33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
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This weekend we will be taking time after the gospel to prayerfully fill out the archdiocesan sanctioned Church Life and mission survey that is undertaken five yearly on a Census year.
In the meantime, here are some thoughts on the Gospel this weekend.
This parable today says quite a few extraordinary things….
Believe it or not, we are not the best judge of our own gifts and talents. God is, and others around us, loved ones and friends and trusted mentors may have a lot to offer us on our own gifts and talents.
We can be our own worst enemies when it comes to saying, ‘I am not good at that’ “ I can’t do this”…. God knows what we are and are not able to do, and if we have been given gifts they are for using, not storing.
Did I tell you about the time I was in grade three. I was actually a fast runner. So I thought, if I don’t run around I can store than speed and go faster when I need it. Unfortunately for me, we humans are not like batteries that keep storing and changing… if you don’t use it you lose it. So next time I went to run really fast, I got puffed and wasn’t anywhere near as fast… some wasted energy there??? Definitely. And perhaps an early lesson that some things just don’t store up. They need to be used and fostered and nurtured.
“This weekend’s gospel speaks of the gifts God has given all of us. There has been, within the universal church, a movement calling upon all members of the church to create a "culture of discernment." In such a culture, people would develop the skills and habit of reflecting on the gifts they bring to the world. They would not only know their gifts, but also put them to good use in response to God's call. Today's gospel offers an opportunity to invite people to reflect honestly on the talents, skills, and traits that are part of their personality and how they multiply life's goodness by using those talents fully. This culture of discernment can also be used to reflect upon the reasoning and excuses offered up by modern society and to carefully weigh up the true merit of some popular attitudes and ways of thinking. We need this culture of prayerful discernment more than ever. The foolish person who hid his talent had what he thought was a perfect excuse to offer to the master, but the master soon
labelled it for what it really was - nonsense!”
- Pharisees and scribes focused on preserving and keeping the law…. “building a fence around the law” keeping the law pure and unadulterated…. they were thus focusing on simply keeping it and handing it back exactly as they had received it, without change or growth or improvement….. They had lost the point….. The Law had become an end in itself…. “keeping the rules” was the only thing that mattered….. earning God’s reward by keeping the rules, but not doing much else…. had distorted the Good news of God’s Kingdom…….. What they were doing is a bit like handing back a seed that you have been given and saying to the farmer… here it is… you gave it to me.. I have preserved the seed… froze it… and her is the seed back exactly in the same condition as you gave it to me…. but how crazy… the seed is for the sowing.. it is for planting… and for germination… it is to produce a plant which will bear fruit….. // This would be just an interesting parable if it wasn’t for the fact that this tendency still occurs today…. // the tendency to miss the forest for the trees…. and to focus on restrictive rules as opposed to the purpose and reason and spirit of the law and what it was trying to achieve….. can be a constant obstacle….
- God has distributed talents differently to different people…… we don’t all have the same qualities and talents…….. // (but the talents each of us have…. are given to share for the common good of all…..) // but we also know that there are some very talented people who have under-utilised their talent and produced mediocre fruit…// there are countless stories of saints and famous people who overcame great obstacles (including very poor health), and limitations to produce the most amazing (disproportionate) fruits and results in their lives….. through determination, hard work (and of course, by the grace of God)….and utilising well the talents and vision they DID possess….. // it’s the old ‘tortoise and the hare’ syndrome….
- The reward, in God’s kingdom is still more work to be done.. urgent.. important and competent/. Those who produced the fruits were given even more to produce….. so it is with us… there is no time like the present… and the harvest is plentiful… the labourers are few….
- If you use your gifts you will develop them.., they will increase in significance and effect…. if you don’t lose your gifts you will calcify them… you will lose them…… so the best way to keep our gifts is to use them in the service of God and our fellow human being…
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Sources:
- Fr Paul kelly
- Prepare the Word Resources, 2011.
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