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A Tale of Three Scarfs
 The Friday night before Christmas, our community headed out to the Kennedy Center for a free Christmas concert. As we we getting ready to leave I noticed that one of my visiting Franciscan brothers had on only a light jacket.
That night it was cold and windy. Knowing that these were the warmest clothes that he had with him, I went to look in my closet to see if I could find a scarf to give him.
There, sitting on the shelf, was a beautiful brand-new wool scarf, the tag still on it, a gift I had received.
I thought to myself, "This is really nice and it was a gift, so let's see what else I have.” I looked and looked in the closet before coming to the conclusion that this was the only scarf I owned. I stood there with it in my hand debating internally. I was happy to give my brother a scarf... when I thought that I had more than one. I was less motivated when I discovered it was the only scarf I had and it was really nice!
Then that annoying little voice inside my head said to me, "You are from Massachusetts and our brother is from Costa Rica and this is his first winter in the north. He needs the scarf more than you do" Still I stood there, fingering the fine wool. So the annoying inner voice continued, “St. Francis wouldn't have had to think twice about what to do!” This being very true, I went downstairs and gave him the scarf. We all went out and had a wonderful evening.
The next day, Christmas Eve, I found a package outside my door -- dropped off by a friend. I opened it. Inside was a beautiful scarf, even more beautiful than the one that I had just given away. I smiled and thought, "God provides!"
It’s not that I think of God as some kind of celestial shopping specialist who notes what we need and sends an angel with the item gift-wrapped. No, more like in the Gospel, where Jesus cajoles the disciples for not trusting in God's providence, telling them that God takes care of the sparrow's every need, so how much more valuable are we to him, and to trust that God’s grace will provide. And not to be afraid to be generous with one another because God’s grace will provide in His way and time.
Sometimes we notice when these graces come our way. If you are like me, however, they often get taken them for granted. Other times we are just plain clueless and miss them completely. Sometimes, though, when the gifts from God show up, gift-wrapped on our doorstep and when that happens it is a little tough to miss His hand and not feel a sense of awe and gratitude.
On Christmas morning, a young woman gave me a hug after Mass and said, "I made something for you. I wanted to do something to thank you for the touching homily you preached at my dad's funeral."
With that she pulled out a beautiful hand knit blue scarf! Then she said, "Now you can't re-gift this! I smiled, thanked her and said “of course not!, As I walked away however I couldn’t help but think to myself, "That is unless, somewhere down the road, that little voice tells me to give it away to someone who needs it, especially now that I have two beautiful scarves!"
This past Sunday as we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany, we were reminded of the story of the Magi, their following of a celestial call, the sacrifice of their journey and the giving of their gifts.
As we leave behind the great seasons of Christmas and Epiphany and move into Ordinary time, let us give thanks, both for the gifts we have been given and those gifts that we are called to give. If we stop to think about it, they are the same. Our Christian life is really about us being conduits of God's grace, of letting his gifts flow through us to bless the lives of others.
In that sense, our lives, when they are well lived, are all about "re-gifting"!
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Join other couples from St. Camillus for a Valentine’s celebration of friendship, conversation, and dancing on Saturday, February 11. Married and unmarried couples from all the language communities here at St. Camillus will gather for hors d'oeuvres and drinks at 7:00 PM, followed by a presentation by couples in English, Spanish or French about God’s presence and action in their relationship, and dancing until 11:00. This Valentine’s celebration will be a great opportunity to strengthen your relationship with your beloved and get to know other couples here at St. Camillus. Tickets are only $20 for a couple and will be on sale after each Mass. For more information, please contact Sr. Kristin at 301-434-2344 ext. 112.
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