The Master Will Settle His Account with Them
Introduction: As you reflect on the value (talents, abilities, skills)
that GOD has given you, continue to increase the value that GOD has placed in you
by increasing your interest in GOD and others!
With the
economy of the last few years going the way it has, we may think about our investments.
Are we earning the interest we had hoped? Are we making back anything on what we
have put away for our eventual retirement?
We should
also think about the investment that others have made in us. This is particularly
true of what GOD has given us. Are we working hard to give back to GOD what we have
received – and with interest? Hopefully, we will have produced more than what we
have been given so that our eternal retirement will be with the Lord Jesus and His
Abba-Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
Being
a believer is manifested in the way we care for other people and all of GOD’s creation,
for all, even our skills and talents, are gifts from the LORD. The Book of Proverbs
praises the activity of a worthy wife and says that a caring wife is a blessing
from GOD. The psalm describes the blessings of a just person. St. Paul encourages
the faithful of Thessalonika to live lives that show they are ready for the Lord
Jesus’ return. In the Gospel, Jesus relates the parable of the servants who are
given silver pieces by their master and are expected to use them wisely in order
to earn their master a good return on his investment while he is gone.
First Reading: Proverbs
31:10-13,19-20,30-31
A perfect wife - who can find her?
Commentary: A succession of remarkable women moves
through the pages of the Old Testament, real partners to their husbands, and
often providing the motive force in pursuit of God’s promises. In the New
Testament, too, besides Mary and Jesus’ female followers in the gospels, we see
Jesus valuing women. Particularly the playful scenes between Jesus and the
Samaritan woman and the Canaanite (or Syro-Phoenician) woman spring to mind.
Especially in Paul’s letters and apostolate women play important roles, even
leadership roles, working with Paul to establish his communities, Chloe,
Phoebe, and Junia. The first convert to Christianity in Europe was a woman,
Lydia.
Responsorial Psalm 128:1-5
O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
The Responsorial
Psalm reflects the same sort of managerial skills and concern for others. The focus
of this passage is the husband who cares for his wife and children. The quality
of having a healthy “fear of the LORD” is also praised, this time at the beginning
of the psalm.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians
5:1-6
God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus
Commentary: Paul
had obviously taught the new Christians at Thessalonica that Christ had
conquered death so that death had no more grasp on Christians. So, they were
puzzled that Christians nevertheless died. Paul explains in the letter that Christians
who have died will be the first to rise up and join the returning Christ in his
triumphant procession. Only after them will come those who are still alive.
However, Paul’s principal stress is on the unpredictability of the Day of the
Lord, that final day when the Lord will set right all injustices. It makes
little difference whether I meet the Lord in some sort of imagined vast
Judgement Day, or whether my meeting with the Lord is merely personal at my own
death. I know that I will not be ready – if only I had just a little more
time to prepare! – and that I will not be in a fit state to face the
glorious, pure wonder of divine love. The Day will come as unexpectedly as a
thief in the night or the pains of childbirth, with that same finality and inescapability.
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30
You have been faithful in small things: come and join in your master's
happiness
Commentary: There
is a progression in these four parables leading up to the final judgement. In
the first, it is a question of alertness of the householder to the whole
situation (24.42-44). In the second the steward needs to be the right sort of
person to be left in charge (24.45-51). In the third, the savvy girls have
prepared by getting the right kit (25.1-13). Now in the fourth, the slaves make
the correct use of their gifts. Or do not, for in each case the point is made
by contrast.
Matthew shares
the outline of the Parable of the Talents with Luke, but Luke has built it out
to include other elements. In Matthew’s version, the sums of money are
enormous: even a single talent is more than the annual tribute of a
medium-sized Roman province, but Matthew likes to illustrate with huge figures,
and of course, it is not specified how long the master is absent, so how long a
period the slaves have to double the sums. Not all slaves were confined to
basic manual labour, and there were instances of slaves who held important
administrative positions in the Roman Empire.
The final
conversation with the unsuccessful slave is slightly worrying: it hovers on the
edge of allegory. The returning master must be intended to be Christ, the Son
of man who is about to exercise judgement; but is he really to be understood as
a hard man, reaping where he had not sown? The unsuccessful slave must be
intended as those who reject Jesus, but need he be so aggressively cocky? Are
these features merely enlivening decorations of the story, or are they intended
to convey a meaning, to be picked up and enlarged in the scene of the final
judgement?
Reflection: 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 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 to serve 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 to do 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.
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 in 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)
LET’S DIG IT UP. “I went and hid your talent in
the ground.”—Matthew 25:25. In the ancient world, a “talent” was a
large sum of money. Our Lord plainly says that He expects much from those who
have been given much (Lk 12:48). We servants of the Lord are branches connected
to the vine, and because of that connection, we will bear fruit (Jn 15:5). In today’s Gospel parable, the money can be
compared to spiritual gifts and graces that God has given to each servant (Mt 25:14ff). God expects much in return because of such
great need in suffering, sinful humanity.
If, by our
inaction, we do nothing with the gifts and graces He has given us, we become
dormant, petrified, and fossilized (Jn 15:6). We stifle the Spirit (1 Thes 5:19) and bear no fruit.
So, if you have
buried your “talent,” go and dig it up. Stir into flame the gift of the Holy
Spirit the Lord bestowed in your Baptism and Confirmation (2 Tm 1:6-7). “Receive the Holy Spirit” anew (Jn 20:22).
“The more I say
‘No’ to myself, the more I say ‘Yes’ to the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, deny your
very self, take up your daily cross (Lk 9:23), and beg the Lord for more of the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13). Allow the Spirit to take control of your life
and bear His fruit.
Prayer: Father,
prune away anything You wish in my life (Jn 15:2) to make me a fruitful branch for You. “The day
of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night.” —1 Thes 5:2. Praise You, risen Jesus, Emmanuel, “God with
us!” You became flesh and
The personal
action for today: With what talents and abilities has GOD gifted me? How have I used them,
not just for myself, but also for the Good of others? Am I investing the talents
that GOD has bestowed on me so that they will earn interest and I will be able to
show GOD how much the gifts the Lord Jesus has given me have increased for the good
of those around me? What more can I do to be a faithful and industrious servant
of the Lord Jesus?