You entrusted me with five talents, here are five more that I have made.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time A.
Prov. 31: 10-13, 19-20. 30-31, Psalm127: 1-5. Rv.1, 1 Thess. 5; 1-6,
The woman who is wise is the one to praise.
May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life.
You are all children of the light and children of the day.
Gospel Mt 25:14-30
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"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.'"
"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.'"
Life – yours or his?
This is a parable about life. Like the man who went abroad, God doesn’t appear to be present. However he has given us all talents and he has left us to use them. We can also like the third man bury them. God hasn’t told us what to do or how to do it. That is left to us. We are free to follow our own ideas. However whatever we do we are to do for Him.
This is the point of the parable. God has given us all gifts and charisms. There is any number of all different kinds. He apparently goes away and leaves us to it.
We should always remember that we belong to God. Everything we have and are is his gift to us. “If we live, it is for the Lord that we live and if we die it is for the Lord that we die”. ‘Whatever you do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”. There is no difference between people ‘with a vocation’ and people ‘without a vocation’. We all have a vocation. God has given us a life. We are to live it for him. Whatever we do we are to do it for Christ. If we get married, it is for Christ and to achieve glory for him. If we do a particular job, it is for Christ and to bring glory for him.
As the man in the parable didn’t tell the servants what to do, neither does God tell us. But as the man in the parable expected the servants to use the talents to earn money for him, so God expects us to use all our talents for his purpose in the world. By our life and life-style we must bring glory to God. Whatever walk of life we decide to follow we are to follow it and live it for the sake of Jesus.
Here we diverge from the parable. Jesus is only apparently absent. He has not left us orphans. He has given us his Spirit as our Helper. He is always with us to inspire, guide and lead us into the whole truth. We should follow his guidance in using our gifts. Then the whole of life with all its diversity is the fulfilment of our vocation. God wants us to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit and to live our lives with creativity.
When Christians live their lives like this they sanctify every corner of the world and make Christ Jesus present. Since they do everything for him under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Jesus is at work bringing salvation to the world.
Do you see your life as a life in the Spirit to bring glory to Jesus? Do you see your life as a special vocation or for you to do your own thing?
Father, may I see myself as the ambassador of Jesus wherever I go and whatever I do.
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