Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In her memoir One More Time, actress and comedienne Carol Burnett recounts the night she met Mr. and Mrs. "C."

When she was a drama student at UCLA, Ms. Burnett and a troupe of students were asked to perform at an exquisite dinner party for faculty and guests. After their performances — as she was filling her handbag with cookies and food from the buffet table — a couple came up to her. Mr. & Mrs. "C" — as Ms. Burnett identified them in her book — were both very taken with her performance and asked about her future plans. Without hesitation, she said she wanted to go to New York and work in the musical theater.

"What was stopping her?" the couple asked politely.

"Money," she replied.

"How much would she need?"

"Oh, a thousand dollars would be nice," Ms. Burnett said, not thinking about the figure. "It's yours," Mr. "C" said. He told her to call him at his office. She took his card and, a couple of days later, on a whim, called the number, never dreaming he would remember her or his promise. But he remembered, and he met with her. He said he would loan her $1000 on three conditions: one, that she pay him back in five years — not if but when she succeeded; two, that she never reveal his identity; and three, that she help someone else realize their dreams later on.

With Mr. "C's" check, Carol Burnett went to New York and, as we all know, became a star on Broadway and television. Five years later, to the day, she repaid the money to her mysterious benefactor. She has kept his name a strict secret ever since.

And has she kept the third part of the agreement to help someone else realize their dreams? When asked, Carol Burnett smiles and says, "That's my secret!"

To give a "cup of water" to someone, to give our time to someone who needs to talk, or even to give money to a struggling actress, because they belong to Christ, is to act in Jesus' name. Jesus promises that even the simplest act of kindness and grace will one day be honored by God. Anyone in need or in trouble has a claim on our compassion and charity because they belong to Christ. In whatever opportunities we have, with whomever we meet and can offer help, may we not hesitate to act in Jesus' name.[1]

 

 

[1] Jay Cormier, Connections