Putting our talents to work

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordnary Time 

It-Tlieta u Tletin Ħadd matul is-Sena                             

Missalin A  p 420 

Reading 1                              

Prv 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 labours, 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                       

Ps 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 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

Qari 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  ħal 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 aken 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

            Qari 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' lu a u beda jagħmel il-kontijiet magħhom.   Resaq quddiemu dak li ħa ħames taleni u ġieblu ħames talenti oħra. "Sinjur, - qallu – ħames talenti 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 żrajtx  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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COMMENTARY by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

What Christ Has Given Us Is Multiplied In Its Giving

Sunday’s Gospel story presents us with the last of the three parables that form Jesus’ final discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. Each of the three parables relates a different kind of accountability required of Christians as they prepare for their glorious encounter with Christ. The well-known Gospel text of the master, the slaves, and their talents (25:14-30) addresses what we do with the native abilities or talents that we have been given, those things which we hold most dear, and that which we have a tendency to possess too tightly. The central message of today’s Gospel parable concerns the spirit of responsibility with which to receive God’s Kingdom: a responsibility to God and to humanity.

Why Jesus taught the parables

We must not forget that Jesus taught the parables based on the way he saw life being lived out before his very eyes. As he taught the different parables, he neither blessed nor condemned the behaviour he described in each story. Rather, he used the way that his contemporaries were carrying out their everyday lives and activities to teach and model appropriate behaviour in view of God’s in-breaking Kingdom.

Today’s parable raises several questions and problems for us. The story seems to endorse a highly capitalistic mode of living regarding the use of one’s wealth and appears to be at odds with Jesus’ teaching on the use of money elsewhere in the Gospels. A second problem surfaces regarding the master’s method of reckoning upon his return. His behaviour towards his servants has some allegorical reference to the final judgment.

By means of this parable, was Jesus illustrating differing human capacities regarding God’s gift of the Kingdom? The first two slaves understand that the gifts they have are freely given by a God who is abundantly generous, and they therefore try to imitate the giver of all good gifts in the very ways that they live out their daily lives. Does God conform to the master described by the unhappy third slave: “a harsh man who reaps where he did not sow and gathers where he did not scatter” (25:24)?

The poverty of the cautious slave

I have always been intrigued by the reaction of the third slave whom I consider to be the “cautious” or “careful” slave. He seems to be an upright, honest man. He was not the smartest of the three, for he got the least amount of money, but if he weren’t a decent person, his master would have hardly entrusted him with a share of his money at all. The first and second slaves were shrewd operators; they knew how to play the market and doubled their investment. The third slave lived in fear because his master was a greedy, demanding man who liked his money and did not look kindly upon the foolishness and failure of those in his employ. Deciding to play it safe, the third slave refused to take any risks and thus buried his money. The rabbinical tradition taught that burying one’s money was the best security measure against theft or loss. I know many people who behave like this third slave.

The problem with the third slave is that he refused to take risks; he would not step out into the unknown. Filled with anxiety and fear, he projected his guilt upon his own master. In the end, he loses everything he owned. Had he acted with some degree of innocence, he may have received a much more understanding treatment from his master.

The moral of the story for us

Those who have a poor, limited, negative, or miserly image of God and God’s dealings with human beings, will end up treating their fellow human beings in the same poor, limited, and miserly ways. Such people are incapable of seeing the Kingdom of God unfolding before their very eyes and in their own time. Is this not the poverty and blindness of the third slave? He was incapacitated by fear, and was impeded from reaching out to those in need around him. Fear paralyzes each one of us and prevents us from reaching out to those in need around us.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that we must abandon fear and be industrious, reliable, and creative in doing God’s will, lest we turn out to be like the third slave, “worthless, lazy louts”! To be a disciple of Christ, we have to lose our life in order to find it. If we risk ourselves for a perfect Christ we cannot see, we risk perhaps more in committing ourselves to an imperfect Church we can see. If our faith is seen as something that has to be protected, it is probably not genuine – and it certainly will not grow and mature if its fundamental approach is to “play it safe.” #

Next Sunday’s magnificent Gospel scene of the last judgment presents us with the opposite example of the third slave. It will teach us that we find the deepest truth about ourselves when we move beyond our own fears and limitations and feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.

The element of surprise in this parable

From the beginning of today’s parable, we are told that the master gave each slave a certain amount of money as pure gift. The master demonstrated a gratuitous generosity. The third slave pigeonholed his master and simply could not fathom that the master was being so generous. The slave seemed to be basing his actions on some kind of strict or literal justice that enabled him to justify his own miserly actions. In the end, the third slave lost everything.

When we apply this concept to God and Jesus, a lesson emerges for us. When we truly understand and appreciate the greatness of God’s gift to us in his Son Jesus, we experience a special freedom and gratitude, and we are willing to take risks. To do God’s will becomes an enterprising, risk-taking adventure, based on God’s gratuitous generosity, justice, mercy, and boundless trust in human beings. Today’s parable emphasizes actions and enterprise, and helps us to prepare the way for the great works of mercy and justice in the final judgment scene of Matthew’s Gospel.

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