Homily for 33rd Sunday
Chip and Dale are good friends and very successful at flipping houses. They, also, are good, practicing Catholics and not ashamed to help others find and become religious. As the Church’s liturgical end was near with its emphasis on ‘end times’, they decided to attend their parish’s Day of Recollection in preparation for Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas. Some of the themes that the faith committee chose were a) waiting for the second coming of Christ, b) using your talents and c) a new evangelization by living the mystical incarnation of Christ. The faith formation committee relied heavily on the A-readings from the 33rd Sunday in ordinary time.
Even though it was a cold autumn day, Chip and Dale walked to their parish church filled with hope and excitement; but not as excited as children waiting for Christmas! When they got to the parish hall, they were glad to see that many of their fellow parishioners they grew to know and are fond of were there also. Everyone was mindful of the War on Israel, the War on the Ukraine, as well as the global violent antisemitic protests and the general lawlessness in the nation that has many living in relative fear. Everyone anticipated this day of recollection, hoping for a calming of the spirit and peace amidst the turmoil that many were experiencing.
The lessons for the end of the liturgical church year reflect on Christ’s final judgment. In the early church, Paul thought that Christ’s return after the ascension was eminent. When that didn’t happen, Paul exhorted the followers to Christ to be mindful that “they are not in darkness but 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.” Just what should the faithful do? Wait and be patient. The Jews had a long tradition of patient waiting for the Messiah, and early Christians would also develop the practice of patience while waiting for Christ’s second coming. Not only should all Christians, which includes you and me, be patient; all ought to prepare with lives of service in the community.
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus teaches how we are to prepare for his return using the parable of the man who went on a journey. He gave his servants his possessions expecting them to further develop the money he gave them for when he returns. Two of the servants did. However, one did not because he feared his master. He hid the money for safe keeping. Pope Francis’s reflection gives us a lot to consider.
Everything begins with a great good. It has been calculated that a single talent was equivalent to the income of some twenty years’ work: it was of enormous value and would be sufficient for a lifetime. For us too, everything began with the grace of God – everything always begins with grace, not with our own efforts – with the grace of God who is a father and has given us so many good things. ….
We need to remember this. All too often, when we look at our lives, we see only the things we lack, and we complain about what we lack. We then yield to the temptation to say: “If only … !” … But those illusory words – if only! – prevent us from seeing the good all around us. They make us forget the talents we possess. …
This brings us to the center of the parable: the work of the servants, which is service. Service is our work too; it makes our talents bear fruit and it gives meaning to our lives. Those who do not live to serve, serve for little in this life.
The reason we have gifts is so that we can be gifts for others. … At the end of our lives, then, the truth will be revealed. The pretense of this world will fade, with its notion that success, power, and money give life meaning. Whereas love – the love we have given – will be revealed as true riches.
The point is that everyone is blest by God with a talent or talents to be used in service to others. We are to use this time of Christ’s delay to be generous with forgiveness, compassion, and mercy that we have received and are chosen to give to others. Peter Kreeft, a most gifted theologian, and philosopher, explains:
Our Gospel (i.e., Matthew 25:14-30) gives us another necessary part of the answer: make the most of your life by using your talents for God and for others. The English word “talent” means both a coin and a power or ability. Each of us is a unique individual: God gives each of us at least one ability in some area of life and at least one disability in another. The most spectacularly talented person, in any field, always has something he or she is helpless at. For instance, some great philosophers could not make a cup of tea. And the most helpless person in many areas of life always has a power and a talent in some other area, often hidden or undeveloped. Every parent who has ever had or adopted a child with disabilities knows that. Every disability comes with some ability, and every ability comes with some disability.
If you are thinking, “That doesn’t apply to me; there is nothing I’m especially good at,” you are almost certainly wrong. And even if you are not wrong about that, even if you have no abilities and nothing but disabilities, then when you offer that disability and suffering to God, it becomes powerful and precious, like any other suffering offered up in trust and hope and love.
The clear point of Jesus’ parable in this gospel is that God expects us and requires us to use our talents, not to hide them away or bury them in the ground but to actively use them.
On the day of judgment, you will be asked what you have done with the talents given to you? How will you answer? It is never too late to develop your talents and use them to further the Kingdom of God by your service to those you live with, work with, and play with. The remarkable thing about advent is not just the awareness that God became man, the incarnation. Jesus is incarnate in your spirit as He was incarnate in the womb of Mary. Mary carried the Son of God within her being to Elizabeth and others. So, you are to take the Word of God (Jesus) who dwells in your spirit to others around you. As you wait patiently for the coming of Jesus, you become part of the new evangelization bringing not only hope to others through your service but also bringing Jesus who lives in you to others. Think about it. This is your talent, giving Jesus to others in loving service.
This was just some of what Chip and Dale were reminded of during their special day of recollection preparing for Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas on that cold autumn day in the neighborhood. Now it’s your turn. Don’t live in the darkness, live in the light as children of the day.
God be blessed! Now and forever. Amen.