Thirty-third Sunday In Ordinary Time
“Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Mt 25:23)
We are all likely familiar with the famed “Parable of the Talents”. The Lord uses this parable in continuation with the previous weeks’ Gospel parables to express truths about the Kingdom of Heaven. Last week’s passage ended with the following exhortation: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Our time on earth is limited, and it has been given to us as our opportunity to respond to God’s calling.
I admit that when we start talking about the end times or our end on earth, it can create a sense of fear. We should respond to God, or else… bad stuff will happen. But if we only focus on this aspect of the parables, I think we might lose sight of who God truly is, and about the true “joy of Gospel”.
"A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.” Jesus compares the Kingdom to a master who entrusts all of his possessions to others. “To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--to each according to his ability.”
It is important to start from the reality that everything that we are, everything that we have has been given to us!! We are a gift, and we have been given so many gifts. The person we are, our intelligence, our family, our experiences and history, have all been given to us. We did not invent ourselves. Starting from this point of the “gift” can lead us to a fundamental attitude for understanding the Kingdom: gratefulness.
If we begin from the starting point of “gift,” I think we can better approach this parable. We have been entrusted our many “talents” (whether 5 or 2 or 1, it doesn’t matter) for a purpose! The Lord wants us to receive his “gifts”, his many graces in our lives and in accepting them and cooperating with them, we can allow for them to bear much fruit. Have you experienced this in your life? When we use the gifts God has given us to serve others, it brings joy to everyone!
And we keep the perspective of “gift” always, for the fruits are always from and for the Lord. It can be very liberating for us who have often become enslaved to a “culture of production,” where we find our worth (or lack thereof) only in success, in competing and comparing ourselves with others. Seeing all we have as a gift allows us to see all we do as giving God glory for his many blessings.
Perhaps each of us can take a moment to reflect on our lives upon all of the “talents” the Lord has given us. Let us spend some time with God in a spirit of gratefulness. And then let us go forth in our lives with joy and share our gifts with others in loving service!