Gospel-Homily for Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)

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How to Get Rich: Put Aside A Few Pennies A Day and That For a Long Period of Time.

How do you get rich? One expert says, “Buy some land and wait a long time.” Another way to get rich is to save a few pennies every day for a long time. That is what my uncle did. He is now ninety-two years old and habitually scanned the ground for change and put it in a jar. A few years ago, I visited my Uncle’s home, and he showed me two large jars full of change. I asked him how much money was in there, and he told me about four thousand dollars. I then asked him what he was going to do with it. He told me when he could not pick up another penny, he would give it to his daughter. So what is the lesson here? You always need motivation to do something over a long period of time.

When my mother went to the nursing home due to her lupus, she lost her appetite. The nursing home wanted to give her a feeding tube. We told her specialist about that, but she insisted that we not let that happen. The specialist responded, “There has to be something that your mother likes to eat, anything that will stimulate an appetite. We gave her a mocha frappe shortly afterward, and she drank it.

One cold wintery day, I entered an empty J.P. Licks ice cream shop. There was a barrel-chested man behind the counter wearing a Patriot’s Sweatshirt. I said, “Hey, how’s it going?”  He shrugged his shoulders and faced his empty palms upward in a gesture that spoke words: “You try to sell ice cream in the middle of winter.” He asked me, “What can I get you?” I said, “I’ll have a mocha frappe.” (If you are not from Boston, a frappe is an ice cream milkshake…sort of). He turned, and I told him my story as he put the ice cream into the cup. “About two months ago my mother lost her appetite and was no longer eating anything. She would have died. I came in here, and you made me a mocha frappe and since that day she has got her appetite back and she is doing much better. I just wanted you to know that.” He put the lid on the cup, and before he handed me the frappe, he declared, “You have a great day.” Sometimes, we have no idea of the impact we make on others.

The woman who walked into the temple treasury to offer two pennies had no idea that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was watching her. She had no idea that the story of her generosity would be told over the next two thousand years. She had no idea that God would use her example to redefine what it means to be generous. It is not about how much you give but how much you have in your wallet after you give.

Sometimes we have no idea what impact we make in life. Two pennies over a long period of make a treasure.