Gospel: August 31, 2024
(Saturday)
21st Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 1/ (Green/White)
Blessed Virgin Mary
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 33: 12-13, 18-19, 20-21
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
1st Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 26: 31
Gospel: Matthew 25: 14-30
Imagine someone who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust his property to them. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away. He who received five talents went at once to do business with the talents, and gained another five. The one who received two talents did the same, and gained another two. But the one who received one talent dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.After a long time, the master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see, I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.’
Then the one who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with two talents; with them I have gained two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in little things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.’
Finally, the one who had received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not sown, and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground. Here, take what is yours!’ But his master replied, ‘Wicked and worthless servant, you know that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered. You should have deposited my money in the bank, and given it back to me with interest on my return.
Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has 10. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them. As for that useless servant, throw him out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Reflection:“God-given gifts”
The value of waiting for the Lord’s coming is accentuated by Matthew’s eschatological discourse. Yesterday, we reflected on the challenge to sensibly wait for Jesus’ coming into our life because we do not exactly know the time of his arrival. The Lord, in his goodness, has left us with talents which we can use while we wait for him. Today’s Gospel narrates the parable that is commonly known to us as the parable of the talents. It tells of a man who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust to them his property. He gave five talents of silver to one, two to another and one to another servant. He entrusted these talents to each of his servants according to their respective abilities. The servant who received five talents went to do business and he earned another five. The other servant who received two talents did likewise and gained two more. But the last one dug a hole in the ground and then hid the talent given him. In his return, the master praised the first two servants while the unproductive servant was thrown outside in the dark. Do we use our God-given gifts for good or do we waste them?
