This is a quick post to follow up on my homily on the Widow’s Mite two weeks ago. Yesterday, at a regularly scheduled meeting of department chairs, we had a presentation from the United Way of West Alabama—the University of Alabama is a big donor, and they were there to say thank you and to encourage our continued support. The speaker shared a story about their work that really grabbed me, and I wanted to share it.
A few years ago, a couple, call them Bill and CJ, contacted the United Way because they had fallen on hard times and could not pay their electricity bill. (Given how hot and humid it is down here, this is like not being able to pay your heating bill in New England.) They were directed to an agency that is part of United Way, and got some help to pay the bill.
Ordinarily, this would be the end of the story at the United Way. But a few months later they got a letter from Bill and CJ. The couple had gotten back on their feet (or at least by their standards were doing okay, the woman telling the story suggested that the rest of us would find it pretty precarious) and they were grateful for the help. They wanted to pay it forward, so they were sending a donation, all they could afford, to help out. Enclosed was a check for $3.
Definitely something to bear in mind as we meditate on this Gospel story.
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