Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 31, 2013 - Saturday in the 21th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Thess 4:9-11 and Matt 25:14-30]"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!"
After the parable of the "wise and foolish virgins," we have a second parable that follows it about "faithful" and "unfaithful" servants. In this particular parable, the fear of the third servant paralyzed him and he failed to make good use of the money given to him. The import of both these parables is directed to the community awaiting the return of Jesus. What is needed is wisdom and initiative in living the message of Jesus, and not fear and laziness!
I experience both fearful Christians and lazy ones in pastoral work. I can't say I've been entirely free of either problem at some times in my own life. Conversion is a life-long process, but we can try to be aware that fear and laziness are dangerous. One of the things we hear Jesus say most often is, "Do not be afraid!" Yet I hear the sound of fear in many voices in the confessional! [I suspect this is because of the way we celebrate that important sacrament - "confession" rather than "reconciliation!] Jesus encourages initiative and reaching out, but many folks "compartmentalize" faith into "going to church" without ever thinking of the needs of others around them. The very next parable in this 25th chapter of Matthew is the dramatic image of the last judgment: "When I was hungry, you gave me to eat....." with nothing about how many times you missed Mass or how many devotional acts were performed!
The three parables in chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew give us much to think about. I think we all want to hear those words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant.." at the end of our lives, but it means we have to do something now if we want to hear them. AMEN