2020년 11월 15일 연중 제33주일(평신도 주일)
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
잠언. 31,10-13.19-20.30-31
0 훌륭한 아내를 누가 얻으리오? 그 가치는 산호보다 높다.
11 남편은 그를 마음으로 신뢰하고 소득이 모자라지 않는다.
12 그 아내는 한평생 남편에게 해 끼치는 일 없이 잘해 준다.
13 양모와 아마를 구해다가 제 손으로 즐거이 일한다.
19 한 손으로는 물레질하고 다른 손으로는 실을 잣는다.
20 가난한 이에게 손을 펼치고 불쌍한 이에게 손을 내밀어 도와준다.
30 우아함은 거짓이고 아름다움은 헛것이지만 주님을 경외하는 여인은 칭송을 받는다.
31 그 손이 거둔 결실을 그에게 돌리고 그가 한 일을 성문에서 칭송하여라.
제2독서
테살로니카 1서. 5,1-6
형제 여러분,
그 시간과 그 때에 관해서는 여러분에게 더 쓸 필요가 없습니다.
2 주님의 날이 마치 밤도둑처럼 온다는 것을 여러분 자신도 잘 알고 있습니다.
3 사람들이 “평화롭다, 안전하다.”할 때, 아기를 밴 여자에게 진통이 오는 것처럼
갑자기 그들에게 파멸이 닥치는데, 아무도 그것을 피하지 못할 것입니다.
4 그러나 형제 여러분, 여러분은 어둠 속에 있지 않으므로,
그날이 여러분을 도둑처럼 덮치지는 않을 것입니다.
5 여러분은 모두 빛의 자녀이며 낮의 자녀입니다.
우리는 밤이나 어둠에 속한 사람이 아닙니다.
6 그러므로 이제 우리는 다른 사람들처럼 잠들지 말고,
맑은 정신으로 깨어 있도록 합시다.
복음
마태오. 25,14-30<또는 25,14-15.19-21>
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 이런 비유를 들어 말씀하셨다.
14 “하늘 나라는 어떤 사람이 여행을 떠나면서
종들을 불러 재산을 맡기는 것과 같다.
15 그는 각자의 능력에 따라 한 사람에게는 다섯 탈렌트,
다른 사람에게는 두 탈렌트,
또 다른 사람에게는 한 탈렌트를 주고 여행을 떠났다.
16 다섯 탈렌트를 받은 이는 곧 가서 그 돈을 활용하여 다섯 탈렌트를 더 벌었다.
17 두 탈렌트를 받은 이도 그렇게 하여 두 탈렌트를 더 벌었다.
18 그러나 한 탈렌트를 받은 이는 물러가서 땅을 파고 주인의 그 돈을 숨겼다.
19 오랜 뒤에 종들의 주인이 와서 그들과 셈을 하게 되었다.
20 다섯 탈렌트를 받은 이가 나아가서 다섯 탈렌트를 더 바치며,
‘주인님, 저에게 다섯 탈렌트를 맡기셨는데,
보십시오, 다섯 탈렌트를 더 벌었습니다.’ 하고 말하였다.
21 그러자 주인이 그에게 일렀다. ‘잘하였다, 착하고 성실한 종아!
네가 작은 일에 성실하였으니 이제 내가 너에게 많은 일을 맡기겠다.
와서 네 주인과 함께 기쁨을 나누어라.’
22 두 탈렌트를 받은 이도 나아가서, ‘주인님, 저에게 두 탈렌트를 맡기셨는데,
보십시오, 두 탈렌트를 더 벌었습니다.’ 하고 말하였다.
23 그러자 주인이 그에게 일렀다. ‘잘하였다, 착하고 성실한 종아!
네가 작은 일에 성실하였으니 이제 내가 너에게 많은 일을 맡기겠다.
와서 네 주인과 함께 기쁨을 나누어라.’
24 그런데 한 탈렌트를 받은 이는 나아가서 이렇게 말하였다.
‘주인님, 저는 주인님께서 모진 분이시어서, 심지 않은 데에서 거두시고
뿌리지 않은 데에서 모으신다는 것을 알고 있었습니다.
25 그래서 두려운 나머지 물러가서 주인님의 탈렌트를 땅에 숨겨 두었습니다.
보십시오, 주인님의 것을 도로 받으십시오.’
26 그러자 주인이 그에게 대답하였다.
‘이 악하고 게으른 종아! 내가 심지 않은 데에서 거두고
뿌리지 않은 데에서 모으는 줄로 알고 있었다는 말이냐?
27 그렇다면 내 돈을 대금업자들에게 맡겼어야지.
그리하였으면 내가 돌아왔을 때에 내 돈에 이자를 붙여 돌려받았을 것이다.
28 저자에게서 그 한 탈렌트를 빼앗아 열 탈렌트를 가진 이에게 주어라.
29 누구든지 가진 자는 더 받아 넉넉해지고,
가진 것이 없는 자는 가진 것마저 빼앗길 것이다.
30 그리고 저 쓸모없는 종은 바깥 어둠 속으로 내던져 버려라.
거기에서 그는 울며 이를 갈 것이다.’”
November 15, 2020
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.
She obtains wool and flax
and works with loving hands.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Reading 2
1 Thes 5:1-6
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security, "
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.
Gospel
Mt 25:14-30
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.
After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Vestment, vestige, vest, divest, vestibule, and invest, all are derived from the Latin word for “clothes.” An investment is somehow placing something important, precious, in the clothing of something or someone else. We have the expression, “If you were in his/her shoes... ." We also have the statement that clothes make the man.
Next Sunday is both the last Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Solemnity of Christ the King. These past Sundays in Ordinary Time have presented the Gospel of Matthew and his way of presenting Jesus as Teacher, the New Law Giver and Jesus as the final revelation of the God of the Covenant. Jesus has lived in His human clothes, invested Himself in our flesh making that flesh important and precious. In two weeks, we will begin praying with the reflections of Advent, preparing to celebrate God’s fleshly investment.
The First Reading for today’s Eucharistic liturgy is a proverbial picture of a wonderful woman and wife who is celebrated for all the wonderful things she does for her husband and family. The Reading is often presented as the First Reading at the funeral of wonderful women of faith and family. I offer my problem with this picture however celebratory it may be.
Do clothes really make the “man”? All the wifely and motherly activities of this woman are rooted within a deep sense of who she is. Her value is not what she does, but who she is. We pray with her being loved by God, parents, siblings, friends and her husband, all which create her. She then does what she is inside and she allows it out in public.
G. M. Hopkins, S.J. in his poem, "As Kingfishers Catch Fire," notes that each mortal thing does what it is, “Deals out that being indoors, each one dwells, selves, myself it speaks and spells.” A bell can ring only its one note. He then says, “more,” humans can “Keep grace that keeps all their goings graces.” What an ordaining thought, all our goings are to be graces, because of the graces within.
Today’s Gospel is quite clear as Matthew draws near to his presentation of Jesus. God is making an investment in each human person with specific and personal gifts. These are not merely tallents of physical abilities, but more interior, soul-bound. and meant to be accepted as precious and not to be compared with anyone else. One person receives five, one three and the third, one. The master made an investment to increase his number of gifts with great interest. Two traded well, did something profitable with what they had received. The fearful person figured out that he/she had been given less and thought better of trading and so buried it in the ground.
Now was the master so self-interested that he became angry when he got back the one talent he had given first. Was the third person wise, because of fear of being punished for losing it? Was the master known to be harsh, selfish and punishing? The parable does not reflect exactly everything. It has one strong message and minor aspects can distract from appreciating what Jesus is offering. It moves to form our interiors as is the woman formed interiorly and so lives who she knows and receives herself to be. We do not put Jesus on as we put on shirts and pants. Jesus invests Himself in us and we then give Him exterior expression in all we do. We keep His grace which keeps all our goings graces. He has buried Himself in us that we might continually give Him flesh. God is ever in-fleshing with divine love, as an eternal dressing of humanity.
As Hopkins ends his poem, we act in God’s eye, what in God’s eye we are.
“For Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes, not His, to the Father through the features of men’s faces.”
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
GEE, THANKS...
“I will put you in charge of larger affairs.” —Matthew 25:21
When Jesus asks for an account of your service, you tell Him: “Lord, I've given everything I have to serve You for years. I’ve gone without sleep, had more children in obedience to You, completed spiritual projects no one but You cared about, been persecuted and ridiculed for You. I’ve fed Your sheep spiritually and physically for years (see Jn 21:15). It’s all because I love You.”
The first words Jesus says are music to your ears: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt 25:23, RSV-CE). Then Jesus says to you: “I will put you in charge of larger affairs” (Mt 25:23). If you’re like me, you think: “Oh. Uh, thanks, Jesus. By the way, Lord, have You noticed how busy I am for Your sake — or that I’m getting older and have less energy — or that my kids need more of my time?” But Jesus ignores the halfhearted response and exclaims: “Come, share your Master’s joy!” (Mt 25:23)
Most politicians are thrilled to be put “in charge of larger affairs.” We Christians, however, often shrink from more daunting responsibilities. When disciples of Christ don’t accept larger responsibilities, we hand them over to the worldly. For example, groups such as Planned Parenthood will gladly take charge of Congress and the White House if we Christians don’t want Jesus to burden us with more leadership (see Jgs 9:8-15). How many babies continue to die through chemical and surgical abortions as a result?
Let’s respond to Jesus’ command by looking at the “joy” on His face (Mt 25:23). If Jesus finds joy in putting us in charge of larger affairs, then so must we. Dare to be great for Jesus.
Prayer: “Father in heaven...Your kingdom come” (Mt 6:9, 10). “To do Your will, O my God, is my delight” (Ps 40:9).
Promise: “You are children of light and of the day.” —1 Thes 5:5
Praise: “The Father loves Me for this: that I lay down My life to take it up again” (Jn 10:17). Thank You, Lord Jesus!
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What can economics and productivity teach us about the kingdom of heaven? Jesus' story about a businessman who leaves town and entrusts his money with his workers made perfect sense to his audience. Wealthy merchants and businessmen often had to travel abroad and leave the business to others to handle while they were gone.
Why did Jesus tell this story and what can it teach us? Most importantly it tells us something about how God deals with us, his disciples and servants. The parable speaks first of the Master's trust in his servants. While he goes away he leaves them with his money to use as they think best. While there were no strings attached, this was obviously a test to see if the Master's workers would be industrious and reliable in their use of the money entrusted to them. The master rewards those who are industrious and faithful and he punishes those who sit by idly and who do nothing with his money.
The essence of the parable seems to lie in the servants' conception of responsibility. Each servant entrusted with the master's money was faithful up to a certain point. The servant who buried the master's money was irresponsible. One can bury seeds in the ground and expect them to become productive because they obey natural laws. Coins, however, do not obey natural laws. They obey economic laws and become productive in circulation. The master expected his servants to be productive in the use of his money.
God rewards those who use their gifts for serving him and the good of others
What do coins and the law of economics have to do with the kingdom of God? The Lord entrusts the subjects of his kingdom with gifts and graces and he gives his subjects the freedom to use them as they think best. With each gift and talent, God gives sufficient means (grace and wisdom) for using them in a fitting way. As the parable of the talents shows, God abhors indifference and an attitude that says it's not worth trying. God honors those who use their talents and gifts for doing good. Those who are faithful with even a little are entrusted with more! But those who neglect or squander what God has entrusted to them will lose what they have.
There is an important lesson here for us. No one can stand still for long in the Christian life. We either get more or we lose what we have. We either advance towards God or we slip back. Do you seek to serve God with the gifts, talents, and graces he has given to you?
Lord Jesus, be the ruler of my heart and thoughts, be the king of my home and relationships, and be the master of my work and service. Help me to make good use of the gifts, talents, time, and resources you give me for your glory and your kingdom.
Psalm 128:1-5
1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Eternal Joys, by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD)
"All the good deeds of our present life, however many they may appear to be, are few in comparison with our eternal recompense. The faithful servant is put in charge of many things after overcoming all the troubles brought him by perishable things. He glories in the eternal joys of his heavenly dwelling. He is brought completely into the joy of his master when he is taken into his eternal home and joined to the company of angels. His inner joy at his gift is such that there is no longer any external perishable thing that can cause him sorrow." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 9.2)
http://www.homilies.net/
Homily from Father James Gilhooley
33 Ordinary Time
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A - Matthew 25:14-30
I know a man with Down syndrome who is a bus boy in a greasy spoon. He smiles and is kind to all. He uses all his limited talents. He lives the aphorism that the woods would be silent if no birds sang their song except those that sing best.
The apostles must have looked upon their Leader as a dreamer. Rumor said He had managed a successful carpentry shop in Nazareth and set up a financial trust for His mother. But they said that, with His lack of economic smarts, He probably bought worthless junk bonds. What could you say of a man who, when the IRS came knocking, found tax dollars in a fish's mouth? He acted as though this was the most natural place to find them. He was hardly equipped to work in the real world.
Then the Teacher unloaded a smart bomb on them. He spread the Parable of the Talents over them and, by extension, over us. It was the final parable and last major speech before His murder. Like Cana, He may have kept the best to the last.
The first thing the twelve learned was that Jesus had a sophisticated knowledge of finance. He was aware not only of low interest savings banks but also of the more profitable field of the stock market. He was a natural hedge fund manager.
Once again His followers received a valuable insight into the forever unfolding mosaic that is Christ. He was continually displaying fresh facets of His personality. And, furthermore, He does the same to this day. That unfolding plays a vital part of His ongoing charm for a billion and a half people. It is the reason that of all people who ever lived Jesus has been written about the most.
It was common for the rich to leave their millions in the hands of agents while they beat the winter ice in Florida. The wealthy man of this parable parceled his Euros out to three agents and jetted out.
The first two ran off to a Wall Street stock wunderkind. He doubled the dollars by buying blue chip stocks. The third ran scared. He was not about to risk anger from his employer. So, he buried the money among the tulip beds. He did not even have the chutzpah to put the money in a savings bank to draw nickel and dime interest and get a free tool chest. He was a bust as an risk-taker.
The chief returns home from Palm Beach tanned and fatter. Before he shows the color slides to his bored in-laws, he checks the books. He jumps out of his monogrammed velvet sandals with his first two agents. Their profits will pay off his maxed out credit cards and the loansharks. He gives each a bonus and sends them off to Las Vegas with expenses paid.
Then he yells at the Caspar Milquetoast still blowing dirt off the dollars he had just dug out of the tulip bed. FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real), as someone defines it, had paralyzed the useless servant. The chief shouts, "You're fired."
Here is a fresh dimension of the Christ. He is a gambler. Christianity without boldness is Christianity without the prime beef. God encourages us to jump into life and run the risk of growing. He doesn't want Milquetoasts in His company. He wants corragio.
Mere avoidance of serious sin does not make for good Christians. We must use all the gifts God gave us. If we are not moving forward, chances are good we march full speed backwards. The Nazarene does not want us to hide in church but move out into the street. He would tell us, "You are never more wonderful than when you are taking big chances." Jesus told us in Luke 5:4, "Launch out into the deep."
Some of us have received short straws. Still we are supposed to give life a first class run with these gifts. The ultimate aim in the Christian life is to say before the undertaker nails down our coffin. "I have given life my best shot." The bus boy with Down syndrome will be able to say that.
We can sin not only by deed but also by omission. The ancient Confiteor says it well, "I confess what I have done and what I have failed to do." A melancholy line in a John Denver folk song says, "I am sorry for the things I didn't say and didn't do." What you are, says a savant, is God's gift to you. What you become is your gift to God.
Mark Twain advises, "The safe thing is to run risks; the risky thing is to play it safe."
Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
Frjoeshomilies.net
33 Ordinary Time
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Investing Wisely
Last Sunday and this Sunday we heard two parables from the first part of the Twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Last Sunday the parable was the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, five wise and five foolish. This Sunday we have the parable of the Talents. This is the parable of the three men who were called upon to invest money, or talents. Next Sunday, we will have the remainder of the Twenty-fifth chapter, the parable of the sheep and goats.
Just as last Sunday’s Gospel was really not about bridesmaids but about the proper use of time to prepare for the Lord, this Sunday’s Gospel is really not about investing money but is also about preparing for the Lord to come, this time, to seek a reckoning. It might seem strange that those entrusted with a number of talents should be expected to return a greater number to the Lord, and the one man who protected the money given to him would be admonished. It really is not strange if we consider that the parable isn’t about money after all. It is about the Word of God and about Grace. The man who is given five talents is a man who has received a great deal of Grace. He is a man who has been nurtured by the Word of God from his first days. Perhaps for Matthew he represents those who were first Jewish and then became Christian. They had the benefit of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures. Or maybe he represents those who had a first-hand encounter with one of the apostles, or perhaps with Jesus Himself. And perhaps the man who received the two talents represented someone who came from a family not acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures, and therefore a gentile who did not enjoy the same amount of Grace that was given to the first man. Maybe he was from a second generation of Christians, and only heard stories about Jesus and the apostles. He had less to work with then the first man, but he was determined to spread the faith the best he could. And perhaps the man who received the one talent represents those who had heard about Christ but chose to resist the Gospel and the spread of the Word of God. He had nothing to show for the grace that he received. He, in fact, had rejected this grace, buried it. It was taken from him, and he was thrown out of the light into the darkness.
The parable demands that we consider the grace that we have received and how well we are using this grace to spread the Kingdom of God.
Most of us are cradle Catholics. We received the Grace of God from our infancy. We were brought up in Catholic homes. We have been given the opportunity to grow in our faith throughout our lives. For most of you there were and are the graced moments of marriage, and children being born, and their receiving the sacraments. For those of us in religious life or the priesthood, there are other graced moments. There are the graced moments of religious profession and ordination to the diaconate and priesthood. Perhaps more important, we get to experience the graced moments of witnessing the faith of the people we are called to serve. For all of us there are the graces of the Church year. When we kneel at the manger on Christmas or beneath the cross on Good Friday, when we rejoice in our new life in the Lord on Easter and our reception of the Power that is the Spirit on Pentecost, we enter into times of profound prayer and receive Grace after Grace.
What do we do with the Grace we have received? That is the question that the Gospel demands we consider. That is the question that we will have to answer when we come before the Lord at the end of time or at the end of our own personal time. How well have we lived our faith? Is the Kingdom of God stronger on earth because of us, or have we squandered the grace we have received and done little or nothing to enrich the world with the Presence of the Word Become Flesh?
Back at the beginning of his pontificate when Pope Francis asked, “Who am I to judge?” He was not making a comment on any particular group of people. He was simply stating that he was a man called to respond to the grace he had received and not in a position to comment on how others have responded to the grace they have received. We also do not have the right to judge how others have responded to the Grace they have received. We do not know what Graces they have receive, nor do we know anything that they have experienced in life.
My deepest concern, and my deepest regret, are both the same. That is: how many times have I not taken advantage of all the Lord has given me? How often have I allowed His Grace to slip through my fingers like sand? How many people would have come closer to God if I had only invested what I was given better?
I am sure you all have the same concern. At least you should. How much better would others have become if you, and I, were more concerned with spreading the love of the Lord than we were with returning insult for insult and hurt for hurt?
The Parable of the Talents can be quite frightening. Perhaps, that is why the Gospel of Matthew places the story of the sheep and the goats immediately after this parable. Remember the sheep. They are pleasantly surprised when the Son of Man tells them to come and inherit the Kingdom the Father has prepared for them from the foundation of the world. He said to them, “I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” When they asked Him “When did we see you hungry or thirsty, or naked, or a stranger or ill or in prison?” he told them that as often as they did this for the least of his people they did it for him. The sheep didn’t realize that they had invested the grace they had received by being gracious to others who needed help.
God sees the times that we have reached out to others. He sees the return of his investment in our own works of charity.
We need to remember 1 Peter 4:8. “Love covers a multitude of sins.”
At the end of the Church year, we are told to consider the end of time, including the end of our own time. We are reminded that the end has not yet come. There is still time, time to take advantage of a bull market of grace. We can and we must reach out to others. We can use the grace we have received well. There is still time, plenty of time, to invest wisely.
Homily from Father Phil Bloom
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
33 Ordinary Time
The Three Blessings of Working for Jesus
(November 15, 2020)
Bottom line: Whether you are young or old, I am asking you to invest your time, talents and financial resources in St. Mary of the Valley
As we saw last week, the month of November is dedicated to praying for departed loved ones and remembering that we too will face death and judgment. At the end of the month, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving - gratitude - leads to Stewardship: discernment how each of us will use the gifts we have received.
In the Gospel, Jesus presents a model of Stewardship - the man who worked hard and used his talents to make even more. The Master praises him, giving him three blessings:
First: "Well done, my good and faithful servant." The man is a servant, that is, not an owner. A servant administers what the master entrusts to him. None of us created his own self. All that we have - every second of time, every bit of energy and intelligence, any material resources we have - God has given to us. I am a servant and so are you - what we have belongs to God. That's the first blessing - to be a servant.
Second, Jesus says, "Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities." If a person does something well, he gets more work to do. If you have regular times for prayer, you will discern how God wants you to use your talents. If a person gives generously to his parish and other charities, God has a way of expanding his resources so he can give more.
After receiving increased responsibilities Jesus gives the third and final blessing: "Come, share your master's joy." This doesn't mean a Christian can retire. On the contrary, the great thing about working for the Lord is that the retirement plan is out of this world! Of course, it's possible to have a productive retirement. I think about my "retired" brother priests who seem to be working harder than ever. Some have asked if I will be "retiring". In some ways I am taking life easier, but I do think about this: I am few months younger than the current president and four years younger than the next one. If those guys can take the stress of being president, I should be to handle the much smaller stress of being a country pastor! I don't plan on retirement. What I want is to hear Jesus say, "Come, share your master's joy."
So let's sum up the three blessings of working for Jesus: 1) To be a grateful servant 2) As you give, to receive even more 3) Retirement guaranteed, but until then, never too old to invest one's talents. "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy."
Homily from Father Alex McAllister SDS
Alexmcallister.co.uk
33 Ordinary Time
As we noted last week we are now in the final phase of the Liturgical Year and we are given two parables about preparedness for the second coming of Christ—last week we had the Wise and Foolish Virgins and this week we are presented with the Parable of the Talents. Then next Sunday the cycle of readings will come to its end with the Feast of Christ the King and a meditation on the Last Judgement.
When I was a secondary school Chaplain I found that the Parable of the Talents was a favourite Gospel chosen by teachers for school masses and assemblies in the run up to exam time. Those teachers used this parable to reinforce their constant message that their students should be responsible and use their time wisely thus encouraging them to study hard and pass their exams.
Or at other times of the year they chose it because they had simplistically equated the biblical word talent with the natural gifts we are all given by God such as the ability to play the piano or a facility with languages or a talent for sports. Then they proceeded to make those with few talents feel very guilty and inadequate!
I was never keen on using the scriptures in this way; I felt it was rather patronising and very heavy-handed. Pupils need to be inspired and they generally don’t respond to laboured advice from their teachers. Young people at school will puzzle things out for themselves and then make the decision to work or not accordingly.
They are not different from adults in this respect. We don’t want to be told what to do either. What we want is help to think things out for ourselves. What we want is a new insight, not repetitious and unasked for advice. That’s why Jesus used parables to get his message across rather than laid down laws.
Let us look at the parable we are presented with today. First a talent was not a coin, it was a weight in gold or silver of about 40 Kilos; so, it was a very considerable treasure that this man was trusting to his servants. One talent was probably equivalent to a whole lifetime’s wages for such a servant. He had entrusted them with something precious beyond their wildest dreams.
The second point is that the Master took a very long time to come back. This is a tiny but important detail in today’s Gospel. It shows the Master’s love for his servants that he gave them more than ample time for the treasure of the talents to yield bounteous fruit.
What is the precious thing that God has entrusted to us? It is not our own gifts or talents, as those teachers tended to imply. It is, of course, the Good News of Salvation. The great treasure that we have been given is the gift of the Gospel; the realisation that Jesus is our Saviour and that through our faith in him we will find salvation. It is what we do with this gift that makes all the difference.
We are surely all at quite different stages in relation to this gift of faith. Some of us may not even be sure whether they have it or not. This might be a particular problem for some of our young people, but not only them. There are many long-standing members of the congregation who suffer doubts and experience long periods of darkness and disbelief. Others of us might find it a bit of a burden, knowing and believing in Jesus and his message but feeling quite inadequate to the task of transmitting the Gospel to others.
Then some parishioners might feel full of faith and have put a lot of effort into carrying out the precepts of the Gospel over many years and who yet feel that for one reason or another God has let them down badly. They certainly haven’t lost their faith but feel a bit depressed about it and don’t know where Christ is leading them. Still others might be experiencing a new joy as they experience some wonderful grace or blessing from God. At various times in our life we might go through one or more of these reactions.
The parable tells us that faith is a real and wonderful gift from God. It is entirely unbidden; as in the parable the servants are given no clue in advance what the master is about to do. Faith is also given to us according to our ability to deal with it; each in proportion to his ability, as it says in the parable.
But the most important aspect of the Parable is that the Master will eventually return. The parable is about Christ’s Second Coming and the judgement we will all face at the end of time. We know that we will be called to account for how we have handled this gift of faith that we have been so generously given. This first thing to realise is that it is not a burden; it is a gift. The second thing to realise is that the man who is punished is condemned because he has buried his talent. He has refused to deal with it. He has simply ignored the gift and literally buried it.
So the message of hope is that whatever stage of life you are at, whether you are doubting, whether you are struggling to make sense of the Gospel message, whether you are teaching the love of Christ to your children, whether you are rejoicing in some new grace or blessing, whether you are going through the dark night of the soul, whether you are groping in darkness and searching for some chink of light; whatever it is that might be happening with your faith at least something is happening!
​
You are immersed in it, you struggle with it, you rejoice in it, you share it, you search for it, you deepen it, you love it and you even at times might hate it. But you are engaged with it! Yes, we will face judgement and we will have to give an account of ourselves. But it will be a long and convoluted story; however, we will have a wonderfully sympathetic listener (one who knows the story all along because he was an essential part of it) and whose judgement will be merciful and who wants above all other things our happiness. His whole aim is to give us joy; not a superficial joy, but a deep and lasting and fulfilling joy based on a life of engagement with him.
More Homilies
