Come and join your master’s happiness! 16 November 2014 (33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A) Proverbs 31:10-13,19-20,30-31; Psalm 127:1-5; 1Thessalonians 5:1-5; Matthew 25:14-30. Today we read another parable of the kingdom: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like ….’ This parable forms part of a larger section in the gospel according to Matthew speaking about the attitude of the Christians as they await the coming of Jesus. This is where the kingdom of God starts and is lived. The kingdom of God is based on a relationship: God invites and we respond. In today’s parable the landlord invites three of his servants to share in his wealth. (In Jesus’ time a talent was a significantly large sum of money; the association of the word talent with a person’s gifts developed later.) Two of the servants made use of the money they were given and made a large profit, but the third servant chose not to participate in this venture, and hid the money. On his return the landlord (or master) asked for an account of the business from his servants. He praised the first two and rewarded them for their efforts, but he severely chastised the third servant. The reward for sharing in the master’s (financial) business was a share in his life: come and join in your master’s happiness. This immediately brings us to the true meaning of the parable: those who respond to God’s invitation and participate in his kingdom here on earth, will receive the ultimate reward in the next life; represented as a place of happiness and celebration (the wedding banquet.) The third servant chose not to participate because he did not trust his master; he had no faith in him. He believed the master was a hard man, reaping where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered! The third servant thought it was best to hide the money he had been given, and go on with life, only to discover that there is no life apart from the master; he does not get to enjoy the eternal happiness! My faithful response to God’s invitation to share in the divine life of the kingdom is ultimately based on my understanding of who God is. If I experience God as a life-giving God who wants to share his life with me, like the master abundantly shared his wealth with the servants, then I will be ready to accept his gifts; but if I see God as a harsh master, then I choose to stay away from him and non invest in his generosity. Moreover the invitation is to go out and risk. As we know from our modern experience, investing money in business shares is a risky business which can go wrong, but which can also give very good returns. If I do not at least invest my money in a bank, its true value will actually diminish! The same may be said of my gift of faith; I can choose to hold on tightly to my faith and hide it so I do not risk losing it, or I can venture out and share my faith with my community in the hope of deepening my relationship with God. My faith is itself a gift and can only be experienced when it is shared. If I do not risk being open to discover new ways of responding to God’s invitation to love, I am in fact, like the third servant, risking to lose even the little I have. In his document Joy of the Gospel (49), Pope Francis reflected: “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” The same can be applied to our own faith. A faith that is ready to go out and risk, is a faith that can respond more faithfully and grow stronger; faith that is kept hidden, locked away, risks dying of starvation. Fr Mario
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 03:09:48 +0000
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