16 November 2008
First reading Proverbs 31:10-13,19-20,30-31
A perfect wife – who can find her?
She is far beyond the price of pearls.
Her husband’s heart has confidence in her,
from her he will derive no little profit.
Advantage and not hurt she brings him
all the days of her life.
She is always busy with wool and with flax,
she does her work with eager hands.
She sets her hands to the distaff,
her fingers grasp the spindle.
She holds out her hand to the poor,
she opens her arms to the needy.
Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty;
the woman who is wise is the one to praise.
Give her a share in what her hands have worked for,
and let her works tell her praises at the city gates.
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 127:1-5
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to [a] those he loves.
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Second reading 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.
But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober.
Gospel Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.
‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”
‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’
Reflections
By Grace Madrinan
"To whom much is given, much is expected in return".
Whenever I read this line, I can't help but be reminded of Spiderman (the movie). In one of the scenes, Ben Parker told Peter (aka Spiderman) that, "With great power comes great responsibility". I thought it as very similar to our Gospel today. Having a gift or power should not be taken lightly. It is not only something to be celebrated, it also requires great commitment to make use of it for the common good.
In the parable featured in the Gospel today, the master knew the strengths of his servants. And whether he gave 5 talents or just 2, he has the same expectation that they will put their talents to good use and bear more interests. At the time of settling the accounts, the master is pleased with the servants who have gained more talents, and was outraged with the one who just hid his talent.
In the same way, God gives us 'talents' by grace, trusting that we will use it according to His will. From the time we were baptized as Christians and accepted our faith, we have a basic duty to proclaim and act out His love to the world. No excuses, no exceptions. How much more then, if we have been given gifts of healing, or skills to preach or the wealth to feed the hungry? Thus, much more is required of us to put our gifts to serve others.
But let us not be intimidated with the thought that we need to do 'big' things at once to be worthy of His talents. Anything we do for the least of our brothers, no matter how small it is, is accounted in heaven. It is a relief to know that God looks at the quality and not the quantity of our deeds.
Father, You have blessed us with so much talents. Help us to make good use of our gifts so that we may be able to accomplish the tasks You have set before us. Amen.
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