Thirthy third Sunday in Ordinary time - Year A
IT SEEMS PRUDENCE, BUT IT IS COWARDICE
Introduction
Jesus recommended we be “wise as serpents” (Mt 10:16), and yet, his behavior and words seem distant from what is commonly meant by prudence. Jesus pronounced invectives against the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23) and poked fun at their gait in “long robes” (Mark 12:38). He turned against the Sadducees, disavowing their theological convictions (Mt 22:23-33); he called Herod a “fox” (Lk 13:32) and threw barbs at kings, “wrapped in soft raiment, living in luxurious palaces” (Mt 11:8). He broke the Sabbath, frequented the company of the infamous and impure people, called the spiritual guides of the people “serpents, brood of vipers,” (Mt 23:33) and claimed that the tax collectors and the prostitutes would precede them in the kingdom of heaven (Mt 21:31). What kind of prudence is this?
The alternative was not to have moved out of Nazareth and limited himself to ordinary work, to have kept his mouth shut or opened it only to flatter. It was to have ignored the hungry, the weary and the crowd in disarray “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 6:34) or have closed his heart to compassion and ignored the man with the withered hand, resigning himself to the belief that sometimes a man accounts for less than a sheep (Mt 12:12). It was also to have plugged his ears in order not to have heard the cry of the leper (Lk 17:13) and to have let the adulterous woman be stoned to death (Jn 8:5).
The prudence of God is not that of people, an excuse for laziness, lethargy, inertia or disinterest. It is better to run the risk of making a mistake out of love rather than give up the fight for the great values; it is better to see the seed of the word rejected by barren ground—as happened to Paul at the Areopagus (Acts 17:32-34)—than to hide it in a shroud of silence out of fear.
“Full joy is getting oneself involved, without fear in the projects of the Lord.”
First Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13,19-20,30-31
‘Four traits are found in women: They are greedy, curious, lazy and jealous. They are also whiners and talkative.’ The rabbis of Jesus’ time spoke about them in this way and, between the serious and the humorous, they added: ‘When God created the world, he had to have ten baskets of words. The women took nine, and the men got one.’ Jokes (often miserable) about women are found in the proverbs of all nations, and it is no wonder that they are also found in the books of the Bible. There are texts of the Old Testament in which the woman appears as a seductress, with a garrulous mouth, jealous, curious, and vain heart (Sirach 25:12-25). They reflect the mentality of the time.
Today’s reading presents a passage in which the woman is praised. It ensures that the perfect woman is invaluable; by comparison, the pearls that were much sought after in ancient times appear despicable and vile (v. 10). But the woman can be dangerous; she can turn into a seductress. Sirach warns that it is easy to fall into the net of a woman of ill-repute or remain entranced by the blandishment of a singer (Sir 9:3-4). How can we distinguish a woman of value from a sorceress? What makes her recognizable? Here is the list.
First, she is a good wife; she makes her husband happy and spreads peace, serenity,and harmony in the family (vv. 10-12). She is hardworking (vv. 13,19), she works all the time. She does not waste time on silly and frivolous chatter. She gives herself to work so that everything is in order in her house, and everyone is satisfied and happy. She is preoccupied with her husband and children and wants her servants to be well-dressed and have plenty of food.
The rabbis also underlined the industriousness of the woman: ‘The woman—they admitted—always works even while talking. It is not the habit of women to sit at home doing nothing.’
The third quality: she has a big heart. She does not close herself inside the familiar sweet nest she has managed to build. She looks around and, facing the needs of those less fortunate, feels compassion, rushes to the aid of those in need, and shares what she has with the underprivileged (v. 20).
The fourth and final characteristic: she is religious, devout, and faithful to the commandments of God (v. 30). The rabbis said: ‘The woman thinks only of her beauty.’The reading’s ideal woman belies this stereotype. Her heart is not vain. She is interested in what really counts in life.
Are there many women of this kind? Today’s passage begins with a provocative question: “Who can find such a perfect woman?” (v. 10). We can answer, without fear of contradiction, that yes, there are many. The significant fact is that this Sunday’s liturgy, speaking of hard work, dedication and commitment, has chosen to associate these virtues with a woman. It is an invitation to reflect.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Last Sunday, we already said that there were tensions and concerns in Thessalonica because there was a widespread belief that the end of the world and the Lord’s return were imminent. Desiring to clarify the matter, the Thessalonians had instructed Timothy and Silas to ask Paul if he could give precise information about the time at which these events would occur.
In today’s reading, the apostle answers: it is impossible to know (v. 1) and gives the reason. God—he says—usually acts unpredictably. He intervenes when you least expect it; he behaves like a thief who comes suddenly when people are sleeping. It is like the pain of giving birth that comes during the night (vv. 2-3).
He concludes that it is not worth investigating the day and the hour of the coming of the Lord. What is important is to avoid being enveloped by the darkness of evil. Christians should not run into this danger because they have become children of the light and children of the day from the day of their baptism. It is impossible for them to be caught by surprise, as happens to those in darkness or groggy from sleep (vv. 4-6).
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30
The harshness of the master toward the third servant seems excessive. He could—in our opinion—show himself more understanding because his employee, in addition to feeling intimidated, perhaps also had the impression of being underestimated. In this context, in the early centuries of the Church, someone has touched up the parable and has concluded: the third servant was not dishonest; he was only afraid, so the master only rebuked him gently. There was also a fourth servant to whom some talents were given. He gave himself over to the good life; he squandered it all with harlots and flute players. The master put him in jail. But everyone was treated with mercy.
The one who has changed the story in this way did not understand that Jesus did not intend to give a moral lesson on honesty and how to invest the money, but instead on the commitment to putting the treasures that belong to everyone to good use. As for the alleged poor esteem of the master for the third servant, this should be excluded: a talent was, at that time, a respectable sum and corresponded to the salary of about 20 years’work.
Let us immediately clarify the meaning of the talents. An idea that the talents indicate the qualities that every person has received from God has emerged and is difficult to eradicate. These are qualities that should not be hidden but developed and used. This interpretation is at odds with what is said in verse 15, where the talents are delivered “to each according to his abilities.” The talents and qualities of the individual, therefore, are not the same thing.
We come to the characters. They are introduced in the first part of the parable (vv. 14-15). The protagonist is a rich oriental person who must leave on a long journey. He entrusts his possessions to his most trusted servants. He knows their ability, attitude and competency. According to these, he decides how much to assign to each. The landowner is clearly Christ who, before leaving the world, handed over all his goods to his disciples.
The master does not indicate how to manage the talents, a sign of complete confidence in his servants' intelligence, insight and prudence, and respect for their freedom. We describe what these goods are. They are what Jesus has given to his Church: the Gospel, the message of salvation intended to transform the world and create a new humanity; his Spirit “who renews the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30), even himself in the sacraments; and then his power to heal, comfort, forgive and reconcile with God. The three servants are members of the Christian community. To each of them is given an assignment to put the wealth of the Lord to good use. According to our own charism (1 Cor 12:28-30), everyone is called to produce love. Love is, in fact, the gain, the fruit that the Lord wants.
The second part of the parable (vv. 16-18) describes the different behavior of the servants; two are enterprising, dynamic, hardworking, while the third is fearful and insecure. The time that all three have at their disposal is the master’s absence: from Easter until the coming of Christ at the end of the world’s history. It is when the Church organizes her life, grows, develops, and engages in favor of the people awaiting the return of the Lord. Matthew wants to encourage his community to take a test. He invited them to ask themselves first if they were aware of the treasure they had in hand, to check if all the ‘talents’ are used for the best or if any gift is hidden underground, if there are neglected aspects of the ecclesial life or if any ministry was languishing.
In the third part of the parable (vv. 19-30), we witness the rendering of accounts. The scene was initially quiet and serene; then it becomes dark, and—as so often happens in the Gospel of Matthew, it culminates dramatically. Let us look at it. The first two servants present themselves. With justifiable pride, they say to the master they have doubled what they received. In the parallel passage of Luke’s Gospel, the two servants seem to recognize that an astonishing result must be attributed to the largess of the capital more than their own effort. “Sir, your pound of silver—they say—has earned more ...” (Lk 19:16-18). In Matthew, however, the ability and the personal merit are highlighted: “I have gained...”said each of the two servants (vv. 20-22). The reward they receive is “the joy of their Lord,” the happiness that comes from being in tune with God and his plan.
Then the third servant who, despite not being the main character, appears to be the principal character of the parable. “I know—he says to his master—that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not sown and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground. Here, take what is yours.” The image this servant has of the master, while terrifying, is not contested, but in fact, affirmed. Matthew uses it to indicate how much the good of the person is cherished in Christ’s heart, how insistent he is that the Kingdom of God be established in the world. The ‘wrath of God’ is a biblical expression emphasizing his irrepressible love.
The central message of the parable is in the master’s rebuke of the slothful servant: the only unacceptable attitude is disengagement, the fear of risk. Even to the first two, perhaps not every economic transaction went well. However, he is condemned because he allowed himself to be immobilized by fear.
There were neglectful and diligent disciples in Matthew’s time, and that continues in our communities today. There are dynamic and enterprising Christians, committed to giving a new face to the catechesis, liturgy, and pastoral work, passionately committed to the study of God’s word to grasp its true and deep meaning, generous and active, but sometimes their excessive zeal leads to mistakes, and they do not always make good choices. Other Christians are rather lazy and afraid of everything. They limit themselves to monotonous repetition and tedious gestures, saying the same phrases repeatedly. They do not study and get annoyed if anyone proposes something new. They do not even raise the question of whether the Spirit desires changes. They feel safe only within what has always been saying and doing in the past. Any leap toward the future or human achievement scares them. They do not resonate with the great values of freedom and community life. They are afraid.
It is unbelievable but true. The fear of Christ can paralyze us. Some spiritualities of the past urged Christians to act but paid more attention to avoiding mortal sin and remaining in the grace of God, being faithful to the commandments and precepts. Anyone that transgressed was threatened with a terrible punishment. This spirituality created the third type of servant, that is, the Christians who, to avoid sin, always played it safe. They could not risk it because those who try to commit themselves inevitably expose themselves to the risk of being wrong.
Without realizing it, those who preach this fear deprive the world of love, spreading sterile goodness and spiritual lethargy in the community. The ‘talent’ of God’s word, for example, bears fruit only when we grasp its true meaning, translate into a language understandable to the world of today and apply it to life and the concrete situation of the community. Otherwise, it remains dead capital producing no change; it does not shake up the conscience, provoke or inspire anyone.
The punishment for making the talents of the Lord unproductive is exclusion from his joy. It is not condemnation to hell, but it is, at least for the time being, not belonging to the kingdom of God. What should anyone who does not commit themselves or dare to put to use the things of the Lord do? They should not unnecessarily continue to occupy positions of responsibility. Still, They must give their ministry to the bank and the community and entrust it to another who is willing to do it with commitment because the community requires that all ministries be well fulfilled.
The conclusion of the parable: “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them” is a famous proverb that reflects an easily verifiable fact: ‘wealth tends to accumulate, and the rich become richer.’ In this parable, its means that with the riches of God’s kingdom, the same thing happens: the community that is generous and attentive to the signs of the times progresses and gains greater vitality, while those that withdraw into themselves grow old, lapse, and quickly disappear.
READ: The parable of the talents reveals how a proper attitude of the heart gets rewarded by the Lord. Those with the soundness of soul do not need to fear the advent of the Day of the Lord and his judgment.
REFLECT: One might wonder about the justice of unequal distribution of talent among the servants. However, it is not what one receives that counts but what one does with what they have received. The Master’s delight and offer of reward are the same towards his servants who doubled their talents. God looks not at the quantity of our offerings but at their quality and the attitude with which we offer.
PRAY: Pray for the right attitude of the heart that makes us pleasing to the Lord.
ACT: List out three talents God has given you. Plan out how well you can double them at the service of God and his people.