THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
15 NOVEMBER 2020
The
earliest prophets of the Old Testament used the term “the day of the Lord” to
give hope to the people of Israel that God would bring victory to them over
their enemies. However, as time went on,
later prophets used that same term to warn people of the result of their
infidelity to the Covenant. These later
warnings were realized when the Babylonians invaded to destroy Jerusalem and
its sacred temple on “the day of the Lord.”
Saint Paul
uses that same term when he writes to the Thessalonians. He responds to their question about the
timing of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Calling that event “the day of the Lord,” he reminds them that no one
knows when the Lord will come again.
Instead of predicting when it will occur, he tells them to remember the
light of Christ that they received at their baptism and to stay alert and be
sober. While their pagan neighbors
remain in darkness, concerned only about avoiding the wrath of their Roman
rulers, they should live their baptismal promises. In living those baptismal
promises, their sacrificial love will reveal the presence of the risen Christ
in the lives of their families.
Saint Paul
addresses this same message to us today.
He reminds us that we cannot know the timing of “the day of the Lord,”
either in the Lord’s Second Coming, or when we will die. Like the Thessalonians, we too are children
of light, challenged to allow the light of Christ to shine through us when we
live our baptismal promises. Jesus has
given each of us generous amounts of talents, as the man in the parable gave to
his servants. The Lord has given each of
us natural abilities and talents. He has
entrusted to us financial resources in the comfort of the First World. He has provided spiritual gifts. Throughout the course of this Liturgical
Year, he has entrusted us with knowledge of the workings of the Kingdom of
Heaven in our midst.
We are tempted
to be like the third servant who does not think that his one talent
matters. Instead of taking a risk and
responding with love to the talent he has been given out of love, he buries his
talent and cowers in fear. Talents are
meant to be shared, not buried or hoarded.
That is what happened at the beginning of this pandemic. When we entered the lockdown, people became
afraid of lacking valuable commodities. The
shortage of toilet paper is an example.
Experts called it “zero risk bias.”
Instead of sharing toilet paper, too many hoarded it out of fear. We cannot remain hidden and living in fear
and darkness. We must invest our
talents.
Every year,
we sponsor a retreat for our eighth graders, as they prepare to receive the
gifts of the Holy Spirit when they are confirmed. They could not be gathered in one place this
year. So, they have participated
virtually. At two Masses this weekend,
they are being enrolled as Candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation. As we support them and pray for them, they
encourage us to put the gifts we received to use our natural abilities and
talents to build up our human families and our parish family. They encourage us to set aside a portion of
our financial resources to assist the most vulnerable, especially those
affected by this pandemic. As they have
learned about the Holy Spirit in class, they show us the need to participate in
adult education offerings to deepen our understanding of the faith. As they have listened to the Gospel of Saint
Matthew this year, we can reinforce our faith that the Kingdom of Heaven is in
our midst, keeping the Holy Spirit’s gift of hope alive in this darkness.
The Book of
Proverbs praises the industrious wife who puts her obvious skills at the
service of her family and her community.
We can do the same, trusting that the risks we take in investing our
many talents will bring light to a darkened world and keep us alert for “the
day of the Lord,” whenever that day arrives.
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