The Lord holds us accountable for how we use our God-given giftedness.

 

Thirty Third Sunday in OT  A  2023

Today’s scripture readings prepare us for the end of the liturgical year. They challenge us to understand our life in terms of its ultimate purpose. On this the second last Sunday of the liturgical year, our prayer centers around the accountability the Lord will ultimately ask of each of us. In terms of the Gospel parable of the various talents given to the three servants, we too have been generous recipients of blessings and talents from our loving God.

Our prayerful question is one of accountability. What are we doing with the talents God has given to us? Have we buried our talents, or have we used them to make a difference in the lives of others? 

The second Scripture reading from St Paul tells us the Day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night. We know not the day or the hour.   The apostle Paul   told people not to get too worried about end times, but not to get too comfortable either. What really matters on the Day of the Lord is what we are doing with the graces and talents that have been given to us.

The message in the parable is about trust. God is entrusting us with God-given talents. God trusts us. In turn, we are to trust God in taking the risk and making the commitment to share the talents we have been given in the service of others. Our precious God-given talents are not ours to keep. Our talents are not to be buried in the ground. Rather that are given to us to live out the commandment of love, the first requirement of a disciple of Jesus.

Our talents are not our personal wealth. These talents are our God-given gifts that are meant to be multiplied and be life-giving for all.

We need to get our head around the talents that we have been given. As we are parishioners of Holy Spirit parish, for this reflection I invite you to think of talents as 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, and even Jesus Himself in the Sacraments; and then his power to heal, to comfort, to forgive, to reconcile with God.

These are the talents given to the three servants in helping us understand the meaning of the parable. The three servants are members of the Church. To each of them is given an assignment to be done so that this wealth of the Lord may be put to good use. According to one’s own charism, everyone is called to produce love.

The second part of the parable describes the different behavior of the servants, two are enterprising, dynamic, hardworking, while the third is fearful and insecure. The first two servants learned to love what the master did.

In the third part of the parable, we witness the rendering of accounts. The reward the first two servants receive is the joy of their Lord, the happiness that comes from being in tune with God and His plan.

Then the third servant, despite not being a main actor, appears to be the principal character of the parable. The central message of the parable is the master’s rebuke of the slothful servant:  the only unacceptable attitude is disengagement; it is the fear of risk. He is condemned because he let himself be blocked by fear.

This third servant is held accountable for not sharing the talent of forgiveness, of compassion, of loving those who are difficult to love. These talents are not to be buried in the ground. Refusing the trust that he had been given, he buried his master’s offer in the grave.

And so, we ask ourselves are we burying our God-given giftedness in the ground?

Our life as a disciple of Jesus can never be just as a spectator; we are to be active participants in sharing our God-given talents in making a difference in the lives of others. We begin within our own family. We begin within our own parish community. But the Gospel call to love demands that we move beyond our comfort zone and bring the message of the healing love of Jesus to one and all.

We are to pray over this parable individually and as the parish community of the Church of the Holy Spirit?

Has the sharing of our talents resulted in candidates for the priesthood, consecrated life as a religious, or the commitment to serve the Church as a lay ecclesial minister? Who has emerged from our faith community to serve in leadership ministries in our Church?

Has our sharing of our faith and love led others in our neighborhood to join and become active participants in our parish community?

Are we known in the neighborhood as a welcoming parish, as a family friendly parish?

How have we as a parish community shared our giftedness and talents with those who are in need? What we have been given, we are given to share. We are called to wash the feet of God’s poor.

It has been said that for us to enter the kingdom of heaven we need a letter of recommendation from someone who is poor. Who is going to write that letter for you and who is going to write that letter for me?

Have we made a pledge to support the CMA this year? Will we lend our support to empower our diocesan ministries to serve people in need?

The challenge for all of us to place God first in our lives. It’s too easy to bury our baptismal talent in the midst of a life that is filled with activity from one moment to the next.  The potential talent we have as a parish community is limitless if we commit ourselves to be a parish community that gives praise to God and if we commit ourselves to use our talents in the service of one another.

And so, as we come to the end of this liturgical year and we reflect on the accountability that is asked of each one of us and is asked of us as a parish community, may we rejoice in the joy of the blessings of life that we have been given and shared. May we also hold ourselves accountable that we have not yet finished the work that the Lord has given us to do. The Lord will hold us accountable for how we shared our faith, our compassion, our forgiveness, our welcome, and our love with one and all.

Have a blessed day!