33rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME –A
I Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13.19-20.30-31: A Perfect wife-who can find her?
II Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12: Do not let anyone have food if he refuses to work.
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30: You have shown you can be faithful in small things, come and
join in your master’s happiness.
We
are going to come to an end our liturgical year of worship. We will be
celebrating the Feast of Christ the King in next Sunday then on the Sunday
after the Advent Sunday will begin as a new year of our worship.
The
first reading of today, the Book of Proverbs is a searching for practical
wisdom and human’s chances of success in this endeavour are good. Chapter
31:10-31 describes the perfect wife: She is virtuous, possessed of many skills
and a shrewd business woman. Yet she had hardly any rights at law. Her virtues
were her own reward.
Three
things occupy the mind of the perfect wife at all times:
1.
The good name of her husband, carefully administering whatever he has entrusted
to her, always respectful towards him.
2.
She must always think and do the welfare of the family in all aspects of life.
3.
she must show concern for the poor and needy in her heart and mind.
The
second reading talks about the Christ’s second coming. Paul advices to them;
stop discussing about the when and the how of the coming of Jesus; it is a
useless discussion and it is harmful, since it distracts you from the main task
in your life: to do good. The when and the how of his coming is a secret which
the Lord keeps to himself; for us, it is enough to know that he will certainly
come. His coming will be a surprise for everyone but not a shock or
threatening. Paul also advices them to keep on living to the light of faith and
not in the darkness of sin; keep always active at every kind of good work, not
sleeping in idleness, as drunkards do, unaware of any danger threatening them.
Our
waiting must become a longing with a great joy and happiness for Jesus’ coming,
since his coming will mark the fulfilment of all our expectations.
Let
us not waste our time, energy and mind with anxiety, useless and harmful discussion
about the second coming of the Lord in future. Let us live with joy and work
hard and do our duty with due care, responsibility and creativity in building
up the kingdom of God in life and society.
The
Gospel explains the wealthy master is Christ, wealthier than anyone can
imagine. The servants in the parable stand for us, Christians. Jesus entrusted
each one of us with incredibly precious treasures like the gift of heart, mind
and body, knowledge and wisdom, talents and the unique gift of the Life in the
Spirit. The Gospel tells us that the “talents” or gifts are given “in
proportion to each one’s ability” (Mt 25:15). The talents for us is our own
responsibility for each of our gifts. To use them rightly is to share in the
joy of the kingdom. It is our duty and responsibility to care with our creative
work. The Gospel also indicates the coming of Christ to judge the living and
dead with rewards and punishments according to their good or bad works.
The Parable of the Talents: The Believer’s Duty to Work
Jesus was teaching a much needed lesson: we must be faithful and
diligent. While Jesus is away, the believer is to do something: work-work
faithfully and diligently and the believer is to know something: his work will
be rewarded or severely judged.
Jesus was dealing with his return. He went “on a journey” (v.14),
and “after long time, the Master” returned (v.19). That’s what we must be
faithful and diligent at all times, for if we are not, when He returns there
will be severe judgement.
1. The Lord went on a journey (v.14)
2. The Lord entrusted his property to his servants (v.14-15)
a. Called his servant
b. Gave each servant a different portion
c. Gave each servant according to his ability
3. The servants treated the Lord’s goods differently (v.16-18)
a. Two were responsible: Immediately worked
1) Were faithful
and diligent
2) Were successful
b. One was irresponsible: Did not try
4. The day of settling accounts came (v.19)
a. After a long time
b. The Lord returned
5. The reward for work well done: More work to do (v.20-23)
a. The first servant
1) Acknowledged
God’s gifts and grace
2) Laboured 100%
for the Lord
3) Was commended
and given a great reward: Rulership and joy
b. The second servant
1) Acknowledged
God’s gifts and grace
2) Laboured 100%
for the Lord
3) Was commended
and given a great reward: Rulership and joy
6. The punishment for work not done: Stripping and separation
(v.24-30)
a. The servant’s reasons for not working
1) He misunderstood
God: Thought God was too demanding
2) He feared loss
while on earth
b. God’s reasons for condemning the servant
1) He was wicket
and lazy
2) He was
inconsistent
3) He failed to use
his gift
c. The judgement
1) He was stripped
of what he had
2) He was thrown
into the darkness
Thought:
Every person or believer has at least one gift (1Cor 12:11; Rom 12:4-9; 1Cor
12:4-30). We must always remember this and must work hard as our duty
faithfully and diligently with love, joy, care, responsibility and creativity.
