On March 16, 2007, for the first time in its 23 year history, there was a three way tie on the game show, Jeopardy.  Mathematicians calculate the odds of this occurrence to be one in 25 million.   What a mathematical calculation can not take into account is the graciousness and generosity of someone like Scott Weiss.  In the ‘Final Jeopardy' round, the second place player and the third place player both had $8,000.  Scott had a little over $12,000 going into this last question.  The players made their bids before they even heard the question they needed to answer.  You could see it on Scott's face, the calculation that a three-way tie would be possible and his growing excitement over the idea. 

Often on Jeopardy, the winner makes a bet on that final question that leads to a victory of one dollar.  It is, after all, a competition.  Scott bet exactly enough money so that if the other two players both bet their entire $8,000 and got the question right, then all three players would have a total of $16,000. That's exactly what happened.  Scott forfeited his victory so that all three players could be winners.  It was a moment of pure joy made possible by an act of generosity and graciousness.

This week we read about Mary's remarkable gift to Jesus, and we are reminded that there are opportunities all around us to open our hearts and do something extraordinary.  The odds of a three way tie in Jeopardy may have been one in 25 million, but Mary understood that she had a chance that may never come again.