There are lots of people interested in his life because of these facts alone but a number of other people are being influenced by him in other ways as well. In December of last year, just a couple of months ago, he declared that he would be giving 99% of his Facebook shares away during his lifetime. He and his wife have set up a charity which will receive this approximate $45 billion. “Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities,” they said in an interview. They made this pledge as part of a promise to their newborn son.
Now you can disregard this sort of grandstanding from a billionaire. But it really is rather curious to me as to why this is happening. Why would he and his wife do this? They certainly don’t have to.
As I read on, a few more things came to light. It seems that for the past few years Mark Zuckerberg has made a public pledge to improve himself by doing one particular thing in the year. In 2009, he decided to wear a tie every day. In 2010, he set himself the task of learning to speak Mandarin. In 2011, he vowed that when he ate meat, it would be only from animals he had slaughtered himself. In 2013 he aimed to meet someone new every day. In 2014, he promised to write a daily handwritten (or emailed) thank-you note. Last year, he started his own book club, reading a new title every two weeks. This year, 2016, he has said he will run 365 miles over the course of the year.[1]
It is quite fascinating and intriguing to me to look at this pattern. What is really going on for Mark Zuckerberg?
A number of other people are taking note of his actions, here is one: John Mills, 33, a woodworker and a co-founder of Zenput, a mobile work-tracking company, has been influenced so that, “I’ve actually started meditating and yoga,” he said. “I started to get involved in non-profit work, started to donate more of my time and money and resources to non-profits I believe in.” Mr. Zuckerberg’s recent philanthropic efforts are particularly inspiring to Mr. Mills. “To see him become a philanthropist on the largest scale possible is amazing to see,” Mr. Mills said. “He keeps reinventing himself and being a better human being.”
Interesting as all of this might be what has any of this got to do with us? Few of us are billionaire tech industry CEOs. Well this is the season of Lent. Actually we are now more than halfway through the season. It is forty days set aside from the rest of year to really focus on self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, almsgiving and reading and meditating on the word of God. Forty days to really look at the role of faith in your life, to look at how you spend your time, your money, your prayer-life. It is a time of reflection and means of growth in recognizing our calling to respond to God’s love.
So how is that going? How is your prayer life? How is the self-examination going? How is the reading and meditating on the word of God? This is a great time to check in and ask, as it seems like Ash Wednesday was a long time ago. The ashes have long since been wiped off our forehead but how do they continue to influence us right now?
The parable Jesus told that we heard today was perfect for today, at this point in Lent. In the parable of the Prodigal Child many of us can probably relate to all three of the main characters: the younger son, the older son and the father. Henri Nouwen wrote a book where he reflected upon the famous painting by Rembrandt of the scene of the child returning home. Henri Nouwen wrote this: “Indeed I am the younger son; I am the elder son; and I am on my way to becoming the father. And for you who will make this spiritual journey with me, I hope and pray that you too will discover within yourselves not only the lost children of God, but also the compassionate mother and father that is God.”[2]
The younger child, the one we call the prodigal is often the one to whom we relate. He is the one who asks for his inheritance early and then takes off and spends it on everything and anything. There are no fancy words to hide it, he spends it like water running through his fingers, like there is no tomorrow, like his life depended upon it and suddenly he finds a huge emptiness in his life and his soul. The Bible, in the words of Jesus, phrases this moment beautifully, it describes it as the moment when the young man came to himself. When he came to himself. When he discovered the purpose of life, when he discovered that deep ache within, when he discovered the shallowness of all that he was pursuing, when he discovered that all that he had been craving for so long in his life seemed so empty and useless, when he discovered that indeed he had left behind all that he really wanted. And probably there were a few other discoveries. If you have ever had a moment like this or even similar to this you know, like I do, the gut-wrenching feeling that he came face to face with.
Let me go back to Mark Zuckerberg for a second. Now I have not met him, I do not know him, I do not know all of his story. I do not know his struggles, his pain, his worries, his doubts, his questions, the things that keep him awake at night. But I do know that his actions suggest that he has discovered that there are things missing in his life. There are gaps, there are holes and he seems determined to work out what those are. Now Mark Zuckerberg may not like me making comparisons with him and the Prodigal Child but the reality is that everyone, male and female, son and daughter can relate to this one who sold everything in pursuit of the good life only to discover that it is often found sitting right in front of us. Does this make sense at this time of Lent?
And the Father in the story, the parent. When you look at that person a little more carefully they really are very naive aren’t they? Giving away half of the family’s investments with seemingly no questions asked. Who do you want the cheque made out to was the only thought. Sure, my child, go off and have a great time. It has been good knowing you. It is crazy. It is bazaar. And then to welcome this thieving child back home as if nothing has happened. Throwing a big banquet, celebrating his arrival instead of sending him off the property. Who would do that?
Well if we believe that the parent is God it starts to make some sense. God would welcome back this child. God would offer compassion and forgiveness to the nth degree. We believe that and we trust that. But I must say that in the Church as a whole we do not always live as if we believe this. We find it so much more important to limit God’s love and God’s forgiveness and God’s grace. We set restrictions upon it so that it is not doled out nearly so generously. But in this parable told by Jesus it seems pretty obvious that if we believe that the parent is God then God is very different than some of the images of God offered out there. God is not waiting for us to trip up and then will destroy us. God is waiting for us to trip up and then become more aware of what is really important. God is waiting for us to come to ourselves and see God’s love and grace in our lives and encouraging us to share that. God is waiting for us to return once more and see that our lives are desperately seeking a closer walk with the One who first breathed life into us. God is waiting for us to trust that indeed we are welcome home, that we are invited to draw nearer, that we have been blessed and are invited to be a blessing.
And as Henri Nouwen reminded us are called to grow into being more like this image of God not less. We are called to grow into more compassion no less, more forgiveness not less, more love not less, more blessing and less cursing.
The parable of the prodigal child is a wonderful parable for what is says about us and about God. It paints a beautiful picture of our calling to come to ourselves and deepen our humanity in being more holy and recognizing God in our midst here and now. Whether we are Mark Zuckerberg with billions in the bank account or someone with no bank account.
[1] New York Times article by Matt Haber February 28, 2016
[2] The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen Doubleday Books page 23