Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(11/01/2026) Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:14-20

"  The Master Will Settle His Account with Them  "

 

Remain in me as I remain in you, says the Lord.
Whoever remains in me bears much fruit.

From the desk of Fr. Leo

     With the economy the way it is today, there is the temptation to be like the man in this weekend’s gospel and bury whatever we might have left of our assets in some place. Our story however, is not about how we should invest our money but how to invest our lives. The only safe investment is to invest our lives in God and to live our faith as best we can.

     When we hear the word talent, we automatically think of some special gift, like writing poetry or singing or drawing or playing sports. In this weekend's parable, the talents the master gave his servants were indeed special gifts, but in the vocabulary of the ancients it referred to a specific weight – 60 to 80 pounds of gold or silver. Jesus doesn't tell us what the metal was, but it would indeed have been a special gift.

     The third man, the man with the one talent, said he was too afraid of his boss to risk investing it. The thought struck me, that maybe the other two had just as much fear of their master and that's what motivated them to do something with the talents they have been given. Fear is not always bad. Sometimes it motivates us to action rather than immobilizing us.

     We all know that if we work hard, we will be more likely to succeed in life than if we don't. Outside circumstances (which we call luck: good luck or bad) can affect our efforts, but for the most part we get out of life what we put into it. That's a no- brainer.

     Jesus is telling us that our eternal happiness works the same way. We will get out of our spiritual life what we put into it. Too many people today hear only what they want to hear in the gospels. They enjoy hearing all about God's mercy and love, but they tend to ignore the places where Jesus tells us about our responsibilities. This weekend's parable tells us heaven is not a freebie and it's not automatic. If it were, why did Jesus need to come to us in the first place? Why did He teach us how to live and stress the importance of prayer and doing good works? Grace is indeed a gift, but if we don't use the graces and gifts and love God offers us, we will lose them. It's just like any talent we can think of – if we don't use it, it does no good to have it. God can't save us without our cooperation. If this parable does not tell us that, then it doesn't tell us anything.

     Faith in our Lord will not disappoint, but it will not bring payoffs every time we pray or do something good. If that were to happen, faith would be unnecessary. The reason we need faith is because we are not always immediately blessed for some good thing we do. When we are, that's great. When we are not, we just have to trust that God will not let us down in the end.

Meditation: What can economics and productivity teach us about the kingdom of heaven? Jesus' story about a businessman who leaves town and entrusts his money with his workers made perfect sense to his audience. Wealthy merchants and businessmen often had to travel abroad and leave the business to others to handle while they were gone.

Why did Jesus tell this story and what can it teach us? Most importantly it tells us something about how God deals with us, his disciples and servants. The parable speaks first of the Master's trust in his servants. While he goes away he leaves them with his money to use as they think best. While there were no strings attached, this was obviously a test to see if the Master's workers would be industrious and reliable in their use of the money entrusted to them. The master rewards those who are industrious and faithful and he punishes those who sit by idly and who do nothing with his money.

The essence of the parable seems to lie in the servants' conception of responsibility. Each servant entrusted with the master's money was faithful up to a certain point. The servant who buried the master's money was irresponsible. One can bury seeds in the ground and expect them to become productive because they obey natural laws. Coins, however, do not obey natural laws. They obey economic laws and become productive in circulation. The master expected his servants to be productive in the use of his money.

God rewards those who use their gifts for serving him and the good of others
What do coins and the law of economics have to do with the kingdom of God? The Lord entrusts the subjects of his kingdom with gifts and graces and he gives his subjects the freedom to use them as they think best. With each gift and talent, God gives sufficient means (grace and wisdom) for using them in a fitting way. As the parable of the talents shows, God abhors indifference and an attitude that says it's not worth trying. God honors those who use their talents and gifts for doing good. Those who are faithful with even a little are entrusted with more! But those who neglect or squander what God has entrusted to them will lose what they have.

There is an important lesson here for us. No one can stand still for long in the Christian life. We either get more or we lose what we have. We either advance towards God or we slip back. Do you seek to serve God with the gifts, talents, and graces he has given to you? 

Lord Jesus, be the ruler of my heart and thoughts, be the king of my home and relationships, and be the master of my work and service. Help me to make good use of the gifts, talents, time, and resources you give me for your glory and your kingdom.

read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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