November 2012
- 32nd Sunday (B)
- U.S./Veterans Day
[ 1 Kings 17:10-16 | Psalm 146 | Hebrews 9:24-28 | Mark
12:38-44 ]
[__01]
We read in the Gospel today about a woman/widow who is a major donor, a
major-gift donor.
When we
hear the term a “major gift donor” at Fairleigh Dickinson University, or any
university, or a hospital, or the Central Park Conservancy Foundation, we think
of an individual/family writing a check involving zeroes, the powers of 10, or
some other way to express a large number.
For
example, John Paulson is a wealthy New Yorker of surprised everyone with a
large gift and the New York Times wrote,
“When the hedge
fund manager John A. Paulson stood in front of a gently cascading Bethesda
Fountain on Tuesday morning in the heart of Central Park and announced a $100
million gift to the Central Park Conservancy, it seemed to come out of nowhere,
like an errant ball from one of the park’s playing fields.”[1]
So, Mr.
Paulson’s gift “comes out of nowhere”… because it surprises everyone, like a
soccer ball rolling through a playground.
Also
interesting about the Central Park gift was that Mr. Paulson does not expect
anything to be named after him. So, his major gift is different than our usual
idea which involves a building with a name over the door.
This woman
is a major gift donor, in a different way, because she gives all that she has,
one hundred percent.
She has
exactly 2 coins of net worth, 2 coins in her bank account, it is a short trip to
from FULL to EMPTY.
You and I
do not always step from wealth to poverty or FULL to EMPTY so willingly.
Last
Sunday, I was driving around last Sunday, concerned that the needle of my car’s
dashboard fuel gauge might reach E or Empty sometime soon. What if I have to drive
to some galaxy far, far away?
Emptiness –
even the thought of it – or the temporary experience of it – tends to be
unsettling, uncomfortable.
[__02]
Of course, you and I also have ample reminders – TODAY and in New York, New
Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut – who are without heat or shelter. It is our
calling to pray for them and, when possible, to donate material goods, money to
help them.
Here on
campus, our food drive, this semester will go to help those who are hungry and
homeless in our area.
[__04]
In the Gospel, Jesus is known as the one who empties himself, gives,
pours out himself for our salvation. And, he says, there is no greater love
than to lay down one’s life for a friend.
Am I
willing to give this a try? Are we willing to give this a try, to be empty, OR
-- to be hungry in this way?
[__05]
It is often said that those who
are the most successful – the most prosperous – are those who are hungry. This
description is often given to the aspiring actor, actress, or sculptor, violinist,
entrepreneur, student, or student-athlete.
He or she
is hungry. For success, for money, for reward, such a person will go – on the dashboard
- to “E” or “empty” on the gauge.
Would this
success be the only motivation?
The woman
in the Gospel does not receive such an immediate reward, payback.
Sometimes,
we do not either…
[__06]
ACADEMICS. Academically, in the
classroom.
We may have
to take subjects in school. Young people, you may have to learn topics,
principles that do not seem to help you right now.
Or, you may
be called to learn the subject with a professor/teacher who is not your first
choice.
Of course,
there is always http://ratemyprofessors.com after the semester is
over. But, what about right now…?
During the
semester, it requires humility – we might say emptiness – to learn in such an
environment.
And, I’m
asking you – as students of FDU – to remember this and live it.
What you
are doing now is not simply a preparation for your future calling/vocation…
learning is your calling/vocation right now.
And, a gift
to be treasured from God you’re your last 2 coins. Wisdom is a pearl of great price.
[__07]
Personally , in relationships, we are called to emptiness, to openness
to God’s calling.
It is
certainly a temptation to take or to go out and get everything we possibly can
in a friendship, relationship with another person.
But,
especially as young people, we are called to certain virtues, even to
restraint, to saying NO. And, to remember that we are preparing for a future calling
which may be marriage.
Emptiness
is good news; you are giving all you have.
Want to be successful in a relationship or future relationship? Stay
hungry.
You are
loved and you will be loved.
[__08] Also, now and in the in the future, people
will want what you have.
In coming
to Sunday Mass, and in our prayer, we asking God’s help in order to find our
way to the Temple.
Our gift –
unlike the hedge fund manager from New York to Central Park – is different… for
2 reasons… it’s worth more than $100 million…and it definitely does not come
out of nowhere.
Our gift is
possible – and is a MAJOR GIFT -- because of what God has made us to be, to be
to each other.
There is a
reading/passage from the letter of St. Paul to Timothy. Paul is the elder
writing to the younger Timothy to encourage him to be bold, courageous
especially working with people who are older than he is…
Timothy
might be discouraged because, to some, he does not seem to have too much to
offer –
“Let no one have
contempt for your youth,* but set an example for those who believe, in speech,
conduct, love, faith, and purity. Until I arrive, attend to the reading,*
exhortation, and teaching. Do not
neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic
word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate. Be diligent in these
matters, be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone.
Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing
so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you. ” (1 Timothy 4:12-16)
[1] Foderaro, Lisa, “A
$100 Million Thank you for a Lifetime’s Central Park Memories,” The New York Times, October 23, 2012.
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