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Sermon March 13, 2022
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Second Sunday in Lent
http://lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Lent/CLent2_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__March_13__2022
Video: https://youtu.be/Sq6tKRw0Ztg
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. Philippians 3:17
Today we observe Women’s History Month. As I read the scripture for today, I thought about MacKenzie Scott. Do you know about her?
She is one of the top 25 wealthiest people in the world. She is an author whose professor was Toni Morrison. She has won an American Book Award. Her tremendous fortune comes from her 25-year marriage and subsequent divorce from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
In the 3 years since her divorce, her fortune nearly doubled to over $60 billion.
Yet, what makes Ms. Scott interesting, at least in my mind, is her seeming non-attachment to the wealth and money she has. Even during her marriage, she drove a Honda minivan. Even when attending extravagant events, she wore somewhat modestly priced gowns.
Some of her connection with money could be attributed to her life experience. Her family went through some difficult financial times and she had to work hard to get through Princeton financially. She worked in the early days of Amazon, so knows what it’s like to start a business, especially something that is new. She also is a mother of 4 children.
When Ms. Scott’s divorce was finalized, she immediately announced that she would give all of her wealth away…every last bit of it. She also decided to give it away in an unheard of way. There is no foundation. There is no way to apply for a grant. There are no strings attached.
She basically used the Bridgespan group to find 500 organizations with strong leadership and results. Then she started giving the money away. One organization received an amount equal to their entire endowment.
At first she announced the awards through a blog, but in December, she stopped doing that. She said the media focused on her too much. She wants people to focus on the organizations. She believes these organizations are doing amazing work and wants others to join her in supporting them. She rejects the idea that because she has this fortune, she then knows how best to solve any problem. She believes the organizations and people who give much smaller gifts are better positioned to know what works.
As I said, there are no strings attached. In a piece she wrote at the end of last year and reported in Fortune magazine, she reflected on her approach to philanthropy, which has been to rapidly distribute large sums to a large number of organizations—rather than centralizing all giving through her own foundation or other more traditional methods. "I understand that this approach, and probably any approach, will mean having given to organizations that might make choices I wouldn’t make myself, but that’s the point," she wrote. "I believe the gifts will do more good if others are free from my ideas about what they should do. And this trust — another resource it’s difficult to measure — is the aspect of gifts that many have said they value most."
Okay, she has done some research, but then she has let go. She has given generously and freely and not looked back, so to speak.
In our reading today, the apostle Paul speaking to the people in Philippi encourages them to imitate Christ, whose example they see in Paul. It is not easy to follow Jesus Christ, because it is counterintuitive to the lives we tend to create for ourselves. The world would say to gather all of the riches you can. Christ says to give them all away. The world says to love only those who deserve it or meet criteria that we or a small group of us set. Christ says to love generously and freely. Jesus tells us to forgive and to have mercy. In many cases, we would rather have revenge and retribution.
Look at our Gospel today where people are telling Jesus to stay away from Jerusalem. They are telling Jesus that he is in danger, especially in Jerusalem. Yet, Jesus does not back down. He’s going to Jerusalem and that’s that. There is work to be done and not even the prospect of death can stop him. Jesus is trying to help us know that not even death has the last word.
Paul reminds us that we need to live as Christ taught us, both as individuals and as a community. How are we doing?
Amen
Time magazine MacKenzie Scott profile: https://time.com/6050873/mackenzie-scott-profile/
Fortune magazine article: https://fortune.com/2021/12/08/mackenzie-scott-donations-2021-amazon-foundation/
