16 November 2014 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 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 masters 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 masters 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 masters 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... called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them There is no question but that this householder is Christ. After his resurrection, when he was about to return triumphantly to the Father, he called his apostles and entrusted them with the Gospel teaching, giving more to one, less to the other, never too much or too little but according to the abilities of those who received it. In the same way the apostle Paul said that he had fed with milk those unable to take solid food (1Co 3,2)... Five, two, one talent: let us take these to be the different graces granted to each, whether the five senses for the first; understanding of faith and works for the second; the reasons for distinguishing us from other creatures for the third. “The one who received five talents went away and traded with them and made another five.” That is to say, besides the physical and material senses he had received he added knowledge of heavenly things. His knowledge was raised from the creatures to the Creator, from the corporal to the incorporeal, from the visible to the invisible, from the transient to the eternal. “The one who received two made another two.” This one likewise, according to his ability, doubled in the school of the Gospel what he had learned in the school of the Law. Or perhaps we could say that he understood that knowledge of faith and the works of this present life lead to future happiness. “But the man who received one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his masters money.” In the grip of works here below and of worldly pleasures the wicked servant neglected Gods commands. However, let us note that, according to another evangelist, he wrapped it in a linen cloth: by this we could understand that he took away the force of his masters teaching by a life of softness and pleasure... The master welcomed the first two servants… with the same words of praise. “Come,” he said, “share in your masters joy and receive what eye has not seen and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart” (1Cor 2,9). What greater reward could be bestowed on a faithful servant?
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 04:13:59 +0000
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