THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

readings for November 16

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

It-Tlieta u Tletin Ħadd matul is-Sena

Missalin A  p 420

Reading 1                         PRoVerbs  31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax and works with loving hands. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her a reward for her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates. This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni -  Għeluq tal-Ktieb tal-Proverbji. 31, 10-13, 19-20, 30-31

Mara ta' ħila min isibha?Tiswa ħafna aktar mill-ġawhar. Fuqha tistrieħ qalb żewġha, u dan żgur ikunlu ta' ġid. Riżq tajjeb iġġiblu u mhux ħażin,  il-jiem kollha ta' ħajjitha. Tfittex suf u ħjut tal-qoton, u taħdmu bil-qalb b'idejha. Tmidd idejha għall-magħżel, jaqbdu d-dussies idejha. Tiftaħ mal-fqir idejha, tmidd idejha lejen l-imsejken. Qarrieqa l-ħlewwa tal-mara, fiergħa sbuħitha'; mara li tibża' mill-Mulej ta' min ifaħħarha. Agħtuha mill-frott ta' xogħol idejha. Ħa jfaħħruha f'bibien il-belt l-għemejjel tagħha. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                    PSalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

      R/ (cf. 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.                          R/

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.                                                          R/

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.                                 R/

Salm Responsorjali    - Salm 127 (128)

                R/     Ħieni kull min jibża' mill-Mulej

Ħieni kull min jibża' mill-Mulej,

kull min  jimxi fit-triqat tiegħu!

Mix-xogħol ta' idejk inti tiekol;

ħieni int, u riżqek tajjeb!                              R/

Martek tkun bħal dielja għammiela

fl-irkejjen ta' darek;

uliedek bħal xitel taż-żebbuġ

madwar il-mejda tiegħek.                          R/

Ara, kif ikun imbierek il-bniedem

li jibża' mill-Mulej!

Ibierek il-Mulej minn Sijon!

Jalla tara l-ġid ta' Ġerusalemm

tul-ħajtek kollha!

Jalla tara wlied uliedek!                                               R/

Reading 2           1 THESsalonians 5:1-6

Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, "Peace and security, "then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.  For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -   mill-Ewwel Ittra lit-Tessalonkin 5, 1-6

Dwar il-ħin u ż-żmien, ħuti, ma għandix bżonn niktbilkom. Intom tafu sewwa li Jum il-Mulej jiġi għal għarrieda bħal ħalliel bil-lejl.  Meta kulħadd jibda jgħid: "Sliem u mistrieħ," dak il-ħin stess, bħall-uġiegħ fuq mara li tkun waslet għall-ħlas, tiġi fuqkom għal għarrieda l-qerda u ma jeħilsu b'xejn. Ħuti, intom m'intomx fid-dlam biex Jum il-Mulej jeħodkom għal għarrieda bħal ħalliel.  Intom ilkoll ulied id-dawl u wlied il-jum; aħna m'aħniex ulied il-lejl, anqas ulied id-dlam. Għalhekk ma għandniex norqdu bħall-oħrajn,  iżda nishru u ngħixu bil-qjies. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel             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 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.'"  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju  -  skond San Mattew  25, 14-30

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu din parabbola: "Wieħed li kien se jsiefer, sejjaħ lill-qaddejja tiegħu u  ħallielhom ġidu f'idejhom.   Lil wieħed taħ ħames  talenti, lil ieħor tnejn, u lil ieħor wieħed, kull wieħed skond il-ħila tiegħu. U siefer. Dak li kien ħa l-ħames talenti mar minnufih iħaddimhom u qala' ħamsa oħra.   Hekk ukoll dak li ħa tnejn qala' tnejn oħra.  Iżda dak li ħa wieħed mar li ħa wieħed mar ħaffer fl-art u ħeba flus sidu. Wara ħafna,  sid dawk il-qaddejja raġa' lura u beda jagħmel il-kontijiet magħhom.   Resaq quddiemu dak li ħa ħames taleni u ġieblu ħames talenti oħra. "Sinjur, - qallu – ħames talenit ħallejetli f'idejja; hawn, ara, qlajt ħamsa oħra."   Qallu s-Sinjur: "Sewwa, qaddej tajjeb u fidil;  int kont fidil fil-ftit, u jien se nafdak fuq ħafna; idħol fl-hena ta' sidek." Resaq ukoll dak li kien ħa żewġ talenti, u qallu: "Sinjur, żewġ talenti ħallejtli f'idejja; hawn, ara, qlajt tnejn oħra."   Qallu s-sinjur:  "Sewwa,  qaddej tajjeb u fidil; int kont fidil fil-ftit, u jien se nafdak  fuq ħafna; idħol fl-hena ta' sidek." Iżda resaq ukoll dak li kien ħa talent wieħed u qal: "Sinjur, lilek nafek bħala raġel aħrax, taħsad fejn  ma cżrajtx  u tiġbor fejn ma xerridtx.  Bżajt, u mort  ħbejt it-talent tiegħek  fl-art;  hawn, ara, għandek  dak li hu tiegħek." Qabeż is-sinjur u qallu:  "Qaddej ħażin u għażżien,  kont taf li jien naħsad fejn ma żrajtx u niġbor fejn ma xerridtx.  Mela kien imissek mort qegħedt flusi l-bank biex, meta niġi, kont immur niġborhom  bl-imgħax.     Ħudulu mela t-talent u agħtuh lil dak li  għandu l-għaxar talenti.   Għax kull min għandu,  jingħatalu u jkollu żżejjed ukoll;  iżda min ma għandux, jittieħidlu saħansitra  dak li għandu.  U lil dan il-qaddej bla  fejda itfgħuh 'il barra fid-dlam;  hemmhekk ikun  hemm il-biki u tgħażżież tas-snien." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Gospel Commentary by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa

If Anyone Will Not Work, Let Him Not Eat

This Sunday's Gospel is one of the famous discourses on the end of the world, which are characteristic of the end of the liturgical year.

It seems that in one of the first Christian communities, that of Thessalonica, there were believers who drew mistaken conclusions from these discourses of Christ. They thought that it was useless to weary themselves, to work or do anything since everything was about to come to an end. They thought it better to take each day as it came and not commit themselves to long-term projects and only to do the minimum to get by.

                                                                            

St. Paul responds to them in the second reading: "We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others. Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food." At the beginning of the passage, St. Paul recalls the rule that he had given to the Christians in Thessalonica: "If anyone will not work, let him not eat."

This was a novelty for the men of that time. The culture to which they belonged looked down upon manual labor; it was regarded as degrading and as something to be left to slaves and the uneducated. But the Bible has a different vision. From the very first page it presents God as working for six days and resting on the seventh day. And all of this happens in the Bible before sin is spoken of. Work, therefore, is part of man's original nature and is not something that results from guilt and punishment. Manual labor is just as dignified as intellectual and spiritual labor. Jesus himself dedicates 17 years to the former -- supposing he began to work around 13 -- and only a few years to the latter.

A layman has written: "What sense and what value does our ordinary work as laypeople have before God? It is true that we laypeople also do a lot of charity work, engage in the apostolate, and volunteer work; but we must give most of our time and energies to ordinary jobs. If this sort of work has no value for heaven, we will have very little for eternity. No one we have asked about this has been able to give us satisfactory answers. They say: "Offer it all to God!" but is this enough?

My reply: No, the value of our work is not only conferred on it by the "good intention" we put into it or the morning offering we make to God; it also has a value in itself, as a participation in God's creative and redemptive work and as service to our brothers. We read in one of the Vatican II documents, in "Gaudium et Spes," that it is by "his labor [that] a man ordinarily supports himself and his family, is joined to his fellow men and serves them, and can exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the work of bringing divine creation to perfection. Indeed, we hold that through labor offered to God man is associated with the redemptive work of Jesus Christ" (No. 67).

The work that one does is not as important as that for which he does it. This re-establishes a certain parity, beneath distinctions -- which are sometimes unjust and scandalous -- in position and pay. A person who has done the most humble jobs in life can be of greater "value" than those people who hold positions of great prestige.

It was said that work is a participation in the creative action of God and in the redemptive action of Christ and that it is a source of personal and social growth, but we know that it is also weariness, sweat and pain. It can ennoble but it can also empty and wear down. The secret is to put one's heart into what one's hands do. It is not so much the amount or type of work done that tires us out, as much as it is the lack of enthusiasm and motivation. To the earthly motivations for work, faith adds eternal motivations: "Our works," the Book of Revelation says, "will follow us" (14:13).