Disaster Homily

I stared out at the congregation and realized that the homily I was about to give was not going to be of much help to them.  I was going to begin with the example of the Oscar winning movie, "High Noon," starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.  Excellent start for a congregation of white seniors, or people who liked movies from vintage times.  My congregation in front of me were all Asians, and even the older ones had not arrived here yet when Gary and Grace did their thing.  I tried to explain the plot.  Painstakingly.  Blank faces.  I then tried to make the connection between the movie and the gospel and Jesus.  More failure.  Afterwards, as people were leaving, the Asians were pleasant.  They always are, or maybe they expect little from us old guys.  A couple of old-timers remembered the movie and got the point.  So I was not a total failure, just an overwhelming one.  Remember this.  When you are trying to explain something of your spiritual journey, to be helpful to another, you need to be able to relate to their experience.  I think I will move to LA and preach in Hollywood!