November 15, 2020
Proverbs 31, 10-20; Psalm 128; 1 Thessalonians, 5, 1-6; Matthew 25, 14-30
By +Guy Sansaricq
At the end of the Liturgical year, the Church stresses the theme of the LAST JUDGMENT at Jesus’ second return. We are taught that Jesus wants us to be responsible partners of his mission of salvation. We are equipped with gifts and qualities. Only those who through hard work enrich God’s kingdom will be largely rewarded. The lazy, the careless, the irresponsible are to be rejected into the place of torment and grinding teeth. In other terms we must be “GOOD STEWARDS” of God’s gifts.
The well-known parable of the talents is used to convey the lesson. A rich land owner, upon leaving for a long journey entrusts his fortune to three smart servants. The first one receives five talents let us say the equivalent of $50 000.00, the second one two talents, something like $20 000.00 and the third one $10 000.00. When the owner returns from his trip at an unexpected time, the first two are richly rewarded because through their hard work they each had doubled the amounts originally received. They had shown themselves to be GOOD STEWARDS.
The third one, called to give an account of his management simply returned the $10 000.00. He had made NO USE of his master’s fortune. Irresponsible people are unfit for the kingdom!
In conclusion Christ calls us to roll up our sleeves and responsibly prepare for the second coming through vigilance and labors of love! God honoring our human nature DEMANDS FROM US AN ADULT RESPONSIBLE USE OF HIS GIFTS. Let us give proof of our FAITH in JESUS through DEEDS OF LOVE.