32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sacrificial Giving
November 8, 2015

Listen to this homily (.mp3 file)

     Some years on this Sacrificial Giving Sunday, I find myself having to do some very creative thinking in order to come up with a connection (and sometimes, to be honest, even to force a connection!) between the scripture readings and the subject of the day.  Not this year. The two widows in the readings make creative thinking or forced connections unnecessary.  They proclaim the sacrificial giving message loud and clear: Give! Give without counting the cost; give not from your surplus, but from your want. Give not what’s left over, give when nothing may be left over. Give as the widow from Zarephath gave when she used her last measure of flour and her final few drops of oil to bake some bread for the prophet, Elijah.  Give as the widow of the gospel gave when she placed her two coins – all she had to live on – into the temple treasury.

     We know this message, of course, and we all do give. We give to many causes - all very worthy, I’m sure.  And most of us give because our faith tells us it’s the right thing to do. But I want to suggest to you that your parish – OUR parish – is not just another worthy cause among many. Parish giving is different from our other giving. I say that because our parish is the place that nurtures our faith, the place where we celebrate our faith. This Cathedral is our home. It is here that we celebrate the defining moments in our life of faith: baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Reconciliations, weddings, funerals.  And this is our home on ordinary days, too - like today - when we come here for community, for challenge, for comfort. We meet God in this wonderful place Sunday after Sunday, and God meets us!

     This morning, one of our generous parishioners who has been meeting God in this place since he first came to Seattle ten years ago, was married here, and whose two darling daughters were baptized here (and the third is about to be!),is going to share with you what this place means to him and why St. James Cathedral is right at the heart of his giving.

     Please join me in welcoming to the pulpit, David Unger.

     Father Michael G. Ryan

A few days ago I was listening to a podcast of This American Life, and the speaker was talking about coming in this place, into St James Cathedral and seeing the words inscribed at the base of the Oculus.  He quoted it as “I am in your midst”.  But we know that there’s a little more to it.  It’s part of the passage from Luke’s Gospel that we all know so well.  It is that powerful lesson in humility and love that Christ gives at the last supper, saying “I am in your midst as one who serves.”

But it’s not just an inscription, is it?  It’s not just a motto.  It’s a way of life.  And it’s how we follow Christ.  It’s how we pick up our cross and get involved.  We do so in the Winter Shelter.  We pick up our cross in the Cathedral Kitchen, when we work with teens and young adults, and when we give hours of our time to the Cathedral Choir. (Depending how tough the new choir director is, that might be a heavy cross, but I’ll leave that to them.)

I am here before you today to challenge you to consider what you are doing in and for and with this parish. 

Because this Church is not some monument, not an empty building tucked away on top of this city.   It’s not just a pretty ornament or a museum.  We are called as a people to get our hands dirty – or as Pope Francis put it to “make a mess”.  Here at St. James, sometimes we get our hands dirty in the Cathedral Kitchen Garden, sometimes cooking hot dogs at the picnic, sometimes holding the hands of those who are sick…and those who are old…and those who don’t have very much. 

Sacrificial Giving is a key part of participating in this community.  It’s part of being present, of being – like Christ – one who serves.  Like some other parts of our faith, this may sound like a burden, but it is fulfilling to be part of the great work of this parish.  When my wife Anna and I make our donations, it is a gift we gladly give.  It’s not like some tax we have to pay.  But at the same time, it is a sacrifice.  Our family wants to be here, and we want to serve. 

In my life, I’ve seen the church from various perspectives.  Years ago, I worked in the catholic cathedral in London, Westminster Cathedral.  It had an all-too thriving homeless shelter where I volunteered, and before that I did some time with Mother Theresa’s sisters in an AIDS hospice in Lusaka, Zambia.  I’ve seen the church make sacrifices.  I’ve seen her people sacrifice to bring Christ to their community. And I when I moved here to Seattle over a decade ago, one thing that made me love St. James was that sacrifice.  You see it all around you.  We thrive because we give.

As the poet said “Succeed and give and it helps you live.”

And we live here.  We live here.  And giving to St. James, for me, is not like giving to my public radio or TV stations.  There are no tote bags or t-shirts.  No Downton Abbey commemorative coffee table books.  It’s not like all the other great charities that I know so many of you support.  And it’s not like tossing some quarters in the Salvation Army bucket in front of the mall. 

It’s more.  This is our home. 

This is what was handed on to us.  This place.  These words.  This faith.  And we are stewards of it.  And we are called to pass on this truth better and more fulfilled.  So when I see my three little girls, Ella, Julia and Laura, and we teach them this faith of ours, we are also teaching the sacrifice that is so intrinsically part of our belief.  Girls, I say, this is St James. This is home. (I think the people back in the East nave may wish my girls were a little less at home, but we’re working on that). 

So let me  say to you, today: You are home.  And I am asking you to make your commitment to Sacrificial Giving this year because this is your home. 

We are asked to support our church every year in various ways.  For the Archbishop, we contribute to the Annual Catholic Appeal which, as you know, supports the wider church in Western Washington.  We sometimes have capital campaigns that support very focused needs of the building, such as the new exterior lighting project that many of you contributed to.  But the center of our giving, the core of the charity we undertake is Sacrificial Giving.

As a member of the Finance Council, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with a number of the Cathedral Staff – from Family Ministries and Music and Immigrant Assistance. 
And I have been moved:

·        Moved at the scope of what we are undertaking…
·        Moved by the needs that we are serving here…
·        Moved by the deep compassion, and the tremendous generosity of our staff, and the stupendous vision that draws us in the Spirit’s tether and reaches out beyond these walls to a city, a region, that doesn’t regularly “do church”. 

St. James is out in that community, we have these outstanding staff and volunteers, and we run these programs because of you.  Because you give.  As a finance council member, I can say that these donations are spent wisely, prudently, and appropriately.   

But there is so much more that remains to be done.

I know that many of you listening here today give so generously to the parish out of your time, talent, and treasure.  To those that give, I trust that what you have heard today resonates with you and you will continue to prayerfully reflect on what you are able to give.  And to those who are simply not in a position to give financially, your presence and your prayer are critical as well.

But I feel the need to be a bit frank with you before I close.  Based on our campaigns over recent years, 59% of our households don’t pledge at all.  I’ll say that again.  59% don’t make any pledge to Sacrificial Giving.  If you are part of that group, may I take a moment to speak directly to you?  If you believe, as I do, that this place is your home, and if you are fed spiritually each week through regular attendance here, I challenge you to reconsider how–and if—you are supporting the mission of this parish.  Some may say “I put something in every week, or when I’m here.”  But this is about making a commitment.  It’s about committing to the year-round support of our church.

We are all aware of how costs in our city are rising.  To give our staff a living wage, to keep the lights and the heat on here, it takes more and more each year to keep the programs going.   I invite you to reflect on your giving, and if the parish has not been at the center of your charitable giving, I challenge you to prayerfully reflect on why.   I know that, personally, I continue to be challenged by today’s reading, as Jesus points out the poor widow who gave not out of her surplus, but her very substance, and I am asking you to consider doing the same.

May I ask you to take a moment now, and simply take out the Sacrificial Giving form in your seats.  Right now, all I’m asking you to do is take it with you.  Take it home, consider what is being asked there, and come back with that copy next week.

Our cathedral stands here, and thrives here, and flourishes here, because it is the home we build together.  I invite you join me in continuing in that great and fruitful labor of Christ’s church here in the city.

Thank you.

David RJ Unger