Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 25:14-30
November 19, 2023

I feel like I am repeating myself…which, of course, people my age often do. However, this is a situation where I think I am completely justified in saying the same thing that I just said last Sunday.

In my reflection on last week’s Readings, I pointed out the “plain meaning” or the obvious lesson of the parable Jesus told. I went on to offer my opinion that: If you give no further thought to this Reading, the plain and obvious meaning will certainly be a worthy and important takeaway. Just so today!

Pairing the Old Testament Reading with the Gospel leads to an obvious lesson. If you act on an opportunity, and take a risk, whether investing your love and life in a relationship with a worthy spouse, or investing your money in a sound business opportunity, you will be rewarded. If, on the other hand, out of fear, you hold back, you might well lose out.

The plain meaning of this parable has inspired many a sermon encouraging disciples to take our God-given talents and opportunities and put them to good use, so that they pay spiritual dividends. This causes me to repeat exactly what I said last Sunday: If you give no further thought to this Gospel, the plain and obvious meaning will certainly be a worthy and important takeaway.

However, if you dig deeper…mine this parable, so to speak…you might just discover a pearl of wisdom that will bring an even greater spiritual return…holding its value during these volatile and violent times through which we are living.

Let me explain.

The “wicked and lazy servant” was quite honest in explaining his investment strategy to the master. He told him to his face! You have the reputation of being “demanding.” The poor guy went on to suggest that the master was even unethical. (Remember, he was the kind of guy that harvested where he did not plant and gathered where he did not scatter.) Of course, the servant was reluctant to take a risk. Fear dictated the most conservative path. He hid what was entrusted to him to protect it, as well as himself. The conclusion of the story demonstrates that he was, indeed, justified in his fear.

I wonder if fear also motivated the so-called “good and faithful servants”? Maybe they understood what would be expected by their “demanding” and possibly unethical master. Maybe fear led them to the conclusion that the best strategy was an aggressive one. After all, they had nothing to lose and everything to gain by showing a profit.

I suggest that fear is very much at play in this little story. Furthermore, I STRONGLY SUGGEST that fear SHOULD NOT…EVER…be at play in the lives of good and faithful Christians, who are trying their best to live as Jesus calls us to. Why am I bold enough to make such a suggestion? Because The Lord, Himself, on numerous occasions, told His disciples: FEAR NOT!

Nevertheless, as we heard in last week’s Gospel, repeated today, Jesus also encourages us to BE PREPARED!

I have one last suggestion.

It occurs to me that The Church, in her wisdom, opened this Liturgy of the Word with the little passage from The Book of Wisdom to help us look beneath the plain meaning of the parable. Often proclaimed at weddings, as well as the funerals of good and loving wives and mothers, the passage encourages men to invest their love and their lives when they find a “worthy wife.” The Reading goes on to describe how a hardworking and industrious spouse brings a lifetime of good…and not evil. What we are not told, however, is the motivation for such commitment and effort. In most cases, it is LOVE!

Good, faithful, committed, and self-sacrificing spouses (wives as well as husbands) do all they do…OUT OF LOVE…NOT FEAR…BUT LOVE!

And so, it should be for us, whom, through Baptism, have been enlightened by The Holy Spirit. We should prepare for The Day of the Lord, but not because we fear a “demanding master.” Our preparations should be motived by the desire that things be as perfect as possible on that day, when He comes either to call us as individuals, from time and into eternity, or on the Last Day.

We should prepare to go out to greet our Christ…with joyful and loving hearts…free of all fear and anxiety. That, I believe, is a pearl of wisdom that will hold its value, even during these volatile and violent times we are living through…when there is little peace in our world, and nothing seems secure.

WE SHOULD LIVE IN A STATE OF CONSTANT READINESS TO GREET JESUS CHRIST…NOT OUT OF FEAR…BUT OUT OF LOVE!