Come to Church, Get $100

No, you're not getting paid to go to Mass. But when the people of St. Bartholomew Church in Wayzata, Minnesota, came to church one Sunday last year, 100 of them were given $100 each. And Matthew 25: 14-30, too. This is the parable of the rich guy who gives three servants different sums of money and then takes off. All three servants know that the guy is hard and demanding. Two of them take the cash, invest it in different things, and make a profit. The third safely buries the money to make sure that it's there for when the guy comes back. When the boss comes back, however, he's mad at the third servant for simply burying the money and not making more. He takes the money away from him and tosses him out into the street with nothing.

So when 100 people at St. Bart's were randomly given 100 dollar bills, they were commissioned to use that money to invest in building up God's reign. They were told that they were to return in a year and give account.

And did they ever. According to a story in the January 14th issue of The National Catholic Reporter, more than $100,000 was raised and donated to various charities. That's an increase of ten times! The Peschels organized a dinner-for-a-donation at their house and raised $12,000. They divided the proceeds between the Minnesota Stroke Association, YouthLink of Minneapolis, an agency for homeless young people, and Northern Voices, a school for the deaf in Roseville. In each instance, the organization was able to get other donors to match--and thereby double--the amount of the donation.

Lisa Tyler had a wine-tasting party and raised almost $800, which she donated to the Harriet Tubman Center for battered and abused women. Even six-year-old Chandler Crane got in on the gospel investment scheme. His mom gave him ten of her $100 and he organized a movie night, charging $3 a head for some 30 friends. After paying for the videos, pop and popcorn, Chandler gave the $71 profit to his teacher's grandson, whose mother had just died.

Not all the gain was merely financial. Parishioner Judy Matheson used her $100 to take a training program. She now serves as a guardian for children involved in juvenile or family court in Ramsey County.

Acting out the gospel like this gives dramatic witness to something that goes on quietly most of the time. Every day we have an opportunity to use what has been given to us to increase charity and joy in the world. It's a helpful reminder: to those that much has been given--time, talent, treasure--much will be expected.

Catholic Connections

"Everyone has the right of economic initiative; everyone should make legitimate use of his or her talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to harvest the just fruits of his or her labor."
-- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2429

Reflection Questions

How can you invest a talent or treasure that you have to help others with a ten-times increase?

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