Twenty First Week in Ordinary Time / Augustine
Gospel: Mt 25: 14-30
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”
HARD WORK: Work is blessed, enlivens and brings reward. When we work, we are utilize that which we have been given by God. Through work, we extend charity in creation. Work and exploitation is an expression of positivity and hope. On the contrary, those who do nothing are champions of hearsays and negativity. To bring out the best within us, we must work hard in the way that Paul advises the church. God has given us talents, and to fully utilize them, we must go out and work. When we discover our talents, we grow them by putting them to work, knowing that one day we shll be accountable to God who gave us the talents. Each has their own and they are required to produce accordingly, failure to do this will result in loss of even what we have.
PRAYER: Let us pray for dedication to realizing that which God has put in us.
*****
EVERYTHING IS CREATED FOR GROWTH AND SHARING: There is joy when there is growth. When a child grows and when the seed sprouts, it gives joy to others because of the presence of new life. The biological cycle teaches us that all things depend on each other. Each one has a role to play. The modern culture tries to be progressive moving from stagnation and backwardness. However, this brings in competition which makes people more individualistic than open to other’s benefit. Everybody is worth of something. The competitive world select the strong and reject the weak. But everyone is worthy in God’s sight and he expects us to work hard and develop God’s gifts. God rewards faithfulness and not the quantity of the success.
DAILY GOSPEL 