November 15th 2020. Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
GOSPEL: Matthew 25, 14-30
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio
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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel
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.'"
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Summary . . . Last Sunday’s parable of the wedding feast concerned the Lord’s invitation to enter into a relationship with the Bridegroom. This Sunday’s parable of the talents concerns those of us who have already entered into the Lord’s service, and the way in which our Master entrusts a mission to us. By the way, we often think of “talent” as a personal characteristic or quality, but in this parable it refers to the property of the Master entrusted to the servants. Whilst it is true that the Master entrusts a quantity of talents according to the capacities of the servants, the talents nevertheless remain his gift and his property. A talent was hugely valuable, 33 kg of gold. The Master in the parable is very wealthy and also very generous – he gives these enormous quantities of wealth to the servants in the hope that they will use them well. The first two servants invest the wealth wisely. The Master tells them that, because they have been faithful in “little” they will now be given “much”. Of course there was nothing “little” about these talents, but they are small compared to what the Master wants to give them in return – entry into his joy. The third servant buries the talent and returns it to the Master. In response, the Master calls him “wicked”, not because of anything he did, but because of his negative and victimlike attitude. This servant represents each one of us whenever we have the image of God as demanding, harsh, unforgiving and punishing. This image of God will lead us away from the Kingdom. It will fill us with fear and cause us not to use the gifts God has given us for the completion of his mission. Why does God give us these gifts and this mission? Because he is good and generous, and he wants only that we enter into his joy.
In the Gospel, a “talent” is not a quality or capacity of a person but something that is the property of the master
In Sunday’s Gospel, the word “talent” can lead to a small misunderstanding. This word has become synonymous with personal qualities or specific abilities of an individual. There is artistic talent, for example, and many other kinds of gifts that people have. But, in the parable, the talents are the goods of the master, not the qualities of the servants. The master hands over the talents to them and he remains their owner. That is why he will ask them to account for how they used them. It is also true, however, that he gives out the talents "according to the abilities of each one", so the qualities of the person are relevant to some degree, yet the talents remain the property of the master.
Last Sunday, the theme of the Gospel was that we are invited to the wedding feast of the Bridegroom. This Sunday, the parable speaks to those who have entered the Lord’s service already. These people are given a mission, a portion of the master’s goods, to be used to the best of their ability.
What is the theme of the story? In the parable of the ten virgins from last Sunday, the theme was that we are called to enter into a relationship with the Lord, with the Bridegroom who invites us to his feast. The parable of the talents, instead, concerns those who, having already entered the service of the Lord, receive a task from him, a mission. Each person, according to his own characteristics, is entrusted with a portion of the master’s goods, to use them well.
The talents are enormously valuable, but the master considers them “little” in comparison to the “much” that he desires to give to the servants who are faithful. What is this “much”? It is the joy of the master.
The first two servants carry out their mission with similar success, each earning the same amount as they had been given. The master says to both of them: “You have been faithful in little, I will give you power over much; come and share in the joy of your master”. Incidentally, there was nothing “little” about what the master had given - one talent corresponded to 33 kg of gold, an enormous wealth! In fact, this is a very rich master, and he is actually handing what he has over to his servants. Yet, according to him, these riches are "little" in comparison to the joy of the owner. That is the "much" that awaits those who had been faithful in “little”.
The problem with the third servant is that he sees his master as demanding, unforgiving, harsh and punishing, when in reality our Master is generous and joyful, whose only desire is our perfect happiness
The third servant declares: "I was afraid and I hid your talent in the ground". He did not use the goods received out of fear. And he explains the reason for this fear: "I know that you are a hard man, that you reap where you have not sown and you gather where you have not scattered." Who is the master, according to this third servant? A tough and demanding type. He asks for what he has no right to ask, he collects where he has not scattered. His requests are really hidden traps. It is better to give him back what he owns and not even try to use it. This servant manifests to us a particular and common vision of God: harsh and demanding, someone who is always asking too much, someone who is very quick to condemn and torture us. In reply, the master describes the servant as “wicked”, not because of what he did, but because of his negative and victimlike thinking. This absurd idea of God is the door to hell, the route away from the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead, when the Master calls us to do his will, to a mission, it is all for one reason only: to bring us into his joy! Our Master is not severe, but generous and joyful. His will brings us peace.
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