I was in the third grade at the time. Though I usually walked to school, that morning was different. Mom gave me a ride, and that was because I was carrying something more than my books and homework – something special – and I was very excited. I was excited not simply because of the chocolate layer cake that I was carrying to school – the one with the chocolate frosting and the maraschino cherry on top – but also because I knew that St. Angela’s parochial school would be celebrating May Day with a school fair. And for a grade-schooler the centerpiece of the fair would be a bake sale. That was the purpose of the cake I carried so carefully that morning.
Alas, my mom and I were so concerned that I get the cake across the schoolyard without incident that both of us forgot to transfer any money at all from her purse to my pocket. I discovered that tragic oversight, later that day, as I bellied up to the table laden with sumptuous baked goods, only to find that I had no money. All I could do was to look at the goodies, not take one, not buy one, and not taste one. And so I returned to class surrounded by friends enjoying their sweets, and feeling sorry for myself.
Life has its ironies. And so, not long after returning to class, a boy from one of the upper grades was escorted around classroom to classroom – to show off what he’d won from a spontaneously pulled together raffle (it was a Catholic school after all). There in his hands was a precious prize – the chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting and a maraschino cherry on top that my mother had made. Somehow I felt even more sorry for myself in that moment, a sinking feeling inside.
And yet misery can even prompt third graders to think philosophically. After a time I began to think, “Well, I guess sometimes you gotta give even if you don’t get anything back.”
I suspect that’s the seedbed of generosity – to be able to give without any expectation of getting anything in return, except perhaps for the satisfaction of giving itself.
Deb and I were packing the gifts into large plastic bags to prepare them for delivery. They were the gifts parishioners brought in for the Giving Tree program in North Kingstown. Over and over Deb said, “St. Paul’s parishioners are certainly generous” It’s true. So many of the members of St. Paul’s have been so generous. Whether giving to the Giving Tree, the Food Pantry, the Christmas Basket program, pledging to the mission and ministry of the church, or buying African crafts. Parishioners have given and given again, and not just money, but their time, their energies, and their abilities too. That generosity gives rise to generosity of spirit – giving, and also forgiving, and that makes all the difference in communities. It can even change the world. As Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” That’s the stuff of which epiphanies are made – generosity.
Happy Epiphany!
Phil +