31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                  November 4, 2007

A rabbi devoted many hours working in the ghetto of the city, offering whatever help he could to the homeless and destitute, to alcoholics and addicts.  A member of his congregation, a very successful diamond merchant, challenged the rabbi as to why he wasted so much time with lowlifes and crazies.

The rabbi asked the merchant if he had every thrown out a million-dollar diamond in the rough.

"Never!" the merchant said emphatically.  "An expert would know the worth of whatever he held in his hand."

"I'll let you in on a secret, my friend," the rabbi responded softly.  "I'm also an expert on diamonds.  I walk the streets every day, and all I see are the most precious diamonds walking past me.  Some of them you have to pick up from the gutter and polish a bit.  But once you do, oh how they shine!  So, you see, the most important thing you have to know in life is that everyone, everyone, is a diamond in the rough."

Jesus was an expert on diamonds in the rough.  He recognized Zacchaeus as such a diamond, whom a simple invitation would allow to shine.  What happened when Zacchaeus began to shine?  That day, salvation came to his house.

What happened when the rabbi helped the needy on the streets?  That day salvation came to where they lived.

Dr. Karl Menninger, the famed American psychiatrist and advocate for the mentally ill, recognized another diamond in the rough.  He was asked to visit a widow who had been depressed for many years.  When he arrived at her home, he found her slumped in a chair; her house was quiet and dark.  She admitted that she had been depressed since her husband’s death many years before.

As they talked, Dr. Menninger noticed the beautiful African violets she grew.  Pots of the pink, blue and purple blooms could be found throughout the house.  So Dr. Menninger wrote an unusual prescription:  The woman was to read her local newspaper every day and send one of her violets to someone in her community who had experienced a significant life event: the birth of a baby, a marriage, a graduation, a death in the family.

Within a month, the widow called Dr. Menninger and told him that her life had changed dramatically.  She had become excited about life.  She said that every time she sent a violet, the receiver responded.  Those who received her violets were deeply touched by her kindness.  They expressed their appreciation by sending her a note, homemade cookies or some small gift; often they would visit her.  The widow soon became known as the “violet lady,” and lived her life happily surrounded by many new friends.  We can say that through Dr. Menninger salvation came to the widow’s house.

How about you?  Are you a diamond in the rough?  Let me suggest one way you might be.  Birthdays.  We all know that when you’re young, birthdays are all about getting presents.  Even as we get older there remains a modest expectation of receiving some token gift or other.  Here’s something you can do to polish such a rough diamond.  

If you have children who are still children, began a new family tradition.  On a child’s birthday, he or she chooses a charity, and you use the money that would have been spent on gifts to make a donation in the child’s name to that organization.  The child keeps the decision secret until the birthday dinner; then, before blowing out the candles on the cake, he or she announces what charity will receive the gift and why. 

Now, for the adults.  Invite someone who doesn’t know it’s your birthday over for dinner or out to lunch.  Celebrate by giving a gift instead of receiving a gift.  In that way your birthday in the rough will sparkle, and salvation will come, also, to your house!