Homily, November 19, 2023
From The Pastor
The Kingdom of God is often misunderstood as something we will experience in heaven. This is not the case. The Kingdom of God is the work Jesus began through the Incarnation. In Christ, God came to earth in the human-divine person of Jesus to bring the Divine reign into the world. Jesus worked tirelessly to reveal the true nature and identity of the living God. Jesus was very clear that to know him was to know the Father. To see him was to see the Father. To believe in Jesus was to believe in the Father through whom he was sent.
Jesus used every skill and talent he had as a human being to show us what a fully realized human being looks like. In the grace of his Divine nature, Jesus was not showing off how perfect a person he was. He was simply living up to the nature of his own being in the image of his Father’s love. Jesus is showing us by his example all that is possible when we devote ourselves to live from our deepest truest nature as beloved sons and daughters of our Father.
Jesus also lived the way he did to honor and give glory to the Father. It was the deepest desire of Jesus to reveal the Father to the world. Jesus offered every ounce of himself in self-giving love to fulfill the Father’s will. What is the will of the Father? That we become one with the Father through our faith in the Son whom He sent. Throughout his life, Jesus dealt with every tension and challenge of sin that we ourselves encounter. He was rejected, criticized, humiliated, called the Devil, and was ultimately killed. In the face of all these lies, Jesus responded to human sin and disorder with understanding, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. Always with a call to conversion that humanity might awaken to the gift of God promised in our redemption.
This theme is shared in the readings today. At the end of the Church year, we are reminded of the necessity to prepare for the coming of the Lord. The tone is not one of anxiety and fear, but one of loving devotion with hopeful longing to finally meet the Lord face to face. We all know that death is inescapable and one day we will meet the Lord. In wisdom, the Church alerts us to live generously the ways of the gospel as modeled by Jesus so that on that eternal day we are readily received by the Lord our God.
The first reading offers an image of the faithful and resourceful wife. She is a prize to her husband not only in her love, but also for her effective and resourceful running of the household. She uses her skills wisely and generously with love and devotion to honor God in her role as spouse and mother. Her skills turn a nice profit for the home even as she reaches out to the poor and the needy. The woman is an image of a mature person living in a way that honors God, serves others, and makes good use of her skills and talents. Her value is beyond any worldly treasure.
The gospel offers the same image with a different twist. Note that this is a parable. It is a story that causes us to ponder the mystery of God and his Kingdom. The verse is omitted today, but the parable begins with the common phrase, ‘the Kingdom of God is like…’ The Kingdom is like a rich man going on a long journey who distributes his wealth to others in the hopes it may grow in value in his absence. It is implied that Jesus is the rich man who leaves his skill set, talents if you will, to bring forth his Kingdom. The long journey is Jesus who ascended to heaven after the Resurrection. The talents are left behind so that we who profess his name might work as he did to bring his Kingdom into the world.
It could sound like Jesus is the CEO of Kingdom Coming Inc. This is not the case. That talents represent gifts of the Holy Spirit, Christian virtues given to each according to their ability. These talents are not small amounts. A talent would be comparative to a thousand dollars. The first person was given five talents. That is more money than anyone made in a year’s salary. The point being, God has not left us empty handed to do the work of bringing his Kingdom to the world.
The tension is raised in how the talents are used, or not. The faithful disciple will bear good fruit multiplying what has been given. The Master is honored and his work accomplished whereby this servant is given even more to bear greater fruit.
The last servant is given only one talent. God is ready to use all of us who profess his name, each to our ability. The one talent is not stingy, it is prudent. Everyone has some talents or gifts of the Spirit as a person of faith. This last servant lived in fear and laziness. His talent bore no good fruit, only returned after safe keeping. This approach gains a strong reaction from the Master. What this one had, likely unaware, was taken away and given to the one with five talents.
The message is obvious. God has blessed each of us abundantly, even in ways we have yet to realize. Too many live selfish self-contained lives. Search your life. What spiritual gifts do you have that the world needs? All the gifts are needed to bring about the Kingdom. Do not simply return them to God unused. The Giver of the gifts has strong feelings about that.
Father John Esper.
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