The Church places before us today the last ordinary Sunday of the Church year and
coming Sunday we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. In our liturgy we are reminded
not just of the end of the liturgical year but of the end of all things and the preparations
we need to make. Bible tells us that we are all created in the image and likeness
of God and he has placed on us multiple gifts and blessings. He expects us to utilize
these blessing for his kingdom and for his people and also develop the talents God
has given us. He wants us to be diligent and watchful for the coming of the Lord
who will take into account all we have done. The Book of Proverbs speaks eloquently
of the qualities of a worthy wife and while the text applies literally to ‘the woman
who fears the Lord’, there is also a valid application to the qualities of each person
who lives in expectation of the Lord. The passage emphasizes the industriousness and
diligence of the good wife who is busy with useful matters, skilled at her work and
cares for the poor. The Gospel of Matthew focuses more sharply on the Christian attitude
towards earthly life as we live in expectation of the Master’s return. The implicit
responsibility of each servant is to work and to multiply the talents entrusted to
him. It is not enough just to preserve what one has been given. The Master expects
more positive results from the person who has been given special talents. Paul in
the second reading reminds the Christians at Thessalonica of the unexpected but certain
coming of the day of the Lord. He says that day will come and will strike like a sudden
disaster on people’s lives. Christians have been forewarned and are to stay alert
and sober, and not remain asleep at this special moment. The First Reading from
the Book of Proverbs spoke of a very productive wife that bears fruit in all things.
She never sits idle, using every opportunity presented to her to increase the family
wealth. Because of her qualities, she is far more precious than jewels. This capable
wife is trustworthy. The husband can count on her to be faithful and productive for
the betterment of the home. She is not afraid to learn how to sew and make clothing
for the members of the family in order to save money. From the money that she managed
to save, she invests in land. There, she plants a garden in hope of selling the fruits
of the seeds that she plants. Not counting the hours that come and go, night and day,
she works long hours. While tending to the worldly needs of the family, she also
tends to her spiritual needs and the needs of others. She gives generously to those
in need. To those seeking comfort, she speaks gentle words, only wisdom coming from
her mouth. She is never idle, having no time for foolishness and gossip. Her children,
who are well raised in values and ways of the Lord, show appreciation by thanking
her and praising her for being such a happy and wonderful mother. Her husband recognizes
the treasure that he has in his possession, the best of the best. In a way, this
wonderful woman is a picture of what we should be, always being fruitful in our ways.
As the woman is more precious than jewels in the eyes of her family, we are called
to be more precious than jewels in the eyes of the Lord. In today’s Second Reading
from the Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul continues his discussion on the Parousia,
the second coming of the Lord. He tells them what Jesus himself had said that his
second coming would be unexpected and would come like the thief in the night. However,
this should not frighten them since they are always prepared because they have been
living in their Christian faith. He tells them that since they are children of the
light and children of the day, they should not worry about when the Lord shall return.
It is sufficient for them to know that when the Lord does suddenly come as a thief
in the night, either through His Second and final Coming on Judgment Day or when all
Christians are individually called to appear before him at death, whichever comes
first, they will be ready. People who nurture a false sense of security will be overtaken
by surprise. Those who measure up to their Christian calling are always ready. They
live their lives in constant daylight. No nighttime thief will bother them. The second
coming of Christ will be a joyful event because they will be ready to receive him.
Paul ends this passage with the advice that they have to be sober and must be alert
all the time. They should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide
awake to receive the Lord. Today's Reading from the Gospel of Matthew presents
us with two stories. The first story reminds us of the necessity to be watchful at
all time. The second, the Parable of the Talents, informs us as to why we must persevere
in our living faith, why we must be fruitful in all our thoughts, our words and our
actions. Jesus gives his disciples and the Pharisees this parable to illustrate and
to emphasize the teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven and how everyone will be judged
according the use he makes of the gifts God gives to human persons. Again, this parable
is the story about the final judgment that will come at the end time. The drama of
the story emerges from actions of three servants who have been entrusted with large
sum of money by their master so that they would use the amount profitably while he
is away. These sums are described in terms of talents. The value of a talent was
high, equivalent to fifteen years wage earned by an ordinary worker. The master here
gives different amounts to each of the servants depending on their ability. This
is just like every person individually receives different gifts and the gifts a person
receives are gratuitous. Having handed over these large sums, the master goes on
a long journey and is scheduled to return after a long time. The question guiding
the parable is what each servant will do with the sum of money the master has placed
under his care. On his return, the master, a real businessman, questions each servant
as to what use he had made of the money given him and what profit he had gained. The
first two servants wisely invested their large sums and ended up doubling the master’s
money. It is needless to say that the master is totally pleased with these two servants
who have acted so responsibly and creatively. It is not the talent given to each
that matters but the way they have made us of those talents. All Persons may not have
equal talents but they can certainly be equal in their effort. Because they have
shown such responsibility with what is referred to a small matter, the master does
not ask them to rest and relax. On the contrary he will place on them bigger and
better responsibilities as a reward for their fidelity in service. Not only that,
the master will invite them to share in his joy. By all standards these two servants
have done well, acted responsibly, and have been fully recognized and accepted by
the master on his return. Henceforth they would not be servants or slaves but would
have an honoured place in their master’s household. The third servant does not
fare so well. He had simply buried his master’s money in the ground and waited for
him to return. He chose the most cautious and least risky course of action available
to him. When the master asks for the accounting on his return, this servant gives
back exactly what he had been given, no more and no less. He had shown no creativity
and in the master’s view he had acted irresponsibly. This servant knew what was expected
of him but failed his master out of fear. He tried to give all possible excuses to
his master saying that he knew how hard and demanding the master was and therefore
did not risk investing his money in case he should lose it. The employer is very
angry at the response of this servant. At the very least he tells him that his money
could have been put in a bank and would have earned some interest. Since he kept it
totally idle, it produced absolutely nothing. This servant is severely condemned by
the master as being both wicked and lazy. As a result he loses everything and ends
up being cast out into the darkness. The talent he had left lying idle is taken from
him and given to one of the honest and willing servants. Because he refused to earn
anything for his master whom he called hard and exacting, he does not receive a share
in his master’s household. The Master’s warm relationship with the hard working servants
shows that he was a kind and very generous person. The parable of today gives us
four important lessons. First, it tells us that God gives each person different gifts
or talents. Despite our tendencies always to compare ourselves with others, we are
told that the actual number and quality of the talent is not important. We are only
told to make full use of what we have been uniquely given and use them for the benefit
of the community as a whole. When everyone does that, the community is enriched. Second,
our work is never complete. The first two servants showed how much extra they had
earned, but they were not told they could sit back and rest. Rather because of their
trustworthiness greater responsibilities were given to them. The more a person has,
the more will be given to him. Third, the person who does nothing with the talents
given to him will be punished. The servant with one talent did not lose it but did
nothing at all with it. Perhaps if he had tried to use it and failed, he would have
met with compassion and forgiveness from the master. Even the person with one miserable
talent has something to offer to others. It is a sober warning that it is not just
those who do evil deeds who will lose out but also those who have no positively good
works to show. Every person has the responsibility to so something good in the Kingdom.
Finally, to the one who has more will be given and from the one who has not, even
what he has will be taken away. It seems rather unfair, like robbing the poor to pay
the rich. But Jesus is rather saying that those who share generously the gifts they
have been given are likely to find themselves constantly enriched. Those who zealously
preserve what they have been given, hoard it and go into their shell in fear of the
outside world are likely to shrivel up and die. Jesus warns us saying that the4 one
who tries to save his life will lose it and the one who shares his life with others,
will find his self immeasurably enriched. It is the law of the Gospel and is also
the law of life which many of us, in practice, find hard to believe. Jesus’ story
of the talents teaches us to boldly prefer taking active risk in our lives than remain
in passive complacency. It tells the way Jesus will act with us when we do not use
properly the talents he has so generously given us for he expects a positive contribution
from every person. In this parable we are presented with a person who was going on
a journey and summons his servants, presents us with the picture of Jesus. As the
man entrusted his slaves with some talents, Jesus also has entrusted us with spiritual
gifts that have been bestowed upon us through the Holy Spirit. Through his gratuitous
invitation, we have received the opportunity to become children of God. He has given
us the opportunity to come closer to him through the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist.
As the man expected his slaves to invest the talents that he had entrusted them with
in order to be fruitful, the Lord Jesus also expects of us to be fruitful in the use
of gifts. He expects us to appreciate all of the gifts given to us and make use of
them to their greatest potential. Our personal efforts and growth to mature spiritually
in Christ are the end result that the Lord seeks from us. It is perhaps remarkable
that, although the parable applies to an eschatological setting, the qualities praised
are specifically human, namely, diligence and hard work. The parable seems to imply
that ample opportunity is given for initiative and creativity, for the personal involvement
of each individual in the proper use of the talents given to them. It is those servants
who carry out their responsibility and put their minds and hearts into creative ways
of multiplying their gifts are rewarded. The Gospel of today focuses more sharply
on the Christian attitude towards earthly life as we live in expectation of the Master’s
return. This passage, however, goes further in pinpointing the ultimate purpose of
our activities: to fulfil the Christian calling. The parable contains words of advice
for the interim period between Christ's resurrection and his final return. It urges
a responsible use of the goods the Master has entrusted to us so that we are ready
to face him when he asks to give account. It is in this context that another interpretation
has been given to the parable. Namely, that it is a criticism of a religious tradition
which refuses to develop. This is a constant phenomenon of all religions, including
our own. Many of the Jews in Jesus' time jealously protected the Law and tradition.
They were opposed to any change or any development. In the process, they forgot the
original spirit of the Law and naturally were opposed to Jesus, who constantly criticized
this stance. In our Church today we have situations that do not encourage any change
or progress. Some even would prefer to back to the old ways of doing things. Today
let us spend some time reflecting on what particular talents or gifts God has given
us. Some of us are clearly very gifted but there is no one, absolutely no one, who
can say they have been gifted with nothing. Let us ask ourselves how we are using
our particular gifts in the service of our Christian community and the wider society.
Let us be prepared to respond to Jesus when he takes account of the talents he has
generously given to us. An old legend relates that long ago God had a great many
burdens which He wished to have carried from one place to another on earth, so He
asked the animals to lend a hand. But all of them began to make excuses for not helping:
the elephant was too dignified; the lion, too proud; and so on. Finally the birds
came to God and said, "If you will tie the burdens into small bundles, we'll be glad
to carry them for you. We are small but we would like to help." So God fastened upon
the back of each one a small bundle, and they all set out walking across the plain
to their destination. They sang as they went, and did not seem to feel the weight
of their burdens at all. Every day the burdens seemed lighter and lighter, until the
loads seems to be lifting the birds, instead of the birds carrying the burdens. When
they arrived at their destination, they discovered that when they removed their loads,
there were wings in their place, wings which enabled them to fly to the sky and the
tree tops. They had learned how to carry their burdens, and their loads had become
wings to carry them nearer to God. Burdens we carry for others may become wings of
the spirit, to lift us into happiness such as we have never known.