By Rev. Fr. Daniel Tetteh Tackie
THEME: READY TO COME AND SHARE YOUR MASTER’S JOY!!
During these last weeks of the Church’s Year, the Readings focus on the second coming of Jesus at the end of time. Because some Christians got overly focused on when Jesus would come, St. Paul reminds the Thessalonians and us that our task is not to figure out when Jesus would come again but to live in such a way that we would be ready when He does come. The wife in the Book of Wisdom is a portrait of responsible readiness. She uses the talents God gave her to meet the responsibilities of her state in life and respond to the needs of the poor and the powerless.
Like the wise woman, two of the servants in Jesus’ parable use the talents God gives them to advance the Kingdom of God. One servant was concerned only to cover himself and preserve what he has. He opts for security, fearing to lose what has been entrusted to him. He is rejected for not using his talents to advance his master’s interests. As Pope John XXIII said, “we were not put on earth to guard a museum, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life.” The image of preparedness, as we were admonished in our reflection last week, is made vivid in another way, in today’s Gospel. The second coming of Christ in glory could be accomplished at any moment. Christ is coming “like a thief”; exactly how are you preparing your heart to be vigilant at all times?
The Parable of the Talents taught by Jesus is urging us to be ready for the Master’s return. Jesus is that Master who went on a journey when He ascended into heaven. After a long time the Master, Jesus, will return which is either at the moment of our death or at his Second Coming. Whenever He comes again, we will stand before Him with our talents. The talents were not distributed to each servant equally in the parable. One servant received five talents, one received two talents, and one servant received one talent. Why? Jesus said they were distributed to each according to his ability. Therefore each servant received just the right number of talents to match his ability.
The first two servants produced a different number of talents but there is no differentiation in the words spoken by the Master to the one who produced five talents and the one who produced two talents. The Master says exactly the same thing to the servant who produced five talents and to the one who produced two talents, “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.”
Its too bad that the third servant was wicked and lazy and did nothing and suffered the consequences. It was not that he was terribly immoral. His sins were sins of omission rather than sins of commission. It was what he should have done and did not that was his sin. He had also received a talent according to his ability. Presumably then we would have expected him to have made one talent according to his ability. But he was not diligent and had no progress to show his master at his return. He is the complete opposite to the worthy wife in the first reading from Proverbs 31, the wife whose value is beyond pearls.
Today’s Gospel is not about a person’s financial abilities in the stock markets. The story is a parable, pointing to something else. It blends well with the message of the Second Reading (1 Thess 5:1-6). St. Paul, in today’s Second Reading, reminds us – in fact, he warns us to always remain alert to the responsibilities of true discipleship. Every Christian knows that Jesus is returning, and that means we do not want to be caught unprepared. So St. Paul uses vivid imagery, showing how we can never predict the arrival of a thief at night; also, a pregnant woman can never pinpoint the exact moment in the future when labour pains will begin. If it is important to be responsible and prepare for such unforeseen but significant moments of time, how much more responsible must we be in preparing to meet Jesus when he comes again?
The Gospel parable parallels that message. If we only realized what wonderful gifts, real treasures that the Lord has given to us at our Baptism and Confirmation, and in the Holy Eucharist! We are not called simply to “believe” that Jesus is Lord. We are also called to carry on His mission of love and forgiveness, using the physical and spiritual gifts we have received to make that happen. Did you bury your “treasure,” and thereby neutralise and render impotent the gifts you were given to build up our Christian community? Did you bury your “Faith” in laziness and non-involvement in the Christian mission? Have you ever asked another what their perceptions of your gifts are, and how you could use them for others?
In conclusion, one can say that the tragedy of the third servant in the parable today is, that out of fear, he hid what had been entrusted to him, even though he had the ability to use it well. St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, reminds us: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. We have each been graced in some way by the Lord for the service of others. If I hide what the Lord has given me, others are thereby deprived. Most of us need a bit of encouragement to place our gifts at the disposal of others. May the grace of our Divine Master enable us to be at the services of one another. Amen.
