Sunday, November 11, 2012

Major Gift (2012-11-11)

This is my homily for 11 November 2012 (Sunday). I am a Catholic chaplain in Teaneck at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) campus and for the FDU Newman Catholic Association and at New Jersey City University (NJCU) in Jersey City. We celebrate Catholic Mass - during Fall and Spring semester - every Sunday Evening (5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) at the FDU University Interfaith Chapel, 842 River Road, Teaneck, NJ.


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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