Jan. 17, 2010: 2nd Sunday Ordinary (C)

Most of us Americans are used to seeing clean, neatly stocked grocery stores. Most of the items on the shelves show no sign of damage or dust. They seem so perfect. Do you ever wonder what grocery stores do with any items that are not perfect, like items whose package are damaged or the content is settled? They donate some of them to soup kitchens. I was wrestling with one of the donated items during this week at the Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen at St. Agnes. One of the sisters gave me a 10 lb. bag of sugar that settled and became a brick. So with a big knife and a potato masher, I began to chip that 10 lb. brick of sugar. After 20 minutes, a volunteer and I were able to pulverize that brick into a fine granular sugar. The lesson? For some gifts, it takes work and perseverance to bring it to perfection.

This week someone sent me a link to a Youtube video about a young man who plays piano and trumpet. I clicked on it, and there on the piano was a young man about the age of 20 who was on a wheel chair with short stocky arms with his eyes closed, playing the piano. The narrator said, "The piece is called 'Claire de Lune' by Debussy or the 'Light of the Moon.' In the darkness of his eyes and through the sweetness of his hands, when Patrick Hughes plays, it is the music of possibilities." The next scene showed Patrick Hughes wearing the marching band uniform for the University of Louisville on the football field playing his trumpet, sitting on his wheelchair. And behind him was his dad, both chanting the fight cry of the Louisville football team. The narrator continued, "To understand how Patrick Hughes and his father both became a band member of the Louisville marching band, we have to go back when the music began."

The video tells a story of parents whose first son's birth became a time of sadness. Patrick's dad said, "There is just countless number of my dreams that died. My wife and I were devastated. We asked, 'Why us?' We've done everything right up to the birth of our son. Then as the doctor came in each time after the birth, he told us new things that Patrick will not be able to do." Patrick's parents found out that their new son was born with a rare genetic disorder which left him without eyes and limbs that would never fully develop. 'Multiple anomalies,' is the words the parents heard. Patrick's dad said, "One of the hardest things was having to let go of my dream that my son and I would someday play baseball in the backyard." Patrick's father's dreams would come true in a different way. At nine months, Patrick's dad set him on a high chair in front of the piano out of desperation to stop Patrick from crying. And Patrick fell in love with it. He would sit in front of the piano 2 to 3 hours a day, pounding away melodies on the piano. By age 2, Patrick was taking requests and playing them by ear. He began playing old standards by grade school and blues numbers by high school. Then when he was enrolled in the University of Louisville, he was invited to join the marching band and travel with the football team. Patrick's dad said, "If the school is impassioned about Patrick playing, and if Patrick is passionate about playing, then by golly I'm going to give it all to make it happen." So it was decided, Patrick would play and his dad would push him on the field. But that was not all. His dad was at every band practice and to sat beside him at every class.

How did Patrick's dad manage this on top of his full-time job? Patrick's dad worked the grave-yard shift at the UPS. The narrator asked Patrick, "How would you describe your dad's workday?" Patrick replied, "Poor thing. He goes to work about 11 o'clock at night, Monday through Thursday and comes home at 6AM. He sleeps till around 11AM." By the time Patrick wakes up and moves from his bed into his wheel chair, his dad is ready tackle another day, together with his son. His dad said, "Patrick is my hero. What he goes through, it's taught me that I have nothing to complain about. Although I was raised a Catholic, I was never overly religious, and I can't say that faith had occupied an important part of my daily life. My relationship with God was more or less one of convenience. 'Lord, I really messed up here, and I'd appreciate your bailing me out again.' Looking back, during Patrick's childhood the hand of God was in this big time, and in the hopeless moments, God was comforting me and reassuring me. My wife had a big hand in it as well. She was gentle with me, never complaining that I was less than I could and should be. It was like she knew I needed time to someday grow up and come through." Patrick then added, "God made me blind and unable to walk. Big deal! Look at the other things God has given me. He gave me musical gifts that allowed me to meet new people and new opportunities."

Some of us feel like life has given us lemons-things that are bitter and cannot be changed. A great metaphor for that is what happened at the Wedding Feast at Cana in our gospel. Despite careful preparations, wine ran out. It seems like an impossible situation and no where to turn to. The miracle is that the ordinary water was transformed into wine by Jesus. Can a sad and impossible situation be transformed into hope and joy, like the Wedding at Cana? Patrick said, "On the day I was born, you might say I arrived carrying a bag full of lemons, not the kind of thing my family had in mind. My dad wondered, 'Why would God do this to us?' I think my parents would have preferred oranges; they're sweeter and have less bite. But you can't change lemons into oranges, no matter how hard you try. But just because you can't do that doesn't mean you give up. Mom and dad taught me you have to hang in there and learn to deal with what happens to you. And once you do, you discover that lemons are pretty cool and you can make something better out of them, like lemon meringue pie. One of my favorites."