Word to the Wise
Saturday, August 27, 2022 - Saturday in the 21th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 1:26-31 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.'" [Matthew]
AUGUST 27 ST. MONICA [mother of St. Augustine]
The twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew is composed entirely of three parables on being accountable to God for our lives. The first of the three - the Wise and Foolish Virgins - was the gospel scripture yesterday. The last of the three, the Last Judgment, is cut this year because of the way the weekdays and liturgical calendar coincide this year. I recommend reading the entire chapter to get the "big picture" of Jesus' message.
The first parable emphasizes the wisdom of being prepared for the Lord's return. The second parable - today's gospel scripture - emphasizes making the most of what God has given us while we await the end of time (whether by death or the return of Jesus). The third parable emphasizes that wise use of our gifts must include love of neighbor in the form of the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned or stranger because in doing so we are serving Christ. Michelangelo's rendition of the Last Judgment scene in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican can be a very sobering reminder of this expectation on the part of the Lord.
Thoughts of ultimate responsibility and the Last Judgment are not usually the daily worry of most folks. But Jesus challenges us to be more aware of them in shaping our daily lives. If we think of such realities as heaven, hell and purgatory in terms of our relationship with God rather than as places we go to (as Popes St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI taught), our understanding of these three parables can deepen considerably. AMEN