with big crowds. Last summer I saw people stand in line for three hours to get an autograph from Rupert, the guy from Survivor.
The government spends millions of dollars every year providing security for the President and his family. The get Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives.
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus dealing with the crowds. As word spread of His teaching and His healings, everybody wanted to see Him. Everybody wanted to touch Him. Everybody wanted to be healed. He tells the disciples to have a boat ready for him so He can get away. It’s hard to imagine He ever had any privacy.
How different is it today? Jesus still walks among us. He is present in the word that we read from this ambo. He is especially present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. But, we surely don’t have a problem with crowd control. You can pretty much walk into any church, any place in the world, and get a seat right in front. In fact, at 5:00 on Christmas Eve, the last seats to be taken were two right here in the front row.
So what happened? How is it that we’ll stand in line to get an autograph from some guy in a tie-died shirt, but so many won’t take the time to visit the Son of God in His house? I know I’m preaching to the choir here. Anyone who gets out of a warm bed to come to church at 8:00 on a Thursday morning knows what a treasure we have. As we said in our Responsorial Psalm, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
posted by Mike at 10:39 AM
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