My dear brothers and sisters, peace be with you. In today’s readings from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and our Lord’s recorded teachings in the gospel of Matthew, we are given to understand that we have been entrusted with a special task by God. We are his children, infinitely loved, but we have been entrusted with responsibilities by our Heavenly Father.
In the first reading, Paul is reminding us that although we may think we are not up to the task at hand, God knows our limitations better than we know them ourselves, but it is precisely through those limitations that God will work through us in the world and therefore it will be amply clear to all that what is being done through us, does not come from ourselves, but from the power of God.
As an illustration of this in the biblical narrative found in the Book of Judges, specifically Judges 7, God thins out Gideon's army through a two-step process to reduce the number of soldiers from 32,000 to just 300. First, God instructs Gideon to tell any man who is afraid to go home. As a result, 22,000 soldiers leave, leaving Gideon with only 10,000. Next, God provides a further test to determine who will remain. Gideon is told to bring the remaining soldiers to the water and observe how they drink. Those who lap water with their tongues like a dog (bending down to drink) are chosen, while those who kneel down to drink are sent home. This selection process results in only 300 men remaining.
This reduction in numbers serves to emphasize that as Paul says in today’s first reading, “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise… the weak of the world to shame the strong… the lowly and despised of the world and those who count for nothing to reduce to nothing those who are something.”
In today’s gospel, we are shown that all of us have been chosen, notwithstanding our limited capabilities. We are each entrusted with our own unique “talents”—in terms of our skills, time, relationships, and opportunities to serve. The parable of the three servants challenges us to reflect on how we are using the gifts God has entrusted to each of us.
The master in the parable distributes talents according to each servant’s ability. This not only illustrates God’s wisdom in perfecting our potentials but also acknowledges our diverse paths and journeys.
The two diligent servants exemplify initiative and creativity. They trade and multiply their talents, receiving praise and greater responsibilities from their master. They understood that faith is not just belief but active engagement and an openness to God so as to allow us to grow in our vocations. In contrast, the third servant, overwhelmed by fear, takes a different approach, burying his talent. His inaction becomes his downfall. His fear of the master—the idea that he would demand more than what was given—was an irrational stumbling block to this servant and reminds us of how paralyzing our unfounded fears can be on our spiritual paths forward. Paul reminds us that God did not give us a spirit of fear, and Jesus in the gospels is continually encouraging us to not be afraid. Remember, the first to be sent packing and disqualified from Gideon’s army were those who showed fear – irrational because it was clear that God was with them. And if God is for us, who can be against us? Why fear?
As we come to the end of this week, let us commit to uncovering our buried talents with the help of the intercession of our Blessed Mother. Today is Saturday. Let us offer our rosaries today for this intention and meditate on it in our prayer. Let us be inspired by the servants who risked and thrived for our Lady herself, risked and thrived. She believed even when it was difficult or a challenge for her to do so. She was being asked to believe that she would conceive a child, without human contact. How would you react? She merely submitted to Saint Gabriel the Archangel’s perplexing words, knowing and being reassured by him that “nothing is impossible for God.” And above all, let us trust that when we step out in faith, relying on God’s grace the way she who was “full of grace” relied on Him, we will not face the darkness of condemnation, but rather, we will be welcomed into the joy of our Master, celebrating the fruits of our faithful stewardship. Our Lady, Queen of All Christians, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen
Add comment
Comments