I suspect every expectant mother has been told, “The baby will come when the baby decides to come.” When the baby does come, there is no stopping that birth. The same thing can be said about the end of time or the moment we die, whichever comes first.
Should we be afraid to die or the end of time? St. Paul tells the Thessalonians and us that we should be ready for the end, but we shouldn’t be afraid if death catches us off guard for as long as we live in the light of the Lord, we won’t be left in the dark. This is the paramount lesson of these readings.
Since Jesus talks about talents, which in biblical times was an extraordinary amount of money, this parable seems to be a commentary on financial investments but it really isn’t. Like the two that we heard on previous weekends, this parable speaks about the final coming of the Son of Man. Jesus begins by saying that before leaving on a journey, a man entrusted his possessions to his servants.
That man was Jesus. He left us behind when he ascended into heaven. We fit into the parable as one of the servants. Jesus didn’t entrust any sum of money to us but he entrusts us with his wisdom, his teachings, and his blue print for building the kingdom of God in our lifetime. The Church has become what it is today because many believers invested their knowledge of the faith well by sharing its Good News with others. The wisdom and understanding we possess today of our faith and Jesus Christ was passed on to us by our parents, catechists, homilists and many other Christians who influenced us over time. As his followers we are also expected to pass on the good news of our faith to others.
Every day we have many chances to use the talents God has given us. God expects us to use them for the salvation of the world. In the parable Jesus relates that two servants did that well. To both of them, their master said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” He didn’t compliment the servant who returned the talent he had buried. Instead, that servant was reprimanded for being lazy and fearful.
For Matthew, the profitable servants stand for Christians who heard the message of Jesus, believe in him, and followed his new way of life. The unprofitable servant refers to those Christians who do not follow the way of Christ. Instead, they carelessly disregard the Word of God by their self-seeking and lack of concern for heeding his call to live the faith.
This parable has much to say to us modern American Catholics. For example, it says something to the pragmatic businessman whose work consumes his time and energy so he never questions his own values in relation to those of Jesus Christ. For him, Jesus is neither the meaning of his life nor the goal of his human activity.
This parable is also meant for Catholics who see their faith only in terms of occasionally attending Mass and when convenient, keeping the commandments. They feel no compulsion to live their faith consistently or to deepen their understanding of the faith they profess as Catholics. They fail to see that Jesus will want to know how we use what we have in order to help others also know and serve God.
They are often accused of being “cafeteria Catholics,” that is, selecting only what they like about the faith and ignoring what they don’t like. Actually, we are all “cafeteria Catholics.” Think back to when you last went through a buffet line that offered more than you could consume. You had to be selective. Our Church is like that. But is what we are helping ourselves to as we go through the line and define our notion of being Catholic leaving us with a balanced understanding of our Catholic faith?
We each approach our Catholic faith from different angles, ranging from conservative or traditional to liberal and many stages in between. Some in one camp are quite critical of those in the other without really understanding each side’s point of view. Even Pope Francis has his critics. The odds are, since both sides share the same belief in Jesus Christ, that they share the same viewpoint on relevant issues such as respect life, but are expressing their views differently.
Jesus expects us to do something for the salvation of the world but first we must grow and mature in our faith. We do that by investing time and energy to better understand what being a Catholic is really about. How many of us have tried to better understand the teachings of our Catholic faith since taking religious ed classes while growing up? Those who haven’t may not be looking at our faith with an adult mindset.
My friends, this parable is a wake-up call! Jesus expects us to use our talents and minds to build up the kingdom of God. This we are motivated to do when we better understand the message he left behind that has been passed on to us by the traditions and teachings of our Church. Otherwise, we may be afraid to share the good news out of ignorance.
To the degree that we use our talents in ways that are humanly and spiritually profitable, Jesus will reward us. We come here each week to study his message and model our lives on his example, along with being nurtured by him in the Eucharist. As long as we strive to use our talents to love, teach, pray and serve, Jesus will judge us kindly at the end of time with compassion and generosity, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come share your master’s joy.”