Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 2, 2006 - 21st Saturday in Ordinary Time
[1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and Matthew 25:14-30]Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small maters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.
The Gospel of Matthew continues to remind us of the importance of living a life of discipleship with the final accountability to the Lord in mind. The story of the talents (a monetary measure of weight, not a skill) picks up on an important element in human nature that has a very strong impact on the effectiveness of evangelization: FEAR! The servant who received the one talent (which was still a considerable amount) was afraid of the master and so he did nothing. His actions turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The very thing happened that he hoped to avoid by "playing it safe." Initiative and boldness, instead of passivity and fearfulness, are the hallmark of the faithful disciple. A glance at a biblical concordance will reveal that one of the most frequent, if not the most frequent, things that God says to humans is "Do not be afraid." On other occasions, the expression is: "Fear is useless." Yet, I think we Catholics are often afraid to share our faith with others. We clutch our faith to our bodies like a treasure. Faith IS a treasure, but not because it is hoarded and guarded. It is a treasure only if it is shared. Fear can prevent that sharing. Asking ourselves about our fears is an important step in self-knowledge no matter what. When the particular fears are related to our faith, the self-knowledge gained may be worth eternal life! We all want to hear those words: "Well done, good and faithful servant!" AMEN
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