Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 157
Reading 1
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 labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Responsorial Psalm
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. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
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. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Reading 2
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 them,
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me as I remain in you, says the Lord.
Whoever remains in me bears much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.'"
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
All of us have been given great responsibilities by God. These come in the form of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Being here, right now, is a testament to that fact. It is very easy to ignore these responsibilities, since we all have a seemingly endless list of other responsibilities that take on a life of their own, based upon a level of importance assigned to them by ourselves and further categorized by the demands set upon us by other people. We all have these. It is a part of life. If fact, those who ignore these and instead focus on pursuits that take time away from these things, are destined for a lot of misery. Responsibilities give us purpose. Responsibilities give us drive and strength. They validate our person-hood and help us define who we are. Without them, we are in danger of becoming listless and unfulfilled. We lose our purpose. Because of the imperfections present in all of us and our propensity to be subject to the allures of the world, the level of importance that we assign to these responsibilities is constantly in danger of being defective and incorrect. Often, the great responsibilities given to us by God are completely forgotten. These responsibilities lie in what we know about our faith and of Jesus Christ. We are expected first and foremost to act upon what we know, having it influence our conduct, all our thoughts and actions. Secondly, we are then expected to pass it along to everyone that we interact with. As Christians, no one is exempt from these responsibilities. As Jesus said, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” It does not matter how little or how much we know, it matters how much we apply it: to ourselves and to other people.
What we receive is freely given to us, but we do need to put in the effort into being exposed to it. We then must put more effort into keeping ourselves open to the transformative experience that undoubtably will happen when we embrace these things. This is what our relationship with God is all about. He acts. We are then acquired to react in these ways. If we don’t, only pain and misery will follow; a punishment of sorts which we bring upon ourselves. When we react, we are rewarded physically, mentally, and spiritually. We also become closer to that person that God intended us to be. The Apostle Paul reminds us today that we are children of the light. We all are in possession of least part of God’s Divine Revelation. There are no excuses to be caught off-guard and we are far beyond claiming that we were unaware of proper conduct and our Christian Duty. All of us have at least a foundation to build upon. The question that remains is what do we want to build on it? Something has to be put there. This takes planning, time, and effort. The more that we put there, the more we and all those in our lives benefit from it. If we choose not to build, then there will be consequences. We have been warned.
The other day, I was involved in a discussion about the Living Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The emphasis was on how we as Christians make up that body with each adding our own contributions based on what gifts we are blessed with. Each of us are an intricate part. No one is more important than the other. All are important and vital to the realization of Jesus Christ and the building up of His kingdom. These functions are grounded in the responsibilities we are given and can change based upon our knowledge, understanding, and the pursuit of wisdom. We, who are created out of love to love and be loved, can experience that same love which brought us into being by knowing more. Thus, when we know more, we can experience love more. As the Apostle John said, “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.” Knowing brings gifts from God and, with these gifts, come great responsibilities. It is through these responsibilities and the pursuit thereof, that we find true joy and a life with God.
Deacon Tom
