HOMILY FOR 33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A
HOMILY FOR 33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A
THEME: PASSCODE TO SUCCESS
By: Fr Andrew Ekpenyong
1. Faithfulness. When Mr Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, and Mrs Clara Ford celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, a reporter asked them, “To what do you attribute your fifty years of successful married life?” Mr. Ford responded, “The formula, is the same formula I have always used in making cars—just stick to one model.” In one word, fidelity. Or faithfulness. All the Scripture readings today contain that same advice of faithfulness to the end, as a passcode or key to success in marriage, in family life, in our work, in our education, in our vocation, overall success in life, lasting success, leading to eternal joy. Yes, in the first reading (Prov 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) the advice is from a mother to her son. The reading presents excerpts from the divinely inspired advice of a mother to her son. Prov 31:2 says “What are you doing, my son! What are you doing, son of my womb; what are you doing, son of my vows!” The good son is expected to find a good wife to whom he will be faithful, and so this mother presents the virtues of a good wife to her son: “When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.” (Prov 31:10). “Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Acclaim her for the work of her hands, and let her deeds praise her at the city gates.” (v 30-31). Thus, among the virtues of the good husband, according to this advice from a queen mother to her son, is recognition of the good character of his wife, not just charm or beauty. Beauty is fleeting. But character lasts. Pricing moral character over physical attributes, gives mutual and lifelong fidelity in marriage a firm foundation. This advice is good for all women and men, and for all times and cultures including our own.
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY: 33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A
2. Talents and Faithfulness. In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 25:14-15, 19-21) our Lord gives the Parable of Talents with the following punch line for each of the two servants who traded and doubled their talents: “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.” So, it is about faithfulness, in this case to the master, the generous master. The master did not share drachmas or denarii or pennies to the servants but eight Talents. One Talent (from Greek τάλαντον, talanton meaning ‘scale’ or ‘balance’) was a unit of weight of approximately 36 kg or 80 pounds and as a unit of money, was valued for that weight of silver. One talent was therefore worth about 6,000 denarii and a denarius was the usual payment for a day’s labor (Mt 20:2, Jn 12:5). At this rate, one Talent was worth 16 years of labor! Talents in this context are creative abilities and graces given each of us. They are ‘bits of God’ in each of us. With these, we can care for others, ourselves, and our environment. The parable challenges us to use our talents or lose them. Using our Talents well depends on our relationship with God who gave them generously. Faithful to God, we take risks and work for a better world, a more peaceful world. Doubtful of God’s generous love, we bury our talents and seek to throw out anything connected with faith in God. I have learned a lot of joyful practical lessons from this parable. Let me share two more in the light of the 2nd Reading which continues the theme of being faithful to the end: “…stay alert and sober” (1 Thess 5:1-6).
3. Joyful Lessons: (i). It turns out that the labor involved in digging and burying our talents, like the third servant, can even be more than the labor involved in the minimum investment of putting it in the bank as suggested in the parable. Negativity is expensive. Infidelity is expensive and a great loss in the end. Laziness is stressful. (ii) The generous master gave talents based on abilities which we can interpret as opportunities. This is consoling. God does not give us responsibilities beyond us. We will be judged based on what we did with what we were given, not what we end up with. The two faithful servants received the same reward for their fidelity and hard work though they got different amounts to begin with. Let us pray for increased commitment and fidelity to the Gospel of Christ, a fidelity that makes us use our God-given talents in spreading love and peace, so that at the end of our earthly lives, we will hear those words: “…Come, share your master’s joy.”
FOR SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>
